Horse magazine november 2013

NOVEMBER 2013 $7.50

2013AUSTRALIAN SHOWJUMPING

CHAMPS

ANDREW MCLEAN - ON ATTACHMENT GERMAN YOUNG HORSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

BATES EVENTING AT CAMDEN

4 - The Horse Magazine

NOVEMBER 2013

Showjumping Leaderboard

Saddleworld Eventing Leaderboard

Free Rein with Elizabeth Owens

Taking the Judging out of Judging

National Young Rider Leaderboard

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Transitions

Horsetalk

Andrew McLean on Attachment

Equitana Preview

New for Summer

Rider of the Month-Shane Rose

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10

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70

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Summer Fitness with Rebecca Ashton66

Nat Blundell, Eventer - Dare to Dream74Bates Equestriad Camden 44

Australian Showjumping Championships20

Helen Langehanenberg headed to Oz33

Editor: Chris Hector CEO: Roz NeaveAssistant Editor: Ute RaabeDesign: Alexandra MeyerPhone: (+61) 3 9421 3320 Fax: (+61) 3 9421 3375E-mail: [email protected] Address: PO Box 2316 Richmond South 3121

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On the Cover: Jamie Kermond & Caracas Photo: Roz Neave

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Page 54Isabell Werth’s pupil stars in German Young Horse Show

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Cheryl Balcomb, Judith Murphy, Nicole Newton and Wendy Dixon. PAGE 89

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AUSTRALIAN SHOWJUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Certainly the ‘look’ was even better, with the trade stands now taking up three sides of the arena, and in the lead up the arena had been carefully sanded and prepared, which was lucky because it had to withstand some serious Werribee weather… The VIP enclosure was now a handsome double storied building, opposite the big screen. The event had a classy European feel.

Walking in on the final day, I pass a little line of barbeque braziers, with a loin of rolled pork quietly sizzling in each. The catering was by Romulus and Remus, a new restaurant in my suburb, Richmond – and was the best-ever catering for an Australian equestrian event.

The organizers had tried hard to inject even more excitement into the event with an Aussie / Kiwi clash; the sort of thing we used to call a Trans Tasman, now re-branded as the Oceania Jumping Championships. Alas it proved to be a

fizzer, when after the first round of the contest the New Zealanders called it quits, one horse with a brain fade, the other a soundness problem, leaving team chef, John Cottle looking for a couple of replacements for the second round at Melbourne Royal in just a week’s time. We asked John if he’d packed his riding gear and he had, since he was trying a couple of horses while in Australia. Perhaps someone might like to lend him a pony?

New Zealand were first to go and their stake on the title started strongly after opening combination Ross Smith and Quite Cassini posted a clear round, but the Kiwi good run was short lived after a refusal to Lisa Coupe and Bates Amaretto. Some confusion about re-building of the fence saw them eliminated, and Luke Dee and Ombudsman picked up 17 penalties.

Two Australian combinations, Tom

McDermott on Romantic Dream and Sharon Slater and Ulixes posted clears and the Australian team looked unbeatable even if the Kiwis had fronted a second time.

It was perhaps a little tough on the Kiwis naming Tom on both the Senior and Young Rider teams, but he duly led the Aussie Young Riders to victory and cleaned up yet another Australian Young Rider title in the process; this time riding another imported horse, Cumo Z, competed for a while by Brett Warren, now, like Romantic Dream and Rolex, looking a different horse with Tom.

Still it was a tight finish, and there was a bit of heart-burn around the place at the thought that a bona fide Kiwi, young Bridget Hansen might have won the Australian title, even if Bridey is an Aussie resident right now. Tom finished the three rounds on 5, with Bridget on 8 – riding a horse from her family’s

Last year we were all blown away by the new location and look of the Australian Showjumping Championships at Werribee. This year was going to be the test, could the organisers build

on last year’s success and make the champs bigger and better this time round?

The Horse Magazine - 21

AUSTRALIAN SHOWJUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPSWords by Christopher Hector & Photos by Roz Neave

Selle Français based breeding program, Shakespear NZPH. Shakespear is by the Double Espoir son, Funny Star out of the Cabdula du Tillard mare, Nicalette, who has just finished a successful World Cup-level jumping career.

Tom’s new ride, Cumo Z is by Cumano, out of a mare by the Hanoverian, Gold Sky. This information you have to dig around and find… There was NO breeding information in the Championships program or on the start sheets, which is just not good enough!

