We have once again had a successful outing this weekend with a trip to Munstead near Guildford. This is a really nice course for the youngsters, with lovely ground and bold up-to-height fences that encourage the horses forward, without too much twisting and turning and changing of rhythm, improved further this year by running the xc in the opposite direction. First out on Saturday was Lite My Fire (Lulu) for the BE90. This little chestnut mare had her first ever run at Isleham where she was rather green and then unfortunately missed Tweseldown because of a bruised sole. Dressage went very nicely getting a mark of 32, which I think we will be able to improve further as she gets stronger and she followed this with a clear in the showjumping. We have spent the last few weeks trying to come up with a bitting combination to suit Lulu as although not actually strong she has a tendency to poke her nose out and try to run on when landing after a fence, however she also has an incredibly soft mouth which splits in the corners, even when ridden in a snaffle as we discovered when out xc schooling before Isleham, I have recently been riding her in a little bitless bridle in order to let her mouth heal, this she seemed to be very responsive to although the steering could be a little fuzzy at times so I have added a loose ring snaffle, and together they seem to work really well, it looks like a rather nasty combination, but it is actually not, and sometimes two reins will get in the way xc, but at this time she seems very comfortable in it, as proved by a lovely run accross country to finish on her dressage mark and win by 4 marks.
We returned on Sunday with my little superman Tickeridge for his first ever BE100. After realising that I had learned the wrong dressage test and hastily memorising the correct one (huge thanks to the kind lady who lent me her rule book) we toddled in. I spent most of the test trying to remember the route and in doing so rather left Tigga to get on with it, which may be the way forwards as we got a mark of 21, despite him suffering a sneezing fit halfway through, looking at our sheet later I found he had gained five 9's and even a 10! We followed this with a clear showjumping round, although he does now get a little onward bound and cheeky when he realises the fences are only 1.05. His cross country round was also really lovely taking on the slight increase in height and technicality without turning a hair, I also kicked him on more than on previous runs as his only real fault is that he can be a little too relaxed about the proceedings, but he felt wonderful so I was absolutely mortified to discover that we had collected 8.4 time faults. I questioned this with the stewards as I felt that to be 21 seconds over the time in what had felt like a good round had to be a mistake but I was told that everything was correct and so we finished second which was a little disapointing after such a super performance and the first time Tigga has ever been beaten. I shall now go away and time him over set distances to see if my feel for his speed is wrong before his next outing at South of England in April.
Also competing at Munstead were two of our 'old boys'. Rembrant III was 11th in BE90 section D on Saturday with a double clear and going really well for his new owner Louise Edwards and Coco de Cara was the winner of BE100o on Sunday with Cath Fowdrey on their dressage mark of 28.5, it was lovely to see them both looking and going so well.
Also this week we have had several outings for dressage practice, we were at home on Wednesday where Boundalong (Muffin) my new ride for this year, had her first party after a quiet few weeks having tweaked a muscle, it was all far too exciting and so she joined the two big boys Brooke and Smurf when they went to Royal Leisure to practice the 3* test on Friday, they were really good and I was delighted that Brooke has almost mastered his changes and half-pass although Smurf was showing off as usual, Muffin was still rather full of herself though but I hope she will have worked through it in time for Somerlry Park on Wednesday, a nice early morning drive to the New Forest for us as we have an 8.50am dressage. aaarrrgggghhh!!!
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Abby Steel and Lilly make some marked improvements and bring home the ribbons
On the 14th March I took Lilly along to Overa for the BSJA show jumping where we went into the British Novice and 1m Amateur Qualifier. Over the last 2 months I have been having lessons on Lilly to improve our jumping before the coming season and we have both improved so much!
In the British Novice we had an unlucky pole down at the last fence (Rider error)! but we went round the course in a perfect rhythm and I could feel the improvment in us both!
I then went in my second class, where we had another unlucky pole down but again she jumped round the course so well and I was so chuffed how we had both come on over such a short period of time!
On the 21st March, after a mad rush to find my membership card the morning off the show, I
was qualified to jump in the 95cms second rounds, In the first round Lilly jumped a fantastic clear over the big and demanding course and a very quick clear in the jump off clinched second place! Which was fantastic. The class was split between juniors and seniors and there was lots of people there competing so was a close line up!
I then entered into 105cms as a first round contender as i hadn't previous to this competion qualified in this class so I was jumping to qualify for this competition.. but next year! Once again Lilly produced a fantastic double clear with a very quick time to get another second in another big class!! Which will take us to the second rounds again!
All in all we had a very good day! We are next jumping on the 4th April at The Jays.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Introducing Squad member Chloe Chubb
Chloe Chubb has been showing since she was around 8 years old. She was lucky enough to ride for some great producers as she came up through the ranks in the British Show Pony Society as well as competing on her own ponies. Since then she has concentrated on showing mountain and moorland ponies and her judging appointments, becoming a judge on both the BSPS and BSHA panels. This year Chloe will be competing her own Welsh Section C Stallion Popsters Loaded Weapon (Jacob), who will be entering his third season with her, as well as her own novice small hack Glentons Adonis who Chloe is aiming to bring out in horse classes this year. As well as Jacob and Toby Chloe owns two other youngsters, Dartmoor Shilstone Rocks Drakes Leat and welsh section B Celton Sandstorm, who are being aimed towards shows later in the season. Chloe also rides for Claire Grisdale who produces Jacob for her. This year Chloe will be partnering a connemara stallion called Hillymead Cabaret for his owner Carol Dutton as well as Claire's own section b Saltre Dancing Brave.
Why horses? "I was always massively competitive and horses seemed to be something I was better than average at!"
Biggest horsey bug bear? "People who tell their ponies off ten minutes after the incident happened - what is the point?"
Worst horsey habit? "Looking down when I am riding to see what the horse is doing!"
If not horses what? "Something outdoors that keeps me sane and very busy. I can't be doing with free time"
What could you not live without? "Its a long list but my mum who organises me continually, my dog Jack, my expensive show stick as my mum would kill me if I lost it (and all the ponies are very lazy) and Claire who is always good in a crisis and who I trust totally when she says 'she wont let go', very important when backing!
Image courtest of Alex Kelly
The good the bad and the rare? Joys of Horses from Kerry Graw
Well the start of this year has been quite mixed, had great outings with Picnic (dark bay above) showjumping and lots of training at great venues which are definately paying off as we are getting far more double clears than ever. One venue that I went to for a one day training clinic was at the Unicorn Trust In Stow, the facilities were absolutely fantastic and so was the food! I came away feeling a sense of achievement at being able to ride a much smoother show jumping round, and the following week went out competing and got two double clears and a placing so must keep up the good work.
