Scotts of Thrapston has continuously supported local amateur event riders and is delighted to be running the programme with Carlton for a third year.  If you wish to find out more and apply for the 2012 Scotts Rider Development Programme, please visit the Scotts website.

If you have ambitions to event at top level but your career needs a kick-start, then look no further!

Scotts of Thrapston, in partnership with Carlton Horse Trials, will give two lucky riders an exclusive place on their Rider Development Programme next year, offering extensive training and even the chance to train with the Brazilian 2012 Eventing team.

Scotts of Thrapston has continuously supported local amateur event riders and is delighted to be running the programme with Carlton for a third year.

The programme opens doors to riders who are keen to better themselves and their horses, and provides high quality training enabling them to enjoy the sport safely.  From March 2012, the chosen two riders will work towards competing in their first affiliated event at Carlton Horse Trials in July.

The programme will educate the riders on all aspects of competition, training alongside the Brazilian 2012 Eventing team, with BE Accredited Trainers Nick Turner and Ann Bostock. This will include dressage, show jumping and cross country training at Carlton Cross Country Course, as well as working on their focus and mental strength with a sports psychology workshop, held by Charlie Unwin.

For more information and to apply, please visit: www.scottsofthrapston.co.uk/carlton

Or alternatively, contact Sara Tusting at Carlton Cross Country tel: 01234 720320

Closing date: 24th February 2012

All applications will be reviewed by the coaching staff at Carlton. Two lucky riders will be chosen to form the Scotts’ squad and will need to be available for the specific training dates detailed within the programme details on the Scotts and Carlton websites.

We look forward to receiving your applications and wish you all the best in entering this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Carlton Horse Trials had arrived and I was looking forward to making a weekend of it. The sun was shining and the beautiful grounds packed with eager competitors. Although I was disappointed to be on foot and not competing it was actually quite nice and relaxing not to be feeling nervous!

I took the opportunity to relax and watch how the event was run, the Tusting family had obviously put hours of work and effort into the ground and I was so surprised at how smoothly the event ran.

I walked the BE90 XC Course and it was pleasantly inviting and flowed beautifully. Many of the fences we had trained over with Nick.

The SJ course also looked very inviting, the course again seem to flow and the fences of a nice height. It was lovely to watch lots of SJ rounds from a range of classes throughout the day and to also get some tips from watching a few dressage tests.

Alex was competing on the Saturday and it was nice to be able to watch and support Alex and Nix, they both did really well and I was over the moon for them when I heard they had been placed 10th in only their second affiliated event. What an achievement!

Janet and Henry last year’s rider development programme winners were competing on the Sunday and again it was lovely to watch them in action in all three phases, again both achieving amazing results!

I am feeling confident that it won’t be too long before Bugsy and I are back out competing in the affiliated world of eventing. We have taken things slowly and last week enjoyed our first canter across the stubble fields. Bugsy was a little keen to say the least but behaved perfectly I think it’s fair to say we have both missed the excitement of letting our hair down and going for a well deserved canter across the fields! Things are definitely looking up and I plan to start jumping on a surface at the beginning of September.

I had hoped we would be able to compete in one more affiliated event before the end of the season but being realistic I think it best not to rush things and spend the next few months getting back to where we were in preparation for next year’s eventing season. I hope to do a full season with the aim to move up at the end of the season and compete in our first BE100 class – fingers crossed next year will be our year!

Sarah Orr

Hard work, good performance and a bit of luck!

These three work hand in hand to secure a good result; I had all three on Sunday 31st July to steal BE100 section J, at Carlton Horse Trials, which was my first win on the circuit.

A big thank you to everyone who has put time, money and support into me and my horses.  Also, to everyone at Carlton Horse Trials ~ Sara & Nick Tusting and not forgetting the many family members. A thank you to Julia Berrie for great support, smiley face and continued interest from Scotts of Thrapston.

A fantastically FUN event Carlton was, yet again, and I have next year in my diary already!

The day started well when the sun came out and lit up Carlton, shining over the fabulous course. I was on in the morning for dressage and when I got on, Bobby felt really relaxed and started with his mind in the right place. Bobby warmed up really well; moving with a forward but consistent rhythm.  I went on into the arena to perform an accurate and relaxed test. I would have liked a slightly more energetic test, however judging by the mark of 32 putting me into 3^rd place I was extremely happy and it was a huge improvement.

