First weekend in June plans

[oldie48]

Lovely happy pics, Boulty! Sadly Mr D is still not quite right. We had a couple of short trots on the lane yesterday and he was sound but in the school this morning, he's not quite right, coming up a bit short on the left hind but still massively improved from his original lameness so fingers crossed he just needs another treatment by the physio. Owner's daughter is a vet so please don't worry that he needs a vet visit. This morning's quiet school was mainly to check his recovery under saddle.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Stafford BE90 in glorious sunshine. Lottie was impatient and frustrated in the dressage. Much head tossing and jogging and arguingabout what speed/gait/direction we should be travelling in. Sigh. But then a fab double clear. I guess 2 out of 3 'aint bad!

 

[RachelFerd]

Stafford BE90 in glorious sunshine. Lottie was impatient and frustrated in the dressage. Much head tossing and jogging and arguingabout what speed/gait/direction we should be travelling in. Sigh. But then a fab double clear. I guess 2 out of 3 'aint bad!



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2 out of 3 is much better than the 1 out of 3 I managed on Saturday... those are nice pictures too! Couple of double clears is now a regionals qual, right?

Isaac was an absolute tit in the dressage (having warmed up really really well), jumped like a camel in the SJ - but then was very bold but fairly rideable around a tricky XC. Tearing my hair out with the SJ because he's improved so much in training, and even at a busy county show last weekend only to turn up at Stafford and jump like an absolute moose. Horses!!!! And the dressage performance was just inexcusably bad - basically a dramatic spook at the flowers by the judges car at the end of the first centreline, which he then spent the entire rest of the test riffing on. FFS, how many flowers has he now seen in his life? He's not a fresh or silly horse at home, but I do wonder if some wellness/freshness/sillyness comes out with the excitement of eventing - so going to test that theory with some more dedicated energy removal time in the couple of days before his next event. As well as lots of back to basics SJ skills work at home, which started today on the lunge. Convinced there has to be a key to his SJ which I just haven't quite found yet.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I've asked advice on the Lucinda Masterclass about the dressage and a few have suggested a double warm up. Warm up, ride a simulated test. Go back on the lorry. Then come back out and warm up again before the real test. The first warm up dissipates a lot of the adrenaline. Apparently. Worth a try anyway as she works so nicely at home but is just so inattentive and impatient when it comes to dressage at ODEs. But then warms up beautifully for SJ.

Yes I need another DC so fingers crossed for Speetley. x

 

[RachelFerd]

ride

I've asked advice on the Lucinda Masterclass about the dressage and a few have suggested a double warm up. Warm up, ride a simulated test. Go back on the lorry. Then come back out and warm up again before the real test. The first warm up dissipates a lot of the adrenaline. Apparently. Worth a try anyway as she works so nicely at home but is just so inattentive and impatient when it comes to dressage at ODEs. But then warms up beautifully for SJ.

Yes I need another DC so fingers crossed for Speetley. x

I had an older horse who was just loads better for having a lunge in side reins before I got on and warmed him up, which was essentially 2 warm-ups. I'm at Catton in a couple of weeks time, and will actually have both horses there on Saturday, but youngster isn't competing until Sunday. So will try and use Saturday as an opportunity to exercise him there - maybe lunge, and then do some ridden work, and then stable overnight, ride him in the morning where he's stabled, take him back to the event and see what I've got. I need to double check re, rules for what I'm allowed to do onsite the day before...

 

[humblepie]

Weekend competing plans were cancelled due to poorly me but did manage a hack out. Well done everyone who has been doing things or just chilling. Some fab photos.

 

[Caol Ila]

Everyone was in Mugdock at the weekend, and I got bloody annoyed by the idiots blasting their boomboxes, BBQ-ing when everything is dangerously dry, and some lousy parking blocking trailheads. Sun and warm weather makes people stupid.

Fin, however, had a good time cantering on ground that's normally too boggy for anything fun.

 

[racebuddy]

We had lovely weekend even though working lovely weekend hacking boxed up early , but got caught out by the bloody flies despite being coverd in deosect

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Yes I need another DC so fingers crossed for Speetley. x

Speetley is cancelled! Did I know that? If I did, it didn't register. Arghh so annoying.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I think I am going mad. I DID know that, and I have already re-routed to Epworth. And in fact posted about it on here. Good grief, I'm losing the plot.

 

[j1ffy]

Chilli's still lame and vet is coming out this week - boo I've mentally written off the year with him, which is frustrating as he was feeling great but at 6yo it won't hurt.

I did manage to go out on P with Indio and his loaner, she's a nervous hacker though Indio is slowly building up her confidence. We had to stop for some Dutch courage halfway around...the beer is not to scale

 

[RachelFerd]

I think I am going mad. I DID know that, and I have already re-routed to Epworth. And in fact posted about it on here. Good grief, I'm losing the plot.

