Ashby Show 

Another show ticked off the ever-growing list, and it's definitely one we'll be returning to! Ashby Show didn't disappoint. It was a hot day, but thankfully there was a lovely breeze, making for a brilliant day all round.Kansas IIZ was entered in both the Foxhunter and the Accumulator, and we kicked the day off with the Foxhunter.We had such a lovely round, and he was jumping brilliantly. Unfortunately, coming round to the double on some testing ground, I made a little rider error. I just couldn't see the stride, so we had a stop – 100% my fault.As always, Kansas never held it against me. We found a better stride and he jumped it second time , and we finished what was overall a really pleasing round and finished 8th. One day it'll all come together and we will smash it! Then it was onto the Accumulator! Did we put the Lincolnshire show demons to bed? Did we attempt the 1.50 joker or play it safe?

You'll have to wait for the next post to find out…  

Lincolnshire Show Day 2 

Lincolnshire Show – Day 21.30m Open Speed ClassIt was an early start, with the class beginning at 8am, and we were drawn 14th to go.We had walked the course the night before and felt a lot happier about it, and provided Kenny hadn't scared himself in the accumulator, we were feeling much more confident! (Although that could have been the passionfruit martinis and Pimm's talking… )It was much quieter first thing in the morning, and Kenny seemed to be wondering where all his fans had gone.He warmed up well in a busy and slightly chaotic collecting ring, and before long it was our turn.We started confidently from the bottom corner and we were flying! I actually got the curving line from 4–5 right, which is normally where I'd make a mistake.Coming round the corner to fence 6, I saw the stride, told him we were on it but he did slide to a halt and slipped into the fence. I don't really understand why, because we were on a good stride. Maybe I wasn't quite positive enough, or perhaps I dropped him slightly because I'd seen that stride. Maybe he was distracted by something ringside—who knows? Either way, he came back round, popped it nicely, and kept going.We stormed around the rest of the course clear. I did have to growl at him a little down the last line, as the final fence contained the Lincolnshire Show filler that had been the joker fence the day before, and he was feeling a bit peepy about it. In the end, we finished with the stop and a few time faults. However, without that stop we would have been clear, as he didn't touch a thing all the way round.It was always a big ask for us. We've only done a limited number of 1.15m and 1.20m classes. The aim was simply to get through the finish. It was our first 1.30m together, Kenny's first-ever 1.30m, and the first time I'd jumped that height since 2017 when Smurf was there. To make it even more challenging, we went straight in without a warm-up round beforehand.To say I was thrilled with him is an understatement. The aim was always just to get through the finish. With it being a speed class and some seriously competitive professional riders in the class (it was hard not to get a little starstruck warming up alongside them!), we knew we weren't going to be in contention for the prizes… yet But we absolutely smashed our goal. We got round, didn't make fools of ourselves, and proved that we have a foot in the door we're knocking on.So while the result sheet won't show it, I'm incredibly proud of him. The stop aside, he jumped his heart out and proved that he belongs at this level.

Lincolnshire Show Day 1 

Lincolnshire Show – Day 1The Accumulator. Having watched the accumulator class at Bramham, I was really looking forward to having a go ourselves. However, at Lincolnshire I did start questioning my sanity — it was enormous! We confidently jumped fences 1–3 clear, then unfortunately had a pole at fence 4 as the heights started to increase. He jumped fence 5 beautifully, but we had rails at 6 and 7. At fence 8, a massive oxer, we just lacked a little confidence and had a stop. To his credit, he came back round and jumped it on the second attempt. He then jumped the upright at 9 brilliantly.After fence 9, I decided to have a crack at the 1.50m joker upright rather than take the 1.40/1.45m oxer. Unfortunately, this is where we had another stop, possibly due to a combination of inexperience, a lack of confidence, and a spooky white filler. Looking back, I probably should have retired after jumping fence 9 so well, but that's always an easy decision to make in hindsight and much harder in the heat of the moment when your one fence from completion. Despite that, I was absolutely thrilled with him. He tried his heart out all the way round. It was by far the biggest challenge I've ever tackled, and we simply don't have much experience at this level yet. We learned a huge amount, came away with plenty to work on, and most importantly he gave me everything he had and he was amazing in the electric atmosphere. It was amazing to have friends come and find me in the collecting ring, took videos and photos and clapped and cheered.  

Bramham Horse Trials

Lovely trip to Bramham Horse Trials for the showjumping today! Kansas IIZ jumped in the Foxhunter and put in a lovely round. He had one mistake at the first fence, as I think he was a little distracted by the atmosphere, and then I made an error in the jump-off which resulted in a stop and time faults.Although it doesn't look great on paper, I was absolutely thrilled with him. Aside from those little mistakes, he jumped a fantastic round, grew in confidence as we went, and we both learnt a lot from the experience. Our first time going in at Foxhunter without a warm up class. Another event ticked off the bucket list, and we rounded off an enjoyable afternoon with a bit of retail therapy around the trade stands! 

British Showjumping National Championships

 1.05m Championship 

Ailby Calypso delivered a standout performance, jumping one of just 12 double clears from 165 starters to finish 11th overall — and possibly the highest-placed stallion in the class! 

All the more impressive given he's been busy covering mares in the lead-up to the show — his attitude and temperament were second to none standing quietly in the holding areas awaiting his turn..

British Showjumping National Championships

Kansas II Z continued to prove his class, jumping a super double clear to finish 10th in the 1.00m/1.20m Handicap He followed it up with a brilliant round in the 1.05m Championship, where just a small rider error resulted in an unlucky 4 faults.

All this while actively covering mares in the build-up to the show — yet he remained focused, rideable, and professional in the ring throughout