Next was Show Jumping just after eleven.  I have been working on my Show Jumping in particular as I wasn’t happy with some poles I had down earlier in the year. I warmed up getting Bobby forward and bouncy, jumped a few fences to get his co-ordination together and went in with a positive attitude. It all slotted into place and he jumped a faultless round feeling great!

I went into second place but at this point had no idea whether I had a competitive score. I swapped tack and headed off to go cross country. I left the starting box in a forward gallop which set me up well for the course. It was a course with a question at every fence so there was no room for hesitant riding you had to be ready to kick every stride into and away from the question! I rode the course at a fast rhythm but made sure I was pacing Bobby conserving energy to cover the course.  I finished with a great clear and 1.6 time penalties to slightly reduce the lead I had now gained moving me into 1^st place!

A double clear with time to spare is always the most stylish win: so it was an amazing feeling when it had happened to me! It is such a rewarding result, making it worth the extra hard work put in.

The exciting news doesn’t end here as I have the U18 Area Finals on 27^th August where I shall be in it to win it! And two slick clear rounds from Vinnie today!

You can follow the progress of Bobby and Vinnie by joining their Facebook pages under:

Rosinic William Wallace – (Bobby) Here you will be able to find his up to date competition results and how he is doing in the run up to his next Horse Trials.

Varachi – (Vinnie) There will be some exciting news coming up I expect as Vinnie launches further and further into his career.  He had two double clears (6^th Aug) and he will be a horse ready to win next year for sure!

The Future is clearly bright!

Henry Beasley

After a calm warm up for my dressage we headed to the arena with an ever-growing group of loyal supporters! Nix was lovely and calm and we achieved our best score to date of 34.5 so it was smiles all round. After a long break Nix was all tacked up and ready for the showjumping, we had a fairly smooth round with only the one silly mistake leaving me 4 faults to add.

After an educational course walk on Friday with Nick Turner I felt confident and calm about the course ahead. With only a short break before my time, all my nerves had vanished and I could not wait to get out on the course. As I slipped on the Scotts colours, I suddenly felt very emotional looking back on how far Nix and I have come in the space of under a year, all thanks to Scotts and Carlton. As I was counted out of the start box I realised there was no place I would rather be. With a cheery “Good Luck” from Julia we were off! Nix flew round clear and well within the time! All the training with Nick Turner had made a huge difference, we were both flowing, confident and we loved every second of it!

The biggest surprise of the day was my mum running across the field beaming and shouting you came 10th! To be presented our first BE rosette by Julia Berrie at Carlton meant so much to me, with all the photos being taken and holding my rosette I became hugely emotional and was holding back the tears. I am so grateful of the support from all those who came and completed my day for me, it could not have ended any better.

On Sunday I returned to Carlton to help behind the scenes as a score collector. This was something new to me and was really enjoyable and informative, to see another side of British Eventing and I hope to get more involved on this side and hope to train to be a fence judge. It was also great to see Janet and Henry, winners of last years Rider Development Programme compete.

I can only begin to express my gratitude to all those who have made this an incredible journey that I most certainly will never forget! This opportunity has done so much for me and Nix, we have improved beyond belief and are now addicted to affiliated eventing!

Along the way I have met some truly lovely and inspiring people. Thank you to Julia Berrie and Scotts of Thrapston who have given me this great opportunity and supported us every step of the way and to Sara and Nick Tusting for their positive support and their beautiful course. I hope to see everyone shortly and intend to be a regular visitor at Carlton.

Carlton Horse Trials, we will see you next year!

Alex Elliott

It is a year now since I did my first BE at Carlton, on the Scotts and Carlton development programme.

The program in 2010 helped me massively, especially in terms of networking; I met a lot of people who were to be immensely influential long after.

This year I have set my goals higher and will be looking to compete both Bobby and Vinnie at Carlton Horse Trials. With the ambition of completing a Novice by the end of the season.

So far I have moved from BE90 up to BE100 with Bobby after promisingly strong performances earlier in the year. I ran a BE100 U18 section at Solihull qualifying for the area finals at Highclere.

In between times Sara Tusting had contacted me with news of a possible job at Nick Turner’s yard. So, I was quick to get in touch and 3 days after leaving college I moved to Nick’s yard with the horses.

So far it’s been an amazing experience and it seems to be getting better and better, this is just what I needed to help kick start my career!

I have also done lots with Vinnie since moving.  Having been to his first show jumping competition, where he was a superstar behaving very well, we decided to enter the BYEH 4 yr old class at Carlton. A perfect set up for this was a dressage test last Saturday where he scored a very consistent test (BE test 101) achieving a mark of 40.0 for his first ever test.

