Classic Dressage Collection
go on the 'Sunshine Tour' in Spain!

March 2005

During March 2005, Classic Dressage Collection is trading from Montenmedio Country Club, 30 miles south of Cadiz and 70 miles north of Gibraltar.  The 'Sunshine Tour' takes place over 3 consecutive long weekends in March and competitions range from young horse classes right up to Grand Prix.

You must now meet Pippa, who writes this diary and spends the three weeks with me watching, helping,  fitting bridles and breeches.  To have her moral support is fantastic, and to exploit her knowledge of the business is even better!

Sunshine Tour 2005

The last year seems to have flashed past since the Sunshine Tour 2004. Carl Hester and Escapardo have gone onto even greater things since their win here, and the Spanish had a terrific Olympics after sparkling in the Montenmedio Spring sunshine at the start of the season. Classic Dressage Collection has also undergone a few changes principally with the merger with Turf and Travel, which has meant extending our range to include such lines as RTS Bentex breeches and the Wels lunging cavesson. It also means that we will be attending more shows and events during the coming season, so please come and see us if you can at Badminton, Chatsworth, Hickstead, Frys Dressage, Bramham, Blenheim, Dressage Nationals and finally Your Horse at Stoneleigh.

For those of you new to this diary it is a light hearted record of our three weeks in the sun with the shop, watching the dressage, and a tiny bit of show jumping, and of course our adventures sightseeing, eating and drinking all the delicious things that Andulacia has to offer.

Wednesday 2^nd March

 I get up at 5.00am, and text Julia to remind her that we are off today and to pack her passport, as does Rebecca who has kindly agreed to drive us to the airport. Julia is one of lifes ultra dynamic people and has recently developed an uncharacteristic habit of missing flights (a near miss and 4 actual misses) hence our two pronged wake up calls. I have also built in a healthy margin of contingency time to get us to the airport to allow for both what is now known as the Julia factor, and bad weather. The UK is caught in the grip of a fortnight long spell of freezing and snowy conditions and we are looking forward to relaxing in the sunshine. When we made this trip last year we left in the frost and five hours later were lunching on freshly grilled Sardines at a beachside restaurant in t-shirts. Our expectations are running high.

 Our first inclination that today would not quite go to plan was a brief message from the pilot to warn us of cross winds at Gibraltar and the prospect of a bumpy landing or a diversion. We made the landing; cross winds at Gibraltar are not that unusual, and at 12 degrees with sun breaking through the clouds we are hopeful for good weather.

 As we drove south we noticed that the countryside looked bleak, blasted and grey, not bathed in the lush greenness of the well established spring we expected. A trip to a supermarket to stock up on provisions cheered us up though. Foodies will recognise the excitement of shopping for food in a foreign country; the freshness of the local produce, and the Russian roulette of buying unfamiliar ingredients. Neither of us mentioned the sign of slight frost damage on the lettuces and wild asparagus.

We arrived at Montenmedio in weak sunshine, driving past some lemon and orange trees badly scorched by frost. It had obviously rained hard over the last few days, a relief for an area that had been suffering from a winter drought, but selfishly we would rather not have had to splash through puddles.

This year we are staying at El Sueno in one of Tania and Shawn McCraes wonderful casitas five minutes walk from our shop at the Kurupay restaurant between the two main dressage arenas. Our casita has the rustic charm of the area but with a twenty first century chic and all the comforts that a home to holiday home needs, including a log burning stove; more of this later.     

 After settling in we walked up to Pista 2, arena 2 to the non Spanish speakers (Julia and I are determined to do better with the language than last year and are armed with language tapes and a dictionary) to watch an exercise session with mainly Spanish horses/riders. The high stepping, mane flying, southern European flamboyance was wonderful to see, as were familiar faces and the welcome from the dressage office run by Theresa, ably assisted by Elena.

Thursday 3^rd March

 We managed to get our Casita cosy overnight with the great wood burning stove. The smell of burning olive logs is delicious and it was worth a cold spell to experience, almost!

