From the glorious heights of an amazing win in Chatsworth and third in Tattersalls to going on my ass in Rincoola!

It was such a great honour to be asked by The Irish Field, to write this bi-weekly column. I hope I can show you some of the highs and lows of an eventing yard and perhaps, the sport horse industry as a whole.

From my earliest days, horses have been a part of my life. With four other sisters in my family who were all keen riders, competition was fierce between us. I remember a particularly naughty pony who bucked us all off consistently. We took turns to get up on him and see how long we would stay on. Nicola, Niamh, Suzanne and I have all remained involved with horses at various levels. Our eldest sister Stephanie, perhaps made the wiser decision to involve herself in sailing.

Sailing was a second love for all of us growing up, due to our proximity to the sea in Howth. I am lucky to have my sisters to help and use as a sounding board for ideas on improving horses. It was especially good to have Nicola travel with me to Badminton. Her help to plan a strategy of attack for the cross-country was worth its weight in gold to me.

As an international event rider, based near Dunboyne, Co Meath, I am very lucky to have a fabulous string of top horses. The majority of this special team have come slowly through the ranks with me, through years of developing their natural talents. Only then, are they capable of competing at the top level of eventing.

All of this is made possible by the support of my husband Niki and little son James who help me keep the show on the road.

This year has been a whirlwind from the start. Baby - Sugar Brown Babe - tried her little heart out in Badminton and was pulled up for a technical elimination three fences from home, on a very challenging Badminton track. Then super Rocket - Stellor Rebound - who was second fastest around the cross-country in Chatsworth won the class, beating a world-class field of competitors.

TATTERSALLS

Recently, Tattersalls played a blinder, pulling off a super event. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who helped to run it. Tommy Brennan was greatly missed. We send our best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery in hospital.

For the Stellor team, it was a successful event with Bee - Shanbo Queen Bee - taking 16th in the CCI** class finishing on her dressage score. Bee has only been eventing for a year and I am so proud of how far she has come.

However, it was sad to see that there were no Irish riders at the top end of this class. I can only assume that this is a symptom of the recession years, where many of the talented horses were sold out of the country, leaving a gap in horses of this age and level for Irish riders to compete successfully.

Stellor Rebound rebounded well from Chatsworth to finish on his dressage score in the CCI*** in Tattersalls. He gave the British opposition a run for their money finishing only six marks behind the leader. He was savage and amazed me with his mega talents.

It is hard to believe that we struggled with him earlier in the year with a foot problem. Specialist farrier Jeremy Stanley, who helped when my normal farrier Tom Smith broke his leg, finally sorted it. You could practically see a smile on Rocket’s face when he first tried out his new footwear.

The Stellor team took a little chill out on Monday and we all decamped to have a celebratory pizza on Monday evening. It was a great evening, where we all managed starter, mains and dessert. This made up for the sporadic eating habits we had during Tatts week, where there was always something that needed to be done that was much more important than feeding ourselves!

NON-STOP

Nevertheless, life in an eventing yard never stops. We left with six youngsters to the first of the FEHL qualifiers on Wednesday. It was an interesting day to say the least. There is nothing like a four-year-old hopping restlessly from foot to foot while you stud them, to try your patience before you even get on them!

They were all a bit awestruck on their day out. One youngster decided that he definitely did not like me swapping my dressage whip to my other hand and we did a great impression of a bucking bronco up the field. In my ‘wisdom’, I decided the best option was to bail out but it was only as I headed for the ground I remembered I had just put on a new Antares hat and certainly did not want to scratch it on its first outing. I made sure to firmly land on my ass!

This most definitely saved the hat from any scratches but left me with plenty of Rincoola soil on my ass for the day. I think I might review his feeding regime for next week and perhaps include some of Horse First’s excellent calmer to help Relax Me.

It was a nice surprise at the end of the day, to find that Breda Kennedy’s Woodcourt Garrison, won the five-year-old section. This qualifies him for a trip to the RDS in August and earns him a break from travelling next week but as with all yards, there will be another young equine volunteer to fill his spot.

At this time of year, we seem to repeatedly load and unload the truck, whether it is for schooling or competing. No matter what I do, be it writing this article or doing the weekly grocery shop, my mind is constantly on the go, deciding who needs an extra show jumping round or a cross-country run. The TV now calls with some silly soaps to help switch off my mind.

Sarah Ennis is an Irish international event rider based near Dunboyne, Co Meath.