Baydale
Well-Known Member
Appalling alliteration
, I know, but I'm out of practice (can't abide this new forum 
) so you'll have to bear with me if this isn't up - or down- to my usual standard. 
Belvoir PC added a last minute adult class at their junior ode and, as it's just up the road from me and promised not to be more than 90cm, I thought it would be rude not to go. Ralph, unlucky for him, was booked in for a week of bootcamp already so it couldn't have been better timed that I got him out on Day Two, to then have stuff to work on for the rest of the week. Jupiter, aka The Chubby One, needed a run too, if only to get him off the Weightwatchers plateau he seems to be on currently.
Neither have been anywhere since last year so let's just say the dressage was "interesting". Jupiter can't walk, full stop, Ralph can, but prefers passage. Jupiter has a great trot, Ralph's default trot is Singer Sewing Machine. Jupiter's canter is stuffy, Ralph has more than enough fabby uphill canter for both of them - shame the test has just half an arena's worth then. I thought 33.9 for Jup and 36.4 for Ralph was about right, and beforehand I'd have been happy with staying in the arena.
The showjumping was colourful and not the biggest arena, with some exciting moments in the jam-packed warmup on Jupiter, especially once he spotted the cross country in the distance. Thankfully when he went in he was focused, albeit in a "yeeha lemme at 'em" kinda way. I got lovely, cough
, forward strides at everything and he jumped the biggest ones best of all, so can't complain about a clear round, can I?
Ralph was a little bit anxious and flat over the first three, so I had to anchor him and make him sit on his bouncy blue-and-white bum thereafter to get his jump back (this is the horse that popped round a 1.15m track at Arena UK training show the week before like he'd been doing it all his life
). He just needs more mileage and a chill pill, but jumped clear so all good.
I was a bit about Jupiter xc as to say he has a short attention span is something of an understatement! We went over the first and second playing the Left Right Game, where I have to guess which way the landing stride is going to go and react accordingly, ideally within a millisecond (NB: TarrSteps and I had been drinking gin until late the night before, so my usually razor-sharp (not) - ie. 45 second - reaction time may well have been increased to 1min 30...). Thankfully the snaking, ducking and diving lessened as we went round, but it still amazes me that he gets over the fences without wearing them when he's not even looking. 
He was best over the last third of the course which were mainly the Intro BE fences and looks surprisingly attentive in these photos (use right arrow to click through):
http://jtpix.thirdlight.com/viewpicture.tlx?albumid=265072&pictureid=12089462
I especially like the mobility of his forearms over the second log, but would rather it was used in an up/down way than a left/right way...
After a quick wash off - and a bid for freedom when the hose scared him - it was onto Ralph, stirrups up and a concerted effort to keep his ears out of my mouth. He set off beautifully and was inspiring me much more than The Chubby One had, cantering positively through the water (my last time riding him xc was at the Fernie ODE last July when water wasn't his favourite thing) and on towards the trakehner. He was a little bit "eyes left" but I had a forward canter, his head was up, my leg was on, shoulders back and the rest should've been routine when bam: a proper pony-style skiddy stop. I gave him a smack there and then, another on the way in and he was so shocked he must have touched it with every foot on the way over, most unlike him. He was great over the rest, but I think he was suprised that his cheekiness was not appreciated; I know he'd been xc schooling over ditches/trakehners last week, hence my irritation. See how in the last photo he's shutting his eyes in the hope that I'll not be there when he opens them:
http://jtpix.thirdlight.com/viewpicture.tlx?albumid=265072&pictureid=12089573
Don't report me to the Police for pony squishing please.
Guess which pony didn't get a day off yesterday and spent 45mins crossing every gap, hole, ditch and dyke on the farm?
All in all it was a great fact-finding mission with both and Jupiter even got a rosette for 9th (a brown one, how apt), even if I was well and truly trounced by meardsall_millie and _Rach_. Competitive, moi? God, yes. I've had enough of the flippin journey and would just like some rosettes now.
Jaffas and Builders' Tea if you've made it this far, but only if you don't mention Hopalong HH.
