Photo credit Helen Tagg. Jester is in there but you do have to look a bit harder than normal!

You have to hand it to Muskateer event management. Not only do they somehow get away with charging £100 for on site stabling ( even if it is for one night!!!) they also have managed to never refund stabling either, even if you withdraw a couple of weeks out. So when Sammi decided after Belton that Hunter Valley ( Gizmo) was so great he didn't need to run at Burnham CIC 3 star next up and withdrew we sold her stable to late entry competitor Marcio Jorge. Nothing wrong with that you may think... until the secretary of Burnham told me in no uncertain terms that we had no right to do that as they had already reallocated it to another competitor! Anyway, that was Burnham 0 / Sammi 1.

Then Sammi got her times from Burnham. The Kincooley Ceili (William) started at 8.18 on Friday and was all done by 10.07. The Court Jester ( It really was "The" weekend for oddly named horses!) did a test on Thursday and then did nothing until 3 and 4 pm on Saturday!. Burnham 1 / Sammi 0.

On the plus side William was simply brilliant in his debut intermediate run. Quite what possessed Sammi to decide upon Burnham Market International for his first start at this level is a mystery as she usually tends to err on the side of caution in these matters and wait like everyone else for the far softer Aston Le Walls after Badminton! Anyway, it turned out to be a great day with a 33 and a spectacular double clear around a really technically demanding track.

Jester posted a 45 in the CIC three star before his long wait and it was well worth it! After being very disappointing at Belton he stepped up this weekend with a rail and a couple of time showjumping and a seriously smart cross country clear round a big track that caused plenty of problems and with just 10 time to add. That's a great result and I am so glad for Sammi that such a long trip was made worthwhile! One presumes he is in danger of a sugar high with the amount of polos that Hels will feed him....

And in other news... a slightly heartbroken Sammi has sold Nimrod. Nimrod has been beautifully produced by Sammi (no surprise there) and is in the enviable position of having been sold to one of the nicest and most talented riders in the UK. We wish Francis Whittington the very best of luck for the future.

This has also secured the (short term!) future of Hunter Valley (Gizmo). No doubt Giz will view this news with his usual thuggish and ungrateful attitude whilst quietly mopping his brow when no one is watching!