EQUESTRIAN - Sponsored by Brickfields and Froghill Tack
depend on their performance
at these two important venues
as to whether the pair will be
picked to be part of the British
Olympic Show Jumping team
effort at the Olympic Games
to be held in Hong Kong this
August. The pressure will be
on, but Tim's ready for that:
“We didn't want Corlato, who
is now 11, to peak at Windsor,
and we've got a little bit to do
this week, before we set off
for Rome at the weekend,” he
says. “Corlato's nice and sound
and very fit and well, but
perhaps just a bit short on ring
practise, so we need to work on
that this week.”
So, what exactly does 'a bit
to do' mean for a potential
Olympic horse and rider
which have the eyes of the
British selector on them at two
important Super League shows
in the next three weeks? The
schedule, of course, is carefully
planned.
“We arrived home from
Windsor the evening the
show finished,” explains Tim.
“The following day we turned
Corlato out in her pen so she
could relax and chill out with
the sun on her back. The next
day I took her up into our
fields and gave her a good big
gallop to work on her fitness.
I like to follow that with some
gymnastic jumping to work
on her elasticity and then
the next day we do a bit of
dressage.” Dressage for Tim
includes lateral work such
as leg yielding (a form of
sideways movement), and lots
of lengthening and shortening
of the stride in canter. By
Friday it was time for some
serious jumping over some
really big fences, around 1m60
in height, and on Saturday
Corlato and Tim planned for
an easy day before Corlato set
off for Rome.
Not exactly the jet set life
for Corlato; her journey to
Rome involves three days of
travelling on the road and
life
two overnight stays for the
grey mare known at home
as Ruby, and her two equine
companions, Talori and
Roland II. Corlato's groom,
Joanne Boyd who drives the
wagon as well as looking after
the horses, will make two
scheduled stops en route; the
first in France, near Rheims,
and the second at a yard near
Turin in Italy. Tim flies out on
the Wednesday and the show
begins the following day.
“John Whittaker has followed
a very similar Olympic
preparation programme to us,”
says Tim. “The only difference
is that John chose a show in
Hamburg as his warm up and
I preferred Windsor. Hamburg
is held on grass, and I decided
to go to Windsor because there
we jump on a surface, which
is very similar to what we will
have to do at the games.”
After Rome, Corlato will
travel on to Switzerland,
another 12-hour drive, but
at least she will arrive on the
same day. The horses will leave
immediately after the show
finishes and take two days to
get home. “She'll be away for a
total of two and a half weeks,”
says Tim.
If the pair go well, then
selection should be almost a
formality, provided Corlato
stays sound and well, but if
not, then Tim still has a plan
B up his sleeve. “If we need
to, we can still go to a show in
Rotterdam to prove to Derek
Ricketts that we should be
selected to go to the games,” he
says, but the decision on who
will ride for Britain in Hong
Kong will not be made until
mid June. That's still a long
time to wait for the telephone
to ring, and to keep the horse
in perfect condition.
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