This year at Carlton I will be competing in the 100 class on Sunday which will set me up well for the BE100 U18 Finals later in the year.

I am looking forward to being back at Carlton, I would say: “even a bad day is a good day at Carlton”, as there is such a fantastic atmosphere and welcoming environment to support you.

After a cross country schooling lesson with Nick on Sunday I feel all preparations have gone well for a competitive performance this Sunday. And also Vinnie is on top form for the BYEH class so hopefully a good weekend coming up!

Once again a huge thank you to Sara Tusting and Julia Berrie for their continued support, and to all others working for the team of Scotts and Carlton!

Henry Beasley

Photo’s courtesy of Anastasia Beskhmelnitskaya

After some fantastic lessons with Nick at Carlton in the build up to the Horse Trials I’d planned to keep Nix training and competing as much as possible to give us our best chance. On the weekend of my last training session I entered an unaffiliated event but with the ground being so hard, and with Nix losing a shoe in my last lesson leaving him a bit foot sore, I had my reservations about taking part. Although the day didn’t go exactly as I had planned, I achieved my best dressage score yet, of 35.5, and we finished 9th on an off day!

 After a day’s rest I took Nix out for a gentle hack but something didn’t feel right. With no visible lameness when trotted up no one could see what I was talking about but after riding Nix for over 5 years I had a gut feeling.

I thought best to take him to my lesson the following day, at least then my instructor could see Nix working. She saw straight away what I was talking about and suggested a few days off for him. Although trying to stay positive I knew my face showed all my disappointment.

After a few days rest Nix was due to be shod, so we got my Farrier, Stephen Hill, to check how he was doing and he was given the all clear. The positive news was that I was able to bring Nix back into work but needed to be extra careful with respect to the ground I was working on.

Further rest was in order for Nix followed by some gentle exercise over the next few days. With only three weeks until Carlton we were worried if he was going to be fit enough for the Horse Trials.

Two weeks on and less than a week to go now until the big weekend and for once in what seems like a long while things are running smoothly. We were treated to some heavy rain that allowed Nix to start a little canter work, which did him the world of good.

With some regular dressage lessons I feel my test is coming along reasonably well. My show jumping is a little up and down at times but fingers crossed it will all be okay on the day. Nix will not be at his fittest for the Horse Trials but the young spirited horse he is always takes over. And, knowing the exceptional care of the ground at Carlton I am confident that the conditions will be perfect for us.

So, with the ‘to clean’ pile increasing and excitement (plus a few nerves) constantly growing I say watch this space, I am sitting on a rocket and his fuse has been lit again!!

Alex Elliott

Since our last XC Session, Bugsy has been rested and assessed by the vet.  Thankfully I have been given the ok to bring him back into work. Starting with walk, then gradually introducing trot, followed by canter. If things go to plan we could be jumping within the month.  However, competing at Carlton Horse Trials at the end of July is, sadly, no longer an option.

My aim is to compete in one last affiliated event in September and to hopefully leave this season on a good note, with the hope to go on and do a full season next year and put all the fantastic training I have had into practice.

After months of training it’s such a shame to be missing Carlton on the 30th-31st July but I shall definitely be attending on foot to cheer Alex, Janet & Henry on!

Sarah Orr

Nick Turner XC clinic week one

Thursday 16th June marked the beginning of three consecutive week sessions with Nick. After the noticeable changes from the first two lessons I was keen to see my improvements over the three weeks.

I went into my first lesson slightly apprehensive; my group began at 8 each evening so the sun was just beginning to set and I was worried the shadows would cause Nix to be really spooky. When warming up Nix began to get more and more excited and was bouncing all over the place. We started with some fences we had previously practised to get the horses confident and moving. Nick was concentrating on keeping me looking up and about 2 strides into the fences releasing my contact a bit to allow Nix to stride over the fence comfortably without chipping in a short stride. ‘Putty hands’ as Nick called it. I felt I was really trying to make an effort, however the more I jumped, the more excited Nix became. I never quite know what he is going to do when in this type of mood, so the nervous part of me held him tight, whilst all the time this encouraged him to fight with me more. A battle that he will always win!

