Tag: Harry Dzenis

What was all the fuss about?

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zip… I say, lying through my teeth.

My trip up to Blair involved a diversion to stay with some great friends in the Borders. I don’t get to see them often, and George – one of their sons/my godson – becomes ever more gorgeous as the years go by. If I keep the Blair job, I have an excuse to visit them every year 🙂

Blair was great. The sun shone (most of the time) which after last year’s European Championships is definitely news-worthy, the internet worked almost seamlessly (ditto) and I found myself zip-wiring from the top of the Blair Castle tower in aid of Barnardo’s. Ellie Crosbie joined me in the Media Tent and Trevor & Lorna were there, taking photos of Manners Media clients Oliver Townend & Bill Levett – with the dream-team what could go wrong! Oliver was on fire – he had 7 rides, all finishing in the top 6 of their classes and Cillnabradden Evo winning the Event Rider Masters.

From Blair I back tracked down to Pitlochry before diverting east for another trip to the incredible Fealar estate. My charming host had dropped a Land Rover at the bottom of the 8 mile obstacle course, flatteringly referred to as the drive, so I could abandon the Jazz and enjoy a much speedier trip to the house than 12 months ago, arriving in time for dinner.

Sadly, with Burghley looming, I could only stay for 36 hours, but I came away feeling restored – a long, long walk, another encounter with a golden eagle, totally delicious food, slightly too much alcohol and great company. The 10 hour drive home was less enjoyable!

As last year, I stayed with the wonderful ‘Growler’ for Burghley. She received some bombshell news on the day of my arrival, so I was more pleased than ever to be there to keep her spirits up. My lasting memory is of setting mouse traps (a long story), giggling uncontrollably – the mouse didn’t stand a chance.

shantyBurghley passed in something of a blur. I can’t complain, Ellie fitted in a job in Germany in the three days between Blair and Burghley – it was all I could do not to dribble by the Sunday. Oliver, Bill, Ros Canter and Harry Dzenis were all in action, Oliver finishing as best Brit. I also met up with new client Ruth Edge to discuss her website, now she has hung up her eventing boots to focus on dressage.

I genuinely slept for a week once I was home again. It’s such bliss to actually have time to ride George most days, fly, indulge in a few massages (I have found a wonderful woman who comes to the house – heaven!), go for long beach walks and catch up with friends. Admittedly one such walk did end up with 2 fire engines, a boat and over 20 strapping men joining in the fun – poor Shanty, the Highland cow, had got herself stuck in a dyke and the only option was to call the cavalry.

I have one more job for Horse & Hound next week and that is me done for 2016. Time to finish the garden, endure a month or so of builders, and get my paintbrush out again…

All aboard the runaway train

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PigAs April turns in to May I always feel as though I am on a runaway train, there are nowhere near enough hours in the day and June seems a long way off.

Back to the start of the month and Barefoot Estates Burnham Market was a great success. The sun shone, there were no untoward dramas (although Andrew Nicholson hitting the deck was a heart in mouth moment), and the crowds came – we even had a future king who was spotted rolling down the side of ‘The Mound’ out on the cross country course. For the avoidance of doubt, I refer to the youngest generation here, not the helicopter pilot!

Oliver Townend yet again won the big class. He has a truly remarkable record at Burnham Market, having now won the CIC3* class an astonishing nine times: in 2007 and 2009 on Flint Curtis; 2008 Coup de Coeur; 2010 Ashdale Cruise Master; 2012 Pepper Anne; 2 x 2014 when two sections were held, Black Tie and Armada; 2015 Mr Hiho – with Armada 0.2 of a penalty behind in second place; and this year he posted another 1-2 riding Cooley Master Class and Note Worthy. Mighty impressive in anyone’s book.

Work for Blaston, Houghton and Rockingham is increasing and I head off to Mitsubishi Motors Badminton on Wednesday – with Michael Jung having won two legs of the Rolex Grand Slam, this week is going to be exciting. Both Ros Canter and Kathryn Robinson are taking on the ‘big one’ for the first time, and Manners Media is very chuffed to have a total of seven clients competing (Oliver Townend, Jeanette Brakewell, Giovanni Ugolotti, Harry Dzenis & Bill Levett). Trevor Holt is going to have his work cut out photographing that lot, on top of his other work!

