It can rain on my parade any day!

I'm still grinning. I  regularly stroke my rosette that's now taking pride of place in my living room.  And, I thank the rain. Let me explain.

This weekend, Wilbur and I were competing at the British Dressage PetPlan Dressage Festivals at Bury Farm Equestrian Centre having qualified for the Elementary Restricted class. I love the PetPlan Festivals. Although they are not the finals (these take place at the Winter Dressage Championships at Hartpury College) they still have a championship feel about them so they certainly test your nerves. As a consequence, Wilbur and I have never scored well at these events. And so, I arrived at Bury Farm with no real expectations, other than to enjoy myself and the atmosphere.

Mole charming the Bury Farm shop staff

I had only entered the qualifier class. I find that if I just do one test, then I can focus on that and really 'go for it'. The black clouds were building as we started our warm-up. With 10 minutes to go before our test, the heavens opened! I think I must have been the only rider in the collecting ring who was pleased - and probably looked a bit moronic with my big smile. For some reason, I always relax when it rains. It somehow takes the pressure off because psychologically I feel it levels the playing field. In fact, my only eventing win was at Tweseldown when I had puddles in my boots as we trotted down the centre line. Wilbur went on to achieve a rare clear in the showjumping, seemingly enjoying the mud. Across country he didn't spook at any of the lakes on the take-off and landings and his 'bravery' resulted in victory. So on Sunday, when people commented that I was smiling, I just said I was thankful I didn't have to go cross country as well!

Waiting for the bell to ring, Wilbur felt fresh. He spooked at the flowers and the prize-giving podium, so I knew I was going to have to be determined in the test to keep him focused. Once in the arena he felt fantastic and produced a lovely positive trot down the centre line. We still had one or two 'arguments' when Wilbur thought he knew best (thank goodness the judges all had their car windows shut as I growled at him down the final centre line because he always tries to halt earlier than required!). One judge wrote on the sheet, 'you worked harder than he did', but that's what I've learned with Wilbur, that you have to ride every movement of the test with 110% focus and be brave by asking for more. I lost a couple of silly marks due to inaccurate riding, but I was thrilled to get a score of 66.67% - one of our highest affiliated scores!

And so, a couple of hours later, I found myself struggling into some still very soggy breeches and a rather damp jacket to attend the prize giving.  We even had a glass of champagne and the sun came out for the photos.

Me and fellow competitor, Diane - thanks for the photos Emma Green!

Yesterday, everything came together. It put those times, when you feel like giving up, into perspective.

Kathryn White is owner and director of Cathean Ltd Medical Writing and Cathean Ltd Copy Writing Services. She is a published medical & copy writer and equestrian journalist with a passion for creating high quality content for her clients. Her customers include pharmaceutical, healthcare and equestrian businesses in the UK and across the world.