Towards the end of my lesson, when we stringed some fences together, I was heading to a roll-top far too fast. My nervousness took over and I held him all the way. This caused Nix to put a short stride in and only be able to make it half way over! As Nix fell on his side I hit the fence with some force, and emerged to see him trotting away. Despite some cuts and bruises for both of us (and the regret for not having my air jacket on) I was back on and more determined than before. After successfully clearing the fence Nick had me jump a fence holding the end of the buckle to find a way to ride with long reins: ‘Mary King style.’ Nix has never gone so confidently and smoothly into a fence! With me not holding on to him he had the freedom to jump. I wanted to stay firmly in the saddle, so my head was up and shoulders were back so Nick was convinced the fall did me a world of good! I left sore but with some serious homework!!

Week two

Air jacket on!! That was my first thought for the day! I then shoved the thought of my fall to the back of my head and was determined for a smooth lesson. There was just 2 of us in my lesson this week so we were less ‘stop-start’, which kept Nix a lot calmer. After a warm-up we headed over to the far field at Carlton, which was fantastic. I had previously mentioned to Nick I had never jumped a hedge; he was convinced he knew the perfect one for me to try. When we crossed into the far field Nick pointed to a course we were to do far in the distance with a hedge in the middle. As I had complete trust in Nick I set off, but the closer I got to the hedge the bigger and bigger it got! Nix leapt it and I squeaked! We continued jumping bigger and more challenging fences then finally headed to a Trakehner at the back of the course. Attempting to look, Nick soon shooed us away saying: “don’t get to close or you will think it’s bigger than it is.” We headed back and did a course of the bigger fences including the Trakehner. As we galloped towards the Trakehner a huge ditch emerged from beneath the log and I looked straight into it, Nix did too but then gave a massive leap and cleared it. We then continued on to finish the course the best we ever have! Only after the lesson did Nick mention we were jumping Pre novice fences. This was by far our best lesson!

Week three

In my final lesson we aimed to improve what we had already been working on. When we moved into the water Nix leapt down the step on the first attempt but then seemed to peck slightly on landing causing a messy exit up the steps. On the second attempt Nix wanted nothing to do with it! He was kicking and backing up frantically but after a persistent fight we managed to get him in again. This left me a little puzzled as to what was wrong, but we moved on nonetheless. With all horses being at different levels we were all doing different things, this allowed Nick to let me jump almost a whole course and put what I had learnt to practise. The course he set me included the Trakehner I had jumped in the previous lesson, so I set off determined but with slightly jelly legs. Nix jumped everything I asked and flew the Trakehner without any questioning. I finished my lesson on a high and felt my riding was really improving!

In the run up to Carlton I hope to keep Nix as busy as possible with events and training, including some unaffiliated ODE’s to keep us in practise. Nix’s diet is also underway much to his disgust! So, fingers crossed for Carlton. Hopefully all our training will pay off!

Nick Turner XC Session Week One at Carlton

I was excited to be back at Carlton and in the capable hands of Nick. Nicks calm approach always fills me with such confidence that anything seems possible with him on the ground.

Again, we kept it simple to start off with introducing the steps, ditches, water complex and then built it up into a course of fences. Bugsy was very chilled, jumped everything beautifully and responded positively to everything asked of him, probably our best lesson to date.

Nick Turner XC Session Week Two at Carlton

We started by stringing a few fences together which helped us establish a rhythm. We introduced a few different fences this week including a rail and ditch (which is normally in the BE90) a triple bar spread and a palisade through the hedge line.

We had a slight issue at the rail element of the rail and ditch. Nicks advice was to become more aggressive (which he admittedly says he doesn’t say a lot!) I was advised to continue to keep still and tall, to balance of the corner and rather than squeeze and ‘hug’ Bugsy with my leg I was to wait and two strides before the fence ‘pony club kick’ to get more of a reaction. Bugsy responded well and we rode the rail and ditch more positively. We concentrated on the two steps into and out of the water, which is where we had the issues in the first ever training session. Thankfully, the steps were no longer an issue and Bugsy trusted what was being asked of him. I was over the moon at the progress and we left it there.

Nick Turner SJ Session at Waresley Park

This time our lesson was indoors. We had already been for a warm up in the outdoor arena and around the gallops so was ready to start jumping straight way and make the most of our half hour session. We concentrated on my position whilst making sure Bugsy was in front of my leg. We started off with a smallish jump and built it up into a spread. Again putting into practice what we had concentrated on in the XC session two days before. Making sure we had the engine in the canter, balancing off the corner, sitting tall, looking ahead and keeping still until the last two strides and kicking rather than squeezing. We then strung a few fences together including a gate which Bugsy didn’t even look at. I was pleased with how things had gone and was feeling confident for our first BE Event.

