only_me
Well-Known Member
Pass the cliché I’m on a roll 
Today we joined the “not great on paper, but” brigade! Was Billy’s Pre-novice debut (after three intros), and I picked the event described on the website as a “lovely first timers course”…! Hmm, I’m all for taking things slowly, but since he has decided that intro is beneath him, the only option was to go up!
The past 2 weeks we have been concentrating on our jumping, and had two great lessons where I was made to attack the jumps positively over exercises such as a line of fences (about 6) working over bounces with slightly shorter distances in an effort to make billy use his great lump of himself
Some pretty billy pics, who has finally decided that bulimic isn’t a good look and has put on some more weight and now looks more “normal”
The dressage today, was a little interesting! The judges car was between the finish flags of the xc, and as I was doing the “test” people very helpfully were jumping over the last xc fence at various moments! This resulted in zero concentration and zero wish to listen to what I was asking, one moment resulted in a canter which I’m sure would have given the titanic a run for its money! Still, just one of those baby moments, but acceptable as today was all about the jumping
Next up was the showjumping (dur!), which I was bit nervous, especially due to the very slippy ground which resulted us actually being in the parallel in the warm up
This does explain why I have probably a stronger than normal contact in the vid, I don’t want him to slip into the fence and am trying very hard not to drop him in it! But Billy surprised me and became a pingy jumping pony 
He was such a clever boy, he steadied himself around the corners and didn’t look at any of the jumps, plus he even threw in some very nice changes I am over the moon with his showjumping as he just felt so rideable, and pingy off the ground
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gusow5n4jAE
Then the xc – well, I may not have jumped a PN for a year but wow it was a strong course! I think was definitely the strongest PN I’ve seen, and I wasn’t the only one with that opinion! I was very as I thought it maybe was a step too far for his level of experience, and was all for Retiring, but as he jumped so well in the showjumping I put my determined hat on and thought we would give it a go! Still green in a few areas, especially with water, as the second water was a big (!) brush to water to an angled skinny (the same as the novice except the brush was 3 inches smaller 
) and we scrambled over the brush, was very odd, he sort of stopped, then kept going in the same instant, and sort of “walked” over the brush! Weird to sit, but he kept going, cantered through the water and popped the skinny! So a “clear” for that fence I think I may have pushed him too much into the fence, when I probably should have slowed him right up and let him work it out!
Another difficult fence was a skinny to a trakener on an angle, which I thought was a bit much for poor wee bill on his first step up, so we took a circle after the skinny so we could present at the trakener straight on
popped it sweetly, albeit a little gangly! He then finished the course confidently, over the arrowhead skinny and then galloped to the skinny skinny parallel flying over it over the lion’s den parallel and then over yet another parallel combination to finish
I even managed to lose my hat silk on our way round, hence the very sexy silver helmet look! And at some point around the course billy also lost a front shoe (bound to happen, considering they were getting a bit loose!) although am slightly annoyed because I lost one of my favourite studs
There are photos of our sprokle over the brush into the water, just waiting for them to be emailed
So not great to look at on paper, but he felt awesome on the showjumping and cross-country, even with the development enhancing experiences! So I’m over the moon with his jumping, he feels so athletic and bouncy and increasing in confidence Oh and I drove the entire way to the event today towing the trailer with L plates up! 2 hours there and 2 hours back
So now it goes all quiet on the eventing front, as everything stops here for a month or so, and next weekend YO and I are off for a dressage weekend
I was also on foal watch last night, checked mare at 11pm, no signs, she was standing sleeping very settled. So I was very surprised this morning to find this in the field! I think she foaled around 8am!
Thanks for reading, can offer some yummy stewed rhubarb and creamed rice
Today we joined the “not great on paper, but” brigade! Was Billy’s Pre-novice debut (after three intros), and I picked the event described on the website as a “lovely first timers course”…! Hmm, I’m all for taking things slowly, but since he has decided that intro is beneath him, the only option was to go up! The past 2 weeks we have been concentrating on our jumping, and had two great lessons where I was made to attack the jumps positively over exercises such as a line of fences (about 6) working over bounces with slightly shorter distances in an effort to make billy use his great lump of himself
Some pretty billy pics, who has finally decided that bulimic isn’t a good look and has put on some more weight and now looks more “normal”
The dressage today, was a little interesting! The judges car was between the finish flags of the xc, and as I was doing the “test” people very helpfully were jumping over the last xc fence at various moments! This resulted in zero concentration and zero wish to listen to what I was asking, one moment resulted in a canter which I’m sure would have given the titanic a run for its money! Still, just one of those baby moments, but acceptable as today was all about the jumping
Next up was the showjumping (dur!), which I was bit nervous, especially due to the very slippy ground which resulted us actually being in the parallel in the warm up
This does explain why I have probably a stronger than normal contact in the vid, I don’t want him to slip into the fence and am trying very hard not to drop him in it! But Billy surprised me and became a pingy jumping pony He was such a clever boy, he steadied himself around the corners and didn’t look at any of the jumps, plus he even threw in some very nice changes I am over the moon with his showjumping as he just felt so rideable, and pingy off the ground http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gusow5n4jAE
Then the xc – well, I may not have jumped a PN for a year but wow it was a strong course! I think was definitely the strongest PN I’ve seen, and I wasn’t the only one with that opinion! I was very
as I thought it maybe was a step too far for his level of experience, and was all for Retiring, but as he jumped so well in the showjumping I put my determined hat on and thought we would give it a go! Still green in a few areas, especially with water, as the second water was a big (!) brush to water to an angled skinny (the same as the novice except the brush was 3 inches smaller ) and we scrambled over the brush, was very odd, he sort of stopped, then kept going in the same instant, and sort of “walked” over the brush! Weird to sit, but he kept going, cantered through the water and popped the skinny! So a “clear” for that fence I think I may have pushed him too much into the fence, when I probably should have slowed him right up and let him work it out!Another difficult fence was a skinny to a trakener on an angle, which I thought was a bit much for poor wee bill on his first step up, so we took a circle after the skinny so we could present at the trakener straight on
popped it sweetly, albeit a little gangly! He then finished the course confidently, over the arrowhead skinny and then galloped to the skinny skinny parallel flying over it over the lion’s den parallel and then over yet another parallel combination to finish I even managed to lose my hat silk on our way round, hence the very sexy silver helmet look! And at some point around the course billy also lost a front shoe (bound to happen, considering they were getting a bit loose!) although am slightly annoyed because I lost one of my favourite studs
There are photos of our sprokle over the brush into the water, just waiting for them to be emailed
So not great to look at on paper, but he felt awesome on the showjumping and cross-country, even with the development enhancing experiences! So I’m over the moon with his jumping, he feels so athletic and bouncy and increasing in confidence
Oh and I drove the entire way to the event today towing the trailer with L plates up! 2 hours there and 2 hours back So now it goes all quiet on the eventing front, as everything stops here for a month or so, and next weekend YO and I are off for a dressage weekend
I was also on foal watch last night, checked mare at 11pm, no signs, she was standing sleeping very settled. So I was very surprised this morning to find this in the field! I think she foaled around 8am!
Thanks for reading, can offer some yummy stewed rhubarb and creamed rice
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