Words & Photos by Julian Portch

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This was my first trip to The Landrover Blair Castle International Horse Trials. A 1200 mile round trip, so quite an adventure to cover two days of cross country. Having previously seen wet and windy coverage from Blair, I packed lots of wet weather and warm clothing.

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On arrival, to my surprise, the sun was shining and there was a very pleasant light wind. I had to smile when a spectator on the side of the cross country course, said to his wife and children, “Would you mind if we move over to the shade of the wood as it’s rather hot here in the sun.”

All of the International tracks were tough and demanded both fit horses and riders. If you had to sum up Blair in one word it would be “Mountainous.”

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International wins were taken by Hayden Hankey on GALAXY CARTOWN (CCI-L2*), Eleanor Hope on LIMESTONE ROMEO (CCI-L3*), Emilie Chandler on GORTFADDA DIAMOND (CCI-L4*) and  Astier Nicolas (FRA) on BABYLON DE GAMMA.

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I am looking forward to another trip to Blair in the future.