Rosie, I'm going to go talk to Alyssa from Equilibrium again. Have fun. She's brilliant. Talk to me about the move from the casual mask to the pro mask. A change that we have made to it was that our casual light mask used to last for 18 months, whereas now we have reduced that back down to 12 months. One reason behind that was it was simpler for our customers to know exactly when they purchased their product and when they would have to make a re-purchase, when it kind of fell between a year, a year and a half, and they were kind of mid-season and their cup was expiring and they were kind of going, oh no, I'm in a panic now. I have to place my order. I need to have that consistent blue light. I don't know what to do. It's going to take maybe a few days until I can get it back onto my horse, whereas now they can kind of forward plan. They know when they purchase the headpiece and when they need to change it again. By shortening the lifespan of the light mask as well, it has also reduced the price point of our product, which has made it more accessible for people to try it and to be able to afford it and work it out. Welcome to everything's eventing product and a book Hello, a review show for you listening to the cocks. One of the biggest full star longs in the calendar was this weekend. It was the FBI eventing Nations Cup Series finale as well and we're going to look back on all of the action. Catherine Austen is with me. This show is actually powered by our very good friends at Equilume Catherine. First of all, I always feel like I need a bit of a lie down in a dark and true mark book Hello because it is a marathon of a weekend. Yes, it's quite full on. I suspect you do. Having done all the dressage commentary by yourself for two solid days, I certainly do need a lie down. It was a yes, as you say, a bit of a slog in the mud. Good event, very good event, but if it felt full on to lie on one safer and watch it, then I should imagine it was pretty full on to be there. Can I just say before we actually go any further on, a huge, huge, huge credit to the entire team at Buffalo and to Adrian Ditcham and the entire cross-country team because the amount of mud, how they managed to keep that show on the road. I have absolutely no idea. We're very, very, very grateful because it was a swamp, basically. It was pretty extreme and what we saw, you know, muddy-crossed country and everything was nothing compared to what we saw on Instagram pictures of the Laurie Park and Laurie's upstairs axles in mud. And of course, you know, they have a great surface to do the first phase and the last phase on, but just makes everyone knackered and crossed, doesn't it? Despite the amazing atmospheric booklet where you couldn't be knackered and crossed, but oh, it's just all a bit much eventing in October. I won't lie, there was this moment at lunchtime on cross-country day where it had been fairly full on and then we've got this hold-on course and the cameraman is obviously getting quite entertained by the fact that these two poor people have got a gator stuck in the middle of this swamp and they're surrounded on all sides by hospitality tenants where people have obviously been partaking in some good Dutch hospitality and they're getting heckled and they're having to call for a rescue and the cameraman is literally giving every angle. I don't know but it was not underwater, under mud. I don't know how you'd ever get it out, but I don't really know how you thought you'd get it through there in the first place. I think they were hopeful rather than me and they were dressed in like sort of white shirts and black slacks trousers, so they were quite smart. Anyway, they didn't get out of the gator, but I did feel for them because their humiliation was played out for all of the sea. Okay, let's talk about the competition. Do you want to start with the individuals or the Nations Cup Festival? I think we should start with the individuals. I mean, a fantastic win for Hugh Leacryeski as you and I pretty much predicted in brackets almost, but a very impressive, impressive victory for the 2021 individual Olympic champion on her 2024 Olympic horse. Yeah, and actually, do you know what? He's only a 10-year-old and this time, 12 months ago, kind of getting to the Olympics, she was going to bookalowers like this sort of hype dream as an Olympic champion trying to get a horse qualified and kind of get in the limelight to break into the German team, and he has absolutely stepped up and he looks just like such a cool little ball. Yes, he almost has won. He might be the best she's had. I feel like he's the most all-round for what I can see. Like, he just looks like he doesn't really have a chink. You don't watch him ever and feel, you feel very comfortable, you feel very secure watching him. Yes, and she is also, you feel very comfortable and secure watching youlier now. You know, don't forget that it isn't that many years ago where championships didn't go right for her. You know, she lost the ride on Chipmunk, hasn't been entirely plain sailing, but you slightly feel she really does have it sorted now. You know, she has a relatively small team of horses all at the right level. She does an enormous amount of coaching and teaching. She seems to have a very good balance with what she does and how she does it, and that sort of