Non Runner at Houghton Hall International

What a disappointing weekend; SVS Dassett Enterprise was due to run in his first long format International event, the CCI-L2* at Houghton Hall. However, after much deliberation the decision was made not to run cross country as the ground was not good enough.

The week started well as the sun and heat (which I adore!) shone down on us all week, but sadly this dried the already solid ground out even further. SVS Dassett Enterprise himself managed to disappoint us in the dressage as he took exception to some signs attached to the inside of the dressage boards and the mistakes flowed each time we passed these signs. Some smart work in other parts of the arena left us on a 35, but we were a long way behind the leaders. A non-competitive mark combined with uneven, hard ground lead us to conclude not running was in SVS Dassett Enterprises best interests. Such a sad decision given the time, money and effort it takes to get to any event, let alone a three day.

So to cheer us up, we competed in some of the BS classes in stead, and with great success I’m glad to report! Drombane Dassett and HHS Dassett Class were also having a week away with us to get some off campus training, and they also really benefited from the experience. Between all three horses, they jumped 6 Foxhunter rounds and five of these rounds were double clear! SVS Dassett Enterprise’s round is attached to this blog.

Another cheering up factor was Ella; she came along for the week and was on top form, giving us plenty of laughs! With the lack of eventing action, most of the Houghton photos attached to this blog are of Ella!