Luke 140 - Tryon International - May ‘23

This is a video for the Luke 140 syndicate. Well, guys, we're coming off a fantastic run here at the Tryon International three day event. Luke was here in the four star short. I knew he was in good shape. He's been working really, really well in the build up for this event. And Luke is finally back to where we had him before the Olympics. So it's been a, a long road getting him back here, but he was absolutely brilliant in all, all three phases. We're under a little bit of pressure this weekend to get re qualified for five star at Le Moulin. We actually had to complete this four star short. So I was terrified of missing a jump or slipping on a turn or having a mishap. And luckily for us, Luke was fantastic and got a great result. I think we finished in fourth place. This is the dressage test which was Thursday. He was great. He scored in the high 20s. I think it left him in second place and it was a red hot field. There must have been about 30 horses in the class. And I really wanted to use this event as a dress rehearsal. So we got here a day or two early, got Luke settled in and right from day one he was very well behaved. The temperature was a little bit warm, which is good for Luke's character. He seems to be a bit more settled down when it's warm and hot rather than when it's cold and windy. We did dressage Thursday show jumping on Friday afternoon and then we did the cross country Saturday morning. I sort of wanted to go a little bit faster with Luke on the cross country, but not balls to the wall fast, just because he needs to have a bit of a sprint around the cross country. But also I think if I go too fast on him, he'll be a raging lunatic for Le Moulin. So I sort of went around about 80% speed, which I think he got 10 time penalties, which is pretty close to the time. Close enough. He read all the fences really well and I really it was a good course for him just because it sort of related to what I'm expecting to find at Le Moulin. So anyway, we'll get the vets to check him over early next week, but I think he pulled up very well. He trotted up nice and sound after the cross country and I think we're in good shape. So anyone that's looking for a trip overseas, I'll confirm with everyone in a couple of days. But I'd urge anyone that's looking to enjoy a trip to Germany to see some of the best horses and best riders in the world, please come over and cheer us on. I think the closest airport's probably Hamburg and it's a five star like no other. It's sort of. Not as sort of massive and as huge as what you see at Badminton or Kentucky, but it's really high quality horses, high quality riders. It's a very flat course, twisty, very technical. And I think this is perfect for Luke. It's his first five star and I sort of picked Le Morlan just because it's. I don't think it will knock him around too much physically. And my, my hope is that we get through this well and have a top finish and then. And then maybe line him up for Maryland. Five star towards the end of the year. Good thing is we're re qualified now. And not just re qualified, but we're in good form. As you can see with this dressage test, he's going to be very, very competitive. And then in the show jumping, he was absolutely brilliant. Obviously, the hardest thing with Luke is the rideability. He's a very fiery horse that sees the jumps and charges at the fences, but he is super duper careful. And I have to say this is probably the best round we've had in some time. He. I changed the bit. Not that that probably settled him too much, but just when he starts taking off towards the end of the course, it just steadies him up a little more. But I was thrilled with the way he did the sort of first half of the course. You can see that he's very, very settled, jumping high, using good technique. And then as the course goes on, Luke gets more and more fired up. But the great thing with him is when he gets to the jump, he pounces off the deck and he's so careful and sharp that he leaves the jumps up. So throughout the year he's been getting better and better. If you remember our show jumping around at Bruce's Field, it was out of control right from the beginning. And here he's staying very, very calm and relaxed and I'm able to sort of gallop on and make the time. And then this last line, I think my old buddy Luke comes out here, especially after the triple bar. And then the head goes up and he starts charging at the end here. But it's a tricky ride actually, because you've got to sort of steady him and slow him and hold him back. But then as he takes off, you've got to let go of his mouth and let him jump well. So this is the cross country. So again, as I said at the beginning of the session, I'm trying to let him run on a bit. So it was a good fitness run, but. But also not be too reckless, just because I think I'll pay for it at the next event, which is Aldamul and I, by saying that I do think we'll cross country school Luke once or twice at home when the footing's good. Just making him do some of the technical questions that we're expecting at Le Morlan. Nice and slow and try and keep his brain. And I think I might also go jump him up in Princeton. Show jumping show. Do a couple of meter 30 rounds. Because Le Morlan all have massive show jumping rounds. See here, Luke's being a little bit over enthusiastic. Funny enough, it looks a bit scary, but I know him so well. I'm sorry. Sort of quite confident that even when he's a bit aggressive at the jumps, that I can sort of get him back and soften him. So anyway, guys, I think we're in great shape. I'm really, really excited. And come Le Moulin five star. It's obviously been a long road for all of us to get into the top level, the sport, but we're here now and we're going to go to a competition that's well suited for Luke. It's going to be a very, very big, tough show jumping which suits Luke and he's brave, as brave as any horse cross country. So I think we're in great shape.