We all were out of bed, dressed with bags packed and full of energy ready to board the bus at 7am to FENCE the competition venue for the Nations Cup.Arriving at the venue approximately 7.45. We tended to our mounts, stalls or boxes mucked out, final plaiting duties attended to. Breakfast consumed before changing to our riding gear and off to walk the course with Annie.

9.30am the competition began after the USA's National Anthem was sung.First out was Jenny who finished on one rail and four faults. Nicole followed and produced a stunning clear round on Crusader. Rosa followed on her favourite red head and came in with another beautiful clear round. Last to head out was Zoe who produced a clear round, and rode really well has she had to odd bit of extra energy to contain.

Round 2 Team heads off to walk the track. Horses are held under whatever shade we could find and cooled off with our handy bucket of iced water.Jenny was up first again and she had got Rosie sorted and completed a clear round.Rosa headed in next producing another stunning clear. Next in the arena was Nicole and she kept her clean record. Lastly Zoe was up and rode another clear round, she showed great improvement between rounds to produce another clear.This saw us complete our 2 rounds with just 4 faults.

Round 3 the jump off. Annie and the team double check the lines. The draw is announced. USA and Hong Kong are riding off for 3rd and 4th. Which left Australia and New Zealand riding off for 1st and 2nd. Of course you can imagine it was game on. Jenny heads out, rides some nice lines, keeps her rhythm but takes one rail for 4 jump faults.Rosa is next giving a super performance with a tidy time and 0 jump penalties.Nicole heads in and works hard has some great lines but finished with 2 rails down. Zoe is our last rider, and we are all on edge as Australia had only had one down with the 2 riders prior to Zoe. We need Zoe to go clear, she enters the arena and does a great job to keep all the rails up, even if she had a little challenge making some of her lines on her ride. Stoked with all our riders. Thinking Aussie might of pipped us as the rider following Zoe goes clear in the fastest time of the day. We are Prepared to be the bridesmaids. However, once scores had been checked we dropped our lowest score in the round. This puts Australia and us on 4 faults so the time is calculated. The Kiwis came out 4 seconds in front! 😀We head to prizegiving and receive our awards and we were very pleased to hear our Anthem play and watch our riders enjoy a lap of honour. Plenty of photos taken and hugs all round as this was very much a team effort to pull off this win.We thank Canada, Hong Kong, USA and especially Australia for giving us a fabulous competition.Annie our coach did a fabulous job and we just have to say this is one of the highlights of our trip. To our horse owners and helpers we are very much appreciate your generosity and are most grateful you lent your horses to us. We hope you enjoy your blue ribbon.

We then once again dealt to our horses had lunch and are on the bus back to the university to prepare for the Banquet dinner this evening.Thank you for all the good luck wishes we very much appreciate them. To our girls as we said to you before your jump off we are proud of you whatever the outcome. Coaches, Mums and Dads, Branches, Clubs and Areas you can be SUPER proud of these young ladies. When I was up taking photos there were many compliments from the spectators about our girls lovely riding. We look forward to sharing this evening with you.