seems to express itself in her riding, in her confidence, in her personality, and in the production of this horse. I feel like there were some tough years there, and actually when we spoke to her posts that went in Tokyo, you really got the feeling of how difficult the year's post Rio had been. Yeah. And actually, it makes you stronger. Like, it's hard at the time, but down the line, it makes you stronger. It makes you more resilient. It makes you more, I guess, aware of the, you have to be able to ride the roller coaster with horses, and that roller coaster was pretty extreme and wild, but you have to be able to take the ups and the downs, and you have to be able to take them in your stride. Otherwise, you're going to find yourself on a very, very, very bumpy road and not be able to manage it and kind of compete and perform at the very top level. And I think that actually now, looking back at it, has made her a very tough, very resilient, but very kind of realistic, and actually, for her, I always get the impression it is about what's best for the horse. And she's produced this horse quite carefully. I feel like there's been a few time faults on his record at times. Like he was a, what, for six time penalties over Arkan and again here. But actually, you know, she doesn't chase it and then have a silly mistake with him. She's been quite sensible and actually on both of those occasions, it's paid off anyway, and she's taken the win. So, look, hugely, hugely impressive. She last one back in 2018. She joins a list of bookalow winners that have won it twice in recent years, likes of Julia Messden and Tim Price. So, look, very impressive. And I would say, felt like the battle of 2018 came alive again, because in 2018, she actually beat a certain London 52 and Laura call it in a second. And Laura, we're so close. Catherine, it didn't quite happen. I know, I know, Paul, Laura. I mean, you know, we talked on the preview pod about DeCapo and his quirks. And you only have to read any of Laura's social media, any of the, you know, the quotes in horse and hound and eventing nation to realize that he does his thing, how he wants to do it. And Laura sort of says, okay, let's go with that. But and they were, you know, they weren't nearly brilliant. They were brilliant. One show jump down can happen to anybody. It's a pain. She will, you know, have been kicking the tire of the lorry if she could find it in the mud. But another superb performance, you know, a dressage mark of 23.7, 1.6 time penalties caused country, which was very fast in those conditions very fast. And he looked great. And a real down show, jumping drop them to second, having led overnight, which, you know, yeah, it's not what you want, is it? But another very, very good placing at bookalove, Laura, call it in DeCapo and they'll just have to come back next year. I'm going to say, see you in 2025, Laura. And there is, there is that degree, obviously you're going to be disappointed, but also actually when a horse loves his job that much. And that was really the only thing all week. And it wasn't a bad rail. It was unlucky. It was one of those things, you know, it's eventing. And I think Laura will be on the whole very, very pleased. And no doubt, it will have lit a fire to come back in 2025. I would say there was a bit of, it was interesting. The final show jumping played out in slightly a strange kind of order because it was actually all around the nation's cup. So the top 11 teams, once in reverse order of their best team riders, were the final 11 to jump. So Laura actually jumped a little bit earlier on. The best individuals in the top 20 jumped at the start final session. So you had the likes of Sarah Bulimore, Coromero, who's only an eight year old, finished up inside the top six, also tipped to rail in the show jumping. But I have to say, Catherine, that horse looked absolutely fantastic all weekend. So it's had a really rough couple of years with his form. And I think it's not going to happen. You know, as a result, really, in some context, and she must be completely delighted with that, you know, homebred horse. This was a really superb performance from a young horse. And then, you know, a lot to go at. I mean, to go clear inside the time cross country around the slippy, slidey, muddy, it doesn't exactly inspire you, does it to kick on in those conditions, necessarily, or for a young horse, you know, you couldn't have blamed him if he'd gone a bit green, but she did a great job. And given that we have a Blenheim European Championships next year, I don't know how many these days that the home nation gets to send to a home European. I was trying to think of this, and I think it's scraping into a place on that sort of thing, if they continue this level of form. I wouldn't be surprised next year if we see the likes of a few other horses getting the opportunity because the home European Blenheim, it's kind of a known quantity. I feel like I don't think they do get 12 anymore. I'm pretty good. I'm pretty certain it's a team of four and two individuals, which is still six. I mean, that's more than we get in some some championships, but I would say that the questions of the world is, name all the Brits that raid in the last Blenheim European. Oh, God, should we have a go? Should we have a go? We don't have time. I mean, that