Team Rimmer’s July adventures and a behind-the-scenes peek at the meticulous competition prep, including a top-secret luxury shampoo tip
How is it August already?! I don’t know where the time has gone – when we’re in full swing dashing from event to event, the weeks just fly by.
In July, Team Rimmer has been to Aston-le-Walls, Upton House, and most recently Dauntsey Park Horse Trials. We’ve had some highs: Sir Henry Hall obtained his 3*L qualification at Aston and Jimmy finished in the prizes at Dauntsey. But we also had some lows – Elsa and I took an unlucky tumble at Dauntsey when we landed a bit too steeply from a hedge. Fortunately, we are both absolutely fine, so it’s onwards and upwards!
We were busy getting all the horses and kit clean and ready for Dauntsey when Courtenay paid us a visit for this month’s photos – he managed to grab a sneaky peak into what it takes to prepare five horses for a day’s competition!
A huge amount of mostly-invisible preparation work goes into each event, so I thought I’d put together a little ‘A-Z’ (yes, OK, it’s an A-F!):
A is for ‘Always clean the stud-holes before you get to the event!’ When competing on grass, we screw studs into our horses’ shoes to prevent them from slipping – essentially, we turn their ordinary shoes into football boots! They often get small stones and dirt in their stud-holes, so we make sure they are cleaned out the day before to avoid any last-minute stress.
B is for Braids – I’m cheating now, they’re actually called plaits. Our horses are plaited for all three phases, which requires sectioning the mane into chunks, plaiting it down, and rolling them up into little bobbles. We often do the plaits the day before, especially if we have an early start. Then to make sure they stay tidy overnight, lots of them wear Lycra ‘hoods’ which make them look a bit like Batman!
C is for Clothes – well, tack, but close enough (I know, I’m stretching it here!). If you think your wardrobe is extensive, you should see that of our horses … they have saddles, bridles, boots, numnahs (the saddle blanket that goes between the saddle and the horse’s back) and girths – all of which require cleaning and packing into the horsebox the day before.
D is for Dirt! The day before an event, all the horses have a scrub-down with my favourite luxury shampoo of choice: none other than a bottle of Fairy Platinum! I find this works particularly well on the grey horses, especially Max, who seems to enjoy finding the muddiest patch to roll in …
E is for Essentials. In all the chaos of packing their special competition tack, we also have to pack all the everyday items: plenty of hay and water and rugs to keep them warm if needed. Each horse also has their own passport, which shows all their vaccinations, required every time the horse travels. They even get passport stamps when visiting Internationals, just like us!
F is for Food. Last but definitely not least. Mum and I also need to make sure we have plenty of supplies for the day – mum has a soft spot for a chocolate brioche, whereas I will happily tuck into a sausage roll at five in the morning! Granny brings her legendary egg sandwiches (seriously, she’s known for them!) which keep us going until we get home, and owners often bring yummy picnics too.
It’s no small task getting everything ready to go – until now we’ve done a pretty good job of not forgetting anything major, but I’ve heard plenty of stories of people, saddles and even horses being left behind!
