alainax
Well-Known Member
Well kinda... We are taking part in the BD My Quest events 
I have had Nero for 2.5 years, one of these we had off. I was not riding for a year whilst pregnant, in the mean time he was doing to happy hacking We have been back training together for a couple of months, and I thought we might as well jump in at the deep end!
He hasn't been off the yard in 2 years, so I was a little aprehensive as to how it would all go. I have only ever done a test at our wonderful breed show, so also I am also complete noob!
Well.. he was a super star! He took it all in his rather massive stride. Loaded first time at dark o'clock in the morning, traveled perfectly, and was a proper gentle man. We booked a stable so we could both relax a bit.
My lovely trainer was there, who helped me through my nerves ( she is fab, trainer/psychologist!). I have a fear of horses bolting when I get on through past experience. Nero always stands like a rock. When I stood on the block, she told me to breath it all out, and asked me has he ever taken off before. I said no, she said " well get on then!". He of course stood like a rock...
The warm up was a little daunting, very small and he isn't keen on horses pinning him against the wall. But we muddled on through. I need to learn to be more assertive and to concentrate on me and him, and not be worried about others coming towards us.
We entered the main arena for the test, and it was all very very new! Music on, judges box, white boards, horse eating flowers etc etc. In his head I am sure he was singing this song...
[video=youtube;ZPblZa10_Pk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPblZa10_Pk[/video]
Absolutely no badness, just a lot to look at! I had to ride very, umm.. well I had to continually try to keep his attention! I am my own worst critic so knew exactly where we went wrong. A little unbalanced, a little wobbly, but we will get there However looking back, he seemed to be listening to me a lot more than it felt!
We then warmed up in the massive outdoor arena for the next test. It was a little tense at first, but soon we managed to focus and relax a little.
The next test I think we had pushed ourselves a bit too far for the first time, and after a few mistakes and miscommunications, I retired. He had done well and I didn't want for it to keep getting worse and to end on a really bad note. Everyone told me the test was looking fab and wondered why I retired, I was a bit upset with this thinking I had made a mistake, but looking back I know it was the right decision for us both. We are just learning, and each test is just another time to learn
After being spoiled with some pears, my OH then led him like an over grown labrador straight into the trailer. We grabbed our rosette, and headed home!
I have had Nero for 2.5 years, one of these we had off. I was not riding for a year whilst pregnant, in the mean time he was doing to happy hacking
We have been back training together for a couple of months, and I thought we might as well jump in at the deep end! He hasn't been off the yard in 2 years, so I was a little aprehensive as to how it would all go. I have only ever done a test at our wonderful breed show, so also I am also complete noob!
Well.. he was a super star! He took it all in his rather massive stride. Loaded first time at dark o'clock in the morning, traveled perfectly, and was a proper gentle man. We booked a stable so we could both relax a bit.
My lovely trainer was there, who helped me through my nerves ( she is fab, trainer/psychologist!). I have a fear of horses bolting when I get on through past experience. Nero always stands like a rock. When I stood on the block, she told me to breath it all out, and asked me has he ever taken off before. I said no, she said " well get on then!". He of course stood like a rock...
The warm up was a little daunting, very small and he isn't keen on horses pinning him against the wall. But we muddled on through. I need to learn to be more assertive and to concentrate on me and him, and not be worried about others coming towards us.
We entered the main arena for the test, and it was all very very new! Music on, judges box, white boards, horse eating flowers etc etc. In his head I am sure he was singing this song...
[video=youtube;ZPblZa10_Pk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPblZa10_Pk[/video]
Absolutely no badness, just a lot to look at! I had to ride very, umm.. well I had to continually try to keep his attention! I am my own worst critic so knew exactly where we went wrong. A little unbalanced, a little wobbly, but we will get there
However looking back, he seemed to be listening to me a lot more than it felt!
We then warmed up in the massive outdoor arena for the next test. It was a little tense at first, but soon we managed to focus and relax a little.
The next test I think we had pushed ourselves a bit too far for the first time, and after a few mistakes and miscommunications, I retired. He had done well and I didn't want for it to keep getting worse and to end on a really bad note. Everyone told me the test was looking fab and wondered why I retired, I was a bit upset with this thinking I had made a mistake, but looking back I know it was the right decision for us both. We are just learning, and each test is just another time to learn
After being spoiled with some pears, my OH then led him like an over grown labrador straight into the trailer. We grabbed our rosette, and headed home!
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