was, I'm just going to put it out there, all of a town in his Olympic, his senior championship debut. Are you right? Are you kidding, five boys? That's a good one. James Robinson, tell how old I am. I can really remember that. Oh, I love it. Oh, sorry. I still remember that Blenheim in the rain. Oh, God, it was so wet. I swear some people that went will still have a little bit of, I was going to say PTSD. That might be a bit dramatic, but it was that wet. Yeah, it was. A cute girl, Hallie Coon, best US finish at Brooklyn. It was over 15 years. No less. And she was quick across the street as well, you know, she was properly rapid. And that horse, I mean, on the final day, she can't off jump. She's really quite special. Well, inside the time, cross country, you know, several seconds under. As gosh, I think, I think there were only two to finish on their massage school. Am I right, Hallie Coon? You were, Hallie Coon and then Susie Barry Clavittrick, who has seen top 10 at Brooklyn before and was talking about here. And interestingly, though, they're both well inside the time. Well, I actually thought they did a great job with the cross country, because they had to take three fences out. So they had to adjust the time and everything. The horses finished looking absolutely phenomenal. There weren't any tired horses really finishing. They all looked full of peep, plenty looked like they would go round again. And yet it was a really fair time test. You know, five went inside the time, I think, in the end, no, five went inside the time. And actually, it was just, it was just a really, like, it played out really well. I think if you spoke to Adrian Ditcham now and said, what were you hoping for? I think it's there about that. I think it was very, very good. And it made for a really exciting competition, because there were a few people that just were close, but couldn't quite get it. Definitely. And it was a very, you know, the leaderboard got well and truly shaken up. If you look at that, you know, Hallie Coon was 23rd after dressage with a Mark of 30.4, which leaves you a long way down the pecking order. So to come up, to finish on that, proves, once again, how important it is to finish on your dressage score. No surprise that. But to finish third, which is a great result of four star long, they've had excellent four star short results this year. But this was a very, very strong performance. The great Tim Price, fourth on Global Quest, only 0.8 time penalties across country and no other, no other jumping penalties. I'm sure wasn't the only one that actually felt really quite emotional watching Global Quest go so well. I mean, I think Tim is one of the best riders in the world. But I think you don't get on a horse and go and produce a result that's classy without everything being ready to go. And I think huge credit has to go to Georgie for that, you know. She did a wonderful job with him. And there would have been a lot of emotion about them sort of finishing so well on Sunday. And Tim is one of the best riders in the world, but he's one of the best people, the one of the best characters in eventing and actually, you know, no better man to kind of take on the mantle and do her proud. He could be the most popular person in eventing. I think he is. I have to just say, before we go any further, anybody that reads Tilly Barons go a Venting Nation article, there is the most hilarious excerpt. I mean, sometimes I'm not going to lie. There's a lot, there's a lot that goes into Tilly's report. And there's, you feel like you get a real insight into her mind that there is the most hilarious like passage where she'd sent her fiance, Alex, who isn't Horsey, off to go and ask Tim for a question. And you get the full blown, blow by blow coverage of him, like chasing Tim Price and in questions that. And I was actually crying in my cornflakes. It was that funny. So Tilly, thank you for you. Go and check it out if you haven't already read it. It's very amusing. Even if you know the results, it's worth going to read Tilly's articles. And I always think that's the sign of a good good article. Okay, couple more that I wanted to mention before we go on to the Nations Cup quickly. Kitty King's Crystal Fontaine, it feels like it's been quite a long-awaited debut really at the full star long level. He's been off a little bit, absolutely delivered, ended up with a lovely clear on the final day to finish in seventh, which is great for Kitty to have another horse stepping up behind Bonjour de Arts. Nations Cup, let's go there, because there's one horse that I want to touch upon for Belgium in a second. But let's start with Ireland, because it was 2015 that Ireland won their first ever Nations Cup leg. That was in bookalow. Nine years later to come out against, I think, a pretty strong Nations Cup field. Germany fielded three very good five-star horses and a horse that was topped off at the Olympics. Britain had some very strong horses in there as well. Plus, Belgium had a strong team and others. U.F had a very good team. They ended up finishing a second, but Ireland dominated this. And the bit that stood out for me, wet cross-country. Thank you very much. We'll be good at that breakfast and come home very comfortably as the lead is going into the show, don't we? And then they delivered on the show, don't we, as