SpottedCat
Well-Known Member
So headed back to my homeland yesterday to do the Novice at Bricky, he warmed up brilliantly for the dressage, I have never had him going so well, LEC can testify he was acting like a million dollars. Then we got in the arena and the little git died on me. I did go wrong once too, but still ended up back on a terrible score of 44 and yet again I get a 7 for my riding, he gets a 5 for submission! I am pleased however as I now know we can produce super work at a comp, just need to translate that into the arena now, but dressage is such baby steps!
Stabled overnight, pub dinner, lovely.
Back to Bricky this morning, and OMG we had a first for me in the SJ - I was horrified at how SMALL people were putting the practice jumps - bearing in mind I am a great big wuss I think this is a breakthrough! Jumped a super round despite me seeing some very long ones, to come away with 2 down - one his fault as he was all dangly legs over the first, the other just green - 1.15 oxer with a short 4 to 1.15 planks - he had the planks (not surprisingly!).
Now XC. I was still a bit wobbly after my fall, and had to walk the course twice. I was still unconvinced we would get round as there were some stunningly horrible fences in it, like a skinny brush which when I stood by it I could just see through the top fronds (I am 5'2"!!), and plenty of questions. Thought we'd be lucky to get round TBH. !, 2 and 3 were all straightforward, 4 was a hedge with a drop on the landling side, then you turned 90 degrees left to a hanging log with drop and another log as the b element, he flew the hedge, I lost my reins, and pulled for the turn, he popped through sweet as anything. 6 was a big table which he popped over, 7 a pallisade with ditch in front, and when stood in the ditch the pallisade came up to my head! He looked at that but scrabbled over. 8 was step up on an angle and two strides to a skinny brush under a tree - brought him right back and he trotted through that very neatly. Then 9 and 10 were logs, 11 was a log into water, not done one of these and he launched into it meaning I was on the buckle and frantically trying to make the right turn to another skinny - made it, phew, then splash through water and out over a chair. 14 was a pallisade, then another 90 degree turn left to a bank with a skinny after it, he leapt onto the bank, shuffled a stride, launched off it and I went for the alternative, which he popped over. Then a nice hedge and on to another question at 17 and 18 - two hanging rails which you could either angle or circle between - we angled them and he stuck on his line like a pro. The the huge skinny brush - we went up, and up, and up, then landed very steeply and he was off as I scrabbled for the reins yet again! Next asw a corner, looked a lot like the box we fell at at Goring, he did not even looked and jumped it very sweetly, then another table, and on to the final fence, a drop to skinny brush with no alternative. Dreading that as he throws himself off drops, but he'd seen the b element and took a true line over it! And we're home!
So I was very pleased with him- he is so strong and bold he takes a lot of setting up for these accuracy questions, and it was so twisty it was not the sort of course which suits him as few places to make up time. However he jumped like a pro and gave me an awesome round, so we forgot about the dressage!
Stabled overnight, pub dinner, lovely.
Back to Bricky this morning, and OMG we had a first for me in the SJ - I was horrified at how SMALL people were putting the practice jumps - bearing in mind I am a great big wuss I think this is a breakthrough! Jumped a super round despite me seeing some very long ones, to come away with 2 down - one his fault as he was all dangly legs over the first, the other just green - 1.15 oxer with a short 4 to 1.15 planks - he had the planks (not surprisingly!).
Now XC. I was still a bit wobbly after my fall, and had to walk the course twice. I was still unconvinced we would get round as there were some stunningly horrible fences in it, like a skinny brush which when I stood by it I could just see through the top fronds (I am 5'2"!!), and plenty of questions. Thought we'd be lucky to get round TBH. !, 2 and 3 were all straightforward, 4 was a hedge with a drop on the landling side, then you turned 90 degrees left to a hanging log with drop and another log as the b element, he flew the hedge, I lost my reins, and pulled for the turn, he popped through sweet as anything. 6 was a big table which he popped over, 7 a pallisade with ditch in front, and when stood in the ditch the pallisade came up to my head! He looked at that but scrabbled over. 8 was step up on an angle and two strides to a skinny brush under a tree - brought him right back and he trotted through that very neatly. Then 9 and 10 were logs, 11 was a log into water, not done one of these and he launched into it meaning I was on the buckle and frantically trying to make the right turn to another skinny - made it, phew, then splash through water and out over a chair. 14 was a pallisade, then another 90 degree turn left to a bank with a skinny after it, he leapt onto the bank, shuffled a stride, launched off it and I went for the alternative, which he popped over. Then a nice hedge and on to another question at 17 and 18 - two hanging rails which you could either angle or circle between - we angled them and he stuck on his line like a pro. The the huge skinny brush - we went up, and up, and up, then landed very steeply and he was off as I scrabbled for the reins yet again! Next asw a corner, looked a lot like the box we fell at at Goring, he did not even looked and jumped it very sweetly, then another table, and on to the final fence, a drop to skinny brush with no alternative. Dreading that as he throws himself off drops, but he'd seen the b element and took a true line over it! And we're home!
So I was very pleased with him- he is so strong and bold he takes a lot of setting up for these accuracy questions, and it was so twisty it was not the sort of course which suits him as few places to make up time. However he jumped like a pro and gave me an awesome round, so we forgot about the dressage!