The Calming Power I have been trying Picnic on is working wonders and she has transformed her attitude into being more workmanlike without losing her spark, thanks Forest Farmacy for coming up with this blend! It definately helped when I took her to have a go at dressage for a qualifier at Hartpury, I was meant to be taking Biggles (coloured horse above) but due to him being out of work Picnic had to step in and lets just say when there are no jumps she finds other ways to amuse herself, the test didn't go as bad as it could have, two plus points we only had a couple of bucks and didn't come last. Unfortunately Picnic is the only horse that has been out due to injuries and rare joint disorders that only my horse could manage to have!
Biggles has been out of action since before Christmas as he was showing a reluctance to go forwards or work in an outline and eventually started to refuse jumping so called the vet for investigation. He never actually went lame but just didn't look right (almost as if the handbrake was left on) after x rays showed up inconclusive we decided to send him for a bone scan, this meant before we could send him I had to put him back into work in the hopes he went lame so something would show up on the scan. Three weeks later I was getting to the point of giving up and thinking I was imagining he wasn't right when the last transition I did from canter to trot he refused to trot and would walk or canter but he'd hop and not quite work out his legs to manage the trot. I must say I did get very strange looks from people when I was so excited that my horse looked lame!!! My vet came back out to conclude a bone scan was needed and a very impressive three days later I took him to Three Counties Equine Hospital for the scan. He had to stay there for 48 hours after due to the radioactive dye used in the scan needing to clear through his system before being allowed home, so he stayed there for three days in total. We now have the results and it seems it is the thoracic facet joint (located directly under where I'd sit) which is very rare as horses usually have a problem with this joint in the neck, but typical my horse can't be normal!!! Anyway the vet is in discussions with an expert in France (the only one apparently) and are hoping to be able to inject into the joint to encourage it to strenghten and develop so Biggles can move freely, which will mean re training him to use himself correctly. Hopefully fingers crossed he will respond to the treatment so that we can manage his condition and get him strong so he's back out competing. He is however quite enjoying all the fuss being made over him at the moment, I will keep you updated on his progress as we start on the road to recovery with some pictures.
Show rider Lizzie Briant's first blog
The ponies that were shown last season from my yard all have a well deserved rest over the winter period when they can live as naturally as possible without rugs etc.
My open pony for this season is Guards Jester, a nine year old, Fell stallion who is jointly by Myself and Paul Saunders. I intend competing him in HOYS, Royal International and Olympia qualifiers, he is a great little pony with lots of character and presence.
I brought Jester back into work in January, he loves being ridden and groomed and strapped everyday. He loves attention and although he is used at stud has no problem sharing the lorry with a mare. Jester is turned out everyday and loves his playtime and likes nothing better than hacking out with my friends on their eventers and has no problem keeping up.
Watch this space to see how Jester goes over the season...
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Anna Bailey is ready and raring to go!
Well, we are officially ready to start. We have overcome the elements of snow, frost, rain and more snow, frost and rain to finally start to see a glimmer of spring….. well in the distance at least!
All the horses are feeling rather well. Timmy has been to dressage, finishing a respectable 4th in his first test since September. I will now be smothering him in the evening performance spray that Forest Farmacy kindly gave me to try as I seemed to be riding a very grown up calm horse. We have picked up a few placings showjumping and even made if out cross country schooling towards the end of the month. After much thought it was decided that he will start evening this year at Munstead in the BE100Plus to give him an easy first run. He will then go to South of England and Nurstead to do the Novices. We will see how that goes before planning early 1* and his first intermediate run. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it….. we’ll see.
Gringo has come on leaps and bounds. He is now working nicely on the flat and jumping a small course of fences. He is so bold, we decided to test him out one day by throwing in the gate, fillers and barrels but he didn’t bat an eyelid – he just jumped bigger! I hope to get him out to jump some British Novices in the next few weeks and then some cross country schooling so he will be ready for the PAVO 4 year old qualifiers in the summer. I currently have him up for sale but if anyone is looking for an investment I would love to keep the ride on him – he is going to be amazing.
Talking of amazing, I went to ride Athene S a horse I sold to Mr & Mrs Donaldson last summer. They would like me to ride her in her first Intro which is planned for Rackham in June. After plenty of dressage over the winter they have done a great job on her flat work so she feels much stronger in her body. I popped her around a little course and again she jumped everything without even so much as a waver. I think she will really enjoy her eventing debut in June.
I have also gained the ride on another five year old called Socks owned by Stacey Revell. She bred the horse and after show jumping very successfully as a four year old, she would like to see what he will make of eventing. As Stacey is from a show jumping back ground I will do the first couple of events with him and then she might have a go. We plan to take him cross country schooling in the next few weeks so we will then plan his first event.
I can’t wait to start – its going to be an exciting year. x
All the horses are feeling rather well. Timmy has been to dressage, finishing a respectable 4th in his first test since September. I will now be smothering him in the evening performance spray that Forest Farmacy kindly gave me to try as I seemed to be riding a very grown up calm horse. We have picked up a few placings showjumping and even made if out cross country schooling towards the end of the month. After much thought it was decided that he will start evening this year at Munstead in the BE100Plus to give him an easy first run. He will then go to South of England and Nurstead to do the Novices. We will see how that goes before planning early 1* and his first intermediate run. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it….. we’ll see.
Gringo has come on leaps and bounds. He is now working nicely on the flat and jumping a small course of fences. He is so bold, we decided to test him out one day by throwing in the gate, fillers and barrels but he didn’t bat an eyelid – he just jumped bigger! I hope to get him out to jump some British Novices in the next few weeks and then some cross country schooling so he will be ready for the PAVO 4 year old qualifiers in the summer. I currently have him up for sale but if anyone is looking for an investment I would love to keep the ride on him – he is going to be amazing.
Talking of amazing, I went to ride Athene S a horse I sold to Mr & Mrs Donaldson last summer. They would like me to ride her in her first Intro which is planned for Rackham in June. After plenty of dressage over the winter they have done a great job on her flat work so she feels much stronger in her body. I popped her around a little course and again she jumped everything without even so much as a waver. I think she will really enjoy her eventing debut in June.
