the five hour journey with the horses alone to Albury on the Friday whilst mum made the plane, train and bus trip (grooming duties were calling). We were blessed with perfect weather, excellent facilities and a friendly organising committee at Albury. Now to do enough to earn a place on the squad. Leroy was on a steep learning curve and faced his first EVA105 competition over a challenging course. I decided to make this a training run for him, taking my time around the course as it was his first event at this height and he stepped up to the mark and finished free of jumping faults Trumby’s 3* cross country was tough considering this was the first opportunity we had had to run 3* for the year. There were numerous questions to answer and although Trumby took it all in his stride during what is his best phase, the course was to cause problems for some of the more experienced horses. I headed back to Sutton Forest on the Monday whist mum headed back to Perth. It was around this time we were saddened to hear of the accident that Courtney Fraser was involved in as she headed home from Albury. This accident was to claim the life of a driver from one of the other vehicles and both Courtney’s horses. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all involved in this tragedy. News came through during the week that Trumby and I had been called onto the squad along with Craig Barrett, Natalie Blundell, Seamus Marwood, Emma Scott and Stuart Tinney. This involved heading to SIEC the Monday before the competition to go into camp. Being part of the squad proved to be a fantastic experience for me. I learnt an amazing amount and met many great people. It was a privilege to work alongside the other squad members with their wealth of experience that they so generously shared. Coaching with Brett Parbury for dressage and Sam Lyle for showjumping was also helpful. Leroy had a busy time at SIEC. He competed in the Young Event Horse competition on the Friday where he placed a creditable fourth. This involved all three phases being completed on the same day. He then tackled his second EVA105 course and I was pleased that once again he completed the weekend free of any jumping faults. Trumby was to post a PB for competition at this level and finished in sixth place. Click Here to watch Trumby go Cross Country..I was Jess Manson with Above: Jess and Legal Star during the showjumping phase at the Trans Tasman at the SIEC. Below: Legal Contender and Jess prior to the dressage phase of the Young Event Horse competition at Albury.