In this video addressed to the Annie Goodwin Syndicate, the speaker provides a detailed recap of horse Bruno’s recent performance at the Tryon International Three-Day Event, a four‑star short competition used as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming Le Moulin five‑star in Germany. He describes Bruno’s strong showing across all three phases – a high dressage score (around 27‑28, placing him near the top), flawless show jumping with no rail faults, and an exceptionally fast, technically adept cross‑country run where Bruno seemed to anticipate the jumps. The speaker attributes this success to a carefully managed training program that avoided over‑exertion in the winter, resulting in a fresh, fit horse. Support from team members Silva, Bettina, and Peter Wild (who provided jump school) is highlighted, as are upcoming veterinary checks. The course at Tryon, an irrigated former golf course with spongy grass and twisty layout, is noted as similar to Le Moulin’s technical demands, reinforcing Bruno’s suitability. The speaker outlines ongoing conditioning plans—weight trimming, additional hard gallops, and use of synthetic tracks—to fine‑tune fitness. He acknowledges the competitive field at Le Moulin, especially after Badminton’s issues, but remains cautiously optimistic about Bruno’s chances, particularly in show jumping. Finally, he thanks the syndicate members and encourages them to consider joining the Le Moulin trip.
Chapters
Hello, everyone. This is a video for the Annie Goodwin Syndicate. Well, guys, we had a sensational outing with Bruno down at the Tryon International Three Day event. This was our preparation run towards our goal of Le Mullen five star. We contested the four star short, which was, you know, it's a pretty competitive field. There was 20 or 30 horses in the. In the class. Bruno's been working really, really well in the lead up and I've sort of been nurturing him along this season just because I knew our goal was going to be in June in Germany. And I was sort of cautious not to push him too hard in the early parts of this year in the winter. And I feel like it's worked because he's feeling fresh as a daisy and he's getting better and better. And his performance this weekend was for sure our sort of best performance in all three phases. The dressage was great, the show jumping was brilliant, and the cross country, I've never felt Bruno go so well. So I've got my tail up, I've got a spring in my stride and I really feel like we're going to Le Moulin with a horse that's humming. So what you're seeing here is the dressage. I think this was on Thursday, Thursday sometime Thursday morning. And Bruno was the very first horse to go in the class and he did a rip roar of a dressage test. I think we scored a 28 or 27, I can't remember, but it was a great score. We were right up there, I think maybe in second or third or fourth place after the dressage. And I was just really, really pleased with the way Bruno felt. He's getting quite seasoned now in all the movements and I have to say, I think finally our partnerships really gelled. Like, I know him through and through, he knows me, I don't know. And he's just really enjoying himself. I sort of wanted to use this event as a bit of a dress rehearsal for Le Moulin. So we got here a day early and got Bruno well settled in, had a couple of practice dressage rides. Silva and Bettina have been sort of helping me with the training at home. And funny enough, he's finding this test very, very easy now. Now, this is a four star Test B. And like even this flying change, like this event last year, we're all over the shop and Bruno's now sort of going through all the movements of the test in great style. Show jumping was absolutely brilliant. I don't want to curse myself because our next event's very Important, but he didn't even breathe on a rail in the show jumping. Peter Wild came up to the farm on, let's see, Monday, and we had a great jump school there. He just feels happy and healthy in his body. He's jumping a lot straighter. The cross country, which you see in a minute, was just absolutely brilliant. The thing I loved about the cross country is it. I think it will relate a lot to what we're going to expect at Le Moulin. A very technical, twisty course, and Bruno's loving it. Like, he was like a magnet to the jumps. He just sort of almost knew all the fences to jump and very, very pleased. I think he was the fastest horse of the day. And honestly, we weren't even pushing him that hard. What he's bringing at, though, is like, you hardly have to touch his mouth to slow him down. He backs himself up and jumps well. So obviously we'll get the vets to look him over on Monday or Tuesday. But I'd encourage anyone that's thinking of doing the trip to Le Moulin to come along because I think we're in great shape and we're going to be very competitive. The show jumping at Le Moulin is massive, and that's Bruno's strongest phase. And if he jumps anything like he did here, we're in for a real good chance of a clear round in the show jumping at Le Moulin. And we've got must have four weeks to go, so he's carrying a little bit extra weight at the moment, so I want to trim him down a little bit, and I think probably have four or five more hard gallops on him, and that should trim him up a bit. And, I don't know, he's feeling fresh and loving, loving his job at the moment. And, you know, I gotta say, it's got to get myself a little bit fired up for the show jumping because sometimes I'm almost a bit too relaxed with Bruno, knowing that he's. He's going to jump well and a little bit strong down this line. They built that line very short, but Bruno jumped it for fun. We might go to a jumping show in a couple of weeks, but with the whole weekend, this was my favorite part, was the cross country. The ground was good. This tryon's an amazing place. It's an old golf course, and they irrigate the course, so the 90% of the turf is just beautiful, spongy grass. And it's Bruno's sort of course. It's a bit twisty and turny. And he's got speed too. Like when you sort of squeeze him with your leg, he spurts off and you can see even down this line, his ears are pricked. And even at the last minute he sees this jump and pshoong. So we'll get Bruno home, probably have an easy week this week. Give him a. I'm going to plan to gallop him on Friday. We're very lucky. If the ground's hard, we've got access to some synthetic gallops. Saying that I feel like the fitness that we've put into him in the last year or year and a half, I suppose we've been together now, is like he's getting this real base fitness on him. And even though he doesn't have a lot of thoroughbred in his pedigree, he's got. He's got speed and now he's starting to get a bit of endurance about him. Saying that Le Moulin is going to be a big task. You know, there's only five or six, five stars in the world and this is one of them. And we're going to be faced with some of the best horses and best riders in the world. I think with badminton being such a disaster this year, a lot of horses will reroute from Badminton Little Moorland. So, sadly for us, it's going to be a very, very competitive field. But I believe the timing is right for Bruno to go five star. Obviously, he was very, very good last year, especially at Buccalow, and it'll be a notch harder than that. But I truly believe that he's in great shape and we're going to Lumoulan with the hopes of. With the goals of being very, very competitive. And having a big win this weekend sort of reassures me that we've got him right where we want him. So thank you to everyone on the Annie Goodwin Syndicate. It's been a fun ride so far and I truly believe that it's only going to get better. It.