FITNESS WORK AT HOME IN A WET SPRING

COPING with the weather in England has been a challenge for every eventer this spring. William Fox-Pitt, a former Kentucky winner who had been entered this time, decided not to come because he felt Fernhill Pimms wasn’t ready due to lack of runs because of the conditions.

“It has been so bad for around four months now,” Oliver said. “But we have a very, very good gallop that we use. Master Class [pictured, right] hasn’t had a competitive run this season.”

The horse has run in two open intermediates (OIs) this spring.

“They were schooling rounds and he was going two miles an hour around the cross-country,” Oliver says. “This is his first proper event. But we know the gallops very well and we know exactly what the horses need to be doing before they come to the big competitions.”

Although Master Class had just one serious cross-country schooling session, Oliver said: “He was always on track from a fitness point of view.”

He joked that for Master Class, the first three fences on Kentucky’s crosscountry course were his “advanced prep”.

“He started off very green and then he warmed up as he went,” Oliver said. “He really dug deep and fought for me. He had a smile on his face, his ears were pricked from beginning to end, and that was very important for me.”

Of MHS King Joules, Oliver said: “He’s had as many runs as any horse in England this year, two OIs and an advanced. Obviously, the atmosphere competing is different here in comparison to muddy fields in England with no one there.”