Wind Wizard (Saiyid el Kheil x Windchime) 19 year old Liver chestnut gelding bred by Mrs Anne Willox. Wizard is now 19 years old and we have been doing some Veteran Horse Society classes in the past few years, he qualified for Olympia in 2012 and was a creditable 8^th.  We enjoyed the experience but the three day travel to London took a lot out of him and we decided not to try to qualify him again.  The Veteran Horse Society set up the Scottish Veteran Horse Society Championships which has its finals at the Ingliston Grand Slam in September.  Wizard Qualified for the finals by going Champion in hand and Reserve Champion ridden at Turriff show in August. Wizard being Wizard didn’t make the run-up to the show easy…he managed to get a kick and huge oedema at the top of his near side hind hamstring a week before the show, Flamazine cream for the burn like graze and arnica and witch hazel were applied at every opportunity and a lot of finger-crossing that it would settle before the show. We made the decision that we should go on the Thursday before the show, nothing like cutting it fine.  We travelled down on Saturday and once there I was reminded why we tend not to stable him overnight,  he did his usual and stressed the whole night.  He did not look his best the next morning and I can only thank my friend Andrea Mcallan for taking him grazing in hand for two hours to try to get some food and moisture into him.  He still didn’t look his best and I had the conversation with mum ‘do we just take him home?’ we decided that as we were there we would just go for it. I need not have worried the minute he entered the ring for the Scottish in-hand veteran of the year, the Showman Wind Wizard came to the fore and he strutted his stuff around that ring.  There were 20 stunning veterans there and the placings were made in reverse order, to say it was tense is an understatement. He was called out as First and Champion, tears and smiles. A quick dash back to the truck after his photocall and victory strut around the ring to get changed for the ridden.  21 veterans forward the class had to be split to enable the judges to see their paces and then a set show of a trot and canter figure of eight.  He managed to contain his exuberance to produce a lovely performance and then off to do his confirmation phase.  Once again the places were announced in reverse order, once again he was called forward first and champion, more tears and smiles and photographs.  Then straight on into the Supreme Scottish veteran championship against the very talented young riders and their amazing mounts.   Well, he held it together and is Scottish Veteran overall champion 2016.  His amazing ground covering trot got bigger the more the spectators clapped and it took me all my stomach muscles to keep with him, he loves an audience. For a horse that was written off by the vets when he broke his leg for the second time, he has come back to the show ring loving every moment of it.  He had given me most of my grey hairs and he is the highest maintenance animal I have ever owned BUT he is my horse of a lifetime and I adore every quirky bone in his body. Thank you Wiz you are amazing.