Marquire
Well-Known Member
We did some combined training yesterday and it was another day of highs and lows.
Thankfully we had both our dressage tests first. We started off with N27 which is a really nice test to ride and because there is a lot to do in it, it really suits my boy. I was pleased with how he went overall but he was lacking a bit of sparkle. Never the less he scored 64.5%. We then did E41 which again I felt went well and he felt a lot more engaged throughout. The judge was really harsh in the marking, for example she gave me a 4 for the 'halt between B and E for 6 seconds' because he blew out through his nose during the halt but stood perfectly still and kept the outline while he did it. She said he was 'unsettled in the halt'. Oh well she is well known for her markiing style. Anyway we ended up with 60.4%. So after the dressage we were leading both classes.
Onto the jumping. Now you could choose which height you wanted to jump with each dressage test. My boy spent the first 4 years of his working life as a hunt hireling so if the jumps are small he reverts back to 'the old hunting stylee' which is a nightmare. Unfortunately at this competition the two biggest heights they were offering were 2ft 6" and 3ft so I knew I was going to be in for an interesting time.
We jumped the 2ft 6" class and he jumped clear but was getting stronger and stronger the whole way around. I only had a few minutes before the 3ft class so I couldn't even take him back to the practice arena for a bit of 'manners reminding'. This was a bit unfortunate as all sense of reason left him as sooon as the bell went and he completely tanked me around the course, taking out strides right, left and centre and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it in a stupid loose ring lozenge bit. He managed to hit 4 of the fences as well so we ended up with 20 penalties. A friend took a few shots of us jumping in the 3ft class and there is a classic picture of me with a I'm going to die' face on and him with his ears right forward and a 'what fun!' face on. Little monster!
So we ended up 1st in the novice class and 2nd in the elementary but would have won both had he paid a blind bit of notice in the jumping.
We're doing our first BSJA in a few weeks and I am now seriously considering trying out a few bit combinations before then. Any suggestions?
Thankfully we had both our dressage tests first. We started off with N27 which is a really nice test to ride and because there is a lot to do in it, it really suits my boy. I was pleased with how he went overall but he was lacking a bit of sparkle. Never the less he scored 64.5%. We then did E41 which again I felt went well and he felt a lot more engaged throughout. The judge was really harsh in the marking, for example she gave me a 4 for the 'halt between B and E for 6 seconds' because he blew out through his nose during the halt but stood perfectly still and kept the outline while he did it. She said he was 'unsettled in the halt'. Oh well she is well known for her markiing style. Anyway we ended up with 60.4%. So after the dressage we were leading both classes.
Onto the jumping. Now you could choose which height you wanted to jump with each dressage test. My boy spent the first 4 years of his working life as a hunt hireling so if the jumps are small he reverts back to 'the old hunting stylee' which is a nightmare. Unfortunately at this competition the two biggest heights they were offering were 2ft 6" and 3ft so I knew I was going to be in for an interesting time.
We jumped the 2ft 6" class and he jumped clear but was getting stronger and stronger the whole way around. I only had a few minutes before the 3ft class so I couldn't even take him back to the practice arena for a bit of 'manners reminding'. This was a bit unfortunate as all sense of reason left him as sooon as the bell went and he completely tanked me around the course, taking out strides right, left and centre and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it in a stupid loose ring lozenge bit. He managed to hit 4 of the fences as well so we ended up with 20 penalties. A friend took a few shots of us jumping in the 3ft class and there is a classic picture of me with a I'm going to die' face on and him with his ears right forward and a 'what fun!' face on. Little monster!
So we ended up 1st in the novice class and 2nd in the elementary but would have won both had he paid a blind bit of notice in the jumping.
We're doing our first BSJA in a few weeks and I am now seriously considering trying out a few bit combinations before then. Any suggestions?