 Sadly it’s been raining all day, but we’ve managed to watch a few Spanish and Portuguese 5 and 6 year olds compete in the young horse classes whilst waiting for our shop boxes to arrive. It was interesting to spot some 6 year olds that we had seen competing in the 5 year old classes last year and see how they had matured and progressed. The warm up exercises for these young horses seem to include a fair bit of piaffe to passage to extended trot. Mytens and Starlight, our horses at home aged 8 and 9 respectively, obviously need to step up a bit with their training! 

As the weather has been so miserable and we have not wanted to go too far away in case our stock turns up we have been rather lazy, spending the late afternoon and evening curled up on the sofa in front of a blazing log fire reading, watching videos and eating delicious local ham, tomatoes, bread and olive oil, and drinking a little wine too. Julia also been testing me on unit one of the Spanish language tape to the sound of heavy rain on the roof.       

Friday 4^th March

 We woke to the depressing sound of very heavy rain, but felt less disappointed after hearing that Russell (Julia’s husband) and Sally (regular visitors to our shop will know her) are stuck on the runway at Luton airport in a blizzard.

 Two hours later, after a quick recap with the English: Spanish dictionary to try and boost our pathetic vocabulary things had started to move; our shop stock boxes finally arrived and Sally and Russell had at last taken off for Gibraltar and the “sunshine tour”.

 The wet conditions at Montenmedio meant that the first half of the Grand Prix was postponed and filled with Kurupay restaurant and bar with damp riders, trainers and spectators. The dogs that normally have the run of the showground are left outside and some rather disgraceful behaviour ensues. Those who read our diary last year will remember that we described the Sunshine Tour as a Club18-30 holiday for dogs. I will say little more other than the bad canine behaviour did not involve alcohol!

 We picked up our visitors from the airport at lunchtime and whisked them back to Montenmedio and gradually improving weather. After a quick meal of the delicious local bread, ham (Iberico) and cheese (Manchego) we all set to unpacking boxes and trying to make our tiny shop space as appealing as possible, stopping every few minutes to catch up with friends that we made last year. After a few hours it was back to our Casita for supper with Jill Timms, a Classic Dressage customer, and her mother. I think that I mentioned previously that the Casita had a rustic charm and 21 centaury amenities. Due to a power cut, the balance shifted more to the rustic as we spent the evening around the fire lit by candle light. Fortunately a gas hob ensured that Julia was able to produce her delicious signature dish of wild mushroom risotto.

Saturday 5^th March      

Sunshine at last! We wake to a cool but beautiful morning, and quickly get to work trying to make the shop look like a chic boutique.  Julia and I have to re arrange the stock quite a few times before it starts to look right. Our creative flow is not helped by people flooding in to see what we have brought this year, and to update us on how their horses are going. Sylvia Zimmer from Germany has three horses here, including Sauvignon who has progressed from small tour last year to big tour. All three already have placed including a first. We were also delighted to meet up with Annunicada and her gorgeous Jack Russell Trufor. Last year Annunicada discovered ANKY breeches and has ridden in them all year in the best and worst of the Spanish weather. She is also a great fan of Equilibrium boots and has just bought another set for her new three year old.

 Our best seller today has been competition breeches due to the awful weather. Competitors have armfuls of wet breeches that they can’t get laundered and dried fast enough. We are caught a little short as we sold so few competition pairs last year and therefore only brought four pairs in the most popular sizes of 24 and 26.  

The Grand Prix today rather passed us by as we were so busy with the shop, but the results sheet makes interesting reading. Wayne Channon is making a bid for Carl Hester’s crown winning with, according to those in the know, a foot perfect test for a score of 71.34% on Lorenzo, and just misses out on the money with a 9^th place on Kasjmir. Wayne bought Lorenzo as a foal in Holland and has produced him through the grades himself.

