The British-based Californian racing driver and international equestrian has taken time out from her busy schedule to record the first of her monthly sound bites, which will focus on her 3-day eventing and Lotus Cup UK exploits, as well as goings on at her Chailey Stud Equestrian Centre.

Liz’s first podcast, which is available to download from iTunes now, includes details of her international victory at Barroca in Portugal, the start of the British Eventing season and winning the opening round of the Lotus Cup UK championship.

Follow the links below to listen, download and subscribe to Liz’s first podcast.

iTunes: http://itun.es/i6JQ3FR

Podbean: http://lizhalliday.podbean.com

Episode two will be available from May 6.

Following her CIC* victory at Barroca in Portugal at the start of last month, Liz returned to domestic action with a trip to Burnham Market International Horse Trials in Norfolk two weeks ago where no less than five representatives from Chailey Stud were competing.

Three of them – Benny (Benaughlin Little Hero), Oscar (Viscount Oscar) and Baloo (Darola Diamond) – performed well at Novice level by jumping clear in both the Show Jumping and Cross Country. Benny, who two weeks previously began his season with a BE100 section win at Aldon, performed an excellent Dressage test that ultimately saw him finish fifth and come out on top of the intra-stable battle. Baloo enjoyed his first outing of the 2013 campaign en route to 15^th while, in another section, Oscar’s strong Cross Country run helped him finish seventh.

Fresh from his international victory in Portugal, Blackie (Fernhill by Night) was contesting the CIC** at Burnham Market and once again provided Liz with much encouragement thanks to a decent Dressage test and clear Show Jumping round. That left the pair fifth before the Cross Country but just when an excellent result appeared on the cards, the pair’s inexperience together at this level caused them to have an unfortunate run-out at the second part of a difficult combination early on. And although the rest of the round was much better, the run-out ended their chances of recording a top-10 finish.

Cooley (HHS Cooley) was running for the first time in Britain since his CCI** result in Portugal in March, and had to battle through freezing conditions and a blizzard during his Cross Country round. But he performed admirably despite the challenging weather by jumping clear around what was one of the tougher courses he has tackled to date.

With some strong results under her belt, Liz then made the short trip from her East Sussex base to the South of England Horse Trials last weekend where Benny and Baloo were joined by one of Chailey Stud’s newer residents, Ludo (Templar Coup Detat).

Contesting the Pre-Novice competition the pair enjoyed a strong Dressage test before perfect Show Jumping and Cross Country rounds helped cement fourth in section on their competition debut together. It was particularly pleasing for Liz after the owner had previously found the horse a challenge to ride. Hopefully Ludo will have gained some confidence before competing again with his normal jockey in the near future.

There were more top-10 results to be enjoyed in the Novice category as well thanks to Benny finishing fourth and Baloo eighth after both once again went clear in the Show Jumping and Cross Country phases.

Liz Halliday: “The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy but it looks like all of the horses have started their seasons with confidence, which is a big plus for the yard and the year ahead. On paper we’ve enjoyed plenty of good results but even when that hasn’t been the case there are still a lot of positives. Blackie once again showed his huge ability despite our inexperience together ultimately costing us a headline result, but I am confident that we will only get better as a partnership the more we compete. He along with Cooley and Benny will be going to Ballindenisk’s International event in Ireland at the end of this month where the pressure will be on again, but I’ve got a lot of faith in his ability. He’s going to be a super horse. Benny has also been awesome in scoring two top-fives over consecutive weekends, and Cooley is feeling back on form so all in all things are looking good.”

Liz’s British Eventing season continues at Poplar Park on April 27 after returning home from the Ballindenisk International the week before.

Click here and skip to approximately 47 minutes in to hear from Liz.

Unfortunately poor luck would ultimately scupper her chances of scoring two wins in as many weeks with Blackie (Ferhill by Night) who had to be withdrawn ahead of Sunday’s CCI** Show Jumping test. That left Chailey Stud’s other two representatives, Cooley (HHS Cooley) and Oscar (Viscount Oscar), to both record encouraging 11^th place finishes in the CCI** and CCI* competitions respectively.

