Despite the miserable weather today, my spirits are on a real high. Returned yesterday from The National Hunter Championships at Addington. What a show I had! Cracker won the Novice Working Hunter which was the most contested of the day and Cruise Control was second in the Lightweight Workers. Out of Sight was feeling fantastic – in fact, a bit too fantastic as he was bucking and tossing his head whilst going around the course. So much so, he touched the post in the middle of the Derby rails which should be jumped either to the left or right, rather than the centre. This caused the rails to fall but despite this he was amazing as ever.

Then we had an evening performance for Cracker, as all the winners and second placed horses from all four working classes are called back in. This is the Championship everyone wants to win as it carries the National Working Hunter title. Cracker, who is still young and has never been under the lights before, totally rose to the occasion and shone like a true star.

We stood with the other horses after doing our walk, trot, canter and gallop. He was very settled (unlike me!). We waited for the judges to take a final look over the line up and I kept thinking "pick me, please pick me!" The silence was deafening and then Mike Tucker announced that the judges had made their decision. "The National Working Hunter Champion is…. Louise Bell and Cracker." What a horse!

And if that was not enough, yesterday he won the Potential Sport Horse flat class and the Sport Horse jumping class, and was declared overall Sport Horse Champion. What a lovely horse to own and he is only five years old.

Not only did he truly deserve it but when I rang John Whitaker who bred Cracker to tell him about what his horse had done, it really cheered him up from all the disappointment of the Olympics. He was totally made up and happy he had bred a National Champion.