little_pink_piggies
Well-Known Member
Well a one day report takes me an essay
so as you may predict this is going to be very, very long
I dont really know how I made it to Osberton, on the Monday before leaving I was giving up horses altogether and was just thoroughly fed up with most things (although by no stretch of the imagination was it all that bad, I was just in a grump
)
Arth had come in from the field the day after Highclere with a massive hind fetlock (my guess is it was something to do with the gooning around in the field that went on seeing as he was 100% sound when we got back?) he couldnt put it to the floor but luckily Aunty Emma came out with her magic boot (google game ready equine) and it made him 100% sound thank god!
I had to say goodbye to all my friends who are leaving to various unis (Edinburgh, Durham x 2, Manchester x 2, Exeter, Plymouth x 3, London x 4, Bristol, Leeds, Bath, and various others One is staying in Cardiff though so atleast I still have some company until I clear off to my winter job!) and needless to say, we all got way to reminiscent and emotional of the time we spent together over the past few years I cant really get my head around the fact its the end of an era with them all, I certainly wouldnt have stayed in school if it wasnt for them It just put me in a really emotional mood the night before we left?!
And to top it all off, there is Nora. I dont really want to speak about her yet but needless to say, I am starting to admit defeat and there is nowhere to go now really. It Was definitely a ground issue at Goring as she wasnt sound at the box when we got back, but short of putting pads on her, theres not much more I can do to keep her sound for novice let alone intermediates? Anywho, I cant think about her too much or I dont end up in a good place
So off we headed to Osberton after about 3 hours sleep
with Arthur feeling very full of himself (a diva being told he had two humans to himself to see to his every need is a diva in a good mood..!), Subo (Oh we love politically correct names here..) the spaniel, and mummy spaniel
I have to be honest I was not particularly thrilled at the thought of spending the rest of the week looking after Mr Everybody loves me so I can do what I want when I want, the psycho springers, and a mother who was in a lot of pain from toothache (serves her right for being a dentist, I call it bad karma from all the poor people shes inflicted fillings on
)
We arrived on time for once and after getting Arth stabled (firstly he had to inspect every blade of grass and tow us around to assert his authority over the pathetic human slaves) we went to the riders meeting, then went for a really nice hack before getting him all tidied up
The first trot up was interesting, he got a bit lit up and bothered by flies, so when the ground jury walked behind to look at him he sort of kicked out with both legs simultaneously
Probably not the best thing to do when theyre judging you the next day
He trotted up fine, but they were not happy and I heard the vet say The horse is 100% sound, it just has a really odd action Which does sum him up perfectly
They passed me but I have to admit, I did not feel optimistic about our dressage mark, especially when I found out I was last one in on Thurs! Took him for a walk around the arena on a long rein and considering he jogged back from the trot up after the helicopter flew over us, he was exceptionally chilled and well mannered
then did some long and low work outside and he even stretched in counter canter (although probably because he is so neurologically challenged he didnt notice
)
Got up nice and early to feed and sort him out, then went back to the lorry with the benefit of a late dressage being time to watch a bit of Jeremy Kyle in the morning So after my fix of Paternity tests and Lie detector results, and listening to some chav slur (I was beginning to feel home sick- there are a lot of valley accents on there!) I went for another hack and did a bit of lateral work to try and get him more supple
It was a really nice laid back atmosphere there
After more sunbathing, reading, and watching stressage it was time to get back on him for an Anky performance
He actually was working in really nicely considering I hadnt schooled him properly since before Highclere, and then everyone came out to work their Friday dressage horses/non competitive horses, and he freaked out Extremely tense doesnt quite come close- spinning, an attempt at piaffe
, bucks, snorting
So I resorted to staying to walk to keep myself and him calm
He went in and I have to be honest did a really nice test for us
Quarters swung a bit down centre lines/in canter, and he looked unlevel on the ½ 10m circles (well the one we didn't break to canter on
) but that's how he looks when he's unbalanced and if you watch he's just throwing one knee higher than the other... He pissed off a bit in the second medium but until that point he was holding it together well and I need to work on keeping him straighter. I know he's hurried- but he doesn't go into a contact (believe me it's a million times better than it was last year) so thought it was better to ook hurried and vaguely into a contact than have a nice rhythm and dropping behind the bridle constantly? Either way I was realy hoping it would have just broken the 60 barrier, so was a tad disappionted with 60.3, but I guess that was the breaking on the circle and pissing off in medium canter (maybe I overrode it a bit too
) When I got my sheet and saw "unlevel behind" written all across it I was a bit gutted to be honest, but I'm guessing that's something I'll always struggle with after a trot up and they've noticed how dyspraxic he is when he moves? He's 100% sound, I wouldn't compete something that wasn't sound! Anyhow vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1grm2rOUoE
I'm desperate to crack our dressage and as I'm away from my usual trainer all winter... does anyone know of a really good dressage trainer in Oxford who would travel to where I'm going to be (just off j6 of the m40) and help me out?
