In this vlog for the Annie Goodwin Syndicate, the rider‑trainer outlines the recent competition and training plan for his warm‑blood horse Bruno. After a season of high‑level events (Aiken showcase, Carolina Advanced, Fairhill 4 short, Tryon 4 long, Devon arena), they opted for a low‑pressure Open Intermediate at the New Jersey Horse Park to give Bruno a comfortable run. The speaker describes the hot, firm ground, a deliberately slow cross‑country, and a modest dressage test, resulting in a second‑place finish. Preparation included two days with Peter Gray, a World Equestrian Games (WEG) judge, focusing on relaxation and advanced dressage work, and sessions with jumping coach Peter Wild, featuring 1.20‑1.30 m rounds. Bruno’s fitness is maintained through regular gallops on a nearby synthetic track. The video details the upcoming vetting for WEG selection (X‑ray, ultrasound, lunge, scope) and the contingency plan of a Nations Cup team spot at the four‑star long event in Boeckel, Holland. Future competition targets include the Great Meadow 4 short in Virginia, where Bruno’s strong show‑jumping is expected to shine. The speaker shares personal reflections, a humorous mistake on a wide eight‑stride, and invites viewers to attend upcoming events.
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This is a video for the Annie Goodwin Syndicate. We took Bruno out for his first event for a while at the horse park of New Jersey. I decided a nice easy intermediate, an open intermediate would be a good sort of easy, confident run for Bruno. Sort of looking back on it, we've pressed him a bit this season. We've done the showcase in Aiken and then Carolina advanced then onto the Fairhill four star short, then to try on four star long and then he backed up to the arena eventing at Devon. So I thought let's not get greedy here. Let's go for a slightly easier, softer schooling round. So we put him in the the Open intermediate New Jersey. It was pretty hot and the ground was pretty good. They aerated, it was a little bit of rain, but it was on the harder side of things. So my game plan was to go slow and easy and just poke along. And I think it's important for Bruno to not always be at the limit. So just a nice comfortable, easy event for him where the jumps weren't that big. The dressage test was quite easy and cross country course was nothing for him. So the dressage test was good. The last couple days I've had Peter Gray here. Peter's the judge at the World Equestrian Games that's coming up and he was also a five star judge at Kentucky. He's one of the best judges in the world actually. So he was at our farm for a couple days and we worked with Bruno two days in a row of first day just getting him loose and relaxed and soft. And the second day we we worked a little bit more on the the test stuff. Not this particular test, we actually worked on the advanced tests or the 5Star 4Star test. So a little bit confusing for Bruno because yesterday we were doing counter half pass and flying changes and today he's such a good boy. Today we were doing just the can of walks and nice and easy type exercises. So like I said before, it was just a nice easy event for him. I intentionally went very slow on the cross country tomorrow, unfortunately or fortunately, he's got to go all the way down to Virginia and undergo the vet check for the the World Equestrian Games. It's quite exciting that the team USA is interested in Bruno. They're X ray him and ultrasound him and flex him and lunge him and scope him and everything you can imagine. All for free, which is good for us. And then I think Monday the world of crusher and games team gets announced. I've sort of got two ideas. Obviously he's a Chance at the weg. And then if that falls through, I'm thinking there's a Nations cup team from America going to compete at Buccalow and that's a four star long and it's a great event in Holland. It's a massively spectated event. It'll suit Bruno too. It's quite a flat course, really tough show jumping. So we'll just see how this all plays out. The good thing is we've got great options whatever the path is. Our next start is going to be the four star short at Great Meadow and that's going to be in three weeks time. I'd recommend anyone who's around to come watch that event. It's a, it's a great event. It's in Virginia, near Middleburg. It's quite a glamorous event. And good news for us, the show jumping is usually very, very tough there. And that's where Bruno thrives. Last week we were up in Princeton, New Jersey. I met my jumping coach, Peter Wild up there and jumped a meter 20 and a meter 30 round. He jumped really, really well. I've been galloping him quite a lot. Just if we did by chance get selected for the weg, we, we want to make sure our horse is fit as a fiddle. And so I've got him, got him galloping every four or five, six days. We're lucky. We've got a synthetic track not far from us here in the farm in Pennsylvania. So we're on superb footing. And you know, I think wherever we go with him, the fitness is always an important part of Bruno. Just because he is a, he is a warm blood horse. So yeah, pretty happy with that, especially considering we didn't practice. I think we, we won the dressage. I think we got a score of 28 or 27, which was nice. So we've continued our perfect show jumping record. He's a great jumper, he just loves to jump. I actually make a big mistake at the end of this round. The last line was six strides to a combination or a steady seven. And I wanted to do the wide steady seven and I made a complete mess of it. You'll see in a minute. I did a wide eight stride like a pony clubber. And good old Bruno said, just hang on there champ, I'll get you out of this. Which was very kind of him. It's a, this is quite easy for him. This is Probably a meter 20 show jumping course and Bruno jumps this with, with his eyes shut. Coach Eric Devander's back. I think next week from New Zealand, so it's going to be good working away with Eric. And I feel like Bruno's freshened up. He had a good rest, a good spell. Here's my poor writing. So, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. So don't do that. Anyway, he's a good boy to jump that. Anyway, guys, we're in good shape. I'll check in with you after this vetting. But Bruno finished second in the Open intermediate, and after a very slow cross country round. Goes to show how awesome the horse is that when we're not even trying to be competitive, he still finishes in the top placings. Just because I intentionally went slow in the cross country today. So upwards and onwards. I hope all you guys are doing well, and I'll check in again soon. For seven.