The Canadian Christilot Boylen is placed 2^nd on Lucky Lemon and 4^th on Agem Gachino, split by the German Alexandra Simons-de Ridder on Wellington. Another friend of Classic Dressage the French Constance Menard-Laboute on the lovely mare Llanca is sixth. We hardly recognised Llanca, who made her debut at Grand Prix here last year, as she has muscled up considerably and has turned into a very big horse.

 I managed to get out in the sunshine for an hour late in the afternoon and watched Jenny Jeanette a talented Portuguese young rider produce an inspiring performance on Spartacus who has been the top Portuguese horse of his generation as a three, four and five year old. They demonstrate the very best elements of an Iberian /West European fusion of riding and training.

The facilities here at Montenmedio are well worth a mention. The horses all 1,200 of them are housed in permanent stables across two sites – dressage and show jumping. There are wonderful sandy tracks crossing the estate through woodland of mediterranean pines, cork and olive trees; ideal for hacking and lots of arena space for training as well as competition. A new surface has been put down this year in dressage arena 2, the one closest to the secretary’s office and the Kurupay restaurant, upgrading it to the top competition arena. According to the riders the going on the new arena is perfect. It will be interesting to see how it rides after a week without rain as the tendency here is for going to get deep. 

 In the evening we headed up to Conil where the riders hotel is situated about 20km from Montenmedio for dinner at our favourite restaurant La Rezon. Sadly there was no sign of life at La Rezon but we did mange to get Swordfish and Paella elsewhere.

Sunday 6th March

 Another wonderful start to the day with clear blue skies, no cloud and brilliant sunshine. There is a hint of frost on the grass, but it should warm up quickly, and it is definitely a day for sunscreen and sunglasses.

 The Grand Prix Special starts today at 10.30 in perfect conditions. The atmosphere has a quiet Sunday morning feel, and the setting is magical with horses competing in the white sand arena against a vivid blue sky to the sound of the nesting storks clattering their bills.

My favourite of the local horses to go was the elegant Eva Navarro Villamor on the stunning grey Cristiano; more of them later. Julia’s husband Russell baby sat the shop so that we could watch Wayne Channon ride into second place on Lorenzo behind the German Alexandra Simons-de Ridder who rode a more fluent test on Wellington. These two are evenly matched so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top over the next few weeks.

 All stops for the big family Sunday Spanish lunch. The waiters are flat out at the restaurant, and our shop described as ‘the broom cupboard’ by Carl Hester is busy. The Portuguese have taken to our Penta top hats, and there is a run on our bridle work. Last year it was much admired but hardly sold as it is very expensive in relation to the domestic product. This is the sort of thing that makes picking stock to bring so hard. I can see that our visitors over the next few weeks will be travelling with large suitcases packed with all the items that we didn’t think would sell.

 I am asked to fit a bridle for Cristiano, and can say that I am in love. He welcomed me over the door of his stable nudging me very gently with his soft grey muzzle, politely checking me over with huge kind black eyes. He is short coupled with powerful shoulders and hind quarters and an enormous neck, and of course a mass of long flowing grey hair; the archetypal romantic hero with dashing looks and courtly manners. He looked extremely handsome in his new Kieffer black double bridle with gold trim around the brow and noseband and gold buckles.

 One of the perks of the job here that we both love is the chance to chat to the riders (our shop is between the bar and the loos!) and get the story behind their horses, and a glimpse of training methods in other countries.

We mange to organise to shut shop and get straight out to dinner in the evening before it got dark so that Sally could see something of the countryside. We drove again to Conil and arrived at dusk to see the sun set over the sea. We ate in a beach side restaurant and worked our way through Whitebait, Calamari, Prawns, fishcakes and Swordfish. Delicious!                     

Monday 7^th March

 Again another beautiful day. We are on a roll with the weather.

Monday is very quiet at the showground as there are no competitions and most horses have a day off so we don’t open the shop, which gives us a chance to explore the area.