Friday was a nice day off, went for a hack and nearly got lost (blonde? me?!) where he was on his toes the whole way but it's nice to have him like that even if it does make my life hell! He perfected the art of rolling on the end of the rope, I walked the course for the first time, generally had a nice laid back day
I thought the course was really nice and straightforward, not much more than a strong novice which meant for us that it would serve the purpose of CCI** qualification! The ground was very hard though and with Gatcombe CIC** this weekend and a non competitive dressage I decided I was going to ride him around slowly for the QR. Also MaryMoo arrived and supplied us with some more diet coke (LIFESAVER!), bottled water, biscuits and H&H (the mother's shopping before we went was a let down
)
Our time on Sat was 11:10, so let him graze early morning (moisture off dew etc) and then went back to his stable (I found an alarming number of pieces of wood where he had been biting lumps of it off the top of the walls?) for a few hours while I found somewhere to sit and stress (I was okay reading my book- it was when the mother told me I should be more focussed..!)... He was so cute when we were tacking up, fixated on the horses galloping down ot the water and jumping it and if they weren't then he would kick seven shades of hell out of the lorry- damn diva! I got on him and occasionally he jogs off when he's fresh (sorry Starman
) but this time he actually cantered with his arse as close to the floor as he could get it
He felt so crippled in the XC Warm up because he was so wound up, he was so jerky and jumped everything way too big... It felt like Chepstow did last year when it all went t*ts up
but I think back then I was still a bit intimidated by his stupid big jumps, whereas now I can just roll my eyes and I'm a bit more confident that I can cling on for dear life? Headed into the main arena ready to start and he stayed lovely and chilled, until someone came up to the finish and he flipped out completely...
I accidentally hit some strange buttons on my watch which meant I had no idea of what my time was as I went around but that was probably not a bad thing. He launched over the first 4 fences with absolutely no respect for what I was trying to tell him, he knew best and it was obviously the best thing to jump extra big incase they grew as he took off
Mum said all the commentator kept saying was "And they give that one plenty of room too", great! An angled double under the trees that he just stayed straight and popped through
Another table type thing, another angled double, and a rolltop and I still had next to no say about what we were doing really... There was nothing that commanded his attention and he's getting a bit too big for his boots atm
Then a feeder, 90 degree turn to a corner- I angled the feeder slightly to give me a better turn to the corner, but I still had to pull him right up after the feeder to regain control before the corner, which was no issue at all, in fairness he is a very easy horse and as straight as anything else, he just was so cocky
a logpile, feeder then a ditch palisade which he did jump really nicely (if not a bit big...) before a brush spread to a ditch brush, that I just lined him up and he sorted it all out and jumped really nicely
commentators said "nicest of the day so far" through it
then a table which he popped nicely and then I lost all steering through the wood so resorted to SJ canter over 17 which was just a rail thingy... out of the woods to 18a, a house, popped up 18b and then one stride to another house where the ground fell away after... he was such a little pro through it and just sorted out everything for me as usual
... over a palisade/hedge thing with ease, down a twisty hill in wooded area where I really did put the brakes on as the fulmer snaffle was not enough to trust him with any control
Then the favourite Arthur water time (where his breeder was standing which was really nice for her to come and watch
)... an angled double of rolltops before a splash in. In fairness it was the best he has ever jumped a water and considering he had been throwing some very special arthur leaps he actually jumped like a normal horse here
straight through, over a table then back into the woods on the homeward stretch. The double of logs he jumped really nicely and just looked after me and then home over the last two
It took me a few laps of the main arena to pull up gradually, and when I got off he was hyperventilating and very sweaty... but the vets said his heartrate was only 80, and it was down to 50 within 7 minutes
