henryhorn
Well-Known Member
We set off for Duchy some 40 miles away in driving rain, and it managed to do that on and off all day, one poor rider had to abandon her test and was allowed to restart after gusts of wind and rain virtually blew her off the centre line.
Chocolate went first ina training Elementary 58, not C's favourite test as it's all stops and starts, and he wasn't really interested at all, all week he's been sex mad, fence running and galloping at the gate then doing a Western style sliding stop, and he appeared reluctant to really move properly, so we are having the back chap out asap. Chocx is so reliable it isn't like him so he's either tweaked something or he's worn out from all that charging about. Had C not forgotten one bit he would have ended up on a 62%, so he wasn't that bad!
Put him back in the box and C climbed on a very excited Jacques, the wind howled, the rain came down now and then and luckily the warm up was indoors, but he then started yelling to Chocx back in the box, who yelled back etc, and got more and more wound up.
Now I've never seen him misbehave like he then proceeded to do, and it was an eye opener. he screeched, danced, got smacked for that and then kicked out and bucked in retalliation. he stood still then had a toddler type tantrum over and over again, and soon there were horses leaping about as his naughtiness infected them too.
C just sat there, insisted he packed the nonsense in and rode through it, but 25 mins of non stop leaping and boinging about even had her red in the face (her fitness was assessed this week at the local health centre as 9/10, so that took some doing)
She apologised to anyone he leapt near, but soon it was her turn to go in and he was still at it. He settled a bit better after her demanding much more advanced movements which he had to think about doing, but still boinged every few strides.
She rode into the next door school for a Novice test, and immediately he did two whinnies and two leaps, then I realised he was actually answering Chocolate, not the other way round, so I legged it back to the box and started feeding Chocx polos. That worked for a while then I picked up the nearest object (my washing up brush) and whacked him when he shouted. It shut him up as the head snapped off and flew in the air past his ears!
Once I realised her test should have finished I waited until the next one in 20 mins time then held a whip in the air at him and after a couple of taps , he decided he had best be quiet. I could see Jacques out of the front of the box doing what looked like a decent test.
C came back, said he had felt really nice in that one, and we loaded up and went to see the marks.
Jacques was 3rd in the first test, and had won the second, which was a qualifying one so just one more to win and he's qualified.
The trick is obviously park as far away as poss from the box and the dressage arenas, and me stand there with polos and a whip!!!
The comments re Jacques were lovely, the judge for the second test is known to be someone who marks fairly hard, so we were delighted with his score, especially as there were plenty in the class who appeared pretty good.
(though I'll guarantee if you had asked anyone watching him in the warm up, they would never have said he would win
)
Coming home was amazing, there was brilliant sunshine, a heavy shower plus two rainbows over the road, it seemed as if we were driving through an archway of rainbows...
We are off eventing next week in Somerset, then it's more dressage I think.
I can't get that enthusiastic about BD compared to BE, the people are much less friendly and a bit serious, at BE everyone seems pleasant and much less pressured somehow, I'm sure they feel it but don't look so manic about it..
We have a mare who looks about to foal tonight, a problem because we already have one in the only foaling pen we have; so it's a case of checking the outside one and bringing her and her foal in when it's born, one stable is 14 x 12 so that will have to do for now. The other one is now 32 days late....sigh..
Chocolate went first ina training Elementary 58, not C's favourite test as it's all stops and starts, and he wasn't really interested at all, all week he's been sex mad, fence running and galloping at the gate then doing a Western style sliding stop, and he appeared reluctant to really move properly, so we are having the back chap out asap. Chocx is so reliable it isn't like him so he's either tweaked something or he's worn out from all that charging about. Had C not forgotten one bit he would have ended up on a 62%, so he wasn't that bad!
Put him back in the box and C climbed on a very excited Jacques, the wind howled, the rain came down now and then and luckily the warm up was indoors, but he then started yelling to Chocx back in the box, who yelled back etc, and got more and more wound up.
Now I've never seen him misbehave like he then proceeded to do, and it was an eye opener. he screeched, danced, got smacked for that and then kicked out and bucked in retalliation. he stood still then had a toddler type tantrum over and over again, and soon there were horses leaping about as his naughtiness infected them too.
C just sat there, insisted he packed the nonsense in and rode through it, but 25 mins of non stop leaping and boinging about even had her red in the face (her fitness was assessed this week at the local health centre as 9/10, so that took some doing)
She apologised to anyone he leapt near, but soon it was her turn to go in and he was still at it. He settled a bit better after her demanding much more advanced movements which he had to think about doing, but still boinged every few strides.
She rode into the next door school for a Novice test, and immediately he did two whinnies and two leaps, then I realised he was actually answering Chocolate, not the other way round, so I legged it back to the box and started feeding Chocx polos. That worked for a while then I picked up the nearest object (my washing up brush) and whacked him when he shouted. It shut him up as the head snapped off and flew in the air past his ears!
Once I realised her test should have finished I waited until the next one in 20 mins time then held a whip in the air at him and after a couple of taps , he decided he had best be quiet. I could see Jacques out of the front of the box doing what looked like a decent test.
C came back, said he had felt really nice in that one, and we loaded up and went to see the marks.
Jacques was 3rd in the first test, and had won the second, which was a qualifying one so just one more to win and he's qualified.
The trick is obviously park as far away as poss from the box and the dressage arenas, and me stand there with polos and a whip!!!
The comments re Jacques were lovely, the judge for the second test is known to be someone who marks fairly hard, so we were delighted with his score, especially as there were plenty in the class who appeared pretty good.
(though I'll guarantee if you had asked anyone watching him in the warm up, they would never have said he would win
Coming home was amazing, there was brilliant sunshine, a heavy shower plus two rainbows over the road, it seemed as if we were driving through an archway of rainbows...
We are off eventing next week in Somerset, then it's more dressage I think.
I can't get that enthusiastic about BD compared to BE, the people are much less friendly and a bit serious, at BE everyone seems pleasant and much less pressured somehow, I'm sure they feel it but don't look so manic about it..
We have a mare who looks about to foal tonight, a problem because we already have one in the only foaling pen we have; so it's a case of checking the outside one and bringing her and her foal in when it's born, one stable is 14 x 12 so that will have to do for now. The other one is now 32 days late....sigh..
