Great Witchingham – Sunday 25 Mar 07
The Norfolk setting provided the perfect opportunity to take both Oscar and Cloudy Bay Boy on a joint outing. British Summer Time resulted with even less sleep than could have been possible, but spirits were still high.

Oscar started the day’s proceedings with his dressage test; he was entered into Section T of the Pre-Novice category (No 959). Richard had decided that a long warm-up was in order and he kept to his plan. Oscar was well behaved and looked in good form, with no obvious mistakes. Richard was pleased with him especially his free-walk, which felt much better than previous tests the judges also liked what they saw and scored the pair 34.5, putting them, initially, into joint 1st place.

Cloudy soon followed in Oscar’s footsteps (hoof prints?), although he was entered in to Section P of the Intro category. It was only Cloudy's 2nd ever dressage test and the improvement was obvious, even to the untrained eye. He quickly settled, but Richard wasn't getting a good feel and he thought that it was well below Cloudy’s potential. However, the judges weren't judging against Richard’s own high standards and they gave him an impressive score of 35.3, noting that he ‘..will have a lovely trot.’

Cloudy took the centre stage again as he proceeded to the SJ ring. Richard commented that he was a little tense and this was highlighted with a couple of errors and 2 jumps down. He went straight into the cross-country phase and the pair easily cleared all the obstacles and it was obvious that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The clear round meant that the pair completed in a very respectable 14th place.

It was now time for Oscar to perform and he started well in the SJ ring, unfortunately the Lincs Air Ambulance fence (No 6) got the better of him and he clipped the top pole with a rear leg. Overall though, Richard was very pleased with the performance and the improving standard of Oscars jumping.

Last up was the XC phase and the pair relished the 18 obstacle,1300m course. No problems at all and they cleared with ease; you would never guess that this is only their 2nd season of eventing. They ended the day in the top 10, finishing in a satisfying 8th position overall.

A great day out, with both horses improving from their previous efforts, giving the impression that they have more to offer and we are sure that they will. In fact if Cloudy & Oscar had gone clear at SJ (well within their capabilities) they would have both finished in joint 3rd place!  They return to Norfolk and the Burnham Market venue in less than 2 weeks time...