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

An American at Burghley: Arrival Day by Michael Pollard

Burghley arrival:

I have finally made it to Burghley 2010 after quite a journey. Though my season and trip have not gone fully to plan thus far, I am happy to report that Wonderful Will has arrived here in good health and form. As the only American competing here this week any blog reports had only to come from me, and in an election with one contestant I can usually come out on top. So, I will be sending along some commentary to PRO, and I hope that it will be enjoyable and filled with great news!!

It has always been a dream to compete at Burghley, and although it was not foreseen in the beginning of my trip to Europe to compete here, I am nonetheless thrilled to have the opportunity. My biggest goal is to produce three good days of competition this week. If I can achieve this I should be competitive. Will and I have been helped immensely by Bettina Hoy, who graciously helped keep Will in work while I went back and forth home to America, and I hope to be able to produce the results of that work while here. Thank you for your support back home, see you all soon.

Trip and arrival:

Will has been stabled at the German equivalent to the USET headquarters in Warendorf following his abcess on the Saturday of Luhmuhlen. The trip from there to Burghley I thought would take about seven hours on the continent, two on ferry, and five once on the British side. I left at 5 pm on Sunday with the hope to limit the amount of traffic I would face. The drive was uneventful until the ferry crossing.

The company who I had booked with would not take me across because they said it was too rough for horses. I have to admit here that the wind was perhaps blowing...a bit. It was suggested to try the other agency, as they are more "relaxed". I was not 100 percent sure that this was the description I wanted associated with the boat that would take me across the channel...in the middle of the night... in a significant wind storm, but I am nothing if not adventurous (stupid).
The new ferry company agreed to take us, but only if we understood that they had no liability. I am not exactly sure how this agreement would have helped either party had we sunk, but I told them that I believed Will would be fine and so we boarded.

The sea was very rough. We were sIx stories up, and the spray from waves were still regularly soaking the deck. The boat was swaying to the point that it was not possible to stand, and although I was not sick, there were more than a few green faces. Safely on land two hours later, roughly 1 am local time, I began the drive up to Stamford. This took considerably less time than predicted, presumably because of a lack of traffic, and I only drove on the incorrect side of the road once (I considered this a decent attempt due to the fact I was driving a left hand drive car).

When I arrived at Burghley it was quite unfortunate that all the gates were locked. Will and I caught some sleep for a little less than two hours until the morning staff started to arrive. We acted like we knew where we were going and they let us in without too many questions. Proceeded to get Will taken care of (luckily he is a pretty chill dude and handled the whole experience quite easily) and went to sleep (7am). We went for a hack at around four that afternoon, and after another good night sleep, I think we are both feeling pretty good. Our groom, Katie Thornton, gets in shortly, so I need to run, but will keep you updated as things progress.

-Michael

Richland Park HT Final Day by Doug Payne

Sunday was a very good end to a great weekend at Richland Park. It was an early morning, with jogs at 7:30 I was on Running Order in the dark to help loosen him up. The jog strip was moved due to the condition of the original location. Unfortunately, the new location was less than a level surface. Running Order had a minor heel grab on Saturday, so of course on our jog back he tripped in a hole and took a few funny steps. We were held for re-inspection and passed. All was good, but being held is never fun!

Next on the agenda was Slick's XC. He was very good. It was a difficult training course. It was a perfect preliminary prep. He jumped around great and finished in 7th. He's now slated for prelim at Plantation Field just a few weeks from now.

Running Order's SJ was next. He jumped well, we had an unfortunate rail at the 2nd fence but still finished in 6th in the CIC***. Pretty damn good for his 3rd advanced, especially considering the other horses in the field! I can't say enough about how good he was this weekend.

The drive home was brutal, we didn't actually get back to the barn until 2:30am or so. Despite the drive, I'd have to say Richland will again be on the calender for next year. From here we have a few days of down time, then up to HITS in Saugraties at the end of the week for some Show Jumping. The next event on the calender is the AEC's then Plantation and Fair Hill or maybe Boekelo.

I had the helmet cam on for XC in the 3* the link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXNTcvxhKLo&feature=player_embedded#!


-D

Richland Park - CIC3* XC Day By Doug Payne

It was another spectacular day here at Richland Park. In general the day ran smoothly without a significant amount of trouble on course. Time was a factor, being that the scores were so close even a couple of points could make a big difference.

Running Order was nearly foot perfect for the entire round. We had one small hickup that was sorted quickly at the corner combination. He handled all of the other combinations as if he'd seen them 1000 times before. We were well within the time and moved up to 5th!

Nate is still in the lead with a clear round, Boyd is second, Selena in 3rd and Will Faudree in 4th. Tomorrow will certainly be putting everyone on edge.

We have the jogs at an obnoxiously early 7:30 tomorrow so after the competitors party not a whole lot of sleep will be had...but certainty with it in the end.

-D

Richland Park: An Engineering Degree Doesn't Always Help! By Doug Payne

It was a very unusually slow day for us, considering its Friday at a big competition. With two horses in tow we didn't quite know what to do with our free time. Slick was the only horse competing and he didn't go until nearly 1 pm. We had a leisurely morning which included breakfast, walking the dogs/horses and generally hanging out with the 400+ riders and horses here this weekend. Richland certainly has a big stage feel, always a bunch of activity and with 4 rings going the warm up was packed all day.

I rode Running Order first, just doing a bunch of stretching etc. Nothing too strenuous, but enough to get his blood flowing and muscles warm and loosened up. Slick was next. I rode him twice to see if it might help. I have to keep in mind how few events he's ever been to in his life. I might as well take advantage of the opportunity for him to experience all of the atmosphere here.

