Barbury Castle was to be a major selection trial for many nations and I ran my three contender horses. They all performed to the best of their ability and I was pleased to finish 2nd, 4th and 5th so I could not have asked for more from them.
The press were all pushing for an answer as to which one I would ride in Hong Kong and I honestly could not put a match between them. The day after Barbury the selectors made the decision that I will ride Parkmore Ed, however all three will go into quarantine (Tamarillo and Ballincoola)
Team officials are doing a great job with the logistics of flying the horses to Hong Kong and they will leave Stansted on the 30th July after a week of quarantine. The flight will arrive in Hong Kong on the 31st after a refuel stop in Dubai. The riders will all fly out on the 31st to meet up with the horses.
Back at home I am working on my own fitness and earlier this week the team fitness trainer Jon Pitts joined me for a 0700 run – this was after the doping officer arrived for a random test at 0600!
Jackie has been packing all the kit and it struggling to fit all the kit for the month away in the 2 trunks and that is not including any of my stuff!
I went to the NEC to collect all my team clothing which was very exciting and hope that both the horses and I stay in one piece.