well? Yeah, this was a great result. U.F.O. was definitely on that last Irish Nations Cup winning team here at bookalow. Well, I think she was. Actually, I'm I've got that wrong. I'm thinking about ark and possibly instead. But anyway, Susie Berry finished sixth clever trick. E for Clark, sportsville freelance, who I was keen on beforehand, finished in 12th. Oh, yes, sorry, Poreg, 10th pomp and circumstance. That is, yeah, that's a 10-year-old as well. So he's had some very promising results in the last couple of weeks with younger horses, having one at Blanham. And the only person that didn't go completely right for was Austin. But a big win for the Irish out there, as you say, in the mud. It's a bit of a cliche, but if you're Irish and you can't go cross-country in the mud, well, you know, that's what you're meant to be doing, isn't it? Yeah, something's wrong. I mean, they were very, very good. And actually, they weren't a million miles in the dressage away from the top five that they were 6,000 dressage. They ended up, as I say, with that brilliant cross-country performance. Only one team actually had four clear rounds on cross-country date, and that was the United States of America who ended up in the second. We'll talk about them for a second as well, actually, because it was 2021, I think, that the US had previously gone well at bookalow, the year that Will Coleman won ark in. But actually, cute girl, Hallie Kuhn led the charge. They finished in third. Mary Bestavis, Imperial Magic 19, Philip Dutton, 20th, and then at Redfield Fair, Cassie Sanger didn't have the show jumping round that they would have hoped for, but actually, you know, very, very good solid, fast, clear cross-country round. I think four clear rounds for the US team will have given Bobby Costello, particularly in those conditions, a lot to like about that team. And I think they would be, yes, they didn't quite challenge the Irish this year. The Irish were comfortable winners in the end, but actually, they were a very strong second. They were well ahead of Germany in third. What did you want to mention, the Belgians? Oh, Belgians. Okay, so first of all, Germany finished in third on the leaderboard for the Nations Cup team. I would say they, to be fair, I looked at their team and I thought they'll run away with this because they had three five-star horses in FRH but Savadon and Asima. You had, obviously, Emma Bresto, Dark Desire, and Holly Toss, Quidditch Kay, and Marlon Hansen, Hot Up, as well as Julia Krabsky. And so I thought, my God, right, you've got a really strong team. Marlon was fourth at Kentucky this spring. They're going to walk away with it. But actually, they had a lot of problems cross-country. I think they had two clears in the end. It wasn't the day that they would have expected. They ended up finishing in third. That was good enough to give them second in the overall series standings. So France had already wrapped up the FBI of the Nations Cup series going into this weekend. They couldn't be caught. They were more than 100 points clear. So they had that series when wrapped up. It was just the case of the leg that needed to be decided. Belgium, who I have to say, I just want to give a massive, massive shout-out to 19-year-old Flatchabantouvera Hoff with Karen Dunkers, who looked phenomenal all weekend. And he's, as I say, 19. We're unlikely to see him perhaps next year. This felt like a swam song to his career, which has included, I think, something ridiculous, like eight championships appearances. I know, I mean, we were not in the first flush of you, herself, has ridden in the most extraordinary amount of championships herself. And she's always cheerful and jolly. And she's always saying, "Oh, I'm really slow-crossed country." Well, she wasn't, actually. No, not at all. I mean, she came home 4.4 time and he jumped the most beautiful player on the final day. And funnily enough, actually, he, I think it was, he missed one of his changes in the dressage, which would have been unlike him. I would imagine that, actually, he'd pop those james to that left-right and sent to no problem at all, which is just sometimes the way the cookie crumbles. And I just thought, "How lucky are we to have been able to enjoy watching a wonderful horse that's done so much for a venting that's done so much for Belgium?" Yeah. "I actually come out to Buffalo and I really enjoy it. I've finished on a high in the top 10. And look, I'm speculating wildly. I have no inside knowledge as to what plans might be with him. But what I would say, credit, where credit is due, huge, huge, huge hats off to Karen and her team. And we're just lucky to have been able to watch him. And I think we're going to see a few more horses like that. At the Mars Maryland Five Star at Fair Hill this weekend, there's a few of the Five Star sort of legends as such that are probably heading towards the kind of latter stages of their career. And we're going to get to enjoy them there. So do you know what? We're very lucky to be able to enjoy this sport. We're very lucky to be able to see some of the best horse and riders in the world and everything else. And sometimes we can be looking for the chink in the armour, can't we? You've got to build a bit of drama. And that's half the fun. However, ultimately, it's about the horse. And I feel like