Recent content by Chirmapops

God knows - I just saw something a while back (I think from Winnie) saying they accepted that the Silver sections were too big, there were people competing in those sections who BD didn't really intend to be able to (who should be in Gold) and that they were going to make some tweaks to...

I'd be ashamed to post something this mean about someone who is clearly looking for help to weigh up pros and cons of what will undoubtedly be a difficult message to write. OP clearly loved the horse and is looking for help as to how best to break the news - we've all heard horror stories of...

In theory your scores shouldn't drop going from Bronze to Silver - it's still the same judge and most likely they won't actually know which section you're in, so it's maybe more to do with nerves that they have. Why not stick with Bronze this year, do some Area Festivals, see if you can get to...

Only just catching up with this post! The warm up was definitely, um, "interesting" - the kettle blowing steam on the other side of the barrier was our favourite...

I used to use rollerball ones, and they were great, HOWEVER be careful when your horse is changing his coat - mine were getting clogged up and actually pulling the hair out. Although my mare is a bit of a special case, so that probably doesn't happen for most people. I now use a pair of fairly...

This about the scales of training - I'm guessing you'll be doing one of the easier levels, so focus on rhythm and relaxation, and keeping a quiet contact. And ride forward!

Thirding the "be more forward" comments - it'll help with the spooking too!

Can you change the frame in trot? So go from a regular working frame down to stretched and pick back up again while keeping the rhythm the same? Doing this loads will help her learn to let go over his back and the stride length will (should!) increase easily from there. If you she's a bit behind...

Well done!

Don't worry about it in the slightest. Being in counter canter will create some collection naturally, you won't need to show any more than that for a decent mark. Yes if you could do full collection you might get an 8 or a 9, but concentrate on keeping a good balance and straight and you can...

Yep, this. If his ears are back and he's grinding his teeth and he's swishing his tail, then obviously big loss of marks for tension. If he's looking OK but maybe a bit tight with a swishing tail then the judge will probably take that as a sign that there's a bit of tension and you'll lose a few...

Music membership isn't additional to full BD membership - it's included, but you can choose to take out a music only membership if you *only* want to do music classes.

When you've got the money, lol! If he's going to be sold in a few months I'd do it sooner rather than later so you have time to qualify him for the summer regionals at prelim at least, so you can sell him with the qualification which should add a bit to his value. Qualifying info is all on the...

I love my Equiture one, and they'll do custom made if you want

Spot on, exactly what I meant!