So with my dressage time coming soon, I decided to review my test once more. I logged onto the USEA's site, typed training B into the search box and learned my test. I did think it was a bit weird. I've had nearly 100 starts this year and didn't really recognize the test. Oh well...must be different than most events I've done recently. Yeah...it was different. I hadn't done this test in a while being that it was the 2006 vintage rather than the 2009. So the test actually starts off identically, all was good until the first canter. Then 1 whistle...wrong letter for the depart. Then 2...wrong circle. I obviously realizes something was drastically wrong...asked the judge what test we were doing...training B correct? Yes...but not the same training B. Long story short, learned the test quickly, I've done it countless times, and we finished with 6 pts in errors. He was actually very good and finished in 7th with a 38.

I walked the *** course again, actually twice more. All is looking good. I think its a very good course. Should be challenging, but I feel prepared and will certainly make a go of it tomorrow.

The day finished up with a riders meeting with the judges, safety, medical and other officials. They made some quick changes to the time schedule, but essentially the same for our horses.

Slick gets to do show jumping tomorrow and XC on Sunday. The show jumping course looks good, it will be challenging and will have its share of rails. Lucky for me Slick is a good jumper and shouldn't have too much trouble. Again keep your fingers crossed, anything can happen!

We had one other very funny thing happen. Were staying a friends place about 10 mins from the show grounds in a guest cottage. Last night a bunch of us were certain that on display were a bunch of African instruments. Knowing us it soon became a contest of who could play them better. In order to get a good tune we had to play them like trumpets. All was well and good. Fast forward to tonight. We went to dinner with Sallie our host, they came up in conversation. Turns out their actually a collection of yarn spools that have been turned into candle sticks which happen to be candleless at the moment!!! We were laughing so hard we were crying.

Were off to bed...and looking forward to XC tomorrow!!

-D

Richland Park - Dressage Day 1 by Doug Payne

Richland Park is certainly living up to its reputation. The facility is great. The rings, warm-up and XC all are in near perfect condition. The entire course is being irrigated as we speak. While were on the subject of xc, I can't wait until Saturday. Ian Stark's course is very inviting and certainly will encourage and reward forward positive riding. I'm sure there will be a fair amount of problems...hopefully we're not among them :).

Running Order did dressage today. He had his best test to date. We're sitting on a 52.2 in 7th place. I'm very happy especially considering the field he's in. He's less than two points back from Karen O'Connor's Mandiba and just ahead of Buck and Ballynoecastle RM! Both horses should be bound for the world games in a month. Nate Chambers is currently winning with Boyd Martin close behind. All is quite close so I'm sure we'll have a very exciting Saturday.

Slick is going tomorrow right around mid-day...so check back for updates! Meet my new dog Bacon - enjoying the view on xc!

-D

ON THE ROAD TO RICHLAND HT by Doug Payne

Richland Park is still seems a figment which only exists in my GPS at the moment. We left NJ this morning just after 3:30am. The trip should take just under 11 hrs, getting us there mid afternoon with plenty of time to set up and get the in barn inspection complete in time for dinner, and of course the world revolves around the consumption of food! I would expect this story is not uncommon amount the hundreds descending on Richland, well with the exception to my dependency on food :)

I'm looking forward to a light weekend. We've got two horses on board. Running Order, owned by Patti Springsteen, is going in his first CIC***. Hopefully all goes well and we'll be qualified for the Fair Hill CCI*** this fall.

While we've got time I figure we'll give a brief history of the horses. Running Order is an 8 yr old Irish bred TB. He started as a steeplechase horse. Actually he was a cross-country racing to be more specific. Enda Bolger, a very well known jockey and now trainer started him. I was lucky enough to visit Enda last year after Fair Hill and got a first hand view of what it's all about. So XC racing is more or less hunting at racing pace, and all the stories you hear about Irish hunting are true. We jumped banks, ditches, gates, walls, hedges and wire. Often times a combination of two or more of the above. I instantly understood where Running Order learned to be so quick on his feet. Darwin at work...he's still here and he's exceptionally good. There isn't a horse I'd rather be on when walking in that start box.

After his lack luster racing career ended, he made the trip over to the US to Patti's beautiful farm. He made a brief stop in jumping land. That too wasn't his cup of tea. Just over 2 years ago he arrived at my place. He's certainly found his niche. He won the full format Va CCI*, he was 2nd last fall at the Fair Hill CCI** and won the USEF young horse championship. He was then named to the Developing Riders list. 2010 has been equally as good winning the OI at the Fork. He moved up to advanced at MCTA, again winning then 5th at the Stuart CIC** and most recently 4th at Millbrook advanced.

Where do we go from here? Well in an ideal world Fair Hill this fall, maybe Rolex in the spring. Then London 2012?!? Just keep your fingers crossed...that's a long way away.

Slick...well Slick's story is just beginning. He's a 9yr TB who again had a limited racing career. I bought him just a few months ago. Richland will be his 5th event ever. He is still confirming his jumping style but is showing great promise. He was 3rd at Waredaca just a few weeks back in training. The tentative plan is for him to be at prelim by the end of the year and see what happens.

So that covers the horses. Megan and her dog Baloo are along to help. Without them I'd be in deep trouble. Last and certainly not least is Bacon, my dog.

So why Richland? I've heard from all who have attended that is a truly world class facility. In addition to the facility, Tue field should be quite strong. Nearly all of the WEG horses from the US and Canada should be competing. It's also a PRO tour stop for the PRO/AM Team Competition. For all who don't know about PRO yet, we're an organization of riders which have come together to bring to sport of eventing to a new level. Not only in the quality of competition, but also increase participation of competitors, sponsors and fans alike.

Dressage is tomorrow for the CIC horses. Upon arrival I'll get some more detailed info on who's here and what all is happening. Until then...back to driving...

-Doug