Expecting an exciting delivery...

[CanteringCarrot]

My youngster (nice but dim ?) will just stand in the gateway politely waiting while you sink into the mud rather than walk on a few steps. We did some practice in the field and he was fine. At the actual gateway though = does not compute

LOL, my rising 2 year old was a bit like this at first. I taught him to lunge (just a few big circles at walk and trot) and the whole sending him in front of me just naturally fell into place at the gates after that. I mostly taught him to lunge so he got the concept of me sending him away/staying in motion away from me/in front of me/or beside me at a distance.

It's not strenuous, we usually walk 3 or so rounds, and trot 1 or 2 rounds each direction.

Then it was just repetition of taking him through the gate every other day and showing him what I wanted. Now he gets it. Between the very light lunging and other groundwork, he's more in tune to my body language now.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Haven't updated here for ages. After the last update I had a tech XC lesson in Jan with minimal control , followed by a lesson with Joe Midgley who said she had not idea how to stay soft and listening at faster gaits. So with his help, I decided to rebuild her canter to get her out of the habit of believing canter/jump = tank off at speed and blow through the bridle. Jumping took a back seat for a couple of months. Then in March we did a gird session and we had a couple of SJ lessons in April. The flatwork has translated over which is fab. She is calm and listening. Much more connected.

I had no chance to get her onto grass before our first event of the season as a camp and 2 Howden Way XC sessions were cancelled. But I trusted her enough to head for Norton Disney anyway and do the 90 there. Clear and calm in SJ. (So much so that we had time-faults!) Gave me a fantastic feeling all round the XC till she was approaching the corner which looked totally straightforward, having happily answered much tougher questions earlier in the couse. So I was flummoxed when she started going sideways from 30m away. On reviewing the video you can see she catches sight of a horse head sculpture from a mile out and is totally transfixed. She stops, I turn her and re-present but she won't go near it. All through the video you can see her staring at it! So I then let her sniff the fence as she clearly had an issue with it even though I could not understand why. On the video you an see I am looking at the flowers and the fence - she is still staring fixedly at the head! But once I let her have a sniff she relaxed and accepted it. P Then popped over nicely and no issues with the rest of the course. so 60 pens was a shame - did not feel like that reflected how good she felt at all.

This weekend she has done an endurance ride, so endurance can go on her expanding CV too now. As can riding with a garrocha which I have now bought. And I am entering a Cat 1 SJ show on Saturday to try and qualify for the National Amateur Championships. She is such a fab allrounder. Just turns her hand to anything really. Love her so much.

 

[splashgirl45]

Great report, no pics??? Shame about the faults but sounds like you are doing well with the training and blips are to be expected

 

[Ample Prosecco]

What the…..!!??!!

Oh it’s fine.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Time for another roundup...

We have now done 2 National Championship qualifiers at 85 and gone DC in both. Just 3 more needed to get to Aintree. Fingers crossed.
We entered a dressage comp and got 2 red frillies and high 60s scores. It felt a million times nicer.

Another ODE - Stafford BE90 and this time a lovely double clear. But awful dressage. So that has not translated from the pure dressage work.

As the jumping has ramped up after a winter of flat work, her flatwork rideability has become less good. She is getting strong and keen again. It is easy to feel like it's 3 steps forward, 2 steps back but actually we have made progress everywhere. But when things get exciting or difficult for her, she reverts to old habits, which makes sense.

To maintain perspective, I am separating out her progress into categories to try and make sure I am working across all areas that need work. And also not losing sight of the bigger picture. Which is pretty positive overall.

