Well well well......if there is a sport in the world that can keep you on the ground, Dressage is definitely it!

During our lead up to the first selection event in Mannheim I was really optimistic that I could be in with a chance to make the team for London. Lord of Loxley had been working as well as ever and I felt relaxed in focused in my preparations. With Edward overseeing most of our training sessions, I finally felt that my green Grand Prix horse was really starting to figure it all out. We had managed to sort out his lack of confidence in the one tempis and his piaffe/passage had been getting stronger day by day.

Our trip to Mannheim had been a long but safe one and the horses all settled in nicely. It was a great feeling in the stables. All of us Aussies get on really well and we all have a great respect and admiration for one another. We compete against each other in the ring but that is where it finishes. Outside the arena we are one big family that cares for each other. It truly is great to be a part of this wonderful group of people, not only riders but grooms, riders families and administrators. We are building something special and in my opinion we can only benefit from this good will.

Anyway, we all trained well in the lead up to the event. Our horses were very well behaved in the trot up and then we had all drawn good times. Kristy was the first to go and she set the pace with a good 68%+. It is great having Kristy back in the stables. She sets the bar high every time which puts positive pressure on us to ride well. Hayley was next to go and again set a score of 68%+. She is another rider who puts her best foot forward every time, and the more you need her to, the better she performs.

Lyndal, Rachael and I were the next group to compete, all on one after the other. We managed to strike the rain storm from hell right in the middle of our warm up that just drenched us. Lyndal was about to go in when they announced that they were postponing the show until the storm had passed. So off we all went to the stables in the middle of our warm up. We had only just untacked when they came and told us to start again, Lyndal had to go straight in. None of this phased her and she went on to post the score of the day with 69%+. Lyndal has become such a great competitor and surely is in the strongest position for selection. She is now very experienced and not only that, she manages to do it all and still be everyone's carer and person to turn to. Truly amazing!

Then it was our turn. I felt that whilst our warm up wasn't perfect, I was ready to do our best test yet. I won't talk you through every step but in reality it was our best test by far and the score does not reflect the test, due to one simple yet expensive problem.

During the extended walk Lord of Loxley decided he didn't like the pressure of the bits on the left side of his mouth and decided to put his tongue out. I noticed it about half way across the diagonal and I started trying to get him to put it back in. Despite all of my efforts throughout the remainder of the test, I could not get him to put it in, consequently costing me 1 to 2 points in every movement equating to at least 8 - 10%. My score of 60%+ was harsh but correct.

I some ways I was thrilled with him having given me his best test to date, but of course disappointed with the final result. Now left with yet another problem to solve, I have spent this week going through all possible causes, eliminating them one by one. I am optimistic that I am getting a handle on things but time will only tell if I can resurrect my Olympic chances.

As with the remainder of our riders, Rachael suffered the consequences of such a broken warm up and managed Alabaster well given the situation. She had some problems in the test but did an amazing job to keep them as small as they were. Mary did a super nice mistake free test but unfortunately not quite scoring enough to put her in the top 3. Chantal did the best test I have seen her ride and has kept her Olympic chances alive with a 66%+ whilst my tavelling partner Rozzie Ryan had a few little glitches in what was otherwise a very good job.

At the end of the day, we can celebrate a great day overall for Australian dressage. With our top three scoring above 68%, this has never been done before. On a personal note, I have to do a national show in Ermelo next weekend to see if this problem happens again. Then I will go to our second selection and try to pull off something outstanding to see if I can keep my chances alive.

In the meantime I must also keep focussed that my Australian eventers are getting there best chance with a major selection event next week in Saumur. I will travel to Saumur and then race home to keep preparing for Ermelo and Compiegne.

Thank you to everyone for all your wishes and lovely comments of support.

Love to you all