 Julia, Russell and I are getting to be quite old hands at finding our way around the local countryside and enjoy taking Sally around Vejer one of the historic white hill top villages that have a strong Moorish influence. Vejer has a mass of steep narrow streets many too narrow for a car, and a roman fort with incredible views across the Andalucian plain to the sea and the snow capped mountains inland. Vejer overlooks Montenmedio and we stayed here last year for the final weekend of the show in an apartment clinging to the very edge of the cliff.     

 The weather is so good that we drive to Conil take a walk on the beach and eat more fish for lunch. Sally and I with our pale complexions catch a bit of sun in spite of wearing factor 15 sun cream. It’s then back to Gibraltar to drop Sally of at the airport, and pick up Rosemary, Julia’s mother.

 Rosemary who is recovering from an operation is hugely relieved to see the sun, particularly as the weather in the UK is still bitterly cold.

Tuesday 8^th March

 A brilliant but cold start to the day. We just open the shop for the morning as again there are no competitions today. A small excitement is that we sell a couple of pairs of RTS mens breeches, with another pair away being tried on.  Our main UK market is womens clothing, but as there are more male than female riders here we have tried to cater for the men with a small supply of breeches, unisex tops, jackets and gloves.

 Our trip out today takes us to another historic white hill town Medina Sedonia about 26 km inland. It is also very beautiful but the houses are a little grander than Vejer. We join the locals for lunch in a small tapas bar in the town square. The wind is bitter and we really need the simple homemade vegetable soup to warm up, followed by Sardines (we finally track them down in a hill village 26km from the sea!) and almond tart – not homemade but very sweet, sticky and delicious.

 Back at our Casita the wind had dropped and we were able to finish the day with a drink on the terrace watching the sun set over the marsh, albeit with coats on.

Wednesday 9^th March

 Not such a bright start to the day, but definitely warmer and when the clouds lift it is really warm out of the wind.

 We had thought that today would be quiet in the shop, but we have had a steady stream of visitors trying on breeches, show jackets, tailcoats (known here as fracks) and top hats. Last year we sold very little competition clothing, so did not pack much for this trip. Poor Rebecca is our next visitor and at this rate she will have to bring out a very large suitcase with only a few of her own clothes.

 It is trot up day today, and a few glitzy bridles and crystal browbands have been sold to ensure that the horses look their very best and sparkle in the sunshine. It is funny how fashion changes; a year ago here only the brave bought crystal browbands and now they are considered smart mainstream.

 The Swiss team have decided that Joules clothing in Frost is their unofficial uniform and have bought all that we have left from the winter range, and are begging us to call Joules to try to track down any remaining stock. They certainly look very dashing and different in this pale aqua colour in the training arena.

 Julia, Rosemary and Russell armed with a phrase book went shopping to the market in Vejer this morning. They managed incredibly well and only had to resort to the supermarket for jam and croissants. Dinner tonight promises to be a feast of fresh fish (they are not exactly sure of what they have bought as fish names are really tricky to translate) and locally grown vegetables.    

 If you read this diary last year you will remember that Julia loves to have her hair done and had a few adventures finding hairdressers in remote places with not even basic Spanish. Today she is off on a hair appointment, booked by herself in Spanish over the phone. The result is chic hair, but a long wait.  

Thursday 10^th March             

 The weather seems to have settled into high pressure, with glorious blue skies, sunshine, and as the wind has dropped it is starting to get warm.

 The big competition today is the Intermediare II. A couple of the early competitors are suffering from a change of emphasis in training which means that it gets worse in the arena before it gets better. It is fascinating to watch these training sessions which give the riders the chance to train with some of the top names over a three week period. The benefits are huge as the trainers get to see the differences between training and competition, and can help with both.

 The final line up for the InterII is as follows – Alexander Simons-de Ridder on Wellington (Germany) 72%, Christilot Boylen (Canada) on Lucky Lemon 69%, and Agem Gachino (owned by Pedro and Virginia more of them later) 68.6%, joint 4^th on 66% are my favourite Iberian mare Oxalis ridden by Miguel Raldao Duarte, and Sylvia Zimmer on Sauvignon.

