Camphire Horse Trials

In early June I contacted Camphire Horse Trials to see if they were looking for dressage scribes. I'd tried to get in for Tatts, but I was too late. I had heard of Camphire and had wanted to go there anyway, but why not work at it too and learn a bit? They got back to me and said absolutely.

I got on to my friend Caroline to see if she'd like to come too and she's the Queen of camping- added bonus! We headed off on our merry way on Wednesday once I finished work. 3 hours later we arrived. But not before going through some of the most beautiful parts of Ireland. I had to stop and take it all in.

The Vee

Once we arrived we set about setting up camp. We also helped our neighbours with theirs. We were the only tents amongst a sea of extravagant lorries!! Ah the eventing world......
My bed was the hardest thing to make up and of course it was when I just wanted to get into it. I eventually got it together and crawled in. Some beer may have spilt on it.......

Thursday morning I was up bright and early. We had breakfast whilst watching the competitors exercise their horses. I headed up to the base to see what I had to do and where I needed to be. I was scribing for the lovely Marie Hennessy. We had a guinea pig rider about 15 mins before the first rider to make sure all judges were on the same wavelength. I had never seen one before and thought it was a great idea. This was an International, so there were 3 judges judging some of the tests.

The facilities at Camphire were fantastic. There was a marquee with a bar in it for riders and the general public. Then there was a tent for judges and volunteers with food and water (the food was deeee-lish). They had flushing toilets there too- people who camp will understand this. We got little packs in the cars with water, tea and snacks too. But I had come prepared with a 2 litre bottle of water, bananas and breakfast bars.

Just before 9 our first rider came in. All the horses were turned out immaculately. It took me a few tests before I could properly see what was happening as there was so many elements to each test. It was really amazing to be scribing tests for people you'd watched online at previous competitions.

After lunch we moved on to 2*. This test had some more difficult moves in it. Again we had a guinea pig to start us off. There were only 2 judges this time, one at C and one at B. We were at B. A lot of riders had a few different  horses and you could really tell the riders that were better at flatwork and the ones that saw dressage as something they had to get through to get to the jumping.


I got through the first day with no hand cramps and I learned a lot.  The riders that scored higher used every bit of the arena, especially the corners. Preparation is key! Everything looked smooth for the riders that scored higher. There was no rushing through movements.

We were lucky that the weather was still really nice. That evening we watched some of the riders riding their horses. Then we went up to the bar to listen to the music and absorb the atmosphere. Some of the eventers even tried their hand at Irish dancing! I was pretty tired after my long day, so I didn't need any rocking to sleep that night.

My view on day 2

On Friday it was time for round 2. Today we were doing 2* all day. The test was the same so at this stage I knew it. Amazingly, over the two days only 2 people went wrong. I say that because they had so many different horses and tests to ride, that knowing all of them perfectly amazed me!

That evening there was a course walk for the Injured Riders Fund. I didn't make it in time, but walked most of the course anyway. It was sooo long! And it branched off in different places for the different levels, so it was hard to walk all 3. A lot of eventers went around on bikes, some electric - which I think is a great idea, esp if you have to ride a few different horses the next day.

That evening there were some future event horse classes on . It had started to rain, so I watched for as long as I could. It was a lovely course. They did a dressage test, then they started a show jumping course of about 8 jumps and straight in to a course of XC jumps.

Watching the future event class

The SJ

Owl hole

HOLY CRAP - Mahoosive jump

Saturday morning it was time for some jumping. The 2* were doing their show jumping and then the 1* started their XC. I started walking the course for that. Looking at some jumps thinking yeah, I could do that, then getting to the next and watching someone gallop full on at it and thinking, nope, no, definitely not!! The class finished before I got to the end. I got some food & water and then headed off to walk the 3* while that was on. Some of those jumps were scary mary........you need balls of steel to be at that craic!  I have some videos of them and hope to do a montage of them, once I get my good laptop fixed.
Saturday was a mixed bag weather-wise. It rained heavily, lightly, then the sun would come out and nearly burn me! It was a day for all seasons.



I was pretty wrecked after walking the course numerous times to watch the jumping. Before I got any more tired, it was time to pack up and go. We went through Lismore on our way, such a pretty town. The scenery made the drive home so much easier, and the rain had disappeared. We listened to Galway Vs. Clare, (the first game)on the radio. What a game!!


Camphire 2019, looking forward to it already!!

Watching the SJ