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he (mis)adventures of our Brand Ambassador, Katie Gray and her trusty steed BK continue. Here is the latest witty blog from their most recent outing at the HRCAV Combined Training Day hosted by the Monash Adult Riding Club. So last weekend, full of hot air from our recent jumping success (see BK, Showjumping Champion of the World blog for details), we headed to another combined training day. Our arms were twisted by the fact that our sponsors would be there, meaning free grooms and endless champagne to toast our victory. In retrospect, I can see a few signs the day may have been doomed. My iphone is clearly in cahoots with my etag and we zigzagged our way to the Monash ARC grounds via the least direct route possible utilizing maximum etag credit. Once arrived we nearly had a punch up with someone who was possibly having their first social outing ever and was under the impression that the prize of the day was actually a sheep station.
Anyway, they managed to get the ring and markers back up with a handy placed piece of wood or 2 and some quick helpers. We punched out a decent test despite an error of course (our second for the year and, yes, we are only in February. I mean, who needs to see a halt?? Of course he can halt. I got there in the float, didn’t I?? He must have been standing on that!?!) Nevertheless we were handily placed in second. Now only a few jumps between us and an extension to our satin collection... Then I saw the course. It was as though it was built to commemorate all of our Australian big things. Perhaps they had even borrowed them from country towns around Australia. I imagined the front page news, "North Mackay lend Big Banana to Victorian Adult Riding Club". Anyway, needless to say all of these big things had a red flag on one side and a white on the other, implying that they were intended to be jumped. Being the eternally optimistic type, I saddled up BK and entered the course. BK clearly thought we were lost in a mountain range. Rather than flog my dear friend for my obvious oversight in not training him over giant obstacles that could be used as Australian tourist attractions (plus I had insider knowledge that no sheep farms were in fact on offer), when he hesitated to launch us into space over a passable replica of the giant Murray cod, we were eliminated. Our second place became a giant E!
 Nailed it.
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We were wracking our brains at A&A HQ trying to come up with a piece for our next blog. We wanted something fun, interesting, unique and creative. A tall order perhaps but we were determined (and caffeinated). We knew what we wanted but had no idea what it was! We will know it when we see it. We looked for inspiration in a bag of potato crisps. Nada. A block of chocolate later and still no rush of ideas. We just about given up for the day (plus there was nothing else left in the pantry to eat) when we had our light bulb moment. Remember Mister Ed - the misadventures of a wisecracking talking horse and his human owner? Have you ever pondered what your horse would say if it could talk? A blog written by a horse! It is no secret we love our four-legged friends at A&A. We are a bit animal mad at A&A HQ but that is just the way we roll. So welcome to our first "Stable Talk" where our resident horse Archer channels his inner "Ron Burgundy" (disturbingly not hard for him to do - he's "kind of a big deal around here") and interviews horses we see out on the competition circuit (particularly ones that look good in A&A gear, nothing wrong with shameless self-promotion). While at the Boneo Classic we developed a bit of a pony-crush on dancing Wonder-Welshie Kamber Pryderi, winner of the CDI U25 Championship with his lovely owner Fern Wright. We knew straight away this spunky little pony had to be our first interviewee.  BB showing of his impressive style at the 2016 Australian Dressage Champs VITAL STATISTICS Stage Name: Kamber Pryderi Stable Name: BB Age: 14 Height: 150cm Colour: Chestnut Breeding: Welsh Discipline: Dressage Human Mum: Fern Wright Welcome BB to our very first "Stable Talk" where we get to talk about you. How long have you been with Fern Wright and how did you come to find her? I have been with my family for 13 years. I don't remember all the details when I first met them but something along the lines of them watching me run around for a while, then stuffing me in a float a week later. Has the win at the Boneo Classic 2017 gone to your head? Of course not! I never doubted that I, with my brilliance, would win (unless Mother messed up, like she usually does!)  BB modelling his stunning Masta championship rug won at the Boneo Classic (and kindly donated by Arch & Alex - shameless plug there) Do you have any other claims to fame? Yes, I was already famous. I stormed into the public limelight with our win in the CDI-Y at the 2012 Australian Dressage Championships. We have had many other impressive wins and placings, including Runner-up CDN big tour at the 2015 Australian Dressage Championships (which earned us a nice interview), before backing it up with another Runner-up at the 2015 Victorian Dressage Festival. Last year was very constant with us placing overall Runner-up CDI-U25 Grand Prix at the Sydney CDI & Australian Dressage Championships, Naturally after all of that brilliance, another interview about how great I am was asked of us - it’s a busy life being a superstar. I also was featured very heavily in an article after we scored 71.2% in the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Victorian Youth Dressage Championships a couple of weeks ago. What is next for you both? Mother is considering Dressage with the Stars, but thinks we will more likely wait until the Sydney CDI at the end of April, where we will do the CDI-U25. I am a special horse, so she doesn't want me to overexert myself. Do you have any strange quirks? Not at all. Although I have my unique and highly effective method of summoning my Mother, I simply double barrel the stable wall and scream as loud as I can. Usually it only takes a minute or two for someone to come and give me a snack or whatever else I want. However if trying this at home, remember to be careful in the early hours of the morning, because for some reason humans are more grumpy at that time of day and sometimes spray you with the hose. What are your most endearing qualities? How long have you got? Obviously I am smart, talented, handsome and hardworking, I do everything asked of me, am patient (mostly) and as you can tell – very modest! I am not nearly appreciated enough though and often have to put other horses and humans in their place. Do you have any paddock / stable companions? What would they say about you? My usual companion is Thorn. He is okay I suppose but it is very irritating that he never takes life seriously, yet is terrified of silly things like thunderstorms, torch light, and sometimes float trips. Obviously he looks up to me though. What are your favourite things in the world? Muesli bars definitely! Along with persimmons, carrots, lucerne hay, bread, Mother, breakfast, apples, dinner, my favourite scratching tree, sugar cubes, my family, peppermints, shapes, competitions and biting other horses - especially Thorn.  The pony's got swagger. BB at the 2017 Victorian Youth Dressage Champs If you were a human celebrity, who would you most likely by and why? Rudolph Nureyev - with my beauty and grace, who else could I be? Many thanks to BB's mum Fern Wright for helping him with this interview.
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