Sir Mark on Rockingham
Stop the press! If you haven’t already heard the news - here it is.
This year, Fairfax & Favor are immensely excited to be sponsoring the wonderful, magnificent and all-round rocking Rockingham International Horse Trials; it’ll be kicking off this weekend, and we cannot wait.
In light of our new partnership with our friends at Rockingham Castle, a few weeks back we embarked on a journey to the beautiful rolling hills of Wiltshire for what would be every horse obsessed, Eventing enthusiast’s dream way to spend a Friday - or any other day of the week for that matter.
So why were we there? We caught up with one of the sport’s greats: the all time Eventing hero and true legend, Sir Mark Todd. Mark has been a kind supporter of Fairfax & Favor since 2013, where he ventured to our humble stand at Blenheim Horse Trials to acquire his first pair of Fairfax & Favor loafers; he has been sporting them in trot ups internationally ever since. We went to find out what Mark made of our new title sponsorship at one of his favourite events in the British Eventing calendar.
When we arrived at Badgerstown, we discovered Mark in the arena schooling one of his top rides; this particular horse just happened to be running at Badminton the following week (casual) so we took the time to watch, rather mesmerised by the effortless display of harmony between Mark and his grey gelding, Rhapsody, as they busted out some impressive moves.
Sufficiently wowed by the arena dance display, we ventured out onto the cross-country field, and were introduced to a beautiful big bay by the name of Fozzie (his ‘proper name’ Cool Tide) due to be having a run at Rockingham in the Novice. Well, Cool by name, cool by nature it appeared, as 6 year old Fozzie did not bat an eyelid as he leapt over our rather ill hidden camera crew who were crouched precariously in the ditch of a trakehner. Well played, Foz.
Mark informed us that this year was not his first run at Rockingham, nor his second, or even his third. In fact, Mark had competed at the International event almost every year from its inception, declaring the event as a firm favourite of his. He expressed his love for the atmosphere, the excitement, and well, pretty much everything! In Mark’s eyes, Rockingham rocks.
So what can you expect from this year’s Fairfax & Favor Rockingham International Horse Trials?
Prepare yourself for an action-packed weekend of class competition, and make sure to head onto the cross-country course to check out the winning fence design from our competition earlier on in the year.
Do not miss the launch of our highly anticipated and aptly named Rockingham Cowgirl boot, another must have from the SS/18 collection. To celebrate this product launch, nab the chance to WIN a pair of Rockingham boots or Montecarlo drivers by taking part in our best-dressed competition. Just be sure to get yourself papped by our team, entrants will be short-listed and the winner will be notified after the event, so dress to impress.
And so, with last minute preparations underway, we look towards the weekend with our fingers crossed for sunny days and wish the greatest success to all competitors. If you are yet to buy your tickets for the event, head over to the Rockingham website: www.rockinghamcastlehorsetrials.com and use the discount code HT1810 for 10% off the ticket price.
Of course, a massive thank you to Mark; check out the video below for the full low down from Sir Mark on Rockingham. Happy watching, see you next week!
Videography : @Ablinqmedia