I have also gained the ride on another five year old called Socks owned by Stacey Revell. She bred the horse and after show jumping very successfully as a four year old, she would like to see what he will make of eventing. As Stacey is from a show jumping back ground I will do the first couple of events with him and then she might have a go. We plan to take him cross country schooling in the next few weeks so we will then plan his first event.
I can’t wait to start – its going to be an exciting year. x
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Sam Penn has a successful first outing at Isleham
We are just back from our first event of the new season, having lost our local event at Stilemans we had a rather long trip up to Isleham in Cambridgeshire, but it was well worth the trip as the courses and the ground were fantastic, although proceedings were a little delayed on Sunday morning due to the hard frost, but the team worked so hard to get things put right, and full credit to them for their efforts. We travelled up on the Saturday and stayed overnight, as we had a nice early start with dressage for Flynn at 9am. After working in nicely he did a rather disapointing test getting stronger and more rude throughout and getting a deserved mark of 40. He did however redeem himself somewhat with a lovely double clear, in what is just his 3rd start at Novice level and his first run since he fell in the water at Pulborough last year. So with 10 timefaults added as I didnt really push him this early in the year we finished a respectable 8th.
Next came Lite My Fire, having her first ever 'proper' party. Lulu can be a very easily distracted person but was extremely well behaved and grown up and performed by far her best dressage test yet, followed by a clear round showjumping. Unfortunately things didnt go quite to plan across country when she ran out at a very simple fence because she didn't like the look of the pond next to it! But I think given some time and more experience she will become quite a nice little lady.
Last of all came Tigga, who put in by far the best performance of the day to win the intro section, finishing on his dressage mark of 32.5, he feels much more sprightly this year and for the first time was really attacking round the xc phase, so I'm quietly hopeful that we will really build on what he achieved last year.
This next week will be a busy one as we have a Nick Turner clinic to look forward to on Tuesday, some dressage training on Brooke with Mary-Ann on Wednesday (I'm very much looking forwards to trying out our new saddle) and then on Thursday the two big boys Brooke and Smurf are headed to Tweseldown for the OI, on Friday, Flynn is out for another Novice, then on Sunday its back again for the babies in the Intro, plus a new ride, Brockley Star as his owner Vicky Whiteman is out of action for a few weeks with a fractured collarbone. Also at Tweseldown is one of our previous Golden Cross residents, Rembrandt III with his new owner Louise Edwards so very best of luck to them.
So until next week, bye x
Next came Lite My Fire, having her first ever 'proper' party. Lulu can be a very easily distracted person but was extremely well behaved and grown up and performed by far her best dressage test yet, followed by a clear round showjumping. Unfortunately things didnt go quite to plan across country when she ran out at a very simple fence because she didn't like the look of the pond next to it! But I think given some time and more experience she will become quite a nice little lady.
Last of all came Tigga, who put in by far the best performance of the day to win the intro section, finishing on his dressage mark of 32.5, he feels much more sprightly this year and for the first time was really attacking round the xc phase, so I'm quietly hopeful that we will really build on what he achieved last year.
This next week will be a busy one as we have a Nick Turner clinic to look forward to on Tuesday, some dressage training on Brooke with Mary-Ann on Wednesday (I'm very much looking forwards to trying out our new saddle) and then on Thursday the two big boys Brooke and Smurf are headed to Tweseldown for the OI, on Friday, Flynn is out for another Novice, then on Sunday its back again for the babies in the Intro, plus a new ride, Brockley Star as his owner Vicky Whiteman is out of action for a few weeks with a fractured collarbone. Also at Tweseldown is one of our previous Golden Cross residents, Rembrandt III with his new owner Louise Edwards so very best of luck to them.
So until next week, bye x
Nicola Latham updates us on the latest news from the Windsorwood Show Horse Team
February has seen marginally better weather for us in North Lincolnshire and some schooling work has started. We are still wondering if we will ever be ready for the first shows in March but we are keeping everything crossed.
Kingswood (Alf) is ready for some serious work. He seems to be getting a bit bored now and regularly trashes his stable overnight including digging out all his banks. He does like to dig though and has also dug a pit, the size of a welsh mountain pony, in the gate entrance to his field!
Suzanne has started to ease Alf into a work routine and he is looking fantastic. This horse absolutely floats across the arena and turns heads everywhere he goes. He is the type of horse everybody wants to sit on. I have sat on him once or twice and you know you are on something special. This season, Suzanne has promised me that I can get on him more often. There is method in this madness, she told me it was because some ride judges are not as strong in the leg as her and Alf needs to get used to different styles of riders and still produce the goods. Whatever the reason, I am looking forward to this opportunity very much.
Beconsall Pickpocket (Munch) had an emergency vet call out this month due to him getting choke. He had to be tubed and had a sore throat for about 24 hours but is now right as rain. He now has a brick in his feed trough to try and slow him down. Alistair reports that workwise he is going very well indeed. We should be paying him a visit in the not too distant future to witness this first hand.
Lanson (Eric) This season Eric will be ridden and produced by Danielle Heath. Eric is a small hunter and Paul Mortimer (owner) is very excited at his prospects for this season. This little horse ticks all the right boxes. Eric is the newest member of the Windsorwood Show Horse Team.
Kingswood (Alf) is ready for some serious work. He seems to be getting a bit bored now and regularly trashes his stable overnight including digging out all his banks. He does like to dig though and has also dug a pit, the size of a welsh mountain pony, in the gate entrance to his field!
Suzanne has started to ease Alf into a work routine and he is looking fantastic. This horse absolutely floats across the arena and turns heads everywhere he goes. He is the type of horse everybody wants to sit on. I have sat on him once or twice and you know you are on something special. This season, Suzanne has promised me that I can get on him more often. There is method in this madness, she told me it was because some ride judges are not as strong in the leg as her and Alf needs to get used to different styles of riders and still produce the goods. Whatever the reason, I am looking forward to this opportunity very much.
Beconsall Pickpocket (Munch) had an emergency vet call out this month due to him getting choke. He had to be tubed and had a sore throat for about 24 hours but is now right as rain. He now has a brick in his feed trough to try and slow him down. Alistair reports that workwise he is going very well indeed. We should be paying him a visit in the not too distant future to witness this first hand.
Lanson (Eric) This season Eric will be ridden and produced by Danielle Heath. Eric is a small hunter and Paul Mortimer (owner) is very excited at his prospects for this season. This little horse ticks all the right boxes. Eric is the newest member of the Windsorwood Show Horse Team.