Having triumphed in the CIC* event the previous weekend, Blackie was again on form despite the step-up in difficulty and produced an excellent Dressage performance in horrendously wet and windy conditions that helped establish an early lead.

The combination of poor weather and starting last ensured that the Cross Country course was at its deepest when the pair began their round on Saturday. Not that the deteriorating conditions seemed to phase Blackie who made light work of the difficult ground to finish with only a handful of time penalties.

That would have seen the pair begin Sunday’s Show Jumping in second place, but unfortunately the vet’s inspection was to reveal that Blackie was sorer than expected from a rub picked up from one of his boots during the Cross Country test the day before. Regrettably Liz was forced to withdraw ahead of what has always been a consistently strong discipline for Blackie.

Although understandably disappointed, Liz quickly turned her attention to Cooley who had experienced a mixed couple of days. A strong Dressage test was followed by a clear but slow Cross Country round due to Cooley not feeling himself, leaving the pair to fight for a place on the fringes of the top ten before the Show Jumping. Despite having felt very flat the day before, Cooley made a big effort in the jumping test and completed a classy round with just one unfortunate rail down that ultimately sealed 11^th overall in his first full CCI** completion.

Meanwhile Oscar overcame atrocious weather to produce the finest Dressage performance of his career on Thursday, before backing that up with a storming effort in the Cross Country to occupy eighth place in the large CCI* field. There were further encouraging signs on the final day as well thanks to a much improved Show Jumping performance compared to his previous week’s round that resulted in just one rolled pole over the challenging course. That was ultimately good enough to secure the pair 11th place and Cooley’s best international finish to date.

“Barroca has been very good to us over the last fortnight, regardless of Blackie’s disappointment on Sunday morning, and the other highs and lows that we have all experienced,” said Liz. “All of the horses have performed very well so early in the season and I’m particularly pleased that Cooley has completed his first CCI**, as well as Oscar taking home his best international result to date. There was a genuine chance that we could have scored back-to-back wins with Blackie, but that’s the nature of Eventing I guess. It was a minor rub that won’t cause any lasting problems but he was clearly sore the next morning and we had no choice but to withdraw. He’s in good form though and had performed brilliantly up to that point so should be raring to go at the Ballindenisk CCI** next month.”

This weekend sees Liz return to domestic competition at Aldon where Trevor (Endymion Entrechat) and Benny (Benaughlin Little Hero) will both be out for the first time this season in the Open Novice and BE100 classes respectively.

The event was marred by sadness however when experienced fellow rider Bruno Bouvier suffered a fatal accident when his horse had a rotational fall during Saturday’s CIC** Cross Country. Liz had known and competed against Bruno for many years and the following day dedicated her victory to a respected and much-loved member of the international eventing community.

“Bruno was a true friend to all of his fellow competitors and a real ambassador for the sport of Eventing,” said Liz. “He really loved his horses and was a great rider, and we will all miss him dearly. My condolences go out to his family and everyone who was close to him; on Sunday we were all riding with him in our hearts.”

Blackie’s performance throughout the event did at least provide some positives to take away from an emotional weekend. A super performance in the Dressage ring on Thursday saw the pair seize an early lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the competition thanks to clear Cross Country and Show Jumping rounds.

Meanwhile there were also strong showings from Chailey Stud’s other two representatives against the 69-strong field in Portugal. Excellent Dressage and Cross Country tests from Cooley (HHS Cooley) saw him occupy fourth going into the final event, before a rail down ultimately dropped the pair to a still-impressive ninth place overall.

And while Oscar (Viscount Oscar) couldn’t quite match the exploits of his stable-mates, a finishing position just outside of the top-20 still represented a commendable effort for his first competition of the season.

“It’s great to be back in Barroca and although we have endured a sad weekend the spirit of this great event has still held strong,” continued Liz. “I have always enjoyed starting the season here and it’s fantastic not only to have won but also finish with three horses in the first third of the field. Blackie’s Dressage performance was outstanding and he didn’t put a foot wrong thereafter, which was just as well considering how close we were to second place. I said before the competition that this was only a warm-up for the two-star event, but even so it’s always nice to come out and win at the start of the season.

