A very disappointed BS report

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Squiggles on Paper

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so off I went to blewbury (i thought i knew what to expect) at 7:45 and I should have taken it as a sign when i woke up to wind and rain, and then the horse didn't want to get in the box. 30mins away, there was an accident which delayed us 10mins, another sign (I'm not usually superspicious) got there and it was just bucketing it down and FREEZING, i thought i was getting frostbite on my fingers at one point. Got my number and started warming up, it was TEENY!! there were probably like 12 people (probably more) in there at one time and the outdoor was completely flooded so i couldn't warm up there. He was going quite well (considering the chaos) except there was something about the warm up oxer that he just didn't like. he kept stopping but i got him over it in the end. Entered the arena and (as i thought when walking the course) it was a bit bigger than the 90cm it should have been (90cm open). He was a complete pain in the but and wouldn't listen to me, did two of the jumps in TROT :O got eliminated at fence number 8 because he just wouldn't go over it which was annoying because i have jumped that filler before at bigger heights but i figured it was because the arena was so dark. got off, walked the british novice (and blue chip qualifier) course, they raised it up even more (which i thought was odd as BN is 90cm, and the 90cm open course was quite up to height) anyway, the warm up was again chaos and he was still being off about the oxer. got into the arena, he stopped at the first jump (a simple blue oxer) then i turned him around and he did it fine, fences 4 and 5 we did from TROT again and this time he was spooking and went sideways, fence 6 he over jumped and lept about 1m20 in the air, it was a double and i was unseated, gathered him up and cleared number 7 fine, got to number 8 again and he just refused to jump it again. so we got eliminated again. so a very frustrating day in all, just to say, the cafe at blewbury was ankle deep in water 0.0

it was just odd as he refused at all the 'simple' jumps and didn't care less about the spooky ones 0.0 he was having issues with oxers today i think, when yesterday he didn't bat an eyelid about oxers

hopefully he will be better next time :/ i think i might hire the arena at my local show centre (with BSJA jumps) for an hour next week and school him over them.

ahhh, gotta love horses
 
That's annoying :( I have to say, we only ever brave blewbury about once every two years when we're really desperate! I get stressed in showjumping warmups anyway as it is, and the one at blewbury is just a whole new level!! :eek:

Sure he'll be better next time out :)
 
floradora09 said:
That's annoying :( I have to say, we only ever brave blewbury about once every two years when we're really desperate! I get stressed in showjumping warmups anyway as it is, and the one at blewbury is just a whole new level!! :eek:

Sure he'll be better next time out :)
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i hope so :D yeah he got really stressed out so i had to walk him round the flooded outdoor arena and got our nice eskadron sheepskin boots muddy :(
 
Sorry you didn't have a good day :( it's funny, I saw you jump
I think- looked like your horse just found it very spooky atmosphere and he's not alone in that.

Cafe flooding- poor woman who does the cooking had to bail it out! Never happened before, last week the panel on the roof ripped off in the storm and the resulting leak caused that! Disaster.

Funny though- I wonder if we are spoilt with addington etc- I genuinely don't find the indoor warm up there any more chaotic than a winter indoor intro at patchetts, and it definitely isn't smaller than some other warm ups- keysoe indoor
Warm up is half that size!! The outdoor surface warm up at blewbury is a joke though.
 
Meant to say- it was very very full up height wise- don't know if you have done many blue chip quals? They usually are pretty large!!
 
Llanali said:
Meant to say- it was very very full up height wise- don't know if you have done many blue chip quals? They usually are pretty large!!
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yeah this was my first one but i swear it was supposed to be 90cm, and i thought it was bigger? yeah my horse is bay and i was the loser wearing the air jacket ;) (mothers rule :/) it wasn't the best show for him, how did you do?
 
BB is miles from me! Headed they for a HOYs qual once outdoors and missed out by one place! Also qualed blue chip there in the past. So I like it there ;) Just go once in a blue moon. I think we have all had shows like this. Work for the next comp now :)
 
Not been there so cant comment but I always think Keysoe warm up is absolutely huge so if thats half the size Blewbury sounds amazing!

British Novice is generally 95cm on schedules ive seen, and can have odd jump at 1m.
 
showjumpingfilly said:
Not been there so cant comment but I always think Keysoe warm up is absolutely huge so if thats half the size Blewbury sounds amazing!

British Novice is generally 95cm on schedules ive seen, and can have odd jump at 1m.
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Blewbury warm up is the size of my garden shed with a horrible loose surface, we won't go there again.

British Novice is 90cm in the first round, 1m in the jump off then goes up for 2nd rounds & finals.
 
merlinsquest said:
Blewbury warm up is the size of my garden shed with a horrible loose surface, we won't go there again.

British Novice is 90cm in the first round, 1m in the jump off then goes up for 2nd rounds & finals.
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I definitely won't be going back there again. Its just the blue chip said 90cm in first round and it seemed very very up to height.
 
Showjumpingfilly- sorry, British novice is 90cm in first round and the schedules would not say 95cm though in reality 95cm then yes, not uncommon, and most of the jump off would be 95cm-1m certainly., and I mean the indoor warm up at keysoe- ie when they squeeze the warm up into the bit where you normally collect to go into the indoor ring, when it hammers it down too much to ride outside.

Well, yes the Horsequest BChip Novice is technically 90cm in first round but they are built to be tests not your average BN. With this in mind, and given a 10cm leeway, the first round probably didnt exceed a decent strong metre at all, and some were 90cm- fence 1 (I know because the wings have a tape measure stuck to them on that fence ;)), though the oxers were max width.


Rule 134.2 The obstacles in preliminary competitions which qualify for a final competition at the same show may be built to heights determined by the prize money for the final.


Though I completely agree- the course was tough and big! That white double at 10 in the qualifier was two strides off the wall, definitely needed your canter there!! I have jumped smaller blue chip novice qualifiers, but I've also done bigger ones- patchetts blue chip qualifiers are scary stuff.
 
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Patchetts is usually built up to height with scary fences ;) The warm up was just stressful for me, it was so crowded and something about the surface made my horse trip a lot
 
Llanali - ah I know where you mean now! Doesnt sound quite so great, especially with a bad surface!

Yeah probably right, there is one centre round here though that advertises at 95cm, but obviously there is the leeway they have to make them bigger, and 80% of the course is supposed to be at the upper height limit anyway.

The Blue Chip quals I've done didnt seem overly meaty but 2nd rounds definately were!
 
Just sent an email to that venue as its correct on the BS Schedule but not on their other page!

Better luck at another venue OP - days like that are so frustrating!
 
MandyMoo said:
sorry to hear you had a bad day :( hopefully your next outing is better!! maybe stay clear of Blewbury for a while if it isn't a venue that suits you?
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yeah i was only going for experience, and it is definitely not one i want to repeat! it took us 1hr and a half, i think I'm gonna stick to patchetts and addington :)
 
Indoor warm up at Keysoe is effing tiny :mad:

There is literally two strides after landing over the practise fence until you hit the wall. Add 20 people milling in the landing zone and it's impossible to do anything!
 
Squiggles on Paper - I was at Blewbury yesterday for the blue chip, and I was quite surprised how large it went in the first round and then was pretty beefy in the jump off!

I have never been to Blewbury before and have to say I will not be rushing back, the warm up was awful and quite a trek from Birmingham on a wet and windy day!!!
 
Haven't been to Blewbury since I was a junior (about 20 years ago) but wanted to say thanks Squiggles on Paper for writing the report. I came back from a disastrous show yesterday, and just needed that reminder that we all have bad days. Better luck next time!
 
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