we've seen one of the real greats. And he never won an individual medal. So he perhaps doesn't get the limelight that others mind. Well, light plays for his rider, because she's based in Belgium. And she does come to Britain. But not a lot and not for a while, really. So perhaps she doesn't get the recognition in the English speaking world, perhaps that she maybe does on the continent. But she is a complete legend of the sport. Yeah. And actually, Thorese Zellabrathari, who was her other ride, who just picked up financialities as a country, but otherwise looked very good, is out of her Meg Zellabrathari, who was probably such a massive championship contained contender for her. And I think went to Athens and probably the Europeans at Blanham and stuff like that, you know, was being such a cool horse. Catherine, before we finish, I have to say, what has been your highlight of bookalay? Oh, Julia, undoubtedly, because I loved, you know, I loved the fact that the horse has stepped up so much this year, the ark and performance, go to the Olympics, having not been selected originally, really. And then to, you know, have a little rest and to come back and to dominate again, I thought was very exciting for the future. And, you know, Yulu is not only a top rider, but she's a great ambassador for the sport. She's particularly articulate in her interviews, which as a journalist, obviously I care about. And she has a great way of expressing herself. And, and I also really like the fact that, you know, actually, funnily enough, I've Mickey Young went to Strollgum and won this weekend as well, but not on his Olympic horse. I like that. Oh, just say on that, Catherine, sorry to jump in. Jim Knox, the horse that he won on in Strollgum, is the horse that he puts up on to much duress, because I didn't let him go away with it. On when the Coleman, Michael, post Olympics, on his one to watch the future, that was the one that he picked out. Yes. And that's exactly. Well, move on, doesn't it? We've had an Olympics, we've had a burly and all the rest of it, but the world, the eventing world keeps turning. That's the hardest thing, I think, probably about being a top rider and trying to remain a top rider is keeping the continuity in horses, because you just can't have big gaps. Otherwise, you drop off the top spot. It's just like that. And fair play to both of them for keeping that continuity. Yeah, I'm going to pick two. So one island winning the Nations Cup, because I thought they were very classy. I thought they were very convincing. I think, actually, Porridge horse, in particular, really stood out for me, pomp and circumstance. I'd seen it at Blandham and the eight nine-year-olds previously, and it looked really nice then. But he looks like he's getting some real horse power through, which when you talk about getting that horse power through, you know, since Mr. Chunky, he's not had the real superstar. And it's hard. Yeah, so it's nice for him. So I'm chuffed a bit for the Irish team. I thought they did a super job. And then my other highlight has to be the Gator in the mud spot. And being heckled by the hospitality guests, while they called for help, and the cameraman took basically your opportunity to show them at every angle. We should mention, in 13th Britain's Daniel Alderson, on a nine-year-old man, Blarney Monberg-Pepper, you know, 35.6 dressage, 64th, but clear inside the time-cost country and only 0.4 of a time penalty in the show jumping to finish 13th. From someone who was fairly unheralded, this is a very, very good result and should be noticed. Yeah, I agree, actually. And that horse was top 20 at Blandham in the eight nine-year-old division, as well. So, you know, come here off the back of a good result already. He's based in Ireland, so I think we don't see as much of him in in England as I'm by the cultist. No, he's not as familiar with him, but he was super. And kind of just quietly went about his business. Did the solid dressage went quietly clear inside the time-cost country, quietly clear jumping. And he was thrilled. You could see how pleased he was in that final show jumping phase when he came over the last how tough it was. And so that's one to watch for next year, for sure. All right, Catherine, on we go to the Miles at Maryland five-star at Fair Hill this week. Listeners, we've got so much coming for you this week on the show. There is the the Maryland preview show, which I'm very much looking forward to listening to myself, actually, because I had to sit it out because for a Ben wasn't very well, so I missed the recording. So, I'm hoping that that will be out Wednesday. And we can listen to that. We're also catching up with Tammy Smith. I'll be speaking to her later today, actually, on Tuesday. That's going to be released straight away for you on My Barns hopes going into Maryland this year as well. So stay tuned for that. But for now, we hope you've enjoyed Buffalo as much as we have. Big thank you to Equaloon for supporting our coverage of the event this year. And we will be back with lots more in-store, Catherine. I think we need to do an alphabetie soon. It's been a while. We need some light relief at the end of the season. I know. It's all quite serious, isn't it? So, let's do it. Right. On that note, listeners, thanks for tuning in and we'll be back. Thank you.