Against all odds a successful outing at the Winter Semi Finals for Jo Barry
I took Freddie and Rafa down for four days training to Carl's mid february. It was a really good experience, especially for them as they had each other for company and meant that they ate on the journey down and settled straight into their stables. When they go seperately they won't eat while travelling and even when they arrive somewhere new it takes a few days to start eating their meals properly.
Rafa really blossomed over the four days, Carl worked on making him really supple over his back with long forwards stretching. He then asked him to maintain the softness and transfer his weight onto his quarters. Rafa moves extravagantly behind and it has given him problems with his balance previously but he is now opening his shoulders and carrying himself better and is finding everything much easier.
Freddie, I am told looks amazing...I just feel out of control and like I am riding on a wing and a prayer!?! Carl rode him one of the days and I have to admit he does look amazing! Carl rode some piaffe and passage on him and I felt very proud seeing my boy starting to get to grips with these difficult things. Carl got off and said he was really quite excited about him and that I had to stop worrying about now and tomorrow and start riding him with a year and beyond in mind. Was Stephen Clarke saying a similar thing to me a month before??! I think I was panicking that I had the Winter Semi-finals the next weekend and I was feeling my half passes weren't as good as they had been in December! ...keep thinking of the bigger picture!
I got home on the Saturday and the boys had a day off on Sunday. I stretched them on Monday and Tuesday and they also had physio. The preparation for the semis at the weekend was all going according to plan - then it snowed...aaargh!! No riding Wednesday, no riding Thursday and yikes no riding Friday and the semis were upon us. The snow was nearly away on friday night but we woke Saturday morning and opened the door to 6 inches of fresh snow. Thankfully we didn't have to leave till lunchtime and so after a few phone calls we managed to get the local farmer to bring his tractor and snow plough to clear the road into the farm. My Dad then shovelled and salted the worst bits and we held our breath, crossed our fingers and headed out in the lorry. We made it out and couldn't believe it that 20mins away there was no snow!!
The Saturday classes were the freestyle. Rafa was brilliant, he went the best he has at a competition in the Novice Open. He won with 76%. Freddie competed in the Elementary and medium Open Freestyles. He was very fresh due to the lack of the work and I felt very much the passenger. I made a huge mistake in the Elementary, I leg yielded the same way twice and so missed out a compulsory movement. It meant that I received my first zero and that multiplied by 3 as there were 3 judges was very expensive. It also effected my choreography marks and in total I think I lost about 40 marks. Luckily the judges thought the rest of the test was very good and he still gained 71%, was second and qualified. I gave myself a kick up the backside and I performed better in the medium and didn't let Freddie down this time, we won with 74%.
Sunday was back to the normal format of tests. Rafa had the Novice Open and Freddie the Medium Open. The both made a couple of mistakes but I was pleased with their way of going...Freddie was much more responsive and Rafa despite being tired really tried had to do his best. Rafa was 2nd with 69% and Freddie won with 72%. So all in all despite the weather and a stupid jockey moment we had a great weekend and gained qualification in all 5 classes!
Rafa really blossomed over the four days, Carl worked on making him really supple over his back with long forwards stretching. He then asked him to maintain the softness and transfer his weight onto his quarters. Rafa moves extravagantly behind and it has given him problems with his balance previously but he is now opening his shoulders and carrying himself better and is finding everything much easier.
Freddie, I am told looks amazing...I just feel out of control and like I am riding on a wing and a prayer!?! Carl rode him one of the days and I have to admit he does look amazing! Carl rode some piaffe and passage on him and I felt very proud seeing my boy starting to get to grips with these difficult things. Carl got off and said he was really quite excited about him and that I had to stop worrying about now and tomorrow and start riding him with a year and beyond in mind. Was Stephen Clarke saying a similar thing to me a month before??! I think I was panicking that I had the Winter Semi-finals the next weekend and I was feeling my half passes weren't as good as they had been in December! ...keep thinking of the bigger picture!
I got home on the Saturday and the boys had a day off on Sunday. I stretched them on Monday and Tuesday and they also had physio. The preparation for the semis at the weekend was all going according to plan - then it snowed...aaargh!! No riding Wednesday, no riding Thursday and yikes no riding Friday and the semis were upon us. The snow was nearly away on friday night but we woke Saturday morning and opened the door to 6 inches of fresh snow. Thankfully we didn't have to leave till lunchtime and so after a few phone calls we managed to get the local farmer to bring his tractor and snow plough to clear the road into the farm. My Dad then shovelled and salted the worst bits and we held our breath, crossed our fingers and headed out in the lorry. We made it out and couldn't believe it that 20mins away there was no snow!!
The Saturday classes were the freestyle. Rafa was brilliant, he went the best he has at a competition in the Novice Open. He won with 76%. Freddie competed in the Elementary and medium Open Freestyles. He was very fresh due to the lack of the work and I felt very much the passenger. I made a huge mistake in the Elementary, I leg yielded the same way twice and so missed out a compulsory movement. It meant that I received my first zero and that multiplied by 3 as there were 3 judges was very expensive. It also effected my choreography marks and in total I think I lost about 40 marks. Luckily the judges thought the rest of the test was very good and he still gained 71%, was second and qualified. I gave myself a kick up the backside and I performed better in the medium and didn't let Freddie down this time, we won with 74%.
Sunday was back to the normal format of tests. Rafa had the Novice Open and Freddie the Medium Open. The both made a couple of mistakes but I was pleased with their way of going...Freddie was much more responsive and Rafa despite being tired really tried had to do his best. Rafa was 2nd with 69% and Freddie won with 72%. So all in all despite the weather and a stupid jockey moment we had a great weekend and gained qualification in all 5 classes!
Katherine Begley gives us a series of updates!
18/02/2010 – Riding Belvedere
How exciting. I rode Belvedere for the first time in quite a while yesterday! He has been at Tor's for his re-training, and wow what a good job she has done with him! He is so much more relaxed, chilled and soft to ride. I only rode him for 5/10 mins or so on Wednesday because we are introducing me to him gradually! It was very strange though, he feels so so different, in a good way of course. But it has made me realise that I am probably not going to be eventing him in March/April because he is still very fragile and it isn't going to be a quick process. I also rode him today (in the snow) and rode him for about 10 minutes again, but I was approved to canter him this time! Tor was very pleased with how we went and said that I looked much more relaxed and confident today. I suppose that is because I knew what to expect! Here is a video from Wednesday, Unfortunately I have no video from today as my Gran drove me over to Tor’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds1ydPwhE60
19/02/2010 – Good news!!
