Baydale
Well-Known Member
See how I no longer call him Big Fat Marty, so feel free to admire his svelte, athletic frame and I'll eventually do a Before and After when I feel he's reached his target weight. 
Without further ado, the report: OH and I had a leisurely start with me snoozing on the way there - I could get used to that - and on arrival OH made his usual trip to the bacon butty van while I headed off to walk the course. The new site organisation seemed good, especially as we were parked within viewing distance of the showjumping, and the cross-country wasn't overly twisty but, and you knew there was going to be a but
, I was a bit 
as I walked it. I'm sure that it was because Shelford PN seemed like a nice, straightforward track last week, and this was Novice after all, so was going to have questions. I should also add that I woke up with the most godawful feeling of impending doom, not like me at all and I can only blame the drugs as I'm usually Mrs Positive. 
Everything looked big: fence 4 was over a big ditch, 7 was a coffin, 10 a double of yellow corners with trees in the middle to take you off your line, 13 was the water, 15 a hedge drop to a skinny on a curve, 17 another water - I wasn't just being a drama queen, but I feel vaguely rusty at Novice level...pathetic really, when I was doing two star this time last year. 
Anyhoo, I dragged my nervous self back to the trailer to get Big Marty ready for stressage. I'd changed his bit from a NS verbinden to a nathe fulmer, and whilst he warmed up ok he was even more on his forehand than usual. I'd hoped that him being more settled in his mouth in the nathe would help me ride him more uphill but nope, he was more rideable but less responsive if that makes sense. Here's the evidence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc8juVFiik8
At the end of the day, I was happy with how he and I "communicated" but not happy with the quality of the test, so I thought 37.6 was about right. The comments on the sheet were spot on too: more engagement needed for lightness of forehand etc.
In my negative, doom-filled frame of mind I stood and watched some showjumping in the hope that I'd see a clear round amongst all the carnage. Thankfully Rosiefan's Rosie obliged with Frodo, so I tried to put the other ten disastrous rounds I'd seen to the back of my mind. The showjumping was running late and we all stood around watching the air ambulance take off (more reasons for me be mulling over giving up eventing and taking up knitting ). I'd put Marty in Moo Cow's nathe gag which had worked well at home, and was working well warming up, or it was until the last two oxers I did, where he set sail (ears in my mouth, I could see the whites of his eyes...you get my drift ). I went for my "less is more" mantra, jumped a teeny upright and got ready to go in. The time was tight and I'd seen several people get time penalties, so I tried to get the big canter and shave a few corners where I could:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id7nNY2pQnI
I got a bit excited from the double to the oxer - there's forward and there's forward-borderline-tempting-flatness - but we got away with it. Ditto to the final combination but in my defence m'lud, there wasn't really another stride there and it had been riding long, so as long as I sat up when I landed I thought I'd be ok. A big woohoo for the clear round and a very smiley Baydale.
There was no great rush as they were running about an hour late cross country so I went to walk the double of corners again, then the coffin, then the 4th fence (ditch). I gave myself a stiff talking to, slapped myself around the face a couple of times and decided I was going to have to ride positively, removing any earlier thoughts of it being ok to be a round where one stop was good going (I know, I know, but I really was feeling that negative.) One final boot up the @r$e and we were off, Marty resisting my efforts to over-ride the ditch at 4 and not even registering it was there. The sheep feeder to skinny at 5 and 6 went well, and was followed by the coffin at 7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF4dBiV2-X0
I made myself ride everything properly, so that was my coffin canter - bouncier would have been better but too much with Marty results in ears-in-mouth moments, so I went for the middle ground.
That was followed by the timber wagon, then the double of corners (felt perfect) then a log:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbQ7t8Fieg
Then the ditch/palisade, to water (slightly angled log, log in, skinny-ish log out) - apologies if this makes you queasy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RienWMY56II
Then the drop hedge to the skinny on a curving five strides, followed by a chair (which OH managed to miss) and the second water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GvxIEw0IrE
And the final fence....there's a very cute photo of Marty over this with his knees under his chin and his ears forward that I may have to buy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyEaS-0iS8A
So, that was that, I needn't have got myself in such a state as he felt the best he has done for a long, long time and I was over the moon at him getting his first point, how cool is that? I knew I'd gone steady and was thinking I'd have 16 or 18 time, so was very pleasantly surprised to find I'd only got 8.4, and was even more pleasantly surprised to find I was 8th! I'd been over the moon thinking I'd got a point for my double clear but to get one by getting placed was even better. Ah, happy Baydale, that's what we like.
There's the remains of A N Other Sauv Blanc (the non-Oyster-Bay variety) and Ma Baydale's chocolate crispie cake if you've made it this far.
