tigers_eye
Well-Known Member
Went off to Charlton yesterday for William's second Novice. Was running a bit late so didn't get much warm up for dressage but I don't think it affects him much. Was rather fresh though and had his heels above his head 3 times in the canter! Naughty boy! It was 125 with the medium canter in it, two were on the first medium, and the third was right at C on the other rein. The judge obligingly was short-sighted though and only said disunited in the medium and didn't see the other at all! He got a 37.1 which I thought was fair.
Went off to walk the muddy course as the only section of Novice on Saturday went round, and watched as lots of people had run-outs and retired. Was nice to all the fence judges as they looked pretty wet and miserable. There was an angled one-stride road crossing at 3, a bounce at 6 (W's 1st xc bounce!), a jump into water with a sizeable step up out of it at 7, a trakhener at 10, a corner on an angle to a pheasant feeder on 2 strides at 11, a turning combination to skinny at 13, a turning treble, the 2nd two elements of which were skinnies (the third a skinny brush, you know the ones) at 15 etc!
William stayed the night at William Miflins very nice yard, and, having failed to convince S that the lorry was a good idea we found a place just down the road with great food and a four-poster bed! And Digby was allowed too!
This morning went back to CP, and it was even wetter. Put his new uber-bridle on and he went round the sj fine, although dived right in the treble like when we went BSJA'ing last time, then I let him go on a long one at the last and he had it down. That proved to be very expensive....
Was quite nervous about the xc (but I always get nervous, if I'm not it usually means I ride appallingly), then just as Bill started to count me down from 5 there was a hold on course. Set off a couple of minutes later and I had a hundred lb weight in my left hand and nothing in my right. If I so much as gave a smidge he just lurched right. Then coming into four he just slammed on the brakes 20 yards out. Now W is the most honest happy chappy non-napper baby I have ever come across. I whacked him but instantly thought I'd pull up if he carried on like this as something was wrong. He went forward and felt better in the hand, then did it again turning to the water! Went forward again and after the stretch in the woods I galloped him across the next field very fast with no contact and he was fine after that. Jumped brilliantly, and seems to have learnt after his last run that skinnies are there to be jumped. On getting back found he's pulled a front shoe off.
Going to get his teeth checked, and also have the lump on his back investigated. It's like a wart, and he's had it from before he was broken in, but I think it has got a little bigger recently, and it certainly can't be helping him. Anyway, he got 8.8 time penalties, and I think we wasted about 8 seconds with his fannying about in the middle fields. We finished 11th (AGAIN!), and without the fence down would have been 5th....
Pics going in gallery in a min....
Went off to walk the muddy course as the only section of Novice on Saturday went round, and watched as lots of people had run-outs and retired. Was nice to all the fence judges as they looked pretty wet and miserable. There was an angled one-stride road crossing at 3, a bounce at 6 (W's 1st xc bounce!), a jump into water with a sizeable step up out of it at 7, a trakhener at 10, a corner on an angle to a pheasant feeder on 2 strides at 11, a turning combination to skinny at 13, a turning treble, the 2nd two elements of which were skinnies (the third a skinny brush, you know the ones) at 15 etc!
William stayed the night at William Miflins very nice yard, and, having failed to convince S that the lorry was a good idea we found a place just down the road with great food and a four-poster bed! And Digby was allowed too!
This morning went back to CP, and it was even wetter. Put his new uber-bridle on and he went round the sj fine, although dived right in the treble like when we went BSJA'ing last time, then I let him go on a long one at the last and he had it down. That proved to be very expensive....
Was quite nervous about the xc (but I always get nervous, if I'm not it usually means I ride appallingly), then just as Bill started to count me down from 5 there was a hold on course. Set off a couple of minutes later and I had a hundred lb weight in my left hand and nothing in my right. If I so much as gave a smidge he just lurched right. Then coming into four he just slammed on the brakes 20 yards out. Now W is the most honest happy chappy non-napper baby I have ever come across. I whacked him but instantly thought I'd pull up if he carried on like this as something was wrong. He went forward and felt better in the hand, then did it again turning to the water! Went forward again and after the stretch in the woods I galloped him across the next field very fast with no contact and he was fine after that. Jumped brilliantly, and seems to have learnt after his last run that skinnies are there to be jumped. On getting back found he's pulled a front shoe off.
Going to get his teeth checked, and also have the lump on his back investigated. It's like a wart, and he's had it from before he was broken in, but I think it has got a little bigger recently, and it certainly can't be helping him. Anyway, he got 8.8 time penalties, and I think we wasted about 8 seconds with his fannying about in the middle fields. We finished 11th (AGAIN!), and without the fence down would have been 5th....
Pics going in gallery in a min....