, I know, but I'm out of practice (can't abide this new forum ) so you'll have to bear with me if this isn't up - or down- to my usual standard. Belvoir PC added a last minute adult class at their junior ode and, as it's just up the road from me and promised not to be more than 90cm, I thought it would be rude not to go. Ralph, unlucky for him, was booked in for a week of bootcamp already so it couldn't have been better timed that I got him out on Day Two, to then have stuff to work on for the rest of the week. Jupiter, aka The Chubby One, needed a run too, if only to get him off the Weightwatchers plateau he seems to be on currently.
Neither have been anywhere since last year so let's just say the dressage was "interesting". Jupiter can't walk, full stop, Ralph can, but prefers passage. Jupiter has a great trot, Ralph's default trot is Singer Sewing Machine. Jupiter's canter is stuffy, Ralph has more than enough fabby uphill canter for both of them - shame the test has just half an arena's worth then.
I thought 33.9 for Jup and 36.4 for Ralph was about right, and beforehand I'd have been happy with staying in the arena.The showjumping was colourful and not the biggest arena, with some exciting moments in the jam-packed warmup on Jupiter, especially once he spotted the cross country in the distance. Thankfully when he went in he was focused, albeit in a "yeeha lemme at 'em" kinda way. I got lovely, cough
, forward strides at everything and he jumped the biggest ones best of all, so can't complain about a clear round, can I?Ralph was a little bit anxious and flat over the first three, so I had to anchor him and make him sit on his bouncy blue-and-white bum thereafter to get his jump back (this is the horse that popped round a 1.15m track at Arena UK training show the week before like he'd been doing it all his life
). He just needs more mileage and a chill pill, but jumped clear so all good.I was a bit
about Jupiter xc as to say he has a short attention span is something of an understatement! We went over the first and second playing the Left Right Game, where I have to guess which way the landing stride is going to go and react accordingly, ideally within a millisecond (NB: TarrSteps and I had been drinking gin until late the night before, so my usually razor-sharp (not) - ie. 45 second - reaction time may well have been increased to 1min 30...). Thankfully the snaking, ducking and diving lessened as we went round, but it still amazes me that he gets over the fences without wearing them when he's not even looking. He was best over the last third of the course which were mainly the Intro BE fences and looks surprisingly attentive in these photos (use right arrow to click through): http://jtpix.thirdlight.com/viewpicture.tlx?albumid=265072&pictureid=12089462
I especially like the mobility of his forearms over the second log, but would rather it was used in an up/down way than a left/right way...
After a quick wash off - and a bid for freedom when the hose scared him
- it was onto Ralph, stirrups up and a concerted effort to keep his ears out of my mouth. He set off beautifully and was inspiring me much more than The Chubby One had, cantering positively through the water (my last time riding him xc was at the Fernie ODE last July when water wasn't his favourite thing) and on towards the trakehner. He was a little bit "eyes left" but I had a forward canter, his head was up, my leg was on, shoulders back and the rest should've been routine when bam: a proper pony-style skiddy stop. I gave him a smack there and then, another on the way in and he was so shocked he must have touched it with every foot on the way over, most unlike him. He was great over the rest, but I think he was suprised that his cheekiness was not appreciated; I know he'd been xc schooling over ditches/trakehners last week, hence my irritation. See how in the last photo he's shutting his eyes in the hope that I'll not be there when he opens them:http://jtpix.thirdlight.com/viewpicture.tlx?albumid=265072&pictureid=12089573
Don't report me to the Police for pony squishing please.
Guess which pony didn't get a day off yesterday and spent 45mins crossing every gap, hole, ditch and dyke on the farm?
All in all it was a great fact-finding mission with both and Jupiter even got a rosette for 9th (a brown one, how apt
), even if I was well and truly trounced by meardsall_millie and _Rach_. Competitive, moi? God, yes. I've had enough of the flippin journey and would just like some rosettes now.Jaffas and Builders' Tea if you've made it this far, but only if you don't mention Hopalong HH.