My domestic arrangements have changed a little so I’m also trying to ‘sort’ stuff, get the garden under control and fit in some riding. I seem to have a new skill to add to my CV – mole catcher. The cats have become very adept at catching the critters and bringing them in for a party, but they then lose interest; a large funnel and table mat seems to be the optimum ‘release kit’.

I’ve finally got airborne again, after a six month break – it’s always a relief to discover you can still land successfully (not least for the poor person sitting beside me)! I’ve even been seen at ‘Action Dave’ work out classes – I’m astonished that I pay for the privilege of enduring such torture. Let’s hope it becomes less painful in time.

I seem to have fallen off the planet…

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SeakingI have embarrassingly little to report on the work front. The rest of the team have all been beavering away, but I have almost nothing to show for the last month bar an increasingly intimate knowledge of back route detours either side of the Dartford Tunnel, a declining feeling of warmth towards all those folk over the Channel who are making drivers on south east motorways lose the will to climb behind the wheel, and an impressively comprehensive mental database of where to buy cheap fuel in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent and Sussex… By choice, none of these would be my specialist subject if called up for Mastermind.

On the plus side there are also a few less weeds in my Norfolk garden, the kitchen wallpaper has finally been consigned to the bin (a job I started in May – and no, it’s not that big a kitchen), and George the horse’s hock (blog 1) is steadily improving.

The medical fraternity has played way too big a part in my life, poking and prodding me to check that I am still a picture of health, given the whole family situation right now (seems I am – phew). Just the CAA flying medical to go in a couple of weeks and I can resume my aversion to anyone who knows how to use a stethoscope or (one of my three most hated words in the English vocabulary) probe 😉

Talking of medics, I did get the promised tour of the RAF Search & Rescue Sea King helicopter (blog 2). Big thanks to the lovely folk at RAF Wattisham and my host, Haz Hunter. She (the Sea King – definitely female; beautiful, practical, multi-talented, complex and hard to handle) totally lived up to expectation. It was love at first sight – she’s just the coolest bit of kit. My heart breaks with the knowledge that these incredible machines are all being sold off and SAR is being transferred in to private hands. Don’t start me on politics…

I admit I was slightly nervous when Haz talked me through his back pack (weighs a ton and he carries it down on the tiniest wire imaginable, invariably dealing with some sort of sea rescue)… I’m pretty au fait with mind-bending drugs right now, but when he produced a small drill, used for drilling directly in to bones to get fluid in quickly (squeamish – ugh…) I weirdly found myself listing which bones I would find acceptable and which not, should he ever find himself rescuing me… Note to self: take up knitting.

I might not have much to show on the business front but I so love the people I work with. Panda at The GPC has given me hours of entertainment – non-disclosable of course, but I struggle to categorise it as work when it’s so much fun.

Oliver giving the press the low down © Fiona Scott-Maxwell (also a web client!)
Oliver giving the press the low down © Fiona Scott-Maxwell (also a web client!)

I’m missing The Festival of British Eventing this weekend, but Trevor has just texted to say that Oliver (Townend – web client) has already bagged a 1-2 in the Novice Championships, won the Intermediate Championships, and is lying 2nd & 3rd after dressage in the Open… I seriously hope that Bridget and her team are missing me – but bring on the European Championships at Blair in September, where she will be keeping us all in order…

Lastly I have to give a shout out to Harry Dzenis (another web client) who won an obscenely huge trophy recently with Xam the Man… can’t wait to see them at Burghley next month…

Next week the Highlands beckon before I ramp up my work. Horse & Hound are easing me in gently with a trip to Keysoe and then, via a small diversion to what will be probably the best 18th birthday celebration of 2015 with my lovely ‘sort of’ cousins, the eventing party really kicks off…