Third went to another one of Tom’s re-cycled imports, CP Rolex. Fourth – Sarah-Louise McMillan and Queen of Diamonds; fifth – Nicole Bruggemann and Marine; sixth – Kate Hinschen and Not Over.

The Junior Championship was also something of a triumph for Tom, since he coaches the winner, Jessica Tripp riding Lovegrove, and her sister, Samantha, who finished second on Flowervale Diamond. To complete the Tom dominance, the third place getter was one of his former star rides, LH Annie Elka, now ridden by Kate Hinschen.

Tom McDermott

Dressage MasterclassHelen Langehanenberg (ger)

FEI World Cup Champion

www. e q u e s t r i a n v i c t o r i a e v e n t s . c om . a u /D JWT SWerribee Park National Equestrian Centre

201427-29 March

Jumping Masterclass Yves Houtackers (ned)

P er f or m a nc e S a l e s In t er n at ion a l

PSI Dressage & Jumping with the stars

PSI Australian Young Dressage Horse Championships

Horse Feeds Young Jumping

Horse Championships

CDI-W Grand Prix & Freestyle to Music


This year’s guest at the PSI D&JWTS, Helen Langehanenberg comes fresh from her successes at the European Championships in Herning, where she lead the German team to a gold medal. When I caught up with her a week or so later at the Bundeschampionate, she was still glowing…

“The European Dressage Championships at Herning were a fabulous weekend, full of emotion, and a lot of success…”

It is nice to be in a time when there is such great rivalry between you, and Charlotte Dujardin and Adelinde Cornelissen, and three great horses in Damon Hill, Valegro and Parzival…

“I think dressage was never as exciting as it is at the moment because there are so many good riders and horses. It is a real battle and a real competition, that makes it really interesting.”

And at Herning, it came right down to the last ride – yours!

“That was really like a thriller… I was really calm and I was really settled, I said to myself, okay, do what you can, and the rest is not in your hands. We did the best test we ever did, that’s something where I am a little bit proud of it – in that moment I could manage it, and Dami gave his best, and we could take the gold back.”

How does it feel, for a while you were just outside the team, for a couple of years, almost in the team – now you are not only in the team but leading the team…

“I don’t know the perfect English word, it is a kind of satisfaction – we really worked hard on it. I know many people work hard on it, and to be lucky to

first have the horse Responsible, who took me to really near the team and to incredible scores and results, and now to be able to ride Dami and be able to motivate him so that he has so much fun doing it and we both can enjoy it, and I think the audience and the judges like it as well. That’s really special…”

Dressage has changed – I think Carl and Charlotte helped change it at Rotterdam, dressage that is softer, more horse friendly…

“I think people and horses should be partners. How should I force a horse with 600 kilos to do anything? If they don’t want to, I can’t make them, I think the riders should love to do it, and the horses should enjoy it. Then you can see it if both partners have fun and enjoy the test – it is not the same as when there is tension and force.”

You have always trained in a classical way?

“I first learned at Ingrid Klimke’s stable. I think she is really a person that makes it herself in the classical way, and she teaches that to her students. And yes, I worked with Klaus Balkenhol, to me he is the best coach in the world. He has such a good way of handling horses and people, to ask them to do something but never too much. For me it is the perfect way, my feeling is that the horses like it too.”

I was talking with your team coach, Monica Theodorescu, and she was saying how much you and your husband Sebastian worked as a team, and that she worked with the two of you at the big competitions…

“I think Sebastian and I are a really good team. He always joins me when I go to Klaus for training, to see how Klaus

AT A GLANCE

Name: Helen Langehanenberg

Age: 31

2003: Trained by Ingrid Klimke, completed Pferdewirt winning the Stensbeck Award

2004: 3 month placement with Klaus Balkenhol

Since 2004: Freelance working with Sebastian Heinz

2005: World Young Horse Championship with Damon Hill when Ingrid broke her leg and could not ride the young stallion

2008: Reserve rider for the Olympic Games team with Responsible

2012: World Cup finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, second with Damon Hill

Silver medal in the German team at the London Games

2013: Leads the German team to victory at the European Championships

HEADED FOR OZ

HELENLANGEHANENBERG

Interview by Chris Hector

SPOTLIGHT

ON...


I’m interested in the area of Attachment Theory, as it applies to the horse/human bond in the hope it may shed light on the elusive (objectively speaking) qualities of trust, rapport and bonding. Applying Attachment Theory to horse training is new ground, but I think it applies well, as the horse is a social animal too. It has been recently extended to describe not only the quality of mother–infant relationships and other caregiver-infant relationships, but also to relationships

between human adults and more recently human-pet relationships. There’s a lot of evidence that dogs and humans attach to each other in a very similar way that humans attach to each other and I think that it’s likely that any social animal that’s in our domain, would share at least some of these characteristics.

