Alice Oppenheimer

A very special christmas present

Bearing in mind that we had another month off competing in December, it was still very eventful (but December always is I suppose!)

I got an early Christmas present when we went to the Brightwells stars of the future sale... we had a table booked as we originally had Headmore Wimoweh entered but were offered a sum we couldn’t refuse, but we thought we would still go for the night out. Mum and I went up in the afternoon to watch some of the trial rides, and there were a few horses that caught our eye (even though we weren’t looking to buy). We did check through the list of x-rays so we knew which horses to avoid, but we weren’t overly thorough as we were just going for the jolly. However, after a few glasses of wine, one of the horses that both Mum and I had liked came in the ring, and the bidding was very slow on her so I asked Mum if I could have a bid, she had the money after all! Mum thought that she was such a lovely horse that we wouldn’t get her for the bid, but no one else bid again, so we now own Elvedina (Evie) a rising 5 year old 17hh bay mare by Ehrentusch. She is lovely (and has already greatly improved for being on her Dengie diet) and will be out competing in 5 year old classes in 2012.

Also, Del (Headmore Delegate) had an outing for the first time since the Nationals as we had an equine pathway session with Ferdi Eilberg at Unicorn trust. It was the first time that we had really practised the Grand Prix movements away from home, and everyone was really pleased with his progress. His piaffe and passage were super and his one time changes are coming. The team vet, farrier and physio were also pleased with him, so it was a good day all round!

December always includes a reasonable amount of partying and celebrating, starting with my 22nd birthday, which consisted of a day out with Gayle, Amy and my sister, Kate followed by a lovely evening meal with all of my family and loads of friends. We also had a trip to Olympia. Amy and I went up for the dressage day to watch Charlotte, and we weren’t disappointed. We were treated to a British top 4, and the three members of the gold medal winning team were simply outstanding. It’s not outrageous to think that at least two of the individual medallists at the Olympics could be British! We were also lucky enough to see a British winner in the show jumping world cup qualifier in Ben Maher. It was, as ever, a very exciting class and all of us had a fantastic time in the box. We also got to see the pony that we bred, Murkas Headmore Little Lightning, ridden by Harry Charles finish a close and very respectable 3rd in the 128cm class in the evening. It was very exciting to see Lightning compete, and we were all very proud!

That just left Christmas... the Christmas period is always a bit manic with horses, but this year we had an absolutely amazing Christmas day and I managed to see all of my closest friends, which meant a lot of eating and drinking! I will be quite pleased when everything is back to normal now! We also said goodbye to 2011, a mixed year for me with some good results, starting at Grand Prix, and some that I was disappointed with. Roll on 2012 however, a year that I saw in with style with an 8 course meal and lots of champagne with a group of amazing people. What a night!

So Happy New Year to everyone, and let’s hope that 2012 is a good one!

Alice