 Hopes are high for a walk on the beach before dinner tonight, but as we leave the shop at 6 o’clock it starts to rain, and we spend a cosy evening in our favourite beachside fish restaurant watching the rain lashing down over the sea. 

Friday 11^th March

 A bright and warm start to the day and Julia does the airport run taking Russell and Rosemary back to Gibraltar, and picking up Rebecca (resident trainer at Classic Dressage) and Gareth Hughes. We are hoping that the weekend will be warm and sunny for Rebecca as she has been back in the UK coping with snow, ice and trying to train horses whose routines are constantly changing because of the freeze up.

 In all our descriptions of food to date I have not mentioned our breakfasts of fresh fruit which are delicious but have the novelty factor of the oranges coming from just outside our casita, along with lemons invaluable in salad dressings and over freshly grilled fish.

We have been much busier this year and this is partly due to people getting used to us being here, and partly due to some elegant Spanish riders who brought from us last year and have been very generous in telling their friends. Ladies thank you very much. Mucho gracias!

 Today the first half of the Grand Prix goes along with the second half of the PSG, five year old final, juniors, young riders and owners (riding the juniors preliminary test which is roughly advanced medium level) classes.  

 The power of the internet has meant that last years diary has been widely read, sometimes by people who are thinking of competing here, many for general interest, and a few of our readers have made the trip and dropped in to introduce themselves, including today a lady from Texas. Bobby ……….who played an integral part in the success of the Spanish team at the Olympics has spotted me updating the diary in the shop and has christened it “dear diary”

 Pedro Hermosilla Molero and his wife Virginia have quite a few horses competing here at small and big tour level and have been very kind to us including dropping off some bottles of their home produced olive oil and wine which we shall enjoy when we get home.

 Plucky award of the week goes to Jane Lawson on Giorgio S in the owners class. Jane trains with Nikki Barratt and bought the horse fairly recently. She had mentioned to us a few days ago that Georgie had a good nought to sixty, and last night in the warm up he demonstrated a turn of foot that any Derby winner would have been proud of. Somehow she stayed in the plate (another racing term!) and negotiated a return to walk. Not only had he shot off fast enough to give her wobbly knees, but she barley had time to catch her breath before it was her time to compete. The audience, always very supportive here, rode every movement with her as she produced a safe quiet test.

 Just in case you wondered, it was fish for dinner again!

 Saturday 12^th March  

 A hazy but warm day out of the wind. Sun glasses are derigour.

 We take it in turns to watch the second half of the Grand Prix and the result is very similar to last week Alexandra Simons-de Ridder on Wellington are first with 71.292%, narrowly beating Wayne Channon on Lorenzo with a score of 71.208% . Christilot Boylen is placed 3rd on Agem Gachino and 4^th on Lucky Lemon. For the second time this show there is no mounted prize giving because of the weather. Where is the sunshine - we have not sold a single t-shirt?

 After lunch the rain sets in and everyone runs for cover at the Kurupay. This is always a good time to catch up with the morning’s gossip and meet people. Yvette Trusdale who has been having a good show and is always in the placings has just popped in with a small contingent of damp Irish complaining that they can have this rain back home!

 Julia disappears late afternoon to pay for our “broom cupboard” before the big rush to settle bills at the end of the last week, and to have her hair done. The accounts office on the final day and night is packed with people queuing to settle their accounts. This is quite a complicated business as costs for numbers of horses competing and non competing (as riders are away from home for so long, many bring horses that need to continue their training but are not ready to compete at a CDI show) offset against winnings. The show jumping runs for a few weeks longer than the dressage, and there are many more competitions, as well as some buying and selling of horses so the sums can be quite complicated. The lucky end up with the Sunshine Tour owing them money.    

Sunday 13^th March

 Already it’s the end of our second weekend here and the time is going too quickly. It’s dry this morning and hazy. If the sun can burn through then it promises to be warm.