I think this is how I've felt about the whole eventing season so far. No idea where I am half the time, because it was never plan A, or even plan B!

 

[J_sarahd]

I had a lovely weekend with my friend’s Mr Perfect. We ended up going on a 2 hour hack which started with our own little air show as a spitfire was flying overhead and then having to walk through a herd of cows. He lived up to his alias though. Then yesterday I popped a few jumps on him - nothing big or technical probably only around 80cm, I’ve not jumped since December and he’s not jumped in a few months. It was just nice to have fun over some fences to get my confidence back and because I can’t yet do that with Nova. Hoping to start popping her over teeny fences soon, but fully being guided by her and my instructor.

Nova is back in work today. I’m going to brave a solo hack to the end of the lane and back (only like 600m round trip).

 

[Jeni the dragon]

Paddy went to Stafford too! I was stuck working though so didn't get an outing!
31 dressage, 1 down showjumping and then clear inside the time for 6th place and a lovely bag of goodies!

 

[Boulty]

Ok actual proper report now I’ve time to write it and look at the provisional results.

Was a one day comp so unusually did PTV & MA first. Started out well but about 5 or 6 obstacles in another horse shouted once. Fuzzball took this as a cue to SCREAM for the next half of the course (you know those people who watch Heartland etc and say that horses don’t neigh every 30 seconds? Yeah he was out to prove them all wrong!). This meant that we ended up missing out the jump (which we’d probably have hauled ourselves over in walk), the step down (which he can be weird about anyway) and the ditch (tbf I’ve yet to get him over a proper one ridden although he’ll do them inhand… I’d have more chance with a natural one without the wooden boards tbh) and we also had to walk the bending. He did redeem himself towards the very end but we picked up a nice 30 penalties for being waaaay too slow (planting mid course to better continue his one sided screaming match did not help). We were never in a million years going to canter the full MA corridor but managed a few short bursts which is probably the best that could be hoped for. Just to be irritating he broke to trot more or less immediately in the walk and then proceeded to do the closest thing to a power walk that he can manage the rest of the way.

Then met up with our pair and headed off on the POR. We were way too slow on the first section (not helped by taking a wrong turn) but we were both just doing it for the experience and the ground was quite hard and rutted in places. Did get closer to the ideal time on the next few sections & found all the tickets (including retrieving a punch from the floor where it had presumably fallen using my whip as I couldn’t be arsed to get off) although we did cock up and take the wrong route into the finish as got distracted by the photographer! We met some gliders, some cows, a tractor, a train & a pony & trap on the way around.

Mostly a positive experience although hopefully next weekends edition will be without the song of Fuzzballs people / unscheduled stops partway around the course

 

[Boulty]

A few more photos from one of the judges.


Oh look, they’ve provided snacks!



Oopsberry thinks I’m very rude not to have mentioned him in my main post, although I’m not sure he’s much of a good luck charm if this is the sort of result I get when I bring him along!

 

[southerncomfort]

Thanks for posting Boulty, looks like great fun!

 

[Red-1]

XC course yesterday was good. I went alone and just left my phone number with the owner, in case if accident.

It is a course we visited once before, and BH didn't like it. The footprint of the XC schooling area is very small and the jumps packed in, with mown paths from one to the next. On the short grass, with tight turns, it is just a little too much for BH to balance round at the moment, with much to spook at too, in the long grass at the side.

I knew this before I went, so we walked the course first of all, then trotted round, then did trot and pop. BH was ace! Just stopped at one, where there was a 'surprise' branch over the top of a fence, but a bare branch with a clod of leaves at the end. He approached it willingly and, at the last moment, saw a clump of 'something' hovering in mid air. He went into reverse so quickly, he slipped his ass under! Once he has examined that it was indeed a bunch of leaves, not some predator, he popped nicely.

We finished with a trot/ canter round the course, then managed to find a big fig 8 to work on his actual canter. I was just wondering why he seemed heavy in the hand when I realised he was actually quite sweaty, and I realised that he had been working really hard, trying his best to balance, so we called it good.

We had jumped some stuff, had a good time, were calm with each other, helped each other out, had a wee before going back on the box (latest project!) and had a picnic. A lovely day out!

As I was alone, there is only on picture, and no video!

 

[TRECtastic]

Great photos and reports of all your adventures last weekend
We're just back from our short break at bank farm , fabulous escorted ride out on their horses , i had the lovely mario , hes only 5 years old but was great, and hes for sale if anyone is looking for a unflappable 16hh horse . We had a 3 course buffet lunch provided after our ride , followed by a leisurely time in the hot tub , and a quick dip in the cold tub as well
we stayed the night in their lodge , and went out for evening meal in Bewdley
Here's me and Mario having a dip in a stream in the wyre forest