Oliva Week 2

Not a bad second weekend at the Med Equestrian Tour.

Curly jumped his first big classes of the year. Clear and placed in both GP qualifiers Friday and Saturday - top form, he really jumped beautifully so couldnt be happier. No joy in the Grand Prix. We ran out of steam towards the end of the course, had the combination down. He's still getting jumping fit I suppose, but to be honest i just rode in too strong.... and that's all folks :-)

Merlin isn't quite himself just yet. A little tap here and there, and slightly over-excited at the whole surroundings - which i suppose is good at his age. Patience is a virtue and that's all he needs right now. He'll get there in his own time, no need to push him too early.

Maggie May is in top form. Its like sitting on dynamite. We're starting to figure each other out and gelling more and more.

All three have had a couple of days of work along the beach which they're loving. Will try not to bring them back into the exercise rings until Thursday - nice for them to chill out and look at the waves rather than the same ol' crowd :-). Wish i had some pictures to put up but that'll have to wait unfortunately.

Fingers crossed for this weekend.... keep you posted!

Hola Oliva!

Just finished our first weekend, or "seasonal debut", at the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour. Fabulous place i have to say, just wish there was a bit of grass around! Think the horses will be craving it within the next few weeks - irish n all.

The three horses are in top form. i kept them all in the smaller classes (1m35 and 1m40) to get back into shape and stretch themselves out, without putting too much pressure on them. clear or one down all three days. Maggie (aka Westwinds Cirracruise) actually managed to snag herself a minor placing in the accumulator saturday afternoon without breaking a sweat :-).

Back to business this weekend though. We've spent the last two days riding the horses along the beach. Great fun! The sea was a little rough today though so we (Pam and I) kept to dry land. Haven't really decided what the plan is for this weekend yet. Perhaps Curly in the big class Friday and maybe let Merlin pop around the small one again. I've another two days to decide... no panic around here thats for sure! Plus, no need to peak too early....

Top names here too - Billy Twomey, Bosty, Peter Charles, Geoff Billington etc etc. Great support for the organizers.

I'll write more in the weekend - thank God for WIFI - just thought i'd give you a quick update.

speak soon :-)

En Route to Valencia

We've had a busy few weeks trying to get the horses "up and running" after their winter break. Frosty weather conditions haven't helped... so we're a little behind the curve. Regardless, Merlin, Heracross and Westwinds Cirracruise are en route to the new tour in Oliva Nova (Spain) as i'm writing this. As a matter of fact, they should be arriving in the next couple of hours.

Three day drive has had its fair share of drama - from drastic temperatures (-15°C at times) to breaking down on the side of the road. Thank God for the very calm personas of Pamela O'Rourke and Julia Bunn!

Backtracking slightly: Westwinds Cirracruise (aka Maggie) is Francis Connors GP mare in ireland owned by Barry & Alice Kehoe. They have very kindly sent her away with me. She's a wonderful Cruising mare and this will be her first trip abroad (and my first time jumping her). We'll be taking it slowly as her last show was Cavan in November (where she won the GP actually, its on youtube), and we need time to figure each other out. That goes for the two boys too, the last two weeks did not work out as i had hoped so i'm not really planning on any bigger classes the first weekend, but i'll see what happens when i get to the show :-).

Oliva Nova is supposed to be a lovely tour (see website www.metsp.es) orginially 4 x CSI3, however i recently discovered it had been downgraded to CSI2 level as the young horse prize money is no longer accountable in the total prize fund of the show under FEI regulations. Very disappointing.

I'll be flying out very early tomorrow morning. Apparently there's wifi there so i'll be able to keep you up to speed!

Wish me luck....

Isabel Allende: Tales of Passion

Isabel Allende is a Chilean writer with american citizenship. I came across this video on ted.com - her "Tales of Passion". Wonderful orator, so really worth a listen! Quote:

"What is truer than truth? Answer: the story".

Quote of the Day

"In history, the man in the ruffled shirt and gold-laced waistcoat somehow levitates above the blood he has ordered to be spilled by dirty-handed underlings."

Francis Jennings

... One of the enduring principles of intellectual history.