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Well-Known Member
Bit of a milestone for us today. Never ever thought I'd see this day when I got my orange boy 4yrs ago. I bought him as a jumping schoolmaster and his flatwork wasn't the best and it took me a long time to work out how to get the best out of him. He never really came good until he had a load of time off and 3mths of walking in straight lines following a minor tendon injury 2yrs ago. This year he has gone from winning Prelim Regionals in Feb to today doing his first (and my first!) affiliated Mediums.
The weather wasn't exactly on our side. Monty turns daft as a brush in high winds and it was blowing a gale! Fortunately the rain held off till we'd finished or that might have been the nail in the coffin. First test was M61 - he was a bit tense which made it rather hard to sit to his trot (which I don't find the easiest thing to do at the best of times). He had a bit of a meltdown moment after his right canter half pass for some unknown reason, ground to a halt and took a few seconds to get going again. To be honest I didn't think it was that great a test so was pretty gobsmacked to see he got 65% despite a 3 for the meltdown. We were in the Training section but that score would have won us the Restricted section! He even got a 7.5 for his right trot half pass amongst other things! Judge said he was a smart horse with much to offer! I know he can do so much better so was over the moon with that!
Second test was M75, the Championship test - had ummed and aahed about entering it as it's a tough one but I knew we could do everything and I like a challenge
He managed to spook at something just before I entered at A and went bunny hopping down the centre line sideways, halted and then went into reverse - not quite the first impression I was hoping to make! It got much better though and we managed to do everything where it was meant to be and get a few 7's, again for his trot half pass. My trainer is a List2 judge and she had told me it was worth good marks but I thought she was just being nice - didn't actually think it was that good but watching the videos he is really crossing over well. He scored 62.16% in this test which I thought was ok for a first go at a tough test. Definitely lots more to come from him.
Trainer has said we should aim for Advanced Medium next year as he has pretty much cracked the flying changes now - how exciting is that?! He will never be a world beater as he's a 15.2hh half Welsh, half TB and is not flashy at all but he's normally very obedient and correct and he just tries so hard for me. So lucky to have him!
getting ready:
nice square halt to start M61 with:
bit of trot work:
bit of half pass:
medium canter:
Not sure if I'm brave enough to post the vids in public as clearly a bit rusty round the edges and we had our iffy moments today!
The weather wasn't exactly on our side. Monty turns daft as a brush in high winds and it was blowing a gale! Fortunately the rain held off till we'd finished or that might have been the nail in the coffin. First test was M61 - he was a bit tense which made it rather hard to sit to his trot (which I don't find the easiest thing to do at the best of times). He had a bit of a meltdown moment after his right canter half pass for some unknown reason, ground to a halt and took a few seconds to get going again. To be honest I didn't think it was that great a test so was pretty gobsmacked to see he got 65% despite a 3 for the meltdown. We were in the Training section but that score would have won us the Restricted section! He even got a 7.5 for his right trot half pass amongst other things! Judge said he was a smart horse with much to offer! I know he can do so much better so was over the moon with that!
Second test was M75, the Championship test - had ummed and aahed about entering it as it's a tough one but I knew we could do everything and I like a challenge
He managed to spook at something just before I entered at A and went bunny hopping down the centre line sideways, halted and then went into reverse - not quite the first impression I was hoping to make! It got much better though and we managed to do everything where it was meant to be and get a few 7's, again for his trot half pass. My trainer is a List2 judge and she had told me it was worth good marks but I thought she was just being nice - didn't actually think it was that good but watching the videos he is really crossing over well. He scored 62.16% in this test which I thought was ok for a first go at a tough test. Definitely lots more to come from him.Trainer has said we should aim for Advanced Medium next year as he has pretty much cracked the flying changes now - how exciting is that?! He will never be a world beater as he's a 15.2hh half Welsh, half TB and is not flashy at all but he's normally very obedient and correct and he just tries so hard for me. So lucky to have him!
getting ready:
nice square halt to start M61 with:
bit of trot work:
bit of half pass:
medium canter:
Not sure if I'm brave enough to post the vids in public as clearly a bit rusty round the edges and we had our iffy moments today!