***Supplejack passed the vet!!!***
It was all very touch and go to begin with because on Thursday it snowed here and at Aston Le Walls! It then proceeded to freeze overnight! However, luckily the sun came out and the vetting was able to take place and we were able to go over to fetch him later in the day. The vet picked up on a couple of things, but nothing major and nothing to worry about. So all very exciting! Poor Emma was very sad to see him go, but she needn't worry as he will be spoilt rotten! He settled into Belvedere's stable very well (surprisingly well actually considering he can be a bit of a worrier) and has been very affectionate and friendly! Me and mum managed to scrape together a bridle out of various bits and bobs this evening and so will give him a ride around the field (in the snow) tomorrow!
28/02/2010 – "Jack jumps, joyously, jammily and judiciously" - BSJA report!
Well, yesterday we set off to do some BSJA on Ross and Jack at Allens Hill. I had Ross in the 1.00m Amateur qualifier, which was run as a single phase and was an incredibly long course!! He was jumping brilliantly in the warm up but kept on trying to nap out of the arena. So I was concerned that he might throw in the towel when we went into the ring. However we managed to get a double clear! (Even if he did plant himself in front of the double and then nap coming around to a spread by the entrance/exit!)
Next up was Jack; he was in the discovery (1.00m first round). Unfortunately his jumping bit hadn't arrived in the post and so he was just in a snaffle, consequently he was quite strong and so we did have a pole down. But he jumped really well and considering it was my first course with him and I have only had him a week it wasn't too shabby! Although we had a pole down, the judges missed it and so we got into the jump off - It didn't affect the results as we were on a ticket so our score didn't count anyway! The jump off was a full up discovery JO - Up two holes, so set at around 1m10. This time I took my spurs off and jack wasn’t quite so fresh and we had a really super round. Nice rhythm and hit everything on nice strides! We got a super little clear, one of only two in the jump off. So we would have been second if I was registered BSJA.
Video of Jacks rounds - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FT2L9__1jE
All in all a very good day, and very promising for our event season! I can’t wait to enter Weston Novice now! If you can't wait for the next blog check out www.katherinebegley.com to keep up to date with what is happening.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Sam Penn is ready for the season
Almost ready to go! We have had several dressage outings, Smurf has been going well at Medium level, and Brooke is making the step up well. Tigga is consistantly getting very good marks at Novice level and Lulu is gradually settling down to the task at Prelim. The showjumping has also been going exceptionally well with all the boys and girls regularly placed at their respective levels.
I have a very exciting new ride for this season, Boundalong, also known as Muffin, is an 8yo bay mare by Royal Concorde and has previously competed to 1* and Intermediate level, we will be aiming for a 2* later in the season.
The weather has not been very helpful when it comes to getting out xc schooling but we have managed a couple of outings, one to Tweseldown with Brooke, Smurf and Muffin and one to Littleton Manor with the youngsters, all of whom have been very good and I think we are as ready as we can be for the start of the season, I cant wait!
I have a very exciting new ride for this season, Boundalong, also known as Muffin, is an 8yo bay mare by Royal Concorde and has previously competed to 1* and Intermediate level, we will be aiming for a 2* later in the season.
The weather has not been very helpful when it comes to getting out xc schooling but we have managed a couple of outings, one to Tweseldown with Brooke, Smurf and Muffin and one to Littleton Manor with the youngsters, all of whom have been very good and I think we are as ready as we can be for the start of the season, I cant wait!
Tilly Tillbrook faces more snow, jump homework and a busy month in preparation for the season...
Finally the snow has passed us by and we are able to get back on track. Life was very busy for me in February – the demands of work and my life outside of horses hit for the first couple of weeks, although I can’t complain too much since it did involve a week of rock climbing in sunny Spain. Now I don’t know who ordered the weather on that trip, but by the end of the week it was snowing, not what we had hoped for, and I feel like the white stuff is trying to scupper all my plans at the moment.
However, back to base, and it really was time to crack on with our preperation for the eventing season. After a week of hacking and schooling, we had a very busy few days. First up on the Friday was a clinic with Nick Gauntlett at Stockland Lovell Manor in Somerset. This was supposed to be show jumping in the morning and then a session out on the XC course in the afternoon – of course the weather put paid to that! Luckily, Stockland Lovell is a super facility and has an enormous outdoor arena, and they had some portable XC fences out on it for us.
Our show jumping session was very useful, with Nick noticing that I tend to create a great canter round the corner then chase it to the fence meaning everything is rather rushed. So I have to learn to sit and wait a bit more these days, which is not easy! Lots of homework there…..
The XC session was a really good session – we worked over corners and on some tricky angles and curving lines, and all in all had a great afternoon, leaving me feeling like we’d had a really useful tune-up for the start of the season.
On Saturday, we headed down to Dovecote Stables in Chard for a dressage lesson. Sam was very pleased with the progress Boysie has made in his canter work, and we are now asking for some canter-walk transitions and doing a lot of work on collecting the paces whilst keeping the hind leg quick. My schooling at home is really concentrating on this, and we have almost nailed the canter-walk now – I’ll update in March! I am very glad that I have him on the Joint Power now that we are asking him to work harder and take more weight behind – it gives me peace of mind.
Then Sunday we headed down to Pontispool for the Area 12 Riding Club dressage qualifiers. Our RC had 4 teams entered, so there was a real sense of camaraderie on the day, and we all looked super-smart in our team saddlecloths. I felt Boysie did a super first test, perhaps not quite forwards enough, but very relaxed, accurate, swinging and soft. The judge sadly did not agree and we got 56% - our worst score since 2007! After a pep-talk from a friend, we went in to do our team qualifying test, N25. This time I had him more forwards but I felt we sacrificed some softness over the topline, and that he didn’t feel quite so supple. However a much better mark and placing resulted – 66.8% and 8th in the section with lots below us as opposed to 3rd from last in the first test! I have never had such a disparity in my marks before, so have emailed the videos to my dressage trainer Sam, and will let you know what he thinks next time.
Finally, the following Thursday we headed over the Severn Bridge for a clinic with Kenneth Clawson. I feel very privileged to be able to train with Kenneth, and the sessions always give me lots to work on. Again I was chastised for chasing to the fences – I really need to break that habit, so I think lots of show jumping is on the cards for us now. However, Boysie rose to the challenge of the tight turns and angles admirably, and I came away feeling like I know what needs the work.