The horse is a good candidate for that because of two factors – one the one

hand he is the most fearful of domestic animals. The horse has the biggest amygdala (the part of the brain that modulates fear) of all domestic animals yet on the other hand his heart rate is significantly lowered when groomed by other horses at the base of the neck. It has also now been shown that the same lowering occurs when humans stroke horses along the neck at the base of the withers (many of you already do that). Stroking, oxytocin and heart rate

This month, Andrew McLean looks at a new way of understanding the way we relate to our horses…

Attachment in action? Andrew McLean riding his youngster, Lego

ANDREW MCLEANATTACHMENT THEORY - THE NEW DIMENSION

Charlotte Dujardin and the wonderful Valegro

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It’s Thursday afternoon before the competition and Australia’s top combinations are riding tests in tails and top hats on the Bicentennial Equestrian Park’s main arena. This dress rehearsal is part of a National Squad school that started on the Wednesday. An objective of turning out in full regalia is to create a sense of atmosphere and competition conditions - having the VIP marquee erected a few metres away is adding to the challenge.

The draw states that yards open on Friday, but Camping Area 1 is already chock full of Queenslanders. So with the squad school happening and competitors keen to get settled on this wonderful 200 acre venue, the place is getting busy early. As evidenced by

the numbers, these events at Camden are wildly popular with riders. There are 520 horses on the draw for this event and when the EVA 60 class was offered at the May CNC, there were an excess of 600. Five years into the reign of the Eventing Equestriad Australia Committee and this event runs like clockwork. Shane Rose easily wears his stripes as a team leader and is in the enviable position among event directors in being able to say, “We certainly have a lot of success in getting people who are competing to help out.” He adds that: “Most of the people on our committee actually ride or are involved through riding.” It’s a well-oiled machine by now because this event is running with four key committee members absent for this competition (including himself

who flew in for the week from Europe). Shane noted the great jobs done by Kim Katavich in organising volunteers, as well as Tina Stafford and Vicki Burgess at the helm in the office.

On Friday the weather starts out perfect…right up until the wind starts blowing a gale in the late morning. More rigs start rolling in and the clever riders strategically position themselves so they might be able to plait up on the leeward side of their vehicles.

Fortunately, Saturday stays pleasant. Horse inspections for the FEI classes are so streamlined: simply present for quick scan and document check on the way to the warm up. Following the dressage, Shane is unabashedly leading both the

Story by Terri Kolb & Photos by Peter Orr (Main Event Photography) and Ted Ledner

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It’s hard when the first test is just so wonderful that everything after it looks ordinary, but that is just what happened in the first go-round of the 6-year-old Dressage Horses at this year’s Bundeschampionate. The Rheinlander stallion, Lord Carnaby (Lord Loxley / Rocket Star) looked so soft and in such wonderful self-carriage. He was ridden with delicate tact by Beatrice Buchwald, who spends part of her time each week working with Isabell Werth, and it shows. The trot work was great and the canter, even better, and three of his four flying changes, were fine.

The stallion is interestingly bred, he is by Lord Loxley, who was himself a young horse star, second at the World Young Dressage Horse Champs and a Bundeschampion in the 5-year-olds back in 2004. Lord Loxley was not a great success when tried in Grand Prix, and is now stationed at the Belgian stud, Gestüt Sonnenhof, just across the border from southern Germany. Lord Loxley is by one of the early Bundeschampionate stars, Lord Sinclair, who won the 3-year-old stallion championship in 1997 and came back the following year to win the 4-year-old championship, after that his career was basically all downhill. Lord Sinclair was a lumpy looking thing, like a fat show hack. He competed with very limited success as an FEI level dressage horse, and when his mare book shrank from 100 plus in his glory years, to a handful, his owner retired him from breeding. Still, like all the super fashionable sires, he attracted more than his share of very good mares, and has produced some nice horses, although Lord Loxley is easily the

nicest - perhaps this is because he is out of a Weltmeyer mare, from a very famous Hanoverian family.

