This summer I have been very lucky to secure the support of 2 fabulous companies.

ShowerKing Hot Horse showers have very kindly given me one of their great gas-powered hot water units so my horses will have hot water wherever they go! http://www.equineshower.com/

Andover Healthcare Inc. have given me boxes and boxes of their fantastic bandages, dressings and first aid materials. Living with Whoop makes a well stocked first-aid kit a must-have!http://www.andoverhealthcare.com/

This is Burghley, my new lorry dog! He was given to me by Suzy of Morgan Equine, Darcy's breeder. He is a mini Daxie x Chihuahua and very cute!

Sorry! I have kind of taken my eye off the ball in the Blogging sphere. If you would like to keep up with me more closely, 'Like' my FaceBook page, www.facebook.com/BertSheffieldParaEquestrianRider, so that stories go straight into your newsfeed. Or check me out on Twitter, https://twitter.com/hopalongrider.

This summer has been wonderful! After our trip to Europe, Whoop and I went to Hickstead for the British Para Champs and finished 2nd to Deb Criddle even though we had some eventful tests.
At the end of June Whoop and I joined Darcy and the rest of team Canada down at Hartpury College for our Canadian Summer tour camp. This was a great way to meet everyone.
First stop of our tour was the Hartpury CPEDI 3*. All the horses were fantastic, especially Darcy who behaved impeccably at her first big show. Lauren had a good week even though she was feeling unwell for some of it and we, Team Canada, finished 3rd overall. 
After a few days off and some sightseeing we got back to the grindstone and ready for Bishop Burton CPEDI 2*. This was a better show for us, Ashley, Lauren and I won all our set tests; Lauren posting the highest combined score for the show and I posted the highest score in the set tests. Lauren carried on her winning streak and aced the freestyle while Whoop and I were pipped to the post by a tiny .03%!
Thank you so much to Para Equestrian Canada and all the support team for making this possible! Zoe West, the wonder-groom was amazing as were Annie Wright Chiropractic and Gary Diplock of Mind4Sport.  

Our exploits have led to Whoop and I whooshing up the FEI World Rankings! We are now sitting in 9th position, across all the Para grades, highest ranked Canadian combination! In the PE Canada rankings, worked out slightly differently, we are sitting in 3rd!
 
Since Darcy, Whoop and I came home things have been very manic indeed! I have had to move yards as Laughton Manor has shut for business and now have my horses down at Eventers International, Tiny Clapham's yard. This has meant a lot of change and upheaval but Tiny and her team have been brilliant!
Whoop injured himself out in the field so he is having an extended holiday in the field over at Annie Wright's house. It is such a shame as he has qualified for the big BD KBIS/National Championships in September. 

Darcy has had to step into his very big shoes, and is proving to be real star! She has qualified for the BD Novice Open Regional Champs with the minimum number of tests possible and we are off to our local BD Pet Plan Area Festival this weekend.