rosiesowner
Well-Known Member
Chilli and I headed out for our first competition outdoors in quite some time yesterday. We headed to Port Royal for some unaffiliated dressage. Chilli decided that loading alone was over rated on the way there She loads perfectly if someone else goes on first to test that there are so sharks in the box. She doesn't even really protest, just plants. A lunge line round her bottom soon convinced her to hop on! Once on she travelled like an absolute angel which was a real win for me as I have taken her on trips in the past where she's just kicked the doo dah out of the box.
On the way there I totally blanked on my tests. I have no idea why but I found myself reading it and recognising absolutely NONE of it. Oh no!
We arrived and I left her on the box for a few minutes and went for a look round. Bumped into some lovely friends I haven't seen in a while which was nice. Then took her off the box and tacked her up on my own, which was incredible as last time we went out I could barely hold onto her to tack her up as she was just spinning... And spinning... And spinning...
Took a moment to read my tests again and headed off to the warm up. She was, in all honesty, ridiculous. Took off with me in canter several times I was having a real crisis of confidence and looking at everyone else on their lovely horses trotting around sedately, looking nice and relaxed and 100x better than us. It was hard to convince myself, but I told myself to stop looking at everyone else and comparing us to them. We're on a totally different set of train tracks and just to be out and about doing our thing is achievement enough! Yes, they are lovely horses and riders but my horse is just as lovely, just a little out of practise away from home...
Into the first test, a prelim. Trotting around the arena I feel ill, but then smile at the judge who smiles back before she rings the bell. Round once more, then enter at A. Chilli knows her job and has an opinion on how she should go about it! Hence the ridiculous big trot that I had NO control over down the centre line! In the past this would have unnerved me and had me thinking "oh God this is horrendous" which it obviously was; but yesterday I just started laughing and realised that I didn't really care what anyone thought of me, I was just happy to be doing it. She continued in this ridiculous manner throughout the test and at my last salute I just grinned and laughed with the judge who shrugged at me as I shrugged back. Almost to say "What can ya do?".
Some very fair judge's comments!
Got off her for a few minutes and went back to the box for a drink and some hay for her. Then back on to warm up for the second test. This one was so much more relaxed but still carried some tension and didn't show the quality of work that she gives at home at all. A real shame that I wasn't able to put the connection and uphill power we've been working on at home in but really I was just trying to nurse her round. Idiot jockey forgot to walk for a marker and so lost marks on that, oops! But by my last salute I was, again, smiling from ear to ear and just so happy to have gotten through both tests.
Some more fair and encouraging comments!
And now some photos from throughout the day.
Butter wouldn't melt:
Happy:
Being a little erm... Strong!! In the trot work:
Much happier to canter, think she would have cantered the whole test if she could have!:
You can see a lot of the tension here:
Glamour shot of her Christmas saddle which I am eternally thankful for and don't take for granted for a second!:
And one last photo, at a good point in a test! Where she started to show a tiny fraction of what she can give...:
If you made it this far, tea and biscuits
On the way there I totally blanked on my tests. I have no idea why but I found myself reading it and recognising absolutely NONE of it. Oh no!
We arrived and I left her on the box for a few minutes and went for a look round. Bumped into some lovely friends I haven't seen in a while which was nice. Then took her off the box and tacked her up on my own, which was incredible as last time we went out I could barely hold onto her to tack her up as she was just spinning... And spinning... And spinning...
Took a moment to read my tests again and headed off to the warm up. She was, in all honesty, ridiculous. Took off with me in canter several times I was having a real crisis of confidence and looking at everyone else on their lovely horses trotting around sedately, looking nice and relaxed and 100x better than us. It was hard to convince myself, but I told myself to stop looking at everyone else and comparing us to them. We're on a totally different set of train tracks and just to be out and about doing our thing is achievement enough! Yes, they are lovely horses and riders but my horse is just as lovely, just a little out of practise away from home...
Into the first test, a prelim. Trotting around the arena I feel ill, but then smile at the judge who smiles back before she rings the bell. Round once more, then enter at A. Chilli knows her job and has an opinion on how she should go about it! Hence the ridiculous big trot that I had NO control over down the centre line! In the past this would have unnerved me and had me thinking "oh God this is horrendous" which it obviously was; but yesterday I just started laughing and realised that I didn't really care what anyone thought of me, I was just happy to be doing it. She continued in this ridiculous manner throughout the test and at my last salute I just grinned and laughed with the judge who shrugged at me as I shrugged back. Almost to say "What can ya do?".
Some very fair judge's comments!
Got off her for a few minutes and went back to the box for a drink and some hay for her. Then back on to warm up for the second test. This one was so much more relaxed but still carried some tension and didn't show the quality of work that she gives at home at all. A real shame that I wasn't able to put the connection and uphill power we've been working on at home in but really I was just trying to nurse her round. Idiot jockey forgot to walk for a marker and so lost marks on that, oops! But by my last salute I was, again, smiling from ear to ear and just so happy to have gotten through both tests.
Some more fair and encouraging comments!
And now some photos from throughout the day.
Butter wouldn't melt:
Happy:
Being a little erm... Strong!! In the trot work:
Much happier to canter, think she would have cantered the whole test if she could have!:
You can see a lot of the tension here:
Glamour shot of her Christmas saddle which I am eternally thankful for and don't take for granted for a second!:
And one last photo, at a good point in a test! Where she started to show a tiny fraction of what she can give...:
If you made it this far, tea and biscuits