I once asked that fount of knowledge of Hanoverian mare lines, Jens Meyer, about Lord Loxley. His reply is instructive:

“When you see Lord Loxley’s pedigree – I rode his dam, Weltlady by Weltmeyer. I rode Weinlady, the mother of Weltlady, and I knew her mother, the Domspatz mare. In the end, Lord Sinclair was a champion, he was a trot horse. This Weltmeyer mare, Weltlady scored over 8 in her performance test, and she was also a trot horse. She won material classes, and she was sold for big money to Belgium. Weinlady by Weingau, she was also a trot horse, she really could move, then comes Domspatz and then Marcio blood. In the end you have a really big chance, that you produce trot. And we need trot for the future.”

Lord Sinclair is also the sire of Birkhof’s Lord Leopold FBW (out of a Sandro Hit mare), who finished 11th in the class, while Lord Loxley is the sire of Lord Wallonia (Rembrandt) who finished 28th.

Lord Carnaby is out of a mare whose pedigree is solidly jumping focused: she is by Rocket Star, who combines Ramiro and Landgraf, out of a mare by the great Westfalien jumping sire, Pilot.

Lord Carnaby scored 9 for his trot, 9.5 for his walk, 9 for his canter, 8.5 for rideability and 9 for general impression and

DRESSAGE HORSES - SIX YEAR OLDS

Lord Carnaby & Beatrice Buchwald

The Bundeschampionate – the German National Championships - is simply one of the world’s great equestrian experiences;

it is a time to greet old friends, to chat and share a glass of wine… But most of all it is a chance to watch the most

wonderful selection of horses that comes together anywhere in the world in a

perfect parkland setting, especially when Germany turns on brilliant sunny autumn weather… For the first three days at least!

THE BUNDESCHAMPIONATE 2013


Words by Christopher Hector & Photos by Roz Neave and Kiki Beelitz

potential - for an overall score of 9. I think if he had appeared later in the day, the scores would have been higher.

The largest representation in the top 28 went to the ‘S’ line: Sandro Hit, himself, provided one, Silver Black who is out of a Donnerhall mare, Maradita from the famous chestnut mare line of Oldenburg master breeder, Georg Sieverding. The line descends from a Selle Français mare, Mexicane by Mexico (the full brother to Furioso II) purchased by Mr Sieverding in France while traveling with his mentor, Georg Vorwerk. Mexicane was bred to the Thoroughbred, Shikampur, and the daughter, Mon Amour, to Weltmeister, an influential Hanoverian stallion, to produce Maureen, who was then bred to the Holstein stallion, Classiker, a son of Calypso II, to produce Marella. Marella bred to Donnerhall produced Maradita, who is the dam of Sieger Hit who – ridden by Andreas Helgstrand – won the 5 and 6-year-old stallion championship at the 2011 Danish licensing. Silver Black is the full brother, originally called, as custom dictates, Sieger Hit II. At Warendorf, he was superbly shown by Kira Wulferding to finish equal 3rd on 8.4.

The other third placegetter was the Sandro Hit grand-son, Sir Cedric (Samarant / Argentinus). Another son, Stedinger (out of a Landadel mare), provided two of the top group, with Stand By Me (De Niro) in 6th, and Santiago (Dacaprio) in =11th.

Sir Donnerhall, who won the 5-year-old title in 2006 but has not competed since then, was easily the best represented

with five in the top 28, the best of which was Sir Diamond (Rohdiamant) in =9th.

The judging was fairly easy to follow, with the judges, on the whole, rewarding relaxed and natural performances and putting down the fire-breathing spectacular style of earlier years.

In the final, Lord Carnaby produced an even more complete performance, his final flying change was so huge it produced a collective giggle of delight from the crowd, and Beatrice Buchwald once again showed him with grace and style. They were clearly the winners on a score of 9.2 (trot – 9, walk – 9.5, canter – 9, submissiveness – 9, general impression – 9.5) but I thought the judges could have been a might more appreciative of the test. It’s wonderful that we have moved into the new era of softer more natural tests, now the judges have to find the courage to award those big big marks they used to give in the bad old spectacular days, to those fire-breathing trots, and almost out-of-control canters, to the new under-stated style.

The Sir Donnerhall / Rotspon stallion, Sean Connery, ridden by the Swede, Therese Nilshagen, came up to place second: 8.6 (8, 8.50, 9.5, 8.5), with another Sir Donnerhall, Sir Diamond (out of a Rohdiamant mare) ridden by Lydia Camp, third on 8.5 (8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 8.5) and to complete the S line domination, fourth went to Silver Black (Sandro Hit / Donnerhall) and Kira Wulferding on 8.4 (8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 8, 8.5) equal with Laura Stigler and Doubleyou W (Don Romantic / Rohdiamant) with scores of 9, 8, 8.5, 8, 8.5.

