Basil goes to Bramham

Jess Rimmer relives her U25 Championship 4* debut with Basil at Bramham

This month has actually been, dare I say it, a bit quieter for Team Rimmer! We’ve ticked off our spring aims, jumped some relatively formidable fences and have spent the remainder of June reflecting, recalibrating and building on what we’ve learned as we head into a busy summer.
Max and Jimmy enjoyed runs at Farley Hall, where Jimmy flicked his toes for an impressive 24 dressage, and Max proved himself as Mr. Consistent with a double clear and 5th place. He kept up his tidy streak at Kingston Maurward with another double clear, this time finishing 4th in the Novice – a great result for his owners, who also sponsored the event!
I wrote my last article while en route to Bramham, where we were heading to compete in the 4*S U25 National Championships. Eek!
With the rest of the month being relatively quiet, I thought we could debrief properly on Bramham’s excitements – I’d quite like to relive it all again and again, so what better way than to put it in writing!

We’re doing this
For those who are unfamiliar, Bramham is a prestigious venue: possibly one of the biggest cross country tracks on British soil (with the exceptions of Badminton and Burghley, of course). It’s somewhere I’ve always dreamed of going, so to have the opportunity to actually compete there was a bit of a ‘pinch me’ moment! All thanks to the Portman Ladies Syndicate, Alex Munn, Mum, William and of course BASIL!

So – what does it take to get to an event like this? Although Basil and I have both competed at this level before, it’s not as simple as just popping an entry in. To get to each level (or height/difficulty), horse and rider combinations have to complete enough “minimum eligibility requirements” or MERs at the levels below. That meant we had to achieve three 3s with MER results (for the stat-lovers, a MER is a sub-45 dressage, 16 show jumping penalties or less, and a clear XC with no more than 30 time penalties). But with only a handful of 3s in the run-up to Bramham, there wasn’t much room for error – we basically couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong. Which, as anyone in the horsey world knows, is rarely the case!
But somehow, with the help of mum and the team at Fox-Pitts, we managed to tick off our three 3*s – not only with MERs, but also with double clears (oh, jeez, we’re actually doing this..!).
It felt like such a distant dream, and then suddenly it wasn’t. We pulled out of the yard with horse, tack and Chateau Rimmer all packed up … and then reality properly hit.

Suiting us fine
I can safely say that Bramham lived up to all our expectations. The amazing atmosphere, the beautiful setting, the famous Thursday night party – it was all just SO COOL! AHH!
Basil, the composed competitor that he is, settled in very quickly. We had a training session with William on Thursday evening in the walled garden, ahead of our Friday dressage. I was very lucky to have William there all week, guiding me through the event – he is known as the King of Bramham, so hey, I’m learning from the best! He warmed me up for my dressage on Friday, where Basil tried really hard for a middle-of-the-field test. I’ll take that for our first go at that level!

We then set out on a course walk – when I left, I said to mum: ‘I hope we have some big jumps’. Don’t worry, I got my wish!
Although imposing to look at, it was a bold track which really rewarded positive, forward riding – and that suited us just fine. Don’t get me wrong, I still had butterflies in my stomach, but now they were more out of excitement than fear.

You might have four down
The show jumping phase, on the other hand …
Lots of people find show jumping less nerve-wracking than cross-country.
Technically speaking, it is safer, because the jumps fall down and when it goes wrong it’s far less likely to go REALLY wrong.
But that’s what I find so difficult – you have to be such a perfectionist, especially at this level, and it’s the rider’s job to get everything right in order to help the horse clear the fences.
There is such a small margin for error, and in the past I know I have put far too much pressure on myself in this phase.

However, my whole team couldn’t have been more supportive, and William’s words are the ones which really stuck with me: ‘you’ll go in there, in that big main arena, for your first go at this level. You might have four down, you might go clear. Realistically, you’ll have two down. You have to be ready for that’.

It was such a brilliant reminder that this event was always supposed to be a challenge, and that I mustn’t be too harsh on myself if it’s not absolutely perfect. I must’ve somehow managed to channel my inner “Mr Cool” William … We jumped clear! Honestly, there aren’t many words to describe the excitement, joy and relief I felt on landing after the final fence.
It lasted for all of ten minutes, before I realised I had only a few hours before heading out onto that cross country course …
Those hours of concentrating, watching and discussing with fellow competitors seemed never-ending. Nobody talks about how draining it is being ‘in the zone’ for SO long!

Finally it was our go. A course like that gives me such a wicked combination of adrenaline, focus and fun – there isn’t another feeling like it, especially with a partner-in-crime like Basil. He jumped an epic clear, of course, and I would totally do it all again if I could!
We finished a very respectable 12th in the U25 Championships, but most importantly Basil and I gained confidence – not only over those bigger fences, but also in our training, our system and most of all, in each other.
It sets us up really well for our next event – Aston 4* this weekend. See you on the other side!