Good start!

I am never nervous but for the first time I really had butterflies, I think it was because the dressage arena’s were very posh and within a large arena with proper white boards all the way round and no gaps! They had floral decoration all around and 2 judges to impress, however, I remembered that it wasn’t just me in the arena and it was Jake too and he would just love it and be in his element.

The morning seemed to stretch out but Mum and I had loads of text messages wishing me luck which helped pass the time and made me look forward to it even more, we watched a few dressage tests before us and sat having a leisurely coffee and generally chatting to all and sundry!

The it was 1.15 and it was time to start grooming and tacking up, groomed to perfection, tack sparkling we headed out to the warm up. He warmed up very nicely and before I knew it, it was time for me to go in. I trotted round the arena 5 times before the horn went for me to start. And we then headed down the centre line, it seemed like years before I reached the letter C. We got through it and I genuinely really, really enjoyed it.  We did not totally disgrace ourselves. Our average score from both judges was 31.5.

 At the end of the first day we are lying in 5^th place.

Later on after my friend Abbie had finished her dressage, we walked the cross country course with Yogi Breisner! I thought  I should let him know that I am going to be on the Olympic team in 2016 and will be booking my training in with him in my diary, then I thought I had better not, I should just get on with walking the course and concentrating the course I should be doing tomorrow! The course is very long, well up to height with some rider frighteners, not sure how Jake will stand up to it and I feel it is going to be the undoing of a lot of people and maybe even ours. It is a proper championship course.

The medal though should go to my dad who pushed my mum in the wheelchair round the whole cross country course; he has hero status here in the grassroots camp!