THE BUNDESCHAMPIONATE 2013Silver Black & Kira Wulferding Sean Connery & Therese Nilshagen


SUMMER FITNESS

Dressage Coach and Pilates Instructor Rebecca Ashton shows you how to sharpen body and mind to

cope with the more extreme season.

Summer is upon us and it’s time to take off that puffa...external and internal! Let’s get our fitness up for those end of year championships and also just so we can cope better with the hot weather.

Photos by Norma Ashton

To begin, set yourself some goals to remain on track. They really are the best way to keep focus. Remember, goals are the “guiding lights” to keep us on our path and help to manage our time. The actual path, or process, is what matters most. Be sure to write your goals down and make them realistic. This acts as your contract with yourself. Have goals of different time lengths. Short term targets keep you on track to reaching the bigger, long term goals. Make your goals SMART; specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timed.

GOAL SETTING

Suppleness is essential for healthy muscles and joints. We need a body that allows the movement of the horse to flow through it but still have tone. This not only allows for a more comfortable load for your horse to carry, but also less risk of injury to the rider. As riders, we tend not to experience a huge range of movement in our joints while participating in our sport. This can lead to stiff and even locked joints. We can reverse this process by taking our joints through a good range of movement when we’re off the horse, especially the hips. The following exercise will help.

HIP STRETCHES

Lie on your back with a neutral spine, legs straight. Lift one leg up and with the help of a theraband, stretch the hamstring (the back of the leg). Try and keep your tailbone on the ground. Your leg may not be able to come up as high, but your back will remain in alignment and you will still get a good stretch.

Next, take the leg out to the side, only as far as you can keep good alignment of the body. Try not to lift the opposite side of your pelvis of the ground and keep both shoulders flat to the floor.

The third position involves crossing the leg over the body. This time you can let the pelvis roll over, but both shoulders must remain anchored on the ground.

Repeat with other leg.

SUPPLENESS


A good core is essential for good riding and I’ll never stop talking about it because it’s just that important. The core will stabilise the pelvis, which is the foundation for both your upper body and also your legs. It’s the alpha and mega of a good position.

CORE EXERCISE

This exercise will not only strengthen your core but will also help with spinal mobility and stability and control of the pelvis.

Start by sitting with your knees bent, back tall and in a neutral position (each vertebrae stacked one upon the other) and arms stretched out in front, shoulder width apart, chest wide. Gently draw in your lower abdominal muscles towards your spine with your pelvic floor gently lifting up.

Before you move, breathe in through the nose and drop your shoulders lower over your hips creating a C-curve in your spine.

Breathe out through your mouth as you slowly roll back, one vertebrae at a time until you reach the base of your shoulder blades.

Hold this position as you breathe in and move your arms up over your head, testing that you can keep the torso still by switching on your core.

Roll back up to a to a sitting position one vertebrae at a time. If this is too difficult for now, just roll up as far as you can without losing your technique before returning to the base of your shoulder blades and repeating the exercise.

• Keep abs scooped in toward your spine and away from thigh as your reach forward• Think about what the bones are doing even more than the muscles• Feel like shoulders are connected to your hips to keep them drawn down• Try and count each of the 33 vertebrae as you roll up and down

Core strength is the basis of good posture and correct body alignment. The quickest way to good posture in the saddle is mindfulness; be aware of where your body is and what it’s up to at all times. You can work on this off the horse in other ways as well. Be body aware as you walk around, poo pick, sweep and even brush your horse. Use alternate hands once in a while to help keep the body aligned and to limit one sidedness. When in the saddle, I always get riders to “body scan”. Mentally check in with your body, starting with the pelvis, going down the leg, up the torso and then with the shoulders. Are your seatbones in the deepest part of the saddle? Is your leg rotated inwards? Are your heels stretching back and down? Is your core on and your waist long? Is your chest wide and your shoulders relaxed with a soft, giving hand?

CORE STRENGTH AND BODY ALIGNMENT

• Executing movement too quickly• Using momentum instead of muscles to roll up• Lifting feet off ground and using as a leaver• Not keeping enough of a c-curve in the spine• Hitching shoulders• Rolling off seatbones as you stretch forward• Doming your stomach muscles

Visualisations: Watch Out For:


NAT BLUNDELL - Dare to DreamInterview by Chris Hector & Photos by Roz Neave

This is no ritzy training centre, no plaything of the mega-rich. Nat and her partner, Brad, own 80 acres divided into well fenced paddocks, and a shed. To water the horses, the four-wheel drive loads up at the dam, and then replenishes the water in each paddock. It wasn’t entirely surprising that Natalie was recently made ‘groomless’ when the girl who was doing the job, cracked it, complaining that the watering process was too much for her. So when we arrived, Nat was being helped tack up by her Thai student, Namchok ‘Mat’ Jantakad.

