Annabel Shields gets off to a cracking start in 2019 at her first international show of the year

We love nothing more than sharing success stories from our Supported Riders and one of our new Supported Riders, Annabel Shields, is certainly setting the bar high (pun intended) for the season ahead.

If you’ve been following our Instagram page, you’ll have tuned into Annabel’s Instagram takeover during her time in Belgium and had an insight into what goes on behind the scenes (don’t worry if you didn’t catch it, there’s more exciting takeovers to come!)

We caught up with Annabel on her return from Belgium, to find out how she did and get some insider knowledge on competing at internationals.

Competing internationally must be so exciting, how many times have you competed abroad, and how did Belgium compare? 

“I’ve been abroad lots and I always like the Belgium shows, I have won lots there in the past. Belgium is lovely and so are the shows, the country love horses it’s a shame we don’t have more like it over here”

Which classes did you compete in and how did your horses go?

“I took Carnooneybrodge challenger who came 4th in the 1.40m and jumped 1.50m Grand Prix with 1 down. Creevagh Carisma won 1.35m and stepped up to the 1.40m brilliantly, and Cartender jumped in the 7 yrs to come 7th in the fast 1.30m. These shows were about learning and stepping up a class”

Travelling abroad with 3 horses must be quite an operation, how did you find it and how do you keep them settled?

“We got the train there and the boat back, my horses travel super as they are used to it. All the horses usually settle really well, although I have a couple of sharp ones. Once we’ve found the stables and relaxed, some of the horses normally need some work to settle them. My horses are happy and I like to keep things as similar as possible to their home routine; they have their treats, Swingers hang balls and their teddies. I don’t change the horses routine, I take all my feed with me which is Frickers feed who are one of my supporters, and if possible we take our own haylage so nothing is new or different for the horses. They all now know when they get to a show!”

It must be so exciting competing at big international shows, what’s your favourite thing about it?

“I love shows in Belgium as they do organised rings, and the jumping is better overall, plus they have top quality horses and riders. I love the internationals; you see so many established horses and riders. This time I was stabled beside Neil Bruynseel’s 5 star which is great to watch and see how they work behind the scenes. I also jumped with and against Edwina Tops-Alexanda and Jos Verlooy and many others, who will be heading to Doha in Qatar shortly”

During your time in Belgium did you have any ‘star struck’ moments? 

“Yes, there were lots of famous people there, but you can’t let that get to you. I like to try to watch and learn, but I’ve become less star struck over the past four years as I’ve progressed a lot and have had a lot of wins abroad. I am known for being quite a quick rider, however I always try to keep it stylish. It’s important for me to get as many wins as possible, in order for me to get my name out there and become more well known”

Which horses performed best in your opinion?

“I took 3 horses with me, who all jumped well and stepped up a mark. Of course, winning is always good and that was on Creevagh this time!”

Do you have any horses that you are really excited about for the future? 

“I have a few horses that I have big hopes for, here’s a couple to name a few; Cartender is my 7 year old 17.2hh bay gelding, he has a super technique and scope to burn. Caballina is a 5 year old bay mare, she’s 16.2hh and has a great brain; very trainable and scopey. Last but certainly not least, Creevagh Charisma is a 9 year old grey mare, she’s stepped up so much from May 2018 – things just seem to keep getting better and better!”

Do you have any products or brands that you always wear to train and compete in, and why?

I wear a lot of brands, and I am always cold so usually something cosy and lots of layers! I love Super CX and Equiline. Ovlossa is another supporter of mine, they have great clothes and lots of sparkly things for my horses.

We’ve loved hearing about your time in Belgium and we’re excited to see what the future holds for you and your horses! So finally, what’s next?

“The next plan is a few shows closer to home this time with a few younger horses, then maybe Morris for 3 days. After that, we need to start thinking about Hoys qualifiers, I’m not sure I can top last year (qualifying 8) but I’ll sure try my best to get some qualified! My bigger class horses will head back abroad, I think the next place will be Holland or France then maybe back to Belgium. The season really starts to get busy from April onwards! I always like to thank my sponsors; it’s nice to have help and support from great people, you guys from Millbry Hill, as well as Olvossa, BettaLife and Frickers Feeds. I’m really looking forward to what the year has in store, with another fantastic team of great people and horses and hope that it will be another successful one!”

The post In It To Win It: Belgium Showjumping Success For Annabel Shields appeared first on The Millbry Hill Blog: Life in the Country.