With misting stations and large barrels of water near the rings, the Bolesworth team did everything they could to mitigate the effects of the heatwave.
Successful British showjumper Carmen Edwards praises organisers of Bolesworth International for upping their game in the heatwave
The recent heatwave, which coincided with the start of week one of the Al Shira’aa Bolesworth International, reminded us of the massive difference between what is required to run an agricultural show and an international horse show.
At the former, much of the livestock involved just needs a bit of shade, but at a dedicated horse show, you need a proper infrastructure.
Bolesworth’s organisation team did a really good job of accommodating for the heat. There were misting stations, large barrels of water available near the rings and the water pressure was decent, which is important when the first thing you want to be able to do is wash the horses off.
The stables were opened up early, so there was time to get things done out of the heat. Everyone had to bring their own fans but the show did everything they possibly could to optimise the horses’ welfare.
Bolesworth is a show that has continued to up its game and people’s confidence showed with only a small percentage changing their plans because of the extreme weather forecast.
Why back-to-back dates don’t work
If there is a downside to Bolesworth’s two-week tour, it’s that it runs back-to-back with another highlight of the summer calendar, Hickstead.
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It’s not fair on competitors who have a horse to jump bigger classes, but can’t afford to go abroad, to compress the opportunity into three weeks. I don’t know why the dates can’t be allocated better.
Course-builders Colm Quinn and Raf Suarez did an excellent job with Sunday’s grand prix, it was a great watch. The two jumps that took the most jumping were the two that came down.
I was relaying information back to one of my best pals, Ollie Tuff, in the jump-off. I told him he needed to make sure he was careful jumping the double and the rollback – a lot of people were getting flat or dead shots off the turn to the vertical, and it was right in front of the crowd, so horses didn’t have their eye on the fence.
It was nice to see both Trevor and Shane Breen do so well, with Trevor taking the win and for him and for his brother to finish runner-up. It’s a position my brother Will and I would definitely like to be in!
A 1.35M puissance wall to start
I also watched the puissance at Bolesworth on Saturday night and thought the show did a good job encouraging entries. There weren’t many originally; it takes a certain type of horse and sometimes there’s a flurry of them, while in other years it’s quieter.
I don’t know if they needed to start the wall as low as they did – at 1.35m – but it worked out well. The puissance is always an opportunity for people to bring along their mum or dad or boyfriend or girlfriend who doesn’t understand the sport, and still be able to enjoy their evening.
I was watching the big classes from the sidelines this year as I don’t have a grand prix ride since selling Happy Valerie last year. I am building up a team of young horses at the moment and had three at the show. Like everyone, I’m working hard hoping that something like Val comes along again.
I have three of her babies at home – Happy Hour, Happy Valentino and Happy Valentina – so hopefully one of those will grow up to fill her shoes. With a bit of luck, one the magic number three will be our next superstar.
● Do you have any tips for dealing with your horses during soaring temperatures? Send your horsey hacks to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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International showjumper Carmen Edwards comes from a showjumping family and runs Shropshire-based Edwards Equestrian with his younger brother Will. He’s produced a string of exciting horses, including Bolesworth two-star grand prix winner, Happy Valerie.