“Cooley also tried hard and might have finished a bit further up the leaderboard were it not for our rail down in the Show Jumping, but the poor horse really didn’t have time to warm up properly with the tight time schedule so I am sure he will be even better in the competition this weekend. Oscar can be a bit spooky early-season and that caused him to have some rails down, but again I think he will improve in the next competition. All in all I am very proud of everything we’ve achieved so far in Portugal and can’t wait for the next round of competitions later this week.”

All three horses will remain in Barroca for this week’s international events that begin on Thursday. Blackie and Cooley will step-up to contest the CCI** competition while Oscar has been entered in the CCI*.

It will be the professional dual-sportswoman’s fifth appearance at the prestigious event, albeit her first since 2010, where three of Chailey Stud’s most promising horses will be chasing good results and qualifications for the year ahead.

As a warm-up event, Oscar (Viscount Oscar), Blackie (Fernhill by Night) and Cooley (HHS Cooley) will each contest the CIC* competition that begins this Thursday. The following weekend then sees the trio move up a gear for the 3-Day Event, with Blackie and Cooley contesting the CCI** and Oscar competing in the CCI*.

Barroca signals the official start of the new equestrian season and Halliday has been hard at work over the winter preparing all of her horses at Chailey Stud.

A number of outings at indoor events have helped to maintain everyone’s competitive edge and ensure the horses feel well prepared for the coming season. Blackie even managed to record a pair of sixth place finishes during the recent British Dressage Regional Championships held at Addington Manor in the Elementary Open and the Elementary Musical Freestyle classes.

Liz Halliday: “It’s great to be getting the season underway at an event as fantastic as Barroca. For one reason or another I’ve not been able to attend during the last few years so it’s nice to be back and meeting a few familiar faces. Chailey Stud has had a busy winter and I’ve been out competing in Dressage and Show Jumping as well to ensure all of the horses are ready for Portugal. They have travelled well and seem in good spirits so we are all looking forward to the start of the competition tomorrow.

“I was thrilled with Blackie’s recent performance at the British Dressage Regional Championships and that bodes well for the coming days. Ideally it would be nice to achieve some good results in Barroca as it’s an event that really sets us up for the rest of the season.

“The three horses with me in Portugal have all got the potential to do very well so I’m really looking forward to a strong week.”

The magazine used the picture to illustrate methods employed by livery yards to maintain clients during the current difficult economic climate.

To find out more about Chailey Stud’s services, including livery, please contact Jo Warrilow.
Email: jo@equineeventsuk.com
Telephone: 07879 448 501

There was further good news for Halliday courtesy of Cooley (HHS Cooley) who also enjoyed an excellent end to the season by finishing third in the hotly contested CIC* competition.

Liz and Trevor have developed into a formidable partnership this year and were once again on top form at Aldon where they competed at CCI* level for the first time together. Not that it overly concerned Trevor who produced a stunning early performance to lead the 60-plus entries after Dressage.

Cross Country has often been Trevor’s forte this year so it came as no surprise to Liz when he charged around clear and inside the time. But with the majority of the chasing pack doing likewise there would be no margin for error during Sunday’s vital Show Jumping test.

As competition leaders Liz and Trevor were the last to jump. They could only watch on as one by one each of the top 10 competitors delivered perfect performances of their own, ensuring that just one rail down would be enough to deny them the win. Despite being under intense pressure, the pair managed to deliver the clear round required to seal a memorable start-to-finish victory by just 2.80 points. With this being Trevor’s first 3 Day Event and Liz’s maiden CCI triumph, it was an emotional finish to the season for both rider and the horse’s dedicated owner, Catherine Mann.

Chailey Stud and Liz’s fine end to the year was capped by Cooley who also performed superbly en route to third in the CIC* competition. His best ever Dressage test at this level saw the duo occupy third ahead of Show Jumping where, unfortunately, just one rail down was enough to ultimately deny them a shot at victory. Even so, a foot-perfect Cross Country round at least helped the pair end 2012 with a place on the podium and in good spirits ahead of the 2013 Eventing season.

