On the first day of Chepstow we had Ayesha Vardag’s VIVENDI DE VARDAG (Viva) and my own and Brenda Watson’s CLASS SPEC (Specs) in the BYEH classes.
First up was Specs in the 4yo section. He was understandably green and a bit wobbly on the flat but still scored a respectable 20/30 in the dressage in what was a low scoring class. He then jumped a beautiful clear round picking up the highest jumping mark of all of 37/40 and 14/20 for quality and conformation. This left him in 2nd going into the final canter where he scored 7/10 and finished in 2nd place qualifying for the final at Burghley! We are absolutely delighted with this exciting young horse and especially for Brenda his owner who has been involved with him right from the start.
Viva scored 21/30 on the flat and also jumped a lovely double clear for 35/40. She scored a very impressive 17/20 for conformation and quality and made it into the top 10. Unfortunately she was quite flat and fed up of the heat by the time her gallop came around but she still finished in a very creditable 10th place in a big section. We have been so thrilled with how this lovely young horses is progressing we can’t wait to see what the future holds for her!
The following day we headed back to Chepstow with the gorgeous ESCAPE ROUTE in the BE100. He scored a very impressive 26 on the flat and just rolled a very unlucky pole in the SJ – we decided to save him for another day and not run him XC as the ground was very firm despite the events very best efforts. He will now head to Dauntsey for the 5yo class.