Le Lion d'angers... the World Championships for 6 and 7 year olds....is always a destination event for the best young horses in Europe and further afield with entries from the USA now also on the list. Sammi was destined to be going in the spring, then destined not to be going in the summer when that ride proved just a little on the green side, and then suddenly it was all routes lead to the Loire Valley again when Jonelle Price gifted her Faerie Magnifico ( George) and Sammi took up catch riding again.

It's been a pretty good match so far... top 10 and the pressure of qualifying as a combination at Gatcombe CI2*S followed by back to back wins at Moreton and Dauntsey with leads from start to finish in both sections.

George is also known as HappyGeorge as he is a proper grump on the ground but so far he is being treated like a King by Hels and Sammi as they are so delighted to have a horse at a three day that doesn't have any issues! After the high drama ( and high workload) of stable stars Direct Tullyoran Cruise ( Tully) and Finduss PFB (Louis) at Blenheim and Boekelo Sammi found herself kicking her heels yesterday as she said she had ridden George just the once and it felt pretty odd that he didn't need any more work!

They sailed through the rain soaked jog on Wednesday afternoon and both looked stunning despite the weather. It is forecast to rain all week but at least its not so cold.... sunny days mean frosty nights at Le Lion although that would be preferable to a week of mud!

Sammi and George strut their stuff as 6th in on Friday at 9.35 CET. There is a livestream at www.mondialdulion.com