The Final Weekend

Well and this is where it all ended. Charlotte du Jardin with Valegro took the Small Tour title and Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz the Big Tour with our favourite 'pocket rocket' Fuego XII.

Charlotte came into the ring and from the moment she started it was clear that she was not going to give any points away! Sheer grit and determination showed with every movements. It was easy in the end and a well deserved victory.

Fuego was the crowd's favourite and a popular winner. Wouldn't we all want one like him?!! The crowd here at Montenmedio are so enthusiastic - there is always a rowdy bunch of young supporters who aren't afraid to show their approval - and the atmosphere is electric. The showmanship of the spanish horseman is something to see - the pride and grace of the rider and the flamboyance of the white stallions. It's a combination that is wonderful to watch.

The majority of the british riders felt that the pressures where high on their horses to compete at what was effectively three international competitions back to back. The horses simply get tired. However everyone makes such progress. And were else can you find so many trainers in one place to choose from!

Come next year? Please don't be shy to contact us and find out more - either just to visit or how it works with bringing horses. It's a treat. julia@classicdressage.com

Wednesday 17 March and gossipy snippits

Well thanks to some top sleuthing we have discovered the story behind the strangely parked blue car. Hire cars have a really tough time in this part of Spain and we never see one without some decent dents, including our own red Leon. It seems that nobody takes much care of their motor here, hire car or their own.

However seeing the little blue car standing on it's nose was unusual. Apparently an English groom drove it into a car parking space and forgot to hit the brake peddle and went straight over a precipice into the ditch and then thought she could reverse out. This was first thing in the morning so we can only assume that the night before had been fun!

It may have been a quiet day today with lots of sunshine but the competition was hot with the first half of the Grand Prix and the second half of the PSG

Carl has withdrawn Uthopia from the GP as the horse has a long season ahead and has now proved himself to be a potential World Championship team horse.

Two Sox and Maria Eilberg lead in the GP and Charlotte and the incredible Valegro won the PSG, though Silvia Zimmer on Broadway 24 is closing the scoregap and came a very good second. Lisa Hopkins took third place, she is having a terrific show with her two small tour horses.

Tuesday 16th March - Happy Birthday Peter!

Another lovely day - first half of the PSG running in the afternoon, 2nd half Wednesday. Main news is that Carl has decided not to run Uthopia for the show this week. It can be hard for young horses - 3 big shows back to back - so sad for spectators but probably great decision for a great horse!

Today was Peter Storr's birthday and he visited for the day to lunch with friends.
It was a delight to catch up with Leida Collins Stryjk again. She is expecting a baby boy (her third) in June and is still slim as a reed. To ensure the new baby becomes a Bermuda passport holder, they will be there for a month before the birth. Tim's family all live there.

It's rather strange that this is our first "proper" Monday. Normally Mondays are our rest day. Horses are walked or hacked out, riders have the chance to unwind and we explore the local countryside or lounge around our courtyard reading trashy novels.

Last Monday, if you remember, was a competition day after the Saturday washout so we missed out and todays challenge is to make up for it.

Part of the joy of renting a house in the white town on the hill behind the showground is the slice of Spanish life that you get the chance to experience. There is a supermarket where you will meet every Sunshiner Tourer staying in Vejer de la Frontera and loads of tiny specalist food shops; bakers, pork/sausage/beef butchers, fruit & veg and fishmongers where you can try out your Spanish and buy delicious ingredients with very few food miles.

So having got food for supper this evening with Kevin Sparrow orgainised we spent a few hours wandering around the old town peering around open doorways into hallways and courtyards decorated with wonderful blue and white tiles. So if you are thinking of coming to the Montenmedio and don't fancy a hotel then we can highly recommend the holiday house experience.

One of the things that strikes you about the Sunshine Tour is the friendly atmosphere. Part of this is due to the relaxed pace of life here and part due to the fact that horses and family are central to every Spaniard's heart.

Looking through the list of competitors you also see that it is very much a family affair - the Eilbergs, the Huttons, the Rawlins, the Stumpf sisters, the Barbancon sisters, the Galiza Mendes', the Lewis' and quite a few husband and wife teams.

Well time to open the wine, put the supper on and get Kevin up to speed on the news and the parking photo shot that he missed on Sunday..............

Sunday 14th March

Can you believe that we have visitors, go out a lot, eat and drink too much and bang goes our good intentions of writing the blog every day. Well we're BACK. Pip cooking a Sunday Roast (yes truly), Rus on computer (what's new) and Dane, Pauline and Nicky comning round for dinner.

This weekend has been fantastic weather, all you would expect from the Sunshine Tour. And the Brit results have been outstanding! Carl and Charlotte continue to dominate with Uthopia and Valegro but Maria and Michael Eilberg, Henriette Andersen, Lisa Hopkins, Henry Boswell and Charlie Hutton are all right up there in the line-up.

And that's not to mention our Young Riders - we will log a special post on their progress later this week.

Socially it's been great fun. Jordi Domingo and his girlfriend Linda Swande have arrived from Barcelona this weekend, where they left 10cm of snow in the city centre!
Jordi was on the Spanish team last year with Prestige and was Sunshine Tour Big Tour Champion last year.

More tomorrow

Wednesday 10th March

Our first really stunning day today. Sunny and warm though cold in the shade. It was a quiet day with an Owner's class this morning and the trot up at lunchtime. After that nothing was planned in the arenas so we left and had a quick sunbathe yes sunbathe next to our swimming pool! in jeans and fleeces to start with, and the courtyard stops all wind, then tshirts only and fabulously warm.

Last night's dinner was at what we had always thought was a trucker's stop. wrong. a gourmet delight of fresh red crayfish and locally reared t-bone steaks. the rest is history...! Not the cheapest restaurant - i think they sniffed the sunshine tour crowd.....

Tuesday 9th March

Rowan Lewis (above) on the gorgeous Blakes Da Vinci. Annabelle Collins is entering the arena (left) with Vejer de la Frontera in the background and Joanne Vaughan is flying the flag for Estonia top left.

Gabriela Stumpf (below with her sister Katherina on foot) comes each year from Vienna, bringing either showjumpers or dressage horses. Now that's versatile!

This morning saw the Owner's Class run up in arena 1 in bright sunshine with a stiff cool breeze. I can never get my head around what exactly the Owner's class is. There seem to be a generous amount of professionals in the class as well as the owners that i assumed the class was for. So this report will focus on some of the super real owner/riders! I loved this pic of Dame Pauline Harris ( above) as you can see her trainer Dane Rawlins looking grumpy in the background!

The National PSG was underway when we left, with Lisa Hopkins in the lead with Likeur.