It’s now just a week until the first event of the season, and after all that hard work we went for a nice pipe-opener in Ashton Court Estate – a huge country park with virtually no access restrictions which is in hacking distance – bliss. With all this hard work, the Gut Power is really essential to maintaining his digestive health and keeping those ulcers at bay. I am also extremely pleased with the Coat Powder – everyone keeps commenting on what a super shiny coat Boysie has!
So now it is down to last minute tune-ups before Aston le Walls – until next time, happy tack-cleaning (that’s what I’ll be mostly doing!).
However, back to base, and it really was time to crack on with our preperation for the eventing season. After a week of hacking and schooling, we had a very busy few days. First up on the Friday was a clinic with Nick Gauntlett at Stockland Lovell Manor in Somerset. This was supposed to be show jumping in the morning and then a session out on the XC course in the afternoon – of course the weather put paid to that! Luckily, Stockland Lovell is a super facility and has an enormous outdoor arena, and they had some portable XC fences out on it for us.
Our show jumping session was very useful, with Nick noticing that I tend to create a great canter round the corner then chase it to the fence meaning everything is rather rushed. So I have to learn to sit and wait a bit more these days, which is not easy! Lots of homework there…..
The XC session was a really good session – we worked over corners and on some tricky angles and curving lines, and all in all had a great afternoon, leaving me feeling like we’d had a really useful tune-up for the start of the season.
On Saturday, we headed down to Dovecote Stables in Chard for a dressage lesson. Sam was very pleased with the progress Boysie has made in his canter work, and we are now asking for some canter-walk transitions and doing a lot of work on collecting the paces whilst keeping the hind leg quick. My schooling at home is really concentrating on this, and we have almost nailed the canter-walk now – I’ll update in March! I am very glad that I have him on the Joint Power now that we are asking him to work harder and take more weight behind – it gives me peace of mind.
Then Sunday we headed down to Pontispool for the Area 12 Riding Club dressage qualifiers. Our RC had 4 teams entered, so there was a real sense of camaraderie on the day, and we all looked super-smart in our team saddlecloths. I felt Boysie did a super first test, perhaps not quite forwards enough, but very relaxed, accurate, swinging and soft. The judge sadly did not agree and we got 56% - our worst score since 2007! After a pep-talk from a friend, we went in to do our team qualifying test, N25. This time I had him more forwards but I felt we sacrificed some softness over the topline, and that he didn’t feel quite so supple. However a much better mark and placing resulted – 66.8% and 8th in the section with lots below us as opposed to 3rd from last in the first test! I have never had such a disparity in my marks before, so have emailed the videos to my dressage trainer Sam, and will let you know what he thinks next time.
Finally, the following Thursday we headed over the Severn Bridge for a clinic with Kenneth Clawson. I feel very privileged to be able to train with Kenneth, and the sessions always give me lots to work on. Again I was chastised for chasing to the fences – I really need to break that habit, so I think lots of show jumping is on the cards for us now. However, Boysie rose to the challenge of the tight turns and angles admirably, and I came away feeling like I know what needs the work.
It’s now just a week until the first event of the season, and after all that hard work we went for a nice pipe-opener in Ashton Court Estate – a huge country park with virtually no access restrictions which is in hacking distance – bliss. With all this hard work, the Gut Power is really essential to maintaining his digestive health and keeping those ulcers at bay. I am also extremely pleased with the Coat Powder – everyone keeps commenting on what a super shiny coat Boysie has!
So now it is down to last minute tune-ups before Aston le Walls – until next time, happy tack-cleaning (that’s what I’ll be mostly doing!).
Georgina Rose battles on regardless of the weather
Thank goodness that Feb has come to an end, with March almost underway spring feels just a tiny bit closer, I dont think I can take much more of this winter weather! Since the heavy snow, I must have got about 2 weeks of riding in before terrential rain set in again, but by now I'm so determined to battle on the horses will have to put up with being a bit soggy for the time being!
This month I have been busy setting up Rose Equine in preparation for spring, we have had some emboirdery work done e.g polo shirts, baseball caps, hoodies etc in our colours of black and gold, and they look great so really pleaed with that. Hoping to get saddlecloths done to include Forest Farmacys logo soon.
Horses are going well. Our 4yo, Al, has now begun jumping! He is a total natural, pops over like a pro even though hes only jumped a handful of times, so really impressed with him, high hopes as a little PC eventer/showjumper/WHP of the future!
Merlin is enjoying his new lease of life jumping, thanks to the Respiratory and Joint Power, at age 16 he is back enjoying work again which is amazing, as we'd never thought we'd jump him again because he seemed to find it so uncomfortable, so thanks again for the good work!
Penny is her usual bouncy self, busy doing lots of work getting her fit for the hunter trial season, as this is where I plan to focus her efforts early in the year as she really excels across country. Got several dates in mind, the first I hope will be mid March weather permitting.
I've also booked myself in for BHS Stage 2 training to start at the end of April, so loooking forward to moving onwards with my qualifications. Lots to look forward to now that spring is nearly here, hunter trials, shows, long hacks on the commons (hopefully in the sun!) sales and no doubt a huge amount of spring cleaning, so a busy time just around the corner I hope!
Hope everyone is battling on through the weather ok, best of luck to you all in the season ahead,
This month I have been busy setting up Rose Equine in preparation for spring, we have had some emboirdery work done e.g polo shirts, baseball caps, hoodies etc in our colours of black and gold, and they look great so really pleaed with that. Hoping to get saddlecloths done to include Forest Farmacys logo soon.
Horses are going well. Our 4yo, Al, has now begun jumping! He is a total natural, pops over like a pro even though hes only jumped a handful of times, so really impressed with him, high hopes as a little PC eventer/showjumper/WHP of the future!
Merlin is enjoying his new lease of life jumping, thanks to the Respiratory and Joint Power, at age 16 he is back enjoying work again which is amazing, as we'd never thought we'd jump him again because he seemed to find it so uncomfortable, so thanks again for the good work!
Penny is her usual bouncy self, busy doing lots of work getting her fit for the hunter trial season, as this is where I plan to focus her efforts early in the year as she really excels across country. Got several dates in mind, the first I hope will be mid March weather permitting.
I've also booked myself in for BHS Stage 2 training to start at the end of April, so loooking forward to moving onwards with my qualifications. Lots to look forward to now that spring is nearly here, hunter trials, shows, long hacks on the commons (hopefully in the sun!) sales and no doubt a huge amount of spring cleaning, so a busy time just around the corner I hope!
Hope everyone is battling on through the weather ok, best of luck to you all in the season ahead,
Josh Thompson is counting down the days...