Our first affiliated event at MKEC BE90

My times were early and quite close together so I decided to get as much preparation done the evening before. I walked the course the afternoon before and was feeling confident about the fences. I also got my hat tagged and purchased a bib so there was less to do on the morning of the competition.

I plaited Bugsy the night before and we set off at 7am the next morning to MKEC. I walked the SJ course and although quite a few full up spreads felt confident after the clear we had jumped a few weeks previous at MKEC. After a warm up we entered the dressage arena, Bugsy was working well and I was pleased with how smoothly the test went. We received 60% not our best score to date but I was pleased with how relaxed he was. I plan to have a few flat lessons in preparation for the BE event in July at Carlton which will hopefully help me improve and I have set myself a target of hopefully improving and receiving a score of around 65% – this is the only area I have hadn’t any training in and I’m confident I can improve with some hard work!

A quick tack change and we headed off to warm up for the SJ. Bugsy was nice and calm however seemed slightly off in the warm up arena. Upon landing he was switching canter leads and I was slightly concerned that he might be feeling the ground. We entered the SJ ring and he popped the first few with no effort at all, the fourth fence on the course was a full up spread. He got under it and we had a refusal, I represented the fence to him he backed off slightly and then leapt it. We continued around the course but unfortunately had another stop at the next spread. Again he cleared it second time round but I could feel he wasn’t really enjoying the round. With a dressage score of 60% and 16 penalties in the SJ with time faults it was clear we were out of the running, I was in two minds whether to continue onto the XC course or whether to call it a day. XC is normally our strongest phase and he seems to enjoy the freedom so I decided to do a quick tack and clothe change and head for the warm up area and see how he felt. He cantered around well and seemed to pop the warm up fence well.

We set off on the xc course, the first fence was welcoming and a standard log but Bugsy refused at the last moment which was so unlike him. He popped it second time but he generally didn’t seem as enthusiastic about jumping or the open space as usual, we carried on down the hill over a selection of fences, through the devils dyke, up the big hill and over the log at the top, next was the hedge which we had had problems with previously. I rode it exactly how we’d practiced with Nick and he jumped it well. Next was a skinny roll top before the water, Bugsy didn’t seem to have much enthusiasm bearing in mind he’s normally quite a keen/bold horse, he jumped it but rubbed the top with both front legs again unlike him as he’s normally so careful, he went through the water very well. The next fence was a flower bed combination the first part welcoming and the second up to height. I knew I had to push upon landing as Bugsy has quite a short canter and I wanted to get a good stride to the second part. This really wasn’t our day and after two attempts at the second part it was time to call it day. Bugsy really wasn’t himself and it seemed obvious to me there was something underlying which had contributed to the refusals we had experienced both in the SJ & XC phases.

I got him home and gave him another thorough check over, no heat, swelling or visible lameness. So after a good hose down he went out to graze. I was worried it might be the amount of training we had done over the last few weeks so decided to give him the Monday off and decided I would re-asses him on the day of our third and final XC session with Nick.

Nick Turner XC Session Week Three at Carlton

There was no evidence that Bugsy was in any discomfort so we headed off to Carlton for the last lesson of the June XC Series.

I explained my concerns to Nick re Sunday’s performance and he watched us on the flat on both reins to see if there was anything visible to the eye. The grass was quite slippy but still quite firm underneath. All seemed ok so we started off by stringing about 8 smallish fences together to get us thinking forward. Bugsy flew round and I was starting to feel more positive. We then moved into the back field for the first time and worked over some new slightly bigger fences with a long canter up the hill in between the fences. We had refusals at both the rails and the chair. His breathing became quite fast, he seemed anxious and was sweating far more than normal. I expressed my concerns to Nick and he asked me trot away and towards him so he could have another look. He couldn’t see any visible lameness however he did say he seemed slightly guarded. Whether Bugsy was wary because it was slippy or he was just feeling the ground I don’t know. Like Sunday he didn’t seem his eager self and it was like he began to question he’s ability or maybe even associated it with slight pain. I warmed down until he was relaxed and took him back to the trailer. There was still no visible lameness however I decided a week’s rest and a routine examination from the vet would be the sensible route to take.

Hopefully everything will settle down and fingers crossed we will be back up and running ready for the BE event at Carlton at the end of July.

Sarah Orr