Lauren Shannon’s eventing blog: hurrah for rain and thunderstorms
Last week, if you remember, I was starting to worry about the state of the ground in our British heat wave. Obviously, any future issue or worry I have will quickly be voiced on my blog, as the heavens have opened in response!
We have had some serious thunderstorms here in Leicestershire over the last couple days, and lots of welcome rain. There is more due this week, which is still needed, but I am happily entering events this week, knowing the ground is softening up. I’m not entirely sure why I bother even thinking about the British weather though; it seems to change as quickly as I can write a blog!
I headed to Stafford horse trials last weekend with both of my working students and Arthur in the BE100. He went brilliantly, finishing 5th, and I have to say that the event was one of the friendliest and most relaxed events I’ve been to this year. Also, the cross-country course was very well built and had enough questions without being “mean” for that level. It was lovely to compete there, and nice for the horses to have a very proper BE100 course to run around.
The next couple weeks are going to be a little bit quieter on the yard, with only arena eventing at Vale View Equestrian Centre this weekend, and no events planned next weekend either! I have entered the older horses at Aston le Walls and Somerford Park in August already though, and I can’t wait to get Crunchie and Purdey out to compete in the CIC2* there. We have been working with Andrew Fletcher over the last few weeks on their dressage, and they will go cross-country schooling and showjumping before heading out eventing again.
In the meantime, the girls on the yard can have a bit of a summertime clean on the yard, painting the tack room, feed room and wash box. I’m sure the girls are much less excited about the prospect of doing it than I am about how nice it will look. However, I might remind them that it’s better than being caught in a thunderstorm!
Lauren
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Event rider Lauren Shannon blogged on Horseandhound.co.uk from June 2011 until September 2014. Born in Brighton, she lived in America from the age of three to 16, returning to the UK to go to university after she finished school. After university she worked for Mark and Tanya Kyle before setting up her own yard in Leicestershire. Her best result to date was finishing 9th at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials with her top horse, Zero Flight.