Both Florence and Percy have been flying lately but luck wasn't on our side at the BRC National Horse Trials Championships. Our highlight of the weekend was having a picture of Percy and I in the programme for the Animalife advert, who were the main sponsors for the event. On the first day Florence got held at the trot up but was then passed saying I could do the dressage but had to represent to a vet before roads and tracks on the Saturday. She felt absolutely fine in her dressage and did a foot perfect beautiful test for 28 in 100/Intermediate. Percy had got pretty excited by the idea of stabling away but didn't disgrace himself in the dressage for 33 in the 100+. The next day we had roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross country. Florence did everything very well right up until the second last fence on the cross country, where she jumped very boldly into a combination and just had a little misunderstanding at the skinny, so we had to come again. I was absolutely gutted I hadn't opted for the long route because she would have stood in a really good position if we had jumped clear. Next up was Percy and just as I set off on the roads and tracks the heavens opened and the thunder and lightening began. We did steeplechase in horizontal rain with electric skies. By the time we got round to the cross country we were liked drowned rats and the ground had gone from being pretty firm to a churned up, slippy mess. Percy really wasn't enjoying his run but he gave it his best shot. He was caught out at the water which to be fair had caused several problems. It was a drop in, to a fish in the water, run out over a very angled skinny hedge. He had never seen a jump in water before and had a novice run out and then popped as we reapprached but I had no steering coming in to the hedge because I was so wet and had terrible grip on my reins so we ran by that to. I thought considering it was only supposed to be ran as a 100+ that fence was a very stiff question. He then continued steadily round the course but still wasn't enjoying the ground but he jumped all the other questions including the second last fence where Florence had problems. I pulled him up after that one and retired and walked home. All in all a disastrous weekend. I didn't trot Florence up the next day as we had no chance of a placing having had 20 penalties and I just wanted to go home. I am pleased to say though that I got my vet to check her on the Monday and he said she was absolutely fine, so I'm not sure what was going on in the first vet inspection where we got held.