Lots of things have happened since last time I wrote. Last week it was training as usual and I have been riding a horse for Markus which is for sale. He’s a six year old Westphalian, bred to jump but is showing talent at dressage. His neck is a bit tight at times so working him long and low is really helping the basics but I am also enjoying teaching him his changes. Rocco’s simple changes are feeling nearly established, and he’s on really good form at the moment.

Last week I was in Hagen watching the Bundesbank Championship Qualifiers for five and six year olds. The horses must score an overall 8 or higher in order to qualify, with a mark for walk, trot, canter, overall impression and submission. In Germany these classes are very tough as the judges are really looking for three top gaits. For instance you may see a horse with a fantastic walk and canter but an average trot and they will not give it an 8 because the trot isn’t good enough.

Markus was competing Riva, a mare belonging to his client Marne. The pair scored a 7.5 - it was a good test but just a little bit green. They have some more qualifiers coming up and I am sure they will soon qualify, but the standard of the class in Hagen was really high. Only four horses qualified and the winner was a mare that scored an 8.8 and showed so much potential for the future. I had a great time at the show and the weather was a fantastic 29c!!

Unfortunately Domino and I will miss the show in Cloppenburg, which I have been looking forward to so much. We have both been accident prone and now we are both injured! I rode a different horse and must have had my stirrups slightly shorter, then the next day my knee felt really sore. The swelling got so big and walking was so difficult that I had to go to the hospital. The doctor said I had pulled my big tendon, the one that runs above and below the knee cap. He thinks just one week’s rest with ice and I will be back to normal and riding again. I hope so because walking with crutches is not as easy as it looks!

Domino, bless him, we think has been cast overnight, panicked and torn a muscle in his back. We hope it isn’t too serious and again he will have to rest like me for a short time. On a positive note it was my birthday on Sunday, I am now 23! It was a gorgeous day and I had a wonderful time.

I have just moved into a fabulous new apartment here in Lastrup in Germany, where I will be sharing with Marne, the American lady who also trains with Markus Gribbe. We have our own terraced garden perfect for sunny days, having said that the weather here is miserable at the moment.

Since my last blog so much has happened. I was at the 'Horses & Dreams' show in Hagen two weekends ago. It’s a big international show for both show jumping and dressage, and this year the theme was Mexico so many of the shops and restaurants were offering Mexican style products. We went on the Sunday for the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle and it was absolutely packed. We watched both the tests and the warm up and it was really interesting as there were many big names such as Valentina Truppa, Nadine Capellmann, Matthias Rath, Victoria Max-Theurer to name but a few. Hubertus Schmidt was the winner and you could see why, his attention to setting up the movements is extraordinary and the way he prepares the half passes in the warm up is unique. In the corner before the half pass he rides a clear shoulder in and then in the actual half pass he changes the angle and bend frequently. Then as he finishes the half pass he rides travers for two strides or so and then straightens the horse quickly. He does not do this in the test! This appeared to be his method for training for this horse - in the test he rode the movement in the normal manner but the horse finds the movement easier because of the training beforehand.

I was a lucky girl this week and received an early birthday present - a large tack locker for competitions, which can take up to four saddles with lots of room for extra equipment - it even has a mirror! It’s brilliant for the shows here. We have a show next weekend where Marne, Aaron (one of Markus’s riders) and I will all compete so I just hope we don’t have any more rain.

Mum says the building work at home is really coming on with the new access road completed and the foundations laid for my indoor school. It shouldn’t be long now until it’s finished. We also have a new member of our family - a little black Patterdale cross Jack Russell - he’s seven months old and was a rescue dog. Luckily my dog Diesel likes him so I cannot wait to meet him.

Fiona Price is doing a feature on Horse Hero with Francisco da Braganza in Portugal. I was lucky enough to have two weeks of lessons with him on a riding holiday many years ago and I rode a beautiful black stallion. Francisco teaches in a very different way to the German trainers, however he had me riding so many movements, I gained a lot of experience. My biggest memory though is the day he took me and one other lady on a hack around the mountains. I remember the groom asking if I knew Francisco was crazy on a hack and then saying have fun and smiling! It was all really relaxed until Francisco said "right follow me" and cantered flat out down a track until we reached a small river. I hesitated saying "I can’t go with the horse through there", he said "yes you can" and before I had chance to think he tapped my horse on the bottom and we were in the water. I was completely covered and when the horses got out of the water they bucked like stink! Just when I thought the excitement was over he took off again, we followed jumping ditches and then took a relaxing walk back to the stables with Francisco laughing all the way. It was so much fun for us and the horses - Fiona, you will have a great time!