 The Grand Prix Special is the big competition to run this morning. The pressure is really on and this shows with some combinations making mistakes and looking a little tight. I remember from last year that horses can get tired at this point before gaining an exuberant second wind.

 Wayne Channon and Lorenzo (72%) take the top spot, with Alexandra Simons de Ridder and Wellington (69.9%) in second place. The championship next weekend promises to be nail bitingly close. Christilot Boylen is consistently in third place, this time on Agem Gachino (69.7%), and  Constance Menaur-Laboute and the improving Llanca (68.7%) take fourth place over four beautiful white Spanish stallions. The prize giving proves too much for Wellington who makes Lorenzo look tiny, as he slowly piaffes his way out of the arena allowing the others a swift victory lap.    

 Poor Julia is on the airport run again this time taking Rebecca, Gareth and myself. Unfortunately I have to return for a few days for work, and so Julia, who has no shortage of friends at this time of year, will pick up Felicity on the inbound Gibraltar flight to cover for me.

 The sun comes out at lunchtime today and everyone spends a relaxed afternoon watching the Inter I first half.    

 Monday 14^th March

 This is now Julia at the wheel – I am stifling overwhelming panic attacks – COME BACK PIPPA!!

 The weather has really settled down into beautiful sunny days – even though it starts off a little chilly.  It’s early in the year but if you catch a sheltered spot in the sun you risk proper sunburn!  As we don’t open the shop I think it is appropriate to treat Felicity to lunch on the beach.  After taking a look around the Fuerte Conil – the official Sunshine Tour hotel – Felicity gets on with booking herself and her three children in for an eleven day holiday over Easter!  That is how impressed she is with the town, hotel, beach etc.

Tuesday 15^th March

 The shop opens for the morning and I hear news of a fantastic new competition yard that will open next year in Sotto Grande.  What timing I think to myself – more and more people I know would love to base themselves down here with their horses for the winter!  I think I will have a list of potential clients for the new facility.

 This afternoon turns into a shopping trip to Cadiz.  The drive is ordinary and we pass loads of docks and industrial zones.  But the rewards of driving through the stone archway into the centre of Cadiz are fantastic.  We visit our favourite Spanish store – Massimo Dutti – and to our horror find that outlets have been opened in Brent Cross, Bluewater, Regent Street and more.  It had been our little secret….!

 As an aside – if you want any more information on anything in this article – just e-mail pippa@classicdressage.com and we will be delighted to pass on our contacts any time.

Wednesday 16^th March

 I get my hands on the schedule for the final weekend’s competition.  Wayne Channon is heading the Big Tour with a 2 point lead and Sylvia Zimmer heads the Small Tour.

We are plagued with high winds.  It’s a quiet day here in the shop as we are waiting for Pippa to return tomorrow with a huge suitcase full of special orders.  It is my day however to fit dog collars.    A beautiful biscuit and white female dog which looked a bit like a British bulldog came in for a fitting at lunchtime.  She walked out with her neck measurement taken, and an order for a brown collar edged in cream leather, encrusted with square diamonds.  Sigh…!  After that I was shown a picture of a handsome black and white sheepdog.  We settled on a black collar – with the decision on whether to use diamonds of tiffany shaped burgundy stones to follow.

 Anunciada’s adorable Jack Russell bitch has been modelling a red leather collar with mixed stone colours for us much to the envy of the other Spanish dogs.  Now it is time to see our gallery of adorable spanish dogs...

 Thursday 17^th March

 Still windy for the start of the final competitions of the Sunshine Tour 05.  The stands are swaying badly and there is so much banging and clattering of the cladding that no horses complete their tests without spooking. I am so impressed with these riders keeping their cool through the tests.  I know it’s their profession but nonetheless I realise I have much to learn! 

 I’m a bit worried that the high winds will mean that flights into Gibraltar will be cancelled, Pippa won’t be able to land, and I’ll have to explain to our customers that their pre-ordered stock is delayed en route to another airport. Fortunately as there was no cross wind Pippa, and more and more importantly a very large suitcase appear bang on time.      