The hyperventilating was appareantly because of the hot weather (he's not used to this
) and I was just so pleased with how well he finished, I think we clocked up 7.6 time but that wasn't important. South Wales hills (we live at the bottom of one of the valleys) are obvioulsy very useful for hacking out
I went back and asked in the eve and they looked through their notes... fittest all day
He towed me all the way back to the stables, and when all the other 1* horses were grazing and looking chied while the 2* horses went XC he was making my life hell, marching in circles, fixating on the 2* horses going xc, and generally behaving like he hadn't been ridden for days
damn arab! Because he was feeling so well I took him for a hack in the evening and he felt very fresh
Trot up the next morning was interesting. We have a new tactic for passing. It's called "threaten to wipe out the ground jury and they definitely will not ask you to represent". He stood like a rock for them to look at him, then one of them bent down to look at his legs (routine I think?) and he waved a hind leg around and had a massive stretch (extroverted horse anyone?!) and we did a few walk strides, a few medium trot strides, a buck, a few canter strides, a grind to halt at the bottom to get around the tree which he treid to eat
then did some lovely medium trot back, and when the ground jury crossed behind him to check his dodgy hind leg action he threw the most enormous buck and missed the one with the fluffy hat by about 15cms?! They definitely did not want to see us again...
I didn't think the SJ was that up to height, but very technical and time was obviously going to be an issue. I started working in about 12 before him... he hit every fence I jumped
and threw some bronchs to go with it for good measure. So off he was taken to the dressage warm up where canter serpentines, transitions within the pace and flying changes were in order. This obviously worked as he went in and was the best he's ever been! I jumped the "S" of the first three fences and just knew he was trying his hardest, which after out previous rounds was a miracle! I don't think I've managed to stay focussed for a SJ round like that for a long time either. A double at 4 that he jumped nicely, and then I opened him up too much to the treble bar to upright line, but I had seen a few shuffle extra strides here and knew time was an issue... You can see in the vid there is no way he could have gotten an extra stride in
Then back to a parallel away from the work in that I had seen plenty lose shoulders through and kick out, so was very conscious about keeping his outside shoulder and moving forward- not that I had any effect, I don't really need to do anything in a SJ round now just enjoy him
He flew the parrallel and the treble he made effortlessly, just the final two fences and he didn't breathe on them
I really do love jumping him
although I think a bit change is in order in all phases after his "piss off mother I know best" attitude!
Video- I'm really proud of how well he jumped but CC very welcome as always
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV_ej-xOTBA
So another shiny point, CCI** qualification (he definitely doesn't need to do another cci* as he found the jumping wayyy too easy!), and a pony who back home does not even feel a tiny bit fatigued.
I returned home to the school telling me I was not of academic quality to apply to Oxford after 4 As at A Level and lots of hard work
A father behaving like a socially backward monkey
and the general feeling that it was much easier looking after Arth in a field in Nottingham! (Although minus the Springers who got loose several times and we ended up having to buy the FEI steward a few pints in order to avoid the £50 fine each time
damn dogs!)
Lots of leftover biscuits, diet coke, wine, or crisps (nutritionally balanced
) to anyone who made it through that!
I dont really know how I made it to Osberton, on the Monday before leaving I was giving up horses altogether and was just thoroughly fed up with most things (although by no stretch of the imagination was it all that bad, I was just in a grump
Arth had come in from the field the day after Highclere with a massive hind fetlock (my guess is it was something to do with the gooning around in the field that went on seeing as he was 100% sound when we got back?) he couldnt put it to the floor but luckily Aunty Emma came out with her magic boot (google game ready equine) and it made him 100% sound thank god!