* Strength and Conditioning: Hacks at least twice a week on varying terrain. Very fit and strong. Need to do more core work though - poles.
* Flatwork/dressage: Glimpses of real promise and some lovely work at times. BUT not consistent. When at an ODE she stops paying attention and she can get triggered into old habits in new environments or after an exciting few days.
* SJ - super happy with this. Calm, focused and consistent. I need to ride forward more when the fences get bigger instead, of getting tentative.
* XC - happy with this too. She is great. I need to get better at getting back into balance much quicker after fences for combinations. And she needs to come back to me quicker if I need her to steady up for a coffin or whatever. At the moment I bring her back too early because I am not confident of how quickly she will respond - which is costing me time.
* Foundational work: currently working on no reins steering/back up/ feeling each leg/ soft feel and garrocha work. Competing has distracted me a but from it, but I will refocus afrter Epworth BE90.
* Groundwork - next step is to teach her to ground tie. Other areas feel good.

And a general breakthrough moment this week when she let me into her stable when she was lying down. And tolerated a pat. That felt significant

 

[splashgirl45]

Sounds pretty positive to me lots of progress

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Awesome Lottie was DC again at Epworth which means she has gone DC in both her BE runs this year. And THAT means we are through to the regional championships. Yikes. So suddenly my season has gone from 'meh not much to go for, think I'll mainly show-jump' to 'OMG I'm doing the Regional Champs'. Which means I now need to prepare for them. And my season has suddenly got a whole lot more focused!

So the plan is:

DRESSAGE! I really want a decent result and I have till Sept to get the work I know she is capable of produced at a competition. That is my Joe project.

XC! It will be a big course and iirc, you are allowed 5 more cm on Championships courses? So it will be a 95. My RI has suggested doing a 100 to prepare. Eek. But I think it is a good idea to have both seen bigger fences. I can school over them of course, but when your blood is up things feel very different. And 20+ jumping efforts in a row is a much more daunting prospect than a few tricky lines or bigger fences in a lesson. So I am going to Kelsall in July for that.

SJ: That really should not be an issue, as we are already out competing at a higher level in pure SJ which are built bigger, and the courses are longer. But I don't want to be complacent. And also I still want to get to Aintree so I will carry on competing regularly in pursuit of those DC rounds to qualify. Plus I want to set her up as well as I can to avoid any careless poles. So the more ring experience I get, the better that should be, hopefully.

Excited. She is a star.

 

[Annagain]

Fabulous, well done! I know it's changed a bit this year but I have quite a few friends who have done regional finals under the old system and they're usually a section within the normal 90 competition so I'm not sure you would necessarily see bigger fences XC as all the 90 sections run together. I've had a quick look at a few of the dates and they're all running a normal 90 as well so that might put your mind at rest about the size of the XC!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Fabulous, well done! I know it's changed a bit this year but I have quite a few friends who have done regional finals under the old system and they're usually a section within the normal 90 competition so I'm not sure you would necessarily see bigger fences XC as all the 90 sections run together. I've had a quick look at a few of the dates and they're all running a normal 90 as well so that might put your mind at rest about the size of the XC!

That is reassuring. Though I did the normal 90 at Frickley last year the same weekend as the Champs, having missed out on qualficaiton - and they built a Championships course to run alongside. A lot of the fences were the same but there were a few bigger fences on the Championship course. I assumed all venues would do something similar?

 

[Annagain]

That is reassuring. Though I did the normal 90 at Frickley last year the same weekend as the Champs, having missed out on qualficaiton - and they built a Championships course to run alongside. A lot of the fences were the same but there were a few bigger fences on the Championship course. I assumed all venues would do something similar?

I suppose it's possible but I would think that would be a logistical nightmare given that 4 or 5 dressage arenas usually feed into the one showjumping and XC course. It would mean very long waits for the first dressage riders if they had to wait for the course to be changed after normal 90 riders had been round.

 

[Carol Singing Dawg]

Delete

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Love this pic

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I missed the GOTCHA day! Lottie arrived in England from Ireland on 4th August 2021. I did not meet her till 20th August so I'll do a proper write up then. But what a 2 years we have had! Love my lovely Lottie.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I missed the 2nd anniversary (again) so here is my Year 2 Round Up.

It's very long, but it covers a full year. I doubt anyone will be interested enough watch all this, but I like having it all in one place! I can really see the progression from last year.

So the season ended with our first 90 over the Brigante Cup course at Frickey. She stormed round and was fab!



