Friends are reunited for Tracy's new challenge

She has also been introducing her former event horse, Dunauger, to the world of show-jumping and putting herself under pressure by entering the British Horse Society's coach of the year competition.

"Because I haven't been doing as much eventing this year, the coach of the year competition came at just the right time and the BHS opened it up to more people this year," said Tracy.

After winning the area qualifier at Bishop Burton College, she went on to compete in the final at Warwickshire College.

On the day of the final, she left home in Spofforth near Wetherby in good time at 5.0am but then found herself stranded on the M1 for three hours due to a bad accident.

"It wasn't ideal preparation and I had to dig deep to be in the right frame of mind when I got there."

The final involved teaching a dressage lesson, a show-jumping lesson and giving a presentation on feeding.

Tracy was delighted to be placed third out of the 12 finalists and won a trophy and 200-worth of training vouchers to use with the BHS. The winner was Tom Gawler from the Talland School of Equitation.

Bramham fans will remember Tracy and Dunauger competing at the event in 2008 when they stunned the crowd by going into the lead after the first day of dressage.

They beat some of the country's top riders in the process, including William Fox-Pitt, Mary King and Sharon Hunt, and it was a major achievement for somebody with nothing like the backing of these well-known riders.

All did not go so well the following day on the cross-country course however, where the horse was very strong or, as Tracy puts it, "like a runaway train."

Such was his enthusiasm that he missed out an element of one of the fences and their hopes were dashed. Dunauger (known as Dundee at home) was then ridden by Harry Meade for a while.

But after major problems at Burghley last year, Tracy brought the horse back home.

She has owned the distinctive dun horse, aged 13, since he was four years old and nobody else had ridden him.

"I'm thrilled to have him back, it's like a new chapter," said Tracy. "I've retired him from eventing now and I've started to do some British Showjumping and we're having lots of fun."

Tracy also has two young horses which she hopes to produce as eventers.

The four-year-old, Arabeske qualified for the Burghley Young Event Horse final and she also has high hopes of the three-year-old, Chloe's Spring, whom she owns with a syndicate and who is Dundee's half-sister. She gained a Higher First Premium at the British Equestrian Federation's Futurity series and was fifth in the final at Osberton International.

Along with her freelance work, Tracy is also the chief instructor for the Bramham Moor Pony Club, whose members are her biggest fans.

France's elite horsemen are heading for debut in London

THE famous French Riding School, Le Cadre Noir de Saumur, is coming to the UK for the first time in May next year. The school's debut UK show will be at Earl's Court from May 20 to 22.

Le Cadre Noir de Saumur is known for its incredible and complex horsemanship.

It dates back to 1825 when it provided training for the officers of the French Cavalry and gets its name from the black uniforms that are still used today.

After World War II, the need for a purely military riding academy had almost vanished, but the Saumur training centre survived in the form of a national riding school under the Ministry of Sports.

The instructors there are responsible for training

the country's horse-riding elite.

Fifty horses and 22 riders will travel to London for the show and their three performances will be accompanied by the European Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets are now on sale at www.bookingsdirect.com or by phoning 0844 338 0000

PLANS are underway for Scotland's new international horse trials which will be held at Hopetoun House, near Edinburgh, on July 30 and 31 next year.

The 6,500-acre estate, home of the Earl of Hopetoun and his family, will be the setting for the CIC two and three-star classes as well as BE90, BE100 and Novice sections.

Former Olympic rider Ian Stark has been appointed course designer.

Commenting on the trials, the event director, Stuart Buntine, said: "The opportunity for riders to compete at all levels during the weekend should be a distinct advantage."

CONTACT Jill Armstrong with your equestrian news: [email protected] or call 0113 238 8253.

Logging on to reveal extent of accidents

HAVE you been involved in an accident while out riding but not known who to report it to or what you can do about it?

The British Horse Society has just launched a new website which is dedicated entirely to reporting equestrian road accidents.

They hope that anybody who is involved in an accident will log on and report it, so that the problem can be monitored.

The BHS say that without hard evidence they cannot lobby those in a position to make changes.

The new website will enable them to establish how many equestrian related accidents are occurring.

The website covers such problems as dog attacks, low-flying aircraft, wind turbines, fireworks and slippery road surfaces.

Other incidents can also be reported. Sharing your experience could make a huge difference, say the BHS, whose aim is to make riding out much safer.

To report an incident go to www.horseaccidents.org.uk.

The website also offers advice about the best sort of equipment to use, including headwear and hi-viz clothing. There is information too about how to report incidents to the authorities concerned and how to plan yourself a safer route.

"Many claims are made to huge numbers of accidents each year and whilst the Society does not disbelieve these figures, there is no hard evidence to prove them," said a BHS spokesman.

ESCRICK Park Rideways near York is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. Twenty miles of hacking plus a seven-mile cross-country loop are available in Escrick Park to riders who visit from all over Yorkshire to enjoy safe, off-road riding.

There are 100 annual members at Escrick Park but many people also visit for the day. To celebrate the anniversary the estate is providing a day pass for two people, worth 40, to existing members and any new members, up to the end of January. More information from www.escrick.com/rideways.html or call 01904 727902.

CW 27/11/10