The incontestable worth of preparation is preached far and wide. Failure to plan and prepare with horses rarely results in anything more than mediocrity. I spend many hours throughout the year poring over my diary; deciding who will go jumping where on what day; assessing which horses would benefit more from a hack rather than another schooling session; noting any new pieces of tack or training aids used.

However, even best-laid plans can fall victim to unwelcome upheaval, leaving disappointment and much head-scratching in their wake. No better an example of this was my voluntary withdrawal of Horseware Stellor Rebound (stable name Rocket) from last week’s recent Aachen Eventing Nations’ Cup.