We then had an end of season camp to consolidate gains, and even to step up a bit in height for SJ.

Then she had a decent break. After which I decided to focus on flatwork and rideability. She was good XC, when she was allowed to bowl on, but got strong SJ and VERY strong dressage. In January I had a lesson with Joe Midgley and this became 'The Year of Joe'.

He utterly transformed how I rode and the way she went, almost overnight. We rebuilt her canter from the ground up and taught her to carry herself instead of leaning and tanking off. This was not a schooling issue but simply a problem caused by confusion. She thought canter was meant to involve being bitted up to the eyeballs and ridden with hard hands!



That new rideability was taken into showjumping, and all of a sudden we had steering! That opened BS up to us, as the courses are generally twistier.

With eventing having been rained off for most of the early part of the season, I switched to SJ, aiming to make it to the National Amateur Championships at Aintree. That meant we needed 5 DCs.....

And Lottie did not disappoint with 5 out of 5!

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7251693005818711322

In the meantime, the weather improved and I finally went BE, starting at BE90. Lottie was awesome and went DC both times at Epworth and Stafford qualifying for the Regional Champs.



And she carried on being fab in training too: Getting bigger and braver! She gives me so much confidence.

But as with all good runs, it was too good to last!

We stepped up to 100s but she was eliminated for refusals in the first HT, which I blamed on my riding, and then for refusals during the SJ of my first BE100 - which I then decided was VERY unlike Lottie.

Ouch!



I went down the vet route immediately, and it turned out to be hocks. They were jabbed just before our 2nd GOTCHA day, so we ended the year with good news for an easy, quick fix.

What an amazing horse she has been in the 2 years I have had her. She has been a dream to compete. Little Miss Reliable. Such a willing, honest horse.

I need to rebuild my confidence after this blip, as hitting the deck always sets me back a bit. But I am confident we will get back to where we were pretty quickly, and then hopefuly move on again. I WILL do a BE100 one day and I can't wait to see what we get up to over the next 12 months.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Year 3 round-up!

The National Amateur Championship at Aintree in November was awesome. We had such a blast and she was so game and willing. It was a HUGE atmosphere: indoor show, evening classes, with drunk people cheering from the very well lit bar area, music blasting. Apart from one oops moment when heading for said bar and decked me, she took it all in her stride and gave me a great feeling all week. She also coped with the stable literally coming down round her ears in a gale, as she camly munched hay. She is so chilled!

After that she had a couple of months off after a very busy season. In the meantime my business tanked and I was skint. I actually got as far as offering her to my sharer for full permanent loan, till my husband said he would not hear of me parting with her and we could find other ways of cutting back. So we picked up again in February and I made the decision to not event this year because of costs. Instead focusing on show-jumping with Champs as the main target of the year again. We competed in March and she was clear 3/3 rounds. So I then switched focus to BN trying to get 4 clears for 2nd rounds. Little Miss Consistent got 4/4 clear BN so we qualified for 2nd rounds. To prepare for those we stepped up to Discovery and she was ace, though I got us both eliminated for missing out fence 8!

2 days before 2nd rounds she started refusing in a lesson. Cue another trip to the vet and this time back and neck issues were identified. The vet is very positive about her - thinks that the improved movement through the hocks has meant she was using herself differently and that was causing strain and inflammation. I told her clearly I was 100% willing to retire Lottie from jumping if that was in her interests but she assured me there is just no reason to do that yet, and often treating one area causing issues elsewere.

So 3 months after those refusals (and the falls rthey caused) I began jumping her again and since trhen she has been great. My confidence took a knock and I'm not yet back to where I want to be, but we are getting there. My window for qualification is rapidly closing and I satill need one more, so it remains to be seen whether we qualify this year. I regret those BN clears now! But back then it seemed like I had all the time in the world to get the clears I need. Hey ho...

In the meantime I achieved a bucket list dream of taking her to the beach - which she absolutely loved. She's the one in front, of course.

