j1ffy
Well-Known Member
On Saturday, Pocholo and I headed to Wellington for the PetPlan Area Festival - what a fab day! Our preparation probably wasn't particularly classical as we had done our Ridgeway charity ride two weeks before and I gave him the best part of a week off after that, so the few days before Welly was a quick reminder for Pocholo on how to engage his bum and how to go on the bit. I'll admit that my muscles were a bit sore after our first session back in an arena 
The day dawned and we set off bright and early for the arena walk. P was pretty disinterested in the arena decorations so we mooched around for 10 minutes then put him away while we did some shopping, had a huge breakfast in Welly's fantastic cafe and watched the Prelim Bronze.
90 minutes before my time we headed back to the trailer to plait and polish P. My trainer went into full-on show pony mode and removed every single speck of dust while I plaited his mane - I don't think Pocholo has ever been so clean! We headed to the warm-up and began some stretchy work only to be told the classes were running 10 minutes late so we went back to mooching. Picked him up again and did some trot, then the steward said they were now 5 minutes late and the rider ahead of me hadn't shown up! I stuck to my guns and said I'll go in 5 minutes after my time. Pocholo warmed up well, doing some good stretching work (definitely not his forte, he's very 'baroque' and short-coupled!) then working well in a more uphilll frame.
We headed to the arena, I handed my whip to my trainer and headed in. P seemed to have his game head on and focused well, despite me being too tense and holding him for the first few movements. He dropped off my leg a couple of times...I don't think the judges noticed my pony club kicks... We had one minor spook, then coming down the final centre line he spotted the cafe which ruined our halt - a shame as we usually pick up some good marks there!
I was so pleased with him, he's an absolute star and one of those horses who I would happily ride into any situation. We went to check scores and we had a slightly disappointing 63% (with a 7% difference across the judges!) but we were in third place with two to go. Half an hour later and it was confirmed - third! The prize giving was fun, I did let P show off some of his Spanish walk on the way in and he stood proudly in line.
Here are the pro-pics, bought with permission for social media:
Cheeky face!
Muy guapo:
I love his face here - I think he's judging the judges
And a video of the test: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=U0tzL4KNeos
Next up will be some Novice tests (we need one more sheet for Areas), our first ODE (eek!) and our first trip to AM dressage in early June - I can't wait!
The day dawned and we set off bright and early for the arena walk. P was pretty disinterested in the arena decorations so we mooched around for 10 minutes then put him away while we did some shopping, had a huge breakfast in Welly's fantastic cafe and watched the Prelim Bronze.
90 minutes before my time we headed back to the trailer to plait and polish P. My trainer went into full-on show pony mode and removed every single speck of dust while I plaited his mane - I don't think Pocholo has ever been so clean! We headed to the warm-up and began some stretchy work only to be told the classes were running 10 minutes late so we went back to mooching. Picked him up again and did some trot, then the steward said they were now 5 minutes late and the rider ahead of me hadn't shown up! I stuck to my guns and said I'll go in 5 minutes after my time. Pocholo warmed up well, doing some good stretching work (definitely not his forte, he's very 'baroque' and short-coupled!) then working well in a more uphilll frame.
We headed to the arena, I handed my whip to my trainer and headed in. P seemed to have his game head on and focused well, despite me being too tense and holding him for the first few movements. He dropped off my leg a couple of times...I don't think the judges noticed my pony club kicks... We had one minor spook, then coming down the final centre line he spotted the cafe which ruined our halt - a shame as we usually pick up some good marks there!
I was so pleased with him, he's an absolute star and one of those horses who I would happily ride into any situation. We went to check scores and we had a slightly disappointing 63% (with a 7% difference across the judges!) but we were in third place with two to go. Half an hour later and it was confirmed - third! The prize giving was fun, I did let P show off some of his Spanish walk on the way in and he stood proudly in line.
Here are the pro-pics, bought with permission for social media:
Cheeky face!
Muy guapo:
I love his face here - I think he's judging the judges
And a video of the test: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=U0tzL4KNeos
Next up will be some Novice tests (we need one more sheet for Areas), our first ODE (eek!) and our first trip to AM dressage in early June - I can't wait!
- very well done to you both!