Last weekend we headed away once again for another competition, Cock of the North, hosted by the Northern region and the final run out before the big, county competition of the year, Intercounties.

This competition was held at Oswestry, Shropshire and was the first competition in which I have ridden on grass for some time. This of course meant it was time to stud up again and that brought the first complication as one of my stud keepers had been dislodged, at who knows what stage, but I’m estimating a while with the number of little stones and compacted dirt in there. But I managed in the end to re-tap the holes and get some shiny new studs fitted into Blue’s shoes. Delegation is the key – there is no point dating a farrier and then picking the feet out yourself!!

Blue has been running very well on the all weather surface with fast, sharp turns as he is so sure of the ground, so I was a little concerned that we would struggle moving back onto grass, especially on a show ground renowned for having hard slippery going that doesn’t cut well in the turns. However I needn’t have worried, Blue spent the whole weekend flying from top to bottom of the arena showing me (of little faith) that he could be just as safe and secure on his feet and keep his fabulous pace he has had on the all weather surface.

In the past this competition has always held a superstition around it (which avid blog followers would have read about a year ago!), where the winners of the event generally do not win the following Intercounties Championship. This, however, we no longer give a monkey’s about. Over the last few years superstition has bypassed me, from a time when I had to wear the right socks, jodhpurs and even underwear, put Blue’s boots on in a specific order and heaven forbid let anyone else even help with putting Blue’s tack on; I now wear whichever underwear and socks I pull out of the bag (comfort permitting – vaulting requires the right underwear!) and force myself to put Blue’s boots on in a "random" order (meaning not my old superstitious way). Yet I still don’t let anyone else tack Blue up (if anyone dares to help by putting his bridle on, I take it off again)! So back to the point, we weren’t thinking superstitiously; we just went about the whole competition the way we have every other this year, to make sure we perform at our best!

For Blue and I, performing well was not an issue this weekend, Blue was an angel and I was switched on. Throughout the whole weekend the only mistake we made was that I missed the ‘put in’ the cone at the top of the ring in the flag fliers race on Saturday morning. I took my eye off of the equipment and was thinking about the turn and the ground. A true school girl error, but made me switch on and concentrate the rest of the weekend!

Others were not switched on at the beginning of the weekend. As Elaine leant down in socks and buckets, she heard a jingling, as she vaulted off and back on her pony, Ellie, she still heard it. As she crossed the line and pulled up you could see the off-side girth buckles rattling around doing very little! Elaine may have 10 World titles, but even the pro’s have to check their girth!

We went into the final in top position but in the trend of the year started very poorly in the final, lagging behind and giving ourselves a lot more work to do. But we put our heads down and rode fast and accurately from then. Two races to go and there were three teams battling out the top position, we had the joust race in the very end lane, which gave our first and third riders very little room to pull up in the fastest game. This however was not the problem I had. I was due to go last, starting at the top of the ring, galloping to take a flying handover, then down the ring to hit the target and across the line.

To get a flying handover you start back from the line and time your run to the line to match the incoming rider. Misjudge this and you have a line fault and elimination or loose ground being too far behind the line. As the horses continue to gallop after the line, the first and third riders gather in the far corner, right next to our lane in this race, and as Steven rode up the ring towards me, other teams were crossing in front of me. Regardless of a final or a heat, you always have to be very aware of all riders and horses in the ring. Two horses colliding at speed can have a disastrous outcome and so I found myself screaming at these riders to move out of our way. I couldn’t even register what team they were, let alone who they were, shouting at them was in no way personal, just purely for their safety and to get them out of the way so we could compete!

In the end, the joust race didn’t separate the three teams and the final race was flag fliers, requiring speed, accuracy and big changeovers! Steven was the last rider for Shropshire and there was a photo finish between him and fellow Scottish rider Lewis, riding for Hampshire (luckily not one of the teams battling for first place) and all we could do is watch where the other teams finished - luckily in an order that left us in the lead and Champions of Cock of the North. We had won the competition and pulled back from another poor start. It was a lovely win, and I was so proud of the team and especially with how Blue and I had gone. Now we just have to keep focused and switched on for the next competition.

Away from Mounted Games, the rugby training is well and truly in swing for the season ahead. This weekend we spent Sunday having a training session, laser zone competition followed by a ‘dance off’ in the rugby club! It was great fun and great start to our season. I did however run flat out into one of my rugby coaches in the dark laser zone coming out with a spectacular black bruise on my arm! We have our first friendly game on the Bank Holiday Monday, and so I won’t be able to play as it is the mounted games Intercounties Championships; our biggest county team competition of the year. Rugby is great fun, highly competitive and great team spirit, but for me, it doesn’t stand up to the team work, competitiveness, thrill and adrenaline rush of Mounted Games and most importantly there is no room in rugby for the equine part! I wouldn’t change my sport for the lack of the amazing bond and friendship I have with Blue!

On a final note, I am just back from the physiotherapist and my "fixed" leg is now rapidly becoming as strong, and in fact stronger than my "good" leg. They have given me the go ahead to start contact on the rugby pitch (a couple of weeks late) and also to start vaulting again (yes, I know, a couple of months late!). So if I could only find where Whizz, our cat that has run away, life would be very, very good!

What an amazing time I've had recently. I had a week off work, which started two Fridays ago when I had another trip to my physiotherapist and surgeon who are both really pleased with the progress on my knee since my reconstruction surgery. I have managed to build my hamstrings back up and they are now stronger than on my ‘good’ leg, but I still have a little way to go with my quads. More work in the gym!