I had to say goodbye to all my friends who are leaving to various unis (Edinburgh, Durham x 2, Manchester x 2, Exeter, Plymouth x 3, London x 4, Bristol, Leeds, Bath, and various others One is staying in Cardiff though so atleast I still have some company until I clear off to my winter job!) and needless to say, we all got way to reminiscent and emotional of the time we spent together over the past few years I cant really get my head around the fact its the end of an era with them all, I certainly wouldnt have stayed in school if it wasnt for them It just put me in a really emotional mood the night before we left?!
And to top it all off, there is Nora. I dont really want to speak about her yet but needless to say, I am starting to admit defeat and there is nowhere to go now really. It Was definitely a ground issue at Goring as she wasnt sound at the box when we got back, but short of putting pads on her, theres not much more I can do to keep her sound for novice let alone intermediates? Anywho, I cant think about her too much or I dont end up in a good place
So off we headed to Osberton after about 3 hours sleep
We arrived on time for once and after getting Arth stabled (firstly he had to inspect every blade of grass and tow us around to assert his authority over the pathetic human slaves) we went to the riders meeting, then went for a really nice hack before getting him all tidied up
The first trot up was interesting, he got a bit lit up and bothered by flies, so when the ground jury walked behind to look at him he sort of kicked out with both legs simultaneously
Got up nice and early to feed and sort him out, then went back to the lorry with the benefit of a late dressage being time to watch a bit of Jeremy Kyle in the morning So after my fix of Paternity tests and Lie detector results, and listening to some chav slur (I was beginning to feel home sick- there are a lot of valley accents on there!) I went for another hack and did a bit of lateral work to try and get him more supple
He actually was working in really nicely considering I hadnt schooled him properly since before Highclere, and then everyone came out to work their Friday dressage horses/non competitive horses, and he freaked out Extremely tense doesnt quite come close- spinning, an attempt at piaffe
I'm desperate to crack our dressage and as I'm away from my usual trainer all winter... does anyone know of a really good dressage trainer in Oxford who would travel to where I'm going to be (just off j6 of the m40) and help me out?
Friday was a nice day off, went for a hack and nearly got lost (blonde? me?!) where he was on his toes the whole way but it's nice to have him like that even if it does make my life hell! He perfected the art of rolling on the end of the rope, I walked the course for the first time, generally had a nice laid back day
Our time on Sat was 11:10, so let him graze early morning (moisture off dew etc) and then went back to his stable (I found an alarming number of pieces of wood where he had been biting lumps of it off the top of the walls?) for a few hours while I found somewhere to sit and stress (I was okay reading my book- it was when the mother told me I should be more focussed..!)... He was so cute when we were tacking up, fixated on the horses galloping down ot the water and jumping it and if they weren't then he would kick seven shades of hell out of the lorry- damn diva! I got on him and occasionally he jogs off when he's fresh (sorry Starman
Then the favourite Arthur water time (where his breeder was standing which was really nice for her to come and watch
It took me a few laps of the main arena to pull up gradually, and when I got off he was hyperventilating and very sweaty... but the vets said his heartrate was only 80, and it was down to 50 within 7 minutes
He towed me all the way back to the stables, and when all the other 1* horses were grazing and looking chied while the 2* horses went XC he was making my life hell, marching in circles, fixating on the 2* horses going xc, and generally behaving like he hadn't been ridden for days
Trot up the next morning was interesting. We have a new tactic for passing. It's called "threaten to wipe out the ground jury and they definitely will not ask you to represent". He stood like a rock for them to look at him, then one of them bent down to look at his legs (routine I think?) and he waved a hind leg around and had a massive stretch (extroverted horse anyone?!) and we did a few walk strides, a few medium trot strides, a buck, a few canter strides, a grind to halt at the bottom to get around the tree which he treid to eat
I didn't think the SJ was that up to height, but very technical and time was obviously going to be an issue. I started working in about 12 before him... he hit every fence I jumped
Video- I'm really proud of how well he jumped but CC very welcome as always
So another shiny point, CCI** qualification (he definitely doesn't need to do another cci* as he found the jumping wayyy too easy!), and a pony who back home does not even feel a tiny bit fatigued.
I returned home to the school telling me I was not of academic quality to apply to Oxford after 4 As at A Level and lots of hard work
Lots of leftover biscuits, diet coke, wine, or crisps (nutritionally balanced