Friday 18^th March

 It’s great to be back, I found settling down to work in England quite tricky after two weeks at the Sunshine Tour. Our way of life here is very relaxed, beginning with a fresh fruit breakfast at home, then a gentle seven minute stroll to the shop to open at 10.30. Whilst we are planning our day we have coffee and a warm roll, then spend the morning in the shop, or if it is quiet taking it in turns to watch some dressage. Then around 2pm a light lunch of Iberico ham and a tomato salad with a glass of wine just outside the shop so that we can jump up and help customers when required. We generally shut the shop between 6 and 7.30 in the evening before dinner at home or at our favourite fish restaurant on the coast- we will not reveal the name because we don’t want it to get too busy!

 After the initial setback of discovering that it was warmer and less windy in England I’ve hardly had chance to draw breath since opening the shop this morning. All the goods that I brought in last night have been sold; as I started to unpack it was a bit like a rummage sale with customers grabbing the new spring lines as they emerged from the case.

 The last of the Grand Prix ran this afternoon, and with Alexandra and Wellington safely back in Germany Wayne and Lorenzo had no trouble maintaining the top spot. Christalot having just the one ride came in second with Lucky Lemon (Agem Gachino is being rested for the Kur on Sunday) and a very thrilled Constance took third with Llanca.

 The only downside of getting busier with the shop is that we have less time to keep up with the competitions, but we will close to watch the Grand Prix Kur on Sunday.

 Julia is learning new skills and is becoming quite a dab hand with the camera. Yesterday saw her first published photograph (see H&H 17/3 page 96 Sian Sheridan and Keystone Rubin), and she is in demand here with our competing customers asking for some action shots. Julia is also rapidly improving her Spanish, and successfully booked a table for dinner tonight over the phone. I on the other hand am at the bottom of the class after asking to borrow a knife from the kitchen at the Kurupay and ending up with a ham roll, and when speaking French completely forgetting how to say “we can post this to you”!

Saturday 19^th

 A very quiet start to the day, rather grey, and much to the competitors relief the wind has dropped to a gentle breeze. The Juniors and Owner classes have been held in Arena 1 which is quite exposed and have had to cope with anything not lashed down scudding across the arena at some point.

 We are rather put off to discover that whilst we watch a little of the GP Special this afternoon in light jackets our friends back home are basking in bikinis in a classic British weather about face.

 The horses that we watch in the Special are looking a little tired and do not have the fluency and softness that we had seen earlier in the tour. This is a really intense experience for horses and riders and a superb way to set up for a big season, whether it’s starting at big or small tour for the first time, or trying to catch the selectors eyes for the European championships in Moscow this summer .

 Constance and Llanca were rewarded for their consistency and good half pass and changes, by winning the Special with just under 68% whilst the leading horses in the tour rankings Lorenzo and Agem Gachino are rested for the Kur tomorrow. Ignacio Rambla Algarin on the big white Spanish stallion Distinguido produced an accomplished test to take second place with 67%, with the Portugese Carlos Pinto on Notavel Puy Du Fou coming in third on 65.7%. Wayne came fourth on Kasmir.

 There is also a battle going on in the Small Tour with the Swiss Simone Staub and Laertes II taking the overall lead from Sylvia Zimmer and Anjou in todays competition. Linda Hoard and Parac are carrying the Union Jack and are also very well placed, so tomorrows Kurs in both big and small tours are likely to be closely fought for the top places.

 It is the 5 and 6 year old finals today, and Jeanette Jenny and the beautiful bay stallion Spartacus take the crown in the 6 year section, continuing his run of being unbeaten in his age group. It has been interesting to see how he has developed over the last year, and hopefully we will see him next year in the Owners class, and the following year in the  Small Tour. 