Without further ado, the report: OH and I had a leisurely start with me snoozing on the way there - I could get used to that
- and on arrival OH made his usual trip to the bacon butty van while I headed off to walk the course. The new site organisation seemed good, especially as we were parked within viewing distance of the showjumping, and the cross-country wasn't overly twisty but, and you knew there was going to be a but, I was a bit as I walked it. I'm sure that it was because Shelford PN seemed like a nice, straightforward track last week, and this was Novice after all, so was going to have questions. I should also add that I woke up with the most godawful feeling of impending doom, not like me at all and I can only blame the drugs as I'm usually Mrs Positive. Everything looked big: fence 4 was over a big ditch, 7 was a coffin, 10 a double of yellow corners with trees in the middle to take you off your line, 13 was the water, 15 a hedge drop to a skinny on a curve, 17 another water - I wasn't just being a drama queen, but I feel vaguely rusty at Novice level...pathetic really, when I was doing two star this time last year. Anyhoo, I dragged my nervous self back to the trailer to get Big Marty ready for stressage. I'd changed his bit from a NS verbinden to a nathe fulmer, and whilst he warmed up ok he was even more on his forehand than usual. I'd hoped that him being more settled in his mouth in the nathe would help me ride him more uphill but nope, he was more rideable but less responsive if that makes sense. Here's the evidence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc8juVFiik8
At the end of the day, I was happy with how he and I "communicated" but not happy with the quality of the test, so I thought 37.6 was about right. The comments on the sheet were spot on too: more engagement needed for lightness of forehand etc.
In my negative, doom-filled frame of mind I stood and watched some showjumping in the hope that I'd see a clear round amongst all the carnage.
Thankfully Rosiefan's Rosie obliged with Frodo, so I tried to put the other ten disastrous rounds I'd seen to the back of my mind. The showjumping was running late and we all stood around watching the air ambulance take off (more reasons for me be mulling over giving up eventing and taking up knitting ). I'd put Marty in Moo Cow's nathe gag which had worked well at home, and was working well warming up, or it was until the last two oxers I did, where he set sail (ears in my mouth, I could see the whites of his eyes...you get my drift ). I went for my "less is more" mantra, jumped a teeny upright and got ready to go in. The time was tight and I'd seen several people get time penalties, so I tried to get the big canter and shave a few corners where I could:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id7nNY2pQnI
I got a bit excited from the double to the oxer - there's forward and there's forward-borderline-tempting-flatness
- but we got away with it. Ditto to the final combination but in my defence m'lud, there wasn't really another stride there and it had been riding long, so as long as I sat up when I landed I thought I'd be ok. A big woohoo for the clear round and a very smiley Baydale. There was no great rush as they were running about an hour late cross country so I went to walk the double of corners again, then the coffin, then the 4th fence (ditch). I gave myself a stiff talking to, slapped myself around the face a couple of times and decided I was going to have to ride positively, removing any earlier thoughts of it being ok to be a round where one stop was good going (I know, I know, but I really was feeling that negative.
) One final boot up the @r$e and we were off, Marty resisting my efforts to over-ride the ditch at 4 and not even registering it was there. The sheep feeder to skinny at 5 and 6 went well, and was followed by the coffin at 7:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF4dBiV2-X0
I made myself ride everything properly, so that was my coffin canter - bouncier would have been better but too much with Marty results in ears-in-mouth moments, so I went for the middle ground.
That was followed by the timber wagon, then the double of corners (felt perfect
) then a log:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xbQ7t8Fieg
Then the ditch/palisade, to water (slightly angled log, log in, skinny-ish log out) - apologies if this makes you queasy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RienWMY56II
Then the drop hedge to the skinny on a curving five strides, followed by a chair (which OH managed to miss
) and the second water:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GvxIEw0IrE
And the final fence....there's a very cute photo of Marty over this with his knees under his chin and his ears forward that I may have to buy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyEaS-0iS8A
So, that was that, I needn't have got myself in such a state as he felt the best he has done for a long, long time and I was over the moon at him getting his first point, how cool is that?
I knew I'd gone steady and was thinking I'd have 16 or 18 time, so was very pleasantly surprised to find I'd only got 8.4, and was even more pleasantly surprised to find I was 8th! I'd been over the moon thinking I'd got a point for my double clear but to get one by getting placed was even better. Ah, happy Baydale, that's what we like. There's the remains of A N Other Sauv Blanc (the non-Oyster-Bay variety) and Ma Baydale's chocolate crispie cake if you've made it this far.
The green & brown blur looked awesome and very neat in all the videos and the log after the corners 