Well I have been very busy since my last blog. I have finally done some winter competing, in an attempt to try to be closer to the leader-board as we set off XC rather than play catch-up after a drastic dressage! Shannah is now jumping, and both are cracking on with their fitness work.
I have so far made two BS(JA) ventures to Osbaldeston with Duncan. First off, back in January, in our first competition together since September we entered the Discovery, 1.05m and Newcomers. We had one pole in the first round, then eight faults in the other two classes but this was really just an exercise to work on ring-craft. For our first competition back he jumped well and our partnership is definitely developing. Last weekend we had intended to do the Newcomers and 1.15m, but when we got there we round out that they had cancelled the bigger class due to lack of entries. This then meant a quick warm-up, an entry into the Discovery, and a case of ‘learn the course as you go in the ring’, he just had one down but due to me still navigating my way around the course all was forgiven. In the Newcomers he produced a much better round to go clear, and into the jump-off. He was really jumping nicely and we were much more in tune. In the jump-off the fences had been raised to 1.15, and I was under strict instructions not to ride for the time. He had two fences down, but that was only due to me trying the old showjumpers turns! Again, I was happy though as this is the first time I have done this height on him in competition.
I have also taken the plunge into the affiliated world of British Dressage-on a ticket- in an attempt to conquer the white boards. I took Duncan to a local affiliated competition as a warm-up, squeezing two entries for the prelim tests. He was possibly a little excited but produced two much more flowing tests than he did last season, for 61 and 61.5 %. We finished 5th in the second class, and received a nice rosette! There are still small things to work on with him, but he is now much more rideable and if we can just do what we do at home we are on target.
Last Saturday my trainer and I went to Richmond Equestrian Centre to do the two novice classes. We arrived at Richmond late after a series of small set-backs, including taking the wrong set of wagon keys and discovering that the correct keys were at home. It was not until we stopped for petrol half an hour later that we realised, so we had to give mother a call to drive over with the correct keys and my jacket and hat which had also been left at home! That meant that Duncan was left with only 10 minuets to warm-up and although he worked nicely enough outside this has a negative effect on both his tests. He found the indoor arena very spooky, and produced an extremely tense test in the Novice 27. However, he worked much better in the outdoor in the Novice 34 receiving an 8 for his lengthenings. Shannah at his first outing of the year again was very tense in the indoor arena, and did not like it at all. However, after a proper warm-up he performed much better in his second test. We got 62.5 %, with a -2 for error of course. I was really pleased with him, as considering he is a little rusty at the moment and we produced one of our better tests. He picked up a 5th and a 4th, and Duncan also finished 6th in his second test.
It is now only 22 days until my first event of the season, Lincoln. I have Shannah entered for the ON and Duncan for the Novice, and it should be a good pipe-opener for Witton JRN the following weekend. I have calculated that due to school I am only able to ride a grand total of eight times before we make our 2010 eventing debut, and in that time there is a lot to fit in. Hopefully next weekend I will take them both out to another dressage competition, which will hopefully mean no overly excited horses at Lincoln! Yesterday I had a brilliant lesson on Duncan; he went the best he has ever gone for me, and after seeing the physio earlier in the week Shannah is now on top from too. Then the following weekend I hope to take them both showjumping to Osbaldeston, and round preparations off with a Thursday afternoon off school and a trip XC schooling. Busy times, but they are both doing very well and mum is working on their final fittening work and before we know it we should be on the road!
I wish you all the very best in your early season runs, lets make 2010 a year to remember. Hopefully by my next blog I should have complete my first two BE events of the year, and most importantly The Ten Mile, the school running event I have been aiming at all year. So until then farewell!
I have so far made two BS(JA) ventures to Osbaldeston with Duncan. First off, back in January, in our first competition together since September we entered the Discovery, 1.05m and Newcomers. We had one pole in the first round, then eight faults in the other two classes but this was really just an exercise to work on ring-craft. For our first competition back he jumped well and our partnership is definitely developing. Last weekend we had intended to do the Newcomers and 1.15m, but when we got there we round out that they had cancelled the bigger class due to lack of entries. This then meant a quick warm-up, an entry into the Discovery, and a case of ‘learn the course as you go in the ring’, he just had one down but due to me still navigating my way around the course all was forgiven. In the Newcomers he produced a much better round to go clear, and into the jump-off. He was really jumping nicely and we were much more in tune. In the jump-off the fences had been raised to 1.15, and I was under strict instructions not to ride for the time. He had two fences down, but that was only due to me trying the old showjumpers turns! Again, I was happy though as this is the first time I have done this height on him in competition.
I have also taken the plunge into the affiliated world of British Dressage-on a ticket- in an attempt to conquer the white boards. I took Duncan to a local affiliated competition as a warm-up, squeezing two entries for the prelim tests. He was possibly a little excited but produced two much more flowing tests than he did last season, for 61 and 61.5 %. We finished 5th in the second class, and received a nice rosette! There are still small things to work on with him, but he is now much more rideable and if we can just do what we do at home we are on target.
Last Saturday my trainer and I went to Richmond Equestrian Centre to do the two novice classes. We arrived at Richmond late after a series of small set-backs, including taking the wrong set of wagon keys and discovering that the correct keys were at home. It was not until we stopped for petrol half an hour later that we realised, so we had to give mother a call to drive over with the correct keys and my jacket and hat which had also been left at home! That meant that Duncan was left with only 10 minuets to warm-up and although he worked nicely enough outside this has a negative effect on both his tests. He found the indoor arena very spooky, and produced an extremely tense test in the Novice 27. However, he worked much better in the outdoor in the Novice 34 receiving an 8 for his lengthenings. Shannah at his first outing of the year again was very tense in the indoor arena, and did not like it at all. However, after a proper warm-up he performed much better in his second test. We got 62.5 %, with a -2 for error of course. I was really pleased with him, as considering he is a little rusty at the moment and we produced one of our better tests. He picked up a 5th and a 4th, and Duncan also finished 6th in his second test.
It is now only 22 days until my first event of the season, Lincoln. I have Shannah entered for the ON and Duncan for the Novice, and it should be a good pipe-opener for Witton JRN the following weekend. I have calculated that due to school I am only able to ride a grand total of eight times before we make our 2010 eventing debut, and in that time there is a lot to fit in. Hopefully next weekend I will take them both out to another dressage competition, which will hopefully mean no overly excited horses at Lincoln! Yesterday I had a brilliant lesson on Duncan; he went the best he has ever gone for me, and after seeing the physio earlier in the week Shannah is now on top from too. Then the following weekend I hope to take them both showjumping to Osbaldeston, and round preparations off with a Thursday afternoon off school and a trip XC schooling. Busy times, but they are both doing very well and mum is working on their final fittening work and before we know it we should be on the road!
