Placing 5th in the prestigious Longines Grand Prix in La Baule yesterday apparently sent Stephan Lafouge home with 12,000 Euros as well as a pretty flash watch. So come on Australia, let's get our acts together! Either we send all our most promising riders and their horses to Europe to...

It was a big day for Redleaf at Sydney Showjumping Club, with Chris and Haruzac winning the 1.20m class, closely followed by Julia and Tattiana. Chris also won the D Grade with Contendah, and Julia picked up 3rd, 4th and 5th placings on Suzannah Willis's Blue Jay, Tattiana and young Vegas. It was...

We are finally at La Baule, but were en route when Visage placed 5th in his first class in the 1.50 series on Thursday. Stephan reports he is jumping great and managing the big atmosphere well. And big it is! Not unlike Badminton in fact, with huge packed stands and tiers of private boxes, not to...

News has filtered through that the Barker team has done very well at Galston High Showjumping, courtesy of Gabrielle Biland and Vertigo picking up a 1st and a 2nd, and Georgie and Paris a 2nd and a 4th placing, as well as Reserve Champion for Year 12s.Photo: Gab and Clover getting to know each...

The team powered home today, with Chris winning the 3 Star riding Leilani, owned by Jade Findlay, and placing 5th in the 2 Star riding Alan Skinner's Haruzac. Aaron Moyes also climbed up the rankings after showjumping, to finish 6th on Crackerjack.Meanwhile Jamie Kermond won the showjumping World...

It's the big weekend of World Cups CDI at SIEC in Sydney, and news is filtering through via text and e-mail. Chris is currently running 2nd after the cross-country in the 3-Star with Jade Findlay's Leilani, and 6th in the 2-Star riding Alan Skinner's Haruzac. Aaron Moyes is not far behind ,...

Herica Ravel has kindly forwarded several great shots she took of Visage in the Grand Prix at Maubeuge over the weekend. Herica acts as agent for Visage in Europe and reports she was surrounded by people making breeding enquiries at the show.Photo: Note the muddy legs. Unfortunately the warm-up was...

Conditions were largely cold and wet for the Grand Prix this afternoon. Maybe that's why the stallion standing next to Visage at the entry gate tried to attack him just before he entered the arena. So after a great warm-up, Visage entered the ring rather tense. And it was a big tricky course which...

We finally caught up with Visage and Stephan yesterday in Maubeuge in the north of France. The show is held right in the middle of town, so we are only five minutes' walk from Visage's stable. The warm-up area is set in the grassed-over remains of a moat surrounding what is left of the castle that...

En route to Maubeuge, we visited Edwina Alexander at Stal Tops on the border between Belgium and Holland. It is easy to see why Edwina has opted to live here, with wonderful facilities at home, and a huge selection of international shows to attend. Edwina averages 47 or 48 top shows a year, she...