A Tough Day: XC at Burghley by Michael Pollard

Well, today was not exactly what I had in mind. We woke up this morning, and Will was quite sore with what appeared to be a hot nail. This is unbelievable because this is exactly what happened at Luhmuhlen which forced me to withdraw. As we had more time today and it was not a full abcess, we did have time to float that side of the foot and cushion it enough that it was ok. Went and jumped fences in the warm up and Will felt really good, so we decided to start with the idea that if something didn't go well or if will didn't feel right I would pull up. We started in front of the house at burghley, and jumped one and two. As I was crossing the road to fence three, I heard what sounded like a shoe coming off. Sure enough I saw my cushioned shoe fly off, presumably because it had only a few nails to avoid the soreness. This was rather distracting coming to three, but I tried to put it behind me and at least try to jump the leaf pit. He jumped down well then sort of propped in the second stride. I was still on my line, but the prop just affected the distance. Due to the lack of shoe and the soreness on the foot I decided to pull up after a run out.

I am incredibly disappointed, but I have no excuses. I should have probably pulled around when he did the prop, or sat up more and gotten the job done. I will give it twenty-four hours before deciding what to do now, but I will certainly not be sulking for long. Ultimately, I am really happy that Will is still in good form. See you all back stateside, and I will let you know as soon as I do what might be in the future for us.

More to come - Michael

Friday: A Good Start by Michael Pollard

Friday: a good start

Well, so far so good. I am really pleased with how Will went in the dressage, and I am happy with his placing for now. I believe there are ways to improve my result in the future, but at his current stage I could not expect to have done significantly better than our effort yesterday, a fifty two. This has landed me just in the top third.

Now, I am excited about tomorrow, but also quite nervous. I believe in my ability and that of my horse, but there is always so much that can happen. At the end of the day no matter what happens, each of us will have learned a lot, I am sure!! I have the plan of going straight at all fences, and I am going to try to move along quickly while still leaving a bit of gas in the tank for the last two minutes. There is no point on the course where you can lose concentration without having repercussions, but I am confident if we can put our best foot forward we can be quite competitive. I am making final preparations for tomorrow now, so I need to run, but I appreciate all the friends that have sent well wishes, and I look forward to giving you all good news soon. More to come...

-Michael

Burghley - The Trot Up and Thoughts on the XC Course by Michael Pollard

Will passed the vet inspection with flying colors yesterday, and our dressage is this afternoon. I rode him in the main arena following the inspection, and although he got a bit tense in a few moments, I believe he will come out well today. I also walked the cross country several times yesterday, and I think it is certainly big enough! I have walked the course in years past, but as most eventers know it always adds about six inches to every fence when you actually are going to ride. All in all, I feel Will and I are up to the challenge, but really every fence needs to be ridden well. I had the good fortune of going around the course once with Andrew Hoy, who made some interesting points. In particular, he pointed to the ground at every fence and how your line at Burghley can so easily distract you if get caught in the numerous humps and bumps in front of so many of the fences. He also talked about the "art" of using the terrain here, to go around quickly without completely exhausting the horse. I will probably need to walk around at least two more times, but at this point I believe I will plan to go straight at all the major fences. Obviously, this can be adjusted based on how the course is riding and how Will is feeling, but everything looks doable...albeit relentless.

The people here have been incredibly welcoming and Katie and I have met a few new friends. I am really looking forward to Nathalie's arrival this afternoon. I just hope she won't cry when she sees our caravan....it is rather basic. Hope everyone at home is doing well...more to come later!

- Michael

Photo of Caroline Powell 2009 Burghley