The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears

Gatcombe Horse Trials 2013

The Festival of British Eventing is a unique event. A one day event is where each competitor has to complete all 3 of the phases, Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country on one day.

Weather for the day promised to be a mixed bag so we were dressed for "all weather"...

After the sun came the rain and so we decided to declare an early lunch. Foie Gras and a Gatcombe Cheeseburger accompanied by some local ale and we were off!

Lunch!

It didn't take long for these two to get drunk...

"And this is what she said to me..."

With full bellies we walked the course and our first stop was the watering hole. A spectacular section of the cross country course that saw the competitors tackle a very difficult water hazard. We witnessed some thrills and spills and enjoyed a lovely 99 flake before moving on...

These boats are such a nuisance! 

The weather picked up and so did the competition. We were racing towards a climax. Just another furlong and we would know who would whinny. In the end, it was Jonathan Paget on Clifton Lush at a canter and neigh WFP, although Fox-Pitt did win the Smith and Williamson British Intermediate Championship (a highly coveted competition) riding Fernhill Pimms....

Shit! It's William Fox-Pitt!

Speaking of Pimms, we had quite a lot of it. Go Foxy!

 The last show of the day was that of the English Foxhounds. And what a show it was! Even though it would take 3 weeks to get the stench of dog shit off my clothes it was a lot of fun to run with the hounds!

Life is like a Wild Horse. You ride It or It rides You!