Recently, Nat and Brad purchased the 40 acres next door, and with that a cute farm cottage, so they can at least now live on the property. It is one of the most beautiful locations imaginable, it will be a truly gorgeous place… but like most things in Natalie Blundell’s life, it is going to take some serious hard work.

Nat likes the rugged appeal of her place: “We try hard to keep the feel of the property. My horses like living like this, outdoors, that’s why mine are a bit hairier than everyone else’s. Once our stables are finished, I’ll feel a bit more comfortable

clipping them up and stabling them on occasions, but it will still be out in the paddock most of the time. I’ve worked Algebra from the paddock for years, and he is happy and he is sound, and that’s the main thing. Once they are used to being out and having fun, they don’t tend to injure themselves.”

“Algebra never misses a beat, he is such a tough animal, a very sturdy little horse, and being out there free in the paddock, you’ve got the circulation going all the time, they never get swollen legs from standing around.”

Riders like Natalie Blundell make the world of eventing such a wonderful place to be. There is something distinctively Australian about Nat, like the smell of gum leaves, like the sound of a

magpie, like the harshly beautiful landscape of the country where she lives, just past Yass.


How did you end up with Algebra?

“I first saw Algebra with another rider on him, and I thought, he’s a nice little horse – he jumped a 1.40m in a bareback high jump competition. A few months later I was teaching at a Pony Club camp, and I was approached by Julia McLean, who owns Algebra, she told me that Lizzie Roberts who had been riding him, was going to uni. Could I train him up to sell? That won’t be a problem, I’ve seen the horse before.”

“I had him for about a month, and there had been a few calls from people who’d seen him advertised, a couple of kids had come and ridden him and he’d pretty much jumped them out of the saddle. One was okay on him, and they were umming and aahing, and may have even made an offer. But Julia’s husband, John Glenn said ‘I like the way Natalie rides him, can we do something?’ And that is pretty much how it started. She asked me if I wanted the horse to ride, and I thought, I really want him but at the same time he is tricky. He is very full of beans, and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to ‘nail’ the horse. He certainly had a lot of talent, but was I going to be able to do a dressage test on him?”

“He wasn’t going so well on the flat, but I felt that after a bit, I was going to be able

to at least do something with him. At the time I didn’t have a nice horse – I’d bred some nice ones but I needed money so I’d sold them. Algebra had done a couple of one-stars. I noticed looking at his papers that he had had a few runoffs – he wasn’t necessarily a dishonest horse, he just wasn’t very straight and he put his head up in front of the fences so he wasn’t all that easy to control… he still does that. When I took him to Sydney 3DE in the one star, I think we were second out of eight in the dressage and he was fantastic. We were going cross country and it was all good, and choof – he ran off a stupid little fence in the water jump! It has always been in him, the better he is going almost the more I’ve got to stop trusting him.”

The affection for the little grey shines through; Nat is laughing as she recalls:

“He is amazing though, after all these years, three-star is starting to feel like pre-novice, it doesn’t feel hard and he can canter round really nicely but that is when I’ve got to not trust that he’ll jump every single fence… I’ve been riding him for seven years now.”

Did you think you’d end up riding four-star with him?

“I guess that was the aim. I try to think

big. I thought London and the Games was the aim for this horse. It was pretty amazing that it actually almost happened. We were really happy to be on that campaign, and having everyone become involved and help me train, and with fundraising, so I could go off and concentrate on the horse. When he makes a mistake, it’s not through the want of trying from him, it is just that he gets really tense. The trick is trying to get him relaxed enough to do a dressage test. Then there is the showjumping. He wants to jump, but he gets tense even in the showjumping – so at our first four star we had a few rails. We’ve been slowly improving that every year since.”

The aim now is Caen and the WEG next year?

“Definitely. I want to go to the WEG. I think now that I didn’t make London, I am more ambitious still. I think I know more what I need to get, I think with this new selection system, it gives me a clearer idea of what I have to do to get there. I haven’t been to Europe and I really want to get there, and right now setting up a property, I don’t have the finances to go there willy nilly, I’d like to get there on the team, so I am going to spend these next twelve months working my butt off.”

Natalie & Algebra

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Horse magazine november 2013