Liz Halliday: “I couldn’t have wished for a better end to the season. Having Trevor’s owner Catherine there to witness the biggest win of his career was a great moment and, personally, an extremely satisfying finish to what’s been a difficult but successful year for me. He’s been a superstar since arriving at Chailey Stud in May and we’ve bonded so well. There was a moment before the Show Jumping when I thought he might be a bit tired from the previous day’s Cross Country, but he produced a fantastic round and never got near to any of the fences. The competition was extremely close all the way through and it’s so exciting to have come home with the win! Cooley was also excellent and fully deserved his place on the podium, both as a reward for his performance here and across the year. Yes, we would have won without that rail down in the Show Jumping, but that’s the way it goes sometimes and I’m still very happy with the result.

“I need to thank the entire Chailey Stud team for all their hard work this year. They’ve contributed to a fantastic season for the yard and I am so glad that we have finished on a high this weekend.

“I would also like to say a big thank you to all of my partners – Andrews Bowen, Jacksons Fencing, Cyclo-ssage, Mirrors for Training, Arcequine and Voltaire Design Saddles – whose collective efforts have made a massive contribution to our success over the last 12 months. I am incredibly grateful for their support.”

Despite the Eventing calendar drawing to a close for another year, Liz will be contesting a number of British Dressage and British Show Jumping competitions throughout the winter in preparation for the 2013 season.

Meanwhile, this weekend sees her racing in the final round of the Lotus Cup UK championship at Snetterton where another victory will help ensure both of her sporting seasons finish on a high.

Despite this being Liz’s first taste of Irish eventing and Cooley’s (HHS Cooley) maiden two-star appearance, the pair made an excellent start in the Dressage to lie fifth. Meanwhile Bud (Newmarket Malt), who has previous experience at this level, was just as impressive on his way to recording the section’s second best score.

Although Ireland’s Cross Country courses tend to be quite different to their British counterparts, Bud clearly felt right at home and covered the testing route fault-free and inside the time. Cooley also made no mistakes and demonstrated considerable talent during his first outing over a two-star course. Being the less experienced of the pair however saw him pick up four time faults around the tight but fast layout.

That left both horses in with a chance of victory on Sunday ahead of the Show Jumping. Cooley was up first and kept his cool to record a clear round that would ultimately help him finish sixth in the competitive field. As the leader after Cross Country Bud was the last to jump, but saw his chances disappear with two rails down and eventually finished seventh.

Liz Halliday: “Both myself and the horses had a great time in Ireland. It was my first time competing there but it certainly won’t be my last! The organisers were very accommodating and helpful and nothing seemed like too much trouble. The event itself was flawlessly run and I really enjoyed meeting so many great people. The horses performed very well and learned a lot from the experience, I think. Although I’m a bit disappointed to have lost the win, I know that Show Jumping has always been the weakest phase for Bud. He is such a big, strong horse and sometimes his excitement gets the best of him! I was extremely impressed with Cooley though. That was a great effort for his first two-star event and I really think he is a special horse. I’m planning to run him in the CCI** International at Osberton next week so hopefully he will be feeling well prepared after his trip to Ballindenisk.”

The week before her Irish exploits Halliday travelled to West Wilts where two more of Chailey Stud’s horses – Trevor (Endymion Entrechat) and Oscar (Viscount Oscar) – finished inside the same top six.

Trevor in particular has enjoyed an excellent season thus far and his rich vein of form continued in the Intermediate Novice section where three impressive performances helped him finish fourth.

Oscar meanwhile produced the Dressage test of his career, before backing that up with a strong Show Jumping performance, to occupy third heading into the deciding Cross Country round where time penalties would ultimately drop him to sixth.

With the end of the season now in sight, Liz will be travelling to her local event – South of England – this weekend (22-23 September) where Trevor and Blackie (Fernhill By Night) will take on the CIC* and Oscar is entered in his first Intermediate. Next week will see Cooley in the CCI** at Osberton before the season comes to a close at Aldon International (Oct 18-21) with Trevor taking on his first CCI*.