And I have carried on with Joe. He runs camps with me now, and uses her as a demo horse, which is lovely to see. She looks fab and is so soft and light. A world away from the tense, heavy in the hand horse she used to be, and we got our first 70 in dressage.

Business has picked up again and so my plan now is to go back to eventing for 2025 - hopefully with the dressage a little bit less disatrous than it was in 2023!

Roll on Year 4. (But please, please stay healthy and sound...)

 

[FinnishLapphund]

"Plank of shattered dreams" I can't decide if that is a funny, and suitable, or a somewhat cruel text to have on a fence. It's probably an equal mix.

She's such a lovely horse, and seems to be a joy to ride.

 

[Roxylola]

"Plank of shattered dreams" I can't decide if that is a funny, and suitable, or a somewhat cruel text to have on a fence. It's probably an equal mix.

She's such a lovely horse, and seems to be a joy to ride.

So, I went to a training day with the course builder there who is phenomenal, a skilled trainer, builder and excellent communicator.
Apparently the first year it was simply a plank, until he overheard someone on their phone saying it had been going so well until the plank of shattered dreams and he commissioned the plank there and then

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Well it made me laugh! X

 

[Tiddlypom]

I love this update.

As someone who has been privileged enough to sit on the awesome Lottie earlier this summer when trialling her as a potential sharer, I can confirm that she feels absolutely great to ride, with no hint of any niggle or any iffy steps. I told AE that, had I been trying Lottie out with a view to purchase, I was totally sold on her before we’d even marched out of the yard in typical enthusiastic Lottie style on the first hack . I’d have offered full price (whatever it was) no haggling .

Unfortunately due to the distance and time travelling the share wasn’t going to be feasible, but I treasure the memories of my two hacks on her.

Lottie is a very lucky horse to have landed with an owner who is prepared to listen to her and to address her issues if and when they crop up.

May the pair of you continue in fine style.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

The final chapter.

Back in August I wrote:

I made the decision to not event this year because of costs. Instead focusing on show-jumping with Champs as the main target of the year again. We competed in March and she was clear 3/3 rounds. So I then switched focus to BN trying to get 4 clears for 2nd rounds. Little Miss Consistent got 4/4 clear BN so we qualified for 2nd rounds. To prepare for those we stepped up to Discovery and she was ace, though I got us both eliminated for missing out fence 8!

2 days before 2nd rounds she started refusing in a lesson. Cue another trip to the vet and this time back and neck issues were identified. The vet is very positive about her - thinks that the improved movement through the hocks has meant she was using herself differently and that was causing strain and inflammation. I told her clearly I was 100% willing to retire Lottie from jumping if that was in her interests but she assured me there is just no reason to do that yet, and often treating one area causing issues elsewere.

Lottie went to camp 3 weeks ago and was FLYING - jumping metre courses, and I was full of plans for eventing 2025. I took her to Southview for BS last Saturday and she was sticky in the warm up then stopped at fence 1. I stuck my had up to retire her from that round, went home and decided enough was enough. She has not strung together jumping form for more than 4 months for a year now. She is confident and happy to jump - until she isn't - and I am just mot asking her to do it anymore

I gave myself 24 hours thinking 'I can't really believe I'm retiring her from competition - she is AWESOME to compete' (and she really is) but, to be honest, deep down I knew our adventures were likely to end like this - that she'd go from flying to stopping, because it's the increase in intensity that causes the issue, and so we would go from full of plans to no plans at all.

She is going on loan for 3 months to a low level, hacking/equitation type home with an older adult who never intends to leave the ground, with a view to buy after the 3 months are up if we are both happy. Staying on my current yard throughout the loan as it's as much for me to check out the loaner as it for the loaner to check out Lottie. Loan starts Monday. So that's that. One final hurrah at a Somerford camp this weekend. My heart is not really in it and I'd quite like to borrow a horse for it, not ride Lottie, as I think I will find riding her hard. But Nicola Wilson is teaching 2 lessons and I can't quite bring myself to pass those up..

