Mace Maclean Photography

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Mace Maclean Photography

Amateur photographer based in Nottingham

01/09/2026

The plan was to stop off at the Lake District on the way up to Scone Palace. But on checking the weather forecast first thing on Thursday morning, I didn't want to risk being stuck up a mountain in a thunderstorm. 😬 So, I went straight to Scotland. This meant that I had two days of dressage, which I think is a first for me.

Given the (ever changing) weather forecast, we got off pretty lightly with just a few showers on the Sunday. Regardless, there still seemed to be plenty of people buying ice creams.

As last year, it's a great event in a lovely setting - well worth the trek. Although it would have been nice if the 'forward' parking hadn't been further away from the entrance than the regular parking... 😂

17/08/2026

A three day weekend this time round, kicking off with a long hot dusty day of fence-judging at Aston le Walls on Friday. It was a somewhat poignant day for the many of us who were there on the same day last year, and even more so given the tragedies of a few weeks ago. Sarah Yorke was very much in our thoughts.

After staying nearby to Aston le Walls overnight, it was down to Hartpury on Saturday morning. As ever, an enjoyable couple of days there, including the biggest room I've stayed in in a long while, at the same quirky place I booked last year (The Corse Lawn Hotel). Incidentally they sponsored the penultimate fence on the xc course. When I was shown to the room, I had to double-check that I hadn't accidentally upgraded myself to a larger, more expensive room! 😬😂

One gripe this year was the stringing on the xc course (one of my pet peeves) - it seemed more restrictive than in previous years. It's no good putting out PA calls to only use the crossing points when they don't make sense to anyone trying to walk the course... And it's not great for spectators when for example, on Sunday, they were prevented from seeing the drop into the NAF Magic pool, given that the water features are what people are generally most drawn to...

There's obviously a balance between ensuring everyone's safety, and giving the best possible spectator experience, but I don't think they got it quite right on this occasion...

08/08/2026

Some (mostly wider-angle) shots chosen to highlight how beautiful the Burgham venue was last weekend. 😍

03/08/2026

Unlike last year, when I had a heavy fall while riding on the evening before travelling up to Burgham, this year I stuck to rule No.1 of riding (always keep the horse between you and the ground unless intentionally dismounting). It turns out that not having back spasms every time you move, cough, sneeze, breath, whatever, makes for a much more enjoyable weekend. 🙂

This year, again, I bookended the event, fence-judging Thursday and Sunday while pootling around with the camera for the 3* and 4* sections on Friday and Saturday. Although there was a bonus this year where I was surplus to requirements for the (middle) Novice section on Thursday - a nice opportunity to check out the reversed direction of the xc course.

It was very much appreciated that ribbons in memory of Kerry and Sophie were available. Thanks to Rachel Ellis (and friends) for providing them.

27/07/2026

After the events of last weekend, it was always going to be a slightly odd trip to Aston le Walls (2). The xc course was shut down about five minutes before midday, so there was an eerie period of quiet reflection even before the scheduled two minute silence.

Saturday was a long day, even by Aston le Walls standards. I left just after 7pm to drive back to Nottingham with at least an hour's worth of competition left. 😬

Then I was back down there for 8am on Sunday for fence-judging. While the course was causing a few problems elsewhere around the track, my fence(s) had a 100% clear rate. I can't remember the last time that happened. Thankfully it was a slightly earlier finish, and definitely much cooler.

15/07/2026

After a couple of weekends of getting to multiple events, I managed to stay at a single venue for three days (Aston le Walls International). And I somehow managed to bag a room at the Plough just up the road for Friday night so I didn't have to commute every day. Unfortunately they didn't have any rooms available on Saturday night, but after a day of fence-judging when the temperature hit 33.5°C, I was quite happy with an hour and a half of aircon in the car on the way home. 🤣

Sunday delivered a surprise podium in the 4*. With all due respect to Alex Hua Tian and CHICKO, my money was on LONDON 52 or possibly VENDREDI BIATS for the win. But, with LONDON 52 getting eliminated, Alex took first place 🙌. And Max Warburton and DEERPAIRC REVELRY came 2nd courtesy of being the only combination inside the time xc.

06/07/2026

After gallivanting all over the country last weekend, it was a slightly more local affair this weekend (kind of 😂, just 270 mile's worth).

A long day of fence-judging at Offchurch Bury on Saturday, followed by a trip over to Bradwall on Sunday, primarily to see the intermediate sections. Somehow, this was my first ever visit to Bradwall - what a lovely venue. 😍 Definitely one I'll be going back to.

01/07/2026

It was definitely one of those high-mileage (long) weekends. About 800 miles travelled, visiting three separate events in four days (Alnwick Ford in Northumberland, Eland Lodge in Staffordshire and Farley Hall in Hampshire).

I had originally planned to go to Farley Hall on the Friday. But, after it got rescheduled, and on seeing the weather forecast for the midlands, I decided to head north in search of cooler temperatures for my first ever visit to Alnwick Ford. What a lovely venue. 😍

After an intense thunderstorm on Friday night that stopped play for over an hour, there was a race against time to finish the sections before more stormy weather arrived and to get all the volunteers home. Tbh after all the hot weather I was quite enjoying the rain, until a thunderclap that sounded *really* close convinced me to seek cover... 😬🤣

I hadn't planned to go back to Alnwick Ford on the Saturday, but it still looked a bit hot back home, so I popped back to watch the Novice sections.

Sunday was a day of fence-judging at Eland Lodge on a fairly influential fence.

Then it was down to Farley Hall on Monday for the rescheduled Novice and Intermediate sections in relatively pleasant conditions.

15/06/2026

After a weekend off it was back to business as usual with a trip to Bramham and a typically tough xc track. Good to catch up with a few ppl for the first time in a few weeks.

Great to see Bubby Upton get back to winning ways with ITS COOLEY TIME in the 4*L, and to see Alice Casburn and TOPSPIN win the British U25 Championship. 🙌

But gutted for David Doel and connections...

I was originally supposed to be fence-judging at Epworth on the Sunday, but was asked to be a dressage steward instead (for the second time this year). So it was two days in a row of getting up at stupid o'clock... On the plus side it was a reasonably early finish on Sunday. 😀

02/06/2026

What I always forget about going to Bicton: The journey down to Devon at stupid o'clock in the morning is pretty easy. It's the driving back on the Sunday evening when you're knackered, in amongst the end of half-term traffic, that's a bit more of a challenge... There is, of course though, Gloucester services farmshop about half way, which helps.

After seeing the accident early in the 2* section on Saturday I was feeling a little out of sorts, particularly given my previous experiences at the venue. If nothing else, this seemed to involve me accidentally changing settings on the camera and then not noticing for a while... 😬

I never like to leave early, but tbh I really wasn't enjoying myself and was struggling to find good photography spots (compared to usual at Bicton). The last horse to go xc on Saturday was originally scheduled for 5:35pm. After *yet* another hold on course at about 6:30pm with still a lot of combinations to go, I adjourned to the pub and the biggest cheese board I've ever seen! A big thank you to the volunteers who had a much later than expected finish. 👏

Thankfully, Sunday went more to plan, both competition, mood and photography-wise.

Address

Blenheim Palace
Woodstock
OX20 1PS

Website

http://macemacleanphotography.com/

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