However I didn’t have time to think about rushing into the gym, as I was off to the Mounted Games World Individual Championships 2010. Yet again this was held at the Wales and West Showground due to the great all weather surface there. It is a little tight for team competitions, but ideal for individuals. I went to the competition a little apprehensive and concerned as to how I would get on. Although I have had no problems vaulting and jumping off when I need to in team competitions, I was worried how my knee would stand up in individuals, having to do all of the vaulting races, where you vault more than once in each vaulting game and have to do this repeatedly at race speed to keep up with everyone.

I was hoping to make it through the heats and into the semi-finals, I felt that if I worked hard this would be a realistic aim for me after the year I have had. The heats went from good to better and I cruised into the semi-finals easily. Blue and I were in perfect harmony and things went well. However the semi-finals are often the hardest part of the competition as everyone is pushing very hard for the seven places in the final. There are not enough races to take things slowly or carefully, and if you make a mistake in one race you really need to make every other race count. So the semi-finals were not my favourite part of the competition given the increased pressure. There is a particular focus on skill races and because as everyone is racing hard, it adds to the excitement and tension. Blue and I went really well, getting races right and fast. We won our semi-final and went into the final in first place. Everyone goes back to zero for the final, but the results in the semis determine the colour you ride in and the lane you start in.

I had got into the final and I was so proud of how far I had come with my knee and how well Blue and I were running together. It is do or die in the final, any one of the seven riders and ponies who make it through are capable of winning the competition. Elley Roberts (my England team mate from the European Championships) and I were the only girls in the final, and we wanted to make sure the boys didn’t forget we were there!

I started badly, very badly! Three races in and the points were evenly spread except for Dee Cherrington (a New Zealander who lives and rides in England) and myself who were well behind the other riders. Both of us gave ourselves a bit of a kick as we were throwing away the competition. I got my head down and started riding harder and faster. Blue and I picked up some good places and a few wins put us back in the running. As we approached the end of the competition Dee and I had pulled ahead and had a lead over the rest of the field. The final race approached, flag fliers. Dee had a 2 point lead over me going into the race and I put my head down and rode hard. Blue and I won and Dee came in behind us, meaning Dee had taken the title and Blue and I were just 1 point behind as Reserve World Champions 2010!

I was so proud of Blue and so pleased with how we had done, as well as being a little annoyed about the 1 point! No-one remembers second place, sometimes it is better to lose by 100 points than 1! But it was a great result and I had a fab' week planned ahead to take the edge off any disappointment. So after congratulating Dee on his win and ensuring Blue was safe and sound, my boyfriend Huw and I headed to the Royal Welsh whilst many others headed to Geneva, Switzerland for the World Team Championships.

Friends at the Royal Welsh Show helped me celebrate when I arrived on Sunday night, and we enjoyed the usual drink and a shopping-filled start to the week. I was judging the Invitational European Mounted Games Competition that was running on the Monday and Tuesday. Judging at the Royal Welsh is great, free food and drink always makes it a special occasion and with air-conditioning in the judging box on the Monday I felt rather smug. And even more smug to have somewhere dry to be on Tuesday while the riders half drowned out in the ring as the typical Welsh weather delivered a downpour!

Although the stop at the Royal Welsh was brief, I had plenty of time to do some shopping, sample huge quantities of food, watch the spectacular King’s Troop and have a snoop around some of the pedigree cattle. This year we weren’t staying for the whole week though, Huw was riding for Wales in the team World Championships and Steven (my Shropshire team mate) and I were also heading to Geneva to support our fellow Shropshire riders, Peter and Janey, in the England team.

We flew out to Switzerland on Wednesday morning and caught up with many friends from across the world. The World Team Championships is the one time of the year you can be sure to meet up with all the great friends that you have made across the globe. As Steven and I had gone as supporters, we spent the time keeping scores, cheering very loudly and doing the odd bit of assistant refereeing for our friends from Australia who didn’t have many people with them to help out. This was all done in between some extensive sampling of the local beverages and chocolate!

The International competition was varied, this year only 13 teams were competing and many countries were missing, such as New Zealand, Canada and Scotland. England had a shaky start, taking time to bond together in the ring and had us all biting our nails during the final heat as they had to get over 30 points to qualify for the Grand Final, but they did. The final consisted of Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, England and the hosts Switzerland. Wales and Northern Ireland were both in the ‘B Final’ as Northern Ireland made too many errors and Wales had to deal with a lame pony and a broken thumb!

The final was a real spectacle. It turned into a two horse race as France and Ireland battled it out, with the lead changing after every race. It was very exciting to watch and it was all down to the final race, when Ireland beat France to the World title. Celebrations were many and spirits were high for the final Gala night and everyone partied hard into the early hours refreshing friendships and making new friends before we all had to depart on the Monday morning. After a week in a field with multi-national friends, it is hard to come back to the real world, remembering life has been going on outside the World Championships and that it is time to return to work.

It was an amazing week all round, congratulations to Ireland and Dee Cherrington taking the World titles. Now it's just the World Pairs Championships to come in September. A week on and I am looking forward to being back on Blue in competition. Shropshire pulled out of the Southern competition this weekend as Janey and Peter had not long returned from Geneva with tired ponies and as the ground is not good it was not worth risking the ponies. So now we await the Welsh Championships at the weekend, with Blue and me on a high I am keeping my fingers crossed the team go as well as last year when Horse Hero came to film us!