Gamebird
Well-Known Member
Oh my god, it's a big old event Chatsworth!
I did a fairly good dressage (for me) but it was nothing like the real pro's. There were the most amazingly smart horses there and I felt like I'd turned up at the wrong event! I think I was the only one in my section I hadn't heard of!!! He changed behind in the medium canter so I had to stop and sort that out but it was fairly good and I got 39.1. In all the excitement I forgot to pick my sheet up - doh! - so i'll never know what the judge thought
SJ was fairly hard to have a look at the course. There were marquees and hospitality all round the arena and people three deep on the ropes. I couldn't walk the course (as usual) so I had a peek from the corner. Could see roughly where the fences were but not a lot more! The course was up to height, very big and brightly built but reasonably fair.
Warmed up, popped a couple of cross poles and an upright and the bloody rotten steward made me go straight in. I wasn't ready, was at least half an hour before my time and I told him so, but he wasn't having any of it so in I went
The horse was fairly rude and tanked off a couple of times but we did well given the circumstances for 1 down. Oh and I had my phone in my pocket and it went off with a text going into the 3rd fence - a friend seeing how I was getting on. Didn't stop to answer it though!
XC - a big, bold, technical, cleverly built course which jumped very well if you were on the ball (like I am
). The quwstions started early on and they had done things like: long gallop to big table fence to another long gallop (so the horses got really strung out) then a triple brush arrowhead, 3 curving strides and a log/drop into the water, 90 degree turn in the water, step out to skinny log. There was another long gallop later on that ended in a corner to skinny combo (the fence wasn't skinny, but was placed so that you could only jump one end of it). The only time he put a foot wrong was at the first water - big hanging log in (the horses could see the water under it so you had to ride v strongly) and a log in the water - he had to put a stride of trot in to jump the log in the water. Finished clear, with 6.4 time (exactly the same time as Baydale - spooky or what?)
I ended up fairly well down the order as 10th place was on 35
but I beat Lucinda Green by 7 places - have never said that before, and will probably never get to say it again!)
I saw Cullohill do the most fab and tidy SJ clear, totally missed Baydale and k9h and sw123. What can I say - big place, lots of people! They did one of those 'I was there' t-shirts with all the names on it and I was 1st! (horse's name starts with an A) but I didn't buy one cos I would feel pretentious wearing it !
What a fab and lovely two days I've had!!!
I did a fairly good dressage (for me) but it was nothing like the real pro's. There were the most amazingly smart horses there and I felt like I'd turned up at the wrong event! I think I was the only one in my section I hadn't heard of!!! He changed behind in the medium canter so I had to stop and sort that out but it was fairly good and I got 39.1. In all the excitement I forgot to pick my sheet up - doh! - so i'll never know what the judge thought
SJ was fairly hard to have a look at the course. There were marquees and hospitality all round the arena and people three deep on the ropes. I couldn't walk the course (as usual) so I had a peek from the corner. Could see roughly where the fences were but not a lot more! The course was up to height, very big and brightly built but reasonably fair.
Warmed up, popped a couple of cross poles and an upright and the bloody rotten steward made me go straight in. I wasn't ready, was at least half an hour before my time and I told him so, but he wasn't having any of it so in I went
The horse was fairly rude and tanked off a couple of times but we did well given the circumstances for 1 down. Oh and I had my phone in my pocket and it went off with a text going into the 3rd fence - a friend seeing how I was getting on. Didn't stop to answer it though!
XC - a big, bold, technical, cleverly built course which jumped very well if you were on the ball (like I am
I ended up fairly well down the order as 10th place was on 35
I saw Cullohill do the most fab and tidy SJ clear, totally missed Baydale and k9h and sw123. What can I say - big place, lots of people! They did one of those 'I was there' t-shirts with all the names on it and I was 1st! (horse's name starts with an A) but I didn't buy one cos I would feel pretentious wearing it !
What a fab and lovely two days I've had!!!