So assuming the sale goes through, I'll be on the lookout again in January. I cannot remotely summon up any enthusiam for that, but I'm sure I'll get some mojo back from somewhere eventually.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Ah, no, but you really have done your best to keep a horse who only knows how to give everything 100% the best chances, and now she can’t do that jumping, you’ve listened and called it.

Lottie absolutely loves her hacking, so fingers firmly crossed that she can go on with her new person to love her new less taxing life.

 

[Red-1]

I'm sorry to hear that Lottie is slowing down, but also think she has given you a fabulous time and opened many doors for you. Lucky Lottie that she is able to retire gracefully.

There will be another out there ready to be nurtured into something special.

 

[splashgirl45]

That’s a shame AE but sounds like Lottie will have a fab home if it works out .. let us know when you start looking as you know those of us without horses love to look and dream

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Ah, no, but you really have done your best to keep a horse who only knows how to give everything 100% the best chances, and now she can’t do that jumping, you’ve listened and called it.

Thank-you. That's what so hard - she really does give everything 100%. Her work ethic is fantastic. And I know she'd carry on if I kept asking her to. But I refuse to exploit that willingness when I just can't be confident she's ok with it. I do hope the loan works out as if I sold on the open market I think she'd be at high risk of being sold on again as a competition horse at a much higher price than I am asking. She's only 11. And people tell you what you want to hear but lie all the time! The loaner is a good friend of a good friend, and is definitely looking for a horse for herself. Not one to make a quick buck on.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I'm sorry to hear that Lottie is slowing down, but also think she has given you a fabulous time and opened many doors for you. Lucky Lottie that she is able to retire gracefully.

There will be another out there ready to be nurtured into something special.

Thank-you, I hope so. x

 

[eahotson]

The final chapter.

Back in August I wrote:

Lottie went to camp 3 weeks ago and was FLYING - jumping metre courses, and I was full of plans for eventing 2025. I took her to Southview for BS last Saturday and she was sticky in the warm up then stopped at fence 1. I stuck my had up to retire her from that round, went home and decided enough was enough. She has not strung together jumping form for more than 4 months for a year now. She is confident and happy to jump - until she isn't - and I am just mot asking her to do it anymore

I gave myself 24 hours thinking 'I can't really believe I'm retiring her from competition - she is AWESOME to compete' (and she really is) but, to be honest, deep down I knew our adventures were likely to end like this - that she'd go from flying to stopping, because it's the increase in intensity that causes the issue, and so we would go from full of plans to no plans at all.

She is going on loan for 3 months to a low level, hacking/equitation type home with an older adult who never intends to leave the ground, with a view to buy after the 3 months are up if we are both happy. Staying on my current yard throughout the loan as it's as much for me to check out the loaner as it for the loaner to check out Lottie. Loan starts Monday. So that's that. One final hurrah at a Somerford camp this weekend. My heart is not really in it and I'd quite like to borrow a horse for it, not ride Lottie, as I think I will find riding her hard. But Nicola Wilson is teaching 2 lessons and I can't quite bring myself to pass those up..

So assuming the sale goes through, I'll be on the lookout again in January. I cannot remotely summon up any enthusiam for that, but I'm sure I'll get some mojo back from somewhere eventually.

Difficult as it is I am sure you are making the right decision. Good luck to you both.

 

[IrishMilo]

Sorry to hear it's the end of your journey, but what a lovely horse and great time you've had together. She's lucky that she has an owner who doesn't just jab her every which way to jump, which lots do.

Hope she lands on her feet with the new person.

 

[Caol Ila]

Sorry to read this but you have always had your horses' best interests at heart. Sounds like Lottie is going to a lovely home.

 

[SEL]

That's such a shame, but well done for really listening to her - so many wouldn't.

I remember you posting about her old sharer hacking her for miles so it sounds like there is a job she would be very happy doing and fingers crossed the loaner works out

 

[Xmasha]

That’s such a shame , but also lovely that you are putting her first . You have had so many great adventures with her.

What about getting your youngster backed ? He must be 4 next year ( or have I got my timelines wrong )