I wish you all the very best in your early season runs, lets make 2010 a year to remember. Hopefully by my next blog I should have complete my first two BE events of the year, and most importantly The Ten Mile, the school running event I have been aiming at all year. So until then farewell!
Gemma Bishop gets going for the 2010 Endurance season
Like most other horse owners across the country, 2010 for us has started under a blanket of snow, ice and mud, which has made training for the new endurance season nigh on impossible. If the roads aren’t frozen to the point of treacherous, all the bridleways are under inches of mud which makes doing sustained fast work down right dangerous.
Despite this, Marygold (Minnismoor Mistique) and I headed to the Brendon EC just outside Brighton on the 21st Feb for a short training ride of 26km. It started raining just as we hit the M26, and hasn’t stopped since (it’s now Monday morning!). However, having driven for 2 hours there was no way I wasn’t riding. So Marygold was tacked up under her rug and off we went, soaked through before we’d even started. The rain had made the chalk extremely slippery so the intention was to take it steady. However, as is always the case, Marygold had other ideas and we still came in dead on 13kph and with plenty of running left in the tank. So it’s all looking good for our first 40km competitive ride in 4 weeks.
Maj (Vlacq Majid) is hacking out nicely and so we can start to think about aiming her for a training ride at the end of April.
Despite this, Marygold (Minnismoor Mistique) and I headed to the Brendon EC just outside Brighton on the 21st Feb for a short training ride of 26km. It started raining just as we hit the M26, and hasn’t stopped since (it’s now Monday morning!). However, having driven for 2 hours there was no way I wasn’t riding. So Marygold was tacked up under her rug and off we went, soaked through before we’d even started. The rain had made the chalk extremely slippery so the intention was to take it steady. However, as is always the case, Marygold had other ideas and we still came in dead on 13kph and with plenty of running left in the tank. So it’s all looking good for our first 40km competitive ride in 4 weeks.
Maj (Vlacq Majid) is hacking out nicely and so we can start to think about aiming her for a training ride at the end of April.
Oli Lawrence is keeping himself busy!
Half term finally! But contrary to most people’s preconceptions of half term as a time of peace and recuperation we may have slightly done that one differently.
The new baby of the yard, Gray, has been getting along very well so the first event of the season is looking pretty good. However, the first few days of the holidays were considerably calmer than expected when my JRN training was postponed because of the trainers illness, I really sympathise there having had a cold recently that just won’t realise its not welcome – although that might be something to do with the fact that rest and me don’t mix very well....
Following that I had my first session of juniors training with Dell. The journey was one of those surreal ones which seemed rather bizarre but we arrived literally perfectly on time ie. pull in to the yard, step out the lorry and walk up the yard to hear the words “Well, hello everyone” – trouble is it always looks so smooth and cool in films, in reality you just feel a bit of a mug for not being early!! The training itself was fabulous and Dell really shone so we’ve really got a plan set for him now.
Now I’ve always been a bit conscience of going into service stations in breeches and on the way back from juniors training the inevitable happened... As I was walking out of the toilets a rather grisly looking trucker with string vest and bear belly grunts and says something along the lines of “Oi darling, nice little trousers you’ve got there. Those spurs are pretty cute as well” accompanied by much winking and clicking. Unlikely as it sounds, I actually thought of a priceless comeback – although just as I was about to deliver the killer blow of rhetorical brilliance I changed my mind and just smiled and said good evening to him and walked away – was this a comical let down or a show of kindness to him? I haven’t decided yet....
The following day, despite Dell’s complaints of EU legislation on over working, I had a dressage lesson with Daniel Watson that I’d won in a BYRDS competition last year. Now Daniel would probably be in the group of dressage trainers that have that little bit of edge to their training ie you listen and you listen hard! He made some pretty mahusive (my new word) changes to my position but it was also really good that the stuff he worked on with me was the same as Gill Watson had commented on the previous day.
The present! Right here right now I’m experiencing the joys of the M25 on our way to see a horse for my younger brother, Ben. I’m actually rather excited about him because he has a huge amount of potential for Ben to work with and the possibility of a 2 1/2th horse for me – My master plan is all coming together! Mwah ha ha (attempts an evil laugh).
The new baby of the yard, Gray, has been getting along very well so the first event of the season is looking pretty good. However, the first few days of the holidays were considerably calmer than expected when my JRN training was postponed because of the trainers illness, I really sympathise there having had a cold recently that just won’t realise its not welcome – although that might be something to do with the fact that rest and me don’t mix very well....
Following that I had my first session of juniors training with Dell. The journey was one of those surreal ones which seemed rather bizarre but we arrived literally perfectly on time ie. pull in to the yard, step out the lorry and walk up the yard to hear the words “Well, hello everyone” – trouble is it always looks so smooth and cool in films, in reality you just feel a bit of a mug for not being early!! The training itself was fabulous and Dell really shone so we’ve really got a plan set for him now.
Now I’ve always been a bit conscience of going into service stations in breeches and on the way back from juniors training the inevitable happened... As I was walking out of the toilets a rather grisly looking trucker with string vest and bear belly grunts and says something along the lines of “Oi darling, nice little trousers you’ve got there. Those spurs are pretty cute as well” accompanied by much winking and clicking. Unlikely as it sounds, I actually thought of a priceless comeback – although just as I was about to deliver the killer blow of rhetorical brilliance I changed my mind and just smiled and said good evening to him and walked away – was this a comical let down or a show of kindness to him? I haven’t decided yet....
The following day, despite Dell’s complaints of EU legislation on over working, I had a dressage lesson with Daniel Watson that I’d won in a BYRDS competition last year. Now Daniel would probably be in the group of dressage trainers that have that little bit of edge to their training ie you listen and you listen hard! He made some pretty mahusive (my new word) changes to my position but it was also really good that the stuff he worked on with me was the same as Gill Watson had commented on the previous day.
The present! Right here right now I’m experiencing the joys of the M25 on our way to see a horse for my younger brother, Ben. I’m actually rather excited about him because he has a huge amount of potential for Ben to work with and the possibility of a 2 1/2th horse for me – My master plan is all coming together! Mwah ha ha (attempts an evil laugh).
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