Rambo
Well-Known Member
So on saturday we headed off to Golden Cross for a crack at the 90cms Am second round with Trike and the 1.10m equivilent with Bo
The weather was good so I knew we would be jumping on grass...not to my advantage with Trike really but hey ho
Walked the course for the 90cms...no warm-up class for Trike...he just doesn't have the stamina lol!...and felt it was a reasonable test, especially for us as Trike had only had one outing at 2'3" (!) in the previous 8 weeks. There was a treble combination and a double as well as several key related distance making full use of the undulations of the arena. It was a long course too which I felt would take its toll on my boy. We were last to go of about 35 starters...and the course had ridden quite well with about 15 clears (including one HHO'er in Hattikins...well done to her
) so we set off in determined fashion. I have to say Trikey gave it his all for me on the day, and although we may not be the most stylish combination out there, he felt like he was giving them plenty of room and never gave me any indication that he would touch anything. So coming over fence 10 of 12, towards home he flew the oxer...just the double and the last to go. He felt like he was starting to tire a little though so had to really work hard to keep the impulsion going up the hill......but poor Trike had other ideas.....he saw the collecting ring and thought he'd finished so broke into trot....3 strides out from the double
I got the canter back as best I could and he managed to jump the oxer going in, but there was no way he was making the distance so he put down again at the second part
With our chances of qualification gone, and a tired horse beneath me, I decided to jump a single fence rather than make him come through the double again, and so we retired
It was a shame not to get the clear that I thought he was going to get, but there were so many positives to take from the round and i'm actually starting to enjoy jumping him now ! I think this winter could be interesting for him as he's definitely at his best on a surface, and in a compact arena
So, one down, and next it was Bo's go
Bo needs a warm-up class and so we did the 1.05m Open first. He felt a little flat in the warm-up at first but eventually woke up and so in we went. I had to remember to keep riding him forward as our biggest problem this year has been me over-correcting ! The first fence was an inviting ascending oxer up the hill....just what we needed to let us have a bit of a go at...and so we were off. The second fence was a gate coming down the hill then three strides to a square oxer. This was the first real test of how I was riding, and we got a lovely shot over the gate which of course made the oxer right as well. I was starting to enjoy myself at this point...Bo was feeling something like his old best and I had remebered how to ride him
Unfortunately, we then got disunited coming round the bottom of the arena to fence 4, another square oxer, and rather than get on with riding the fence I spent a little too long faffing around trying to sort out the knitting, the consequence of which was that we got in deep and punched out the front rail. No matter, we carried on confiddntly and jumped the rest of the round impeccably
I wasn't overly bothered about the pole down as I was reasonably confident that he wouldn't touch another fence all day and the a clear round in the 1.10m second round would almost certainly be enough to qualify for Lincoln
The course for the 1.10m walked okay. Tline from 2 (oxer) to 3 (gate) going up the hill would again be crucial but I was feeling full of confidence and couldn't wait to get going. A few warm-up fences confirmed my earlier thoughts...he wasn't going to have another pole down today ! He was jumping BIG and deliberately over the practice fences
So, in we went ! Jumped the first coming down the hill but didn't get as good a shot at it as I would have liked...round the bank to number 2 and again, a good jump but perhaps going up a little more than forward. Consequently as we got to the gate on 3 strides we seemed to be a mile off, and he snuck another stride in but cleared it. Then things started to go a bit pear shaped. Number 4 was a big oxer and as we approached on a good stride I felt him start to back off so on went my legs and he absolutely ballooned the thing
Fence 5 came fast, a double of oxer to upright on 1 stride...again he backed off massively but somehow cleared the first part...then snuck in two strides and managed to get out over the upright....how I will never know. By know iwas starting to think there may be something wrong, and as we came past the collecting ring to number 6 (yet another oxer !) he threw his toys out of the pram and started napping. I tried once to get him going towards the next fence but he wasn't having any of it, so I quickly raised my hand to the judges to signal my retirement and hopped off him...convinced that something must be wrong with him
Outside the ring he was given a good checking over but nothing obvious was wrong...the ground was quite hard but I can't believe that that would have had such an instant impact on his performance...or perhaps the pole he hit in the first class hurt him more than we thought
As things turned out, a clear round would have been enough to get the qualification we wanted, but a sound and happy horse is so much more important. Bo is having a few days off now and the next time we jump will be indoors, so we'll see if that helps....if not then I really don't know what to think. He's a flawed genius in many ways...so good one minute, and so bad the next...
Thanks for reading
Walked the course for the 90cms...no warm-up class for Trike...he just doesn't have the stamina lol!...and felt it was a reasonable test, especially for us as Trike had only had one outing at 2'3" (!) in the previous 8 weeks. There was a treble combination and a double as well as several key related distance making full use of the undulations of the arena. It was a long course too which I felt would take its toll on my boy. We were last to go of about 35 starters...and the course had ridden quite well with about 15 clears (including one HHO'er in Hattikins...well done to her
So, one down, and next it was Bo's go
Bo needs a warm-up class and so we did the 1.05m Open first. He felt a little flat in the warm-up at first but eventually woke up and so in we went. I had to remember to keep riding him forward as our biggest problem this year has been me over-correcting ! The first fence was an inviting ascending oxer up the hill....just what we needed to let us have a bit of a go at...and so we were off. The second fence was a gate coming down the hill then three strides to a square oxer. This was the first real test of how I was riding, and we got a lovely shot over the gate which of course made the oxer right as well. I was starting to enjoy myself at this point...Bo was feeling something like his old best and I had remebered how to ride him
The course for the 1.10m walked okay. Tline from 2 (oxer) to 3 (gate) going up the hill would again be crucial but I was feeling full of confidence and couldn't wait to get going. A few warm-up fences confirmed my earlier thoughts...he wasn't going to have another pole down today ! He was jumping BIG and deliberately over the practice fences
As things turned out, a clear round would have been enough to get the qualification we wanted, but a sound and happy horse is so much more important. Bo is having a few days off now and the next time we jump will be indoors, so we'll see if that helps....if not then I really don't know what to think. He's a flawed genius in many ways...so good one minute, and so bad the next...
Thanks for reading