 We decided to eat in tonight and after an almost exclusive diet of jamon and fish we decided to try some local steak. We were a little thrown to see what obviously was red beef steak described as veal, but guess that veal in Spain must also cover cattle up to eighteen months of age (the normal age for average British steak), and with their own slow maturing breeds not making beef until later in life. The meat incidentally was delicious.

Sunday 20^th March

 Sadly our last day, and of course the weather has now set fair, and even though it is hazy it is very hot, and we need to sit in the shade to watch the Kurs.

 We only manage to see the last two (it is run in reverse order) go in the Small Tour. Sylvia and Anjou put in a strong performance to American show tunes to win the class and the overall title, over Simone on Laertes II who in spite of some very funky music and good choreography showed his tiredness in the two tempi changes. Linda Hoard and Parac to the great delight of the Brits rode a lovely Kur to take second place, no mean feat in this company.

There was great anticipation for the Big Tour Kur and we watched some very charismatic performances from the Portuguese and Spanish combinations who really played to the audience. It is wonderful to see riders really enjoying the experience, and grinning when a movement has gone well. It was also interesting to see that for many of the lighter Iberian horses the music was dramatic, and for the heavier types much lighter, but all with a Spanish mix that suits them so well.

 Things really started to hot up when Simone this time on Robespierre threw down the gauntlet with a very dramatic performance, finishing with the most incredible extended trot down the centre line that had everyone cheering. (5^th 67.5%). This is the first show that Simone has competed at Grand Prix and she has trained Robby since he was 5. He is 10 this year, and looks like one to watch in the future

Jose Antonio Garcia Mena on Osado 9 a stunning grey stallion who produces wonderful piaffe, passage, and pirouettes put in a secure dramatic performance to take 4^th place with just under 68% .

 Christalot rode a safe and elegant Kur on Agem Gachino to take third place with just over 70%, leaving Constance and Llanca to ride the test of their lives. Llanca as I’m sure to have mentioned before is a big mare, but try is her middle name, and with some very modern music with a strong beat that suited her perfectly she stormed her way through the Kur with a brave go-for-it attitude that had the crowd rooting for her every stride of the way. They took a well deserved second place with 71.5%.

 Wayne was the last to go on Lorenzo and rode a fluent and gutsy Kur to music from the Godfather (apologies if I’ve got the music wrong). Lorenzo is very elegant and made it all look like such fun, though almost got carried away with a transition to medium canter across the diagonal, launching himself as he came off the track with such enthusiasm that he made the crowd gasp. Wayne brought him back in control in a stride to complete the movement with a wonderful pirouette, and finished on a score of just under 78%. So, for the third year running the Big Tour has gone to a Brit.

After all the excitement it was time for us to pack up our boxes, whilst the lorries queued into the stable area to start taking the horses home.

Monday 21^st March

 We seem to be remarkably well organised and left Montenmedio at 10.30 in the sunshine for a little shopping in Cadiz, followed by a lunch in Porto Santa Maria with an old work colleague of Julias called Adolfo and his wife Suzannah. Porto Santa Maria is on the bay of Cadiz, and is a sherry town with the most beautiful merchant houses and wine whare- houses. Every where you go in the town you glimpse huge sherry barrels, and so it seemed only appropriate that we had a chilled dry sherry with our jamon in a tapas bar, then continued to drink it at lunch where it went remarkably well with the seafood. Sadly in spite of Adolfo and Suzannahs kindness and hospitality we had to head for the airport at 4.30, taking the new fast interior road through stunning hill and cattle country to Gibraltar.

 The three weeks have gone passed incredibly quickly, and we have had a wonderful time again. The shop has been very successful, and we have had the chance to re-new friendships that we made last year and make new friends. The support that we have received from all nationalities visiting the show ground has been tremendous and we now feel like we belong.

 It has also been inspirational watching horses train and compete, and we are keen to get home to try some of the methods we have seen with our own horses.

 The relaxed atmosphere also means that we have time to reflect and have set ourselves a few challenges for the next twelve months. We might let you know how we get on in next years diary…………….