SoldierBlue
Well-Known Member
As promised I've kept my brave pants on, here's an update on our recent stressage adventures! We've been out a couple of times since Winter Regionals in an attempt to get our Summer Regional qualification at Novice.
We had already gained 4 points towards the 19 we need before Winter Regionals so a few weeks ago we decided to go to Hunters Equestrian on a Wednesday. My theory being who would compete mid-week so this should be a nice and quick outing. Turns a lot of people like to compete mid week at this popular venue so early start for us! I've recently changed Chew's bit to a NS Tran Angled Lozenge eggbutt which has really help with our contact. Hunters was our first outing away from home in this bit. She warmed up brilliant, actually stretching down pretty much straight away so I was feeling really good about things. Into the indoor for the first test, she trots around beautifully and I am beaming inside. Judge rings the bell, my mum puts my coat and her boots down on the table under the window. Well Chew spots the reflection and just tenses up.....sigh! Couldn't catch my mum's eye for her to move them so just have to hope for the best. Everything was tense and abrupt as she wasn't really focused on me. Came out with 57%, she scored 67% in the same arena and test only a few weeks before. Oh well that's horses, on to the next test in the outdoor. The outdoor test was much better but lacked flowing, a couple of transitions are a little abrupt. She was very naughty in the medium walk, anticipating the trot so tried breaking and crab walked over to K. Managed just under 64% so close to the magic 65% but not close enough!! Both judges really liked her, just the tension got us again! No videos for analysis though the indoor test was definitely one to forget!
Onto this Wednesday just gone, we decided to go the Cotswold RDA. She has always gone well at the venue despite people saying its one of the spookiest indoors around. I really like it there as its always so friendly, there isn't normally a long wait between tests and my entry fees go to the RDA. Arrived in plenty of time, so had plenty of time for the warm up, lucky we did as it was errrr interesting! She's always found the warm up a little spooky there but Wednesday there were monsters everywhere! I ended up doing my warm up backwards. Really got her powering on and listening, perhaps a little too round to start with but it was that or give up! I managed to stretch her our in all three paces 5 mins before the first test. In for the first, up the C/L and everything was feeling good and accurate. Unfortunately she had a good spook in the first canter (she just had to!) but got her back and produced what felt like a pretty good test. Felt we would hopefully scrape 65% depending on the outcome of the spook in canter. 15mins to walk around and pick her back up for the second test. This time she felt a lot more relaxed but still lovely and forward. Had a moment of miscommunication in the first 20m trot circle. She said canter, I said no, she said YES, I said NO!! That was the only blip so again felt enough for the magic 65% depending on the scoring of the blip. Loaded her up and went to get the scores. We'd done it! 67.68% (6th) in the first and 69.58% (2nd)(would have been over 70% if it wasn't for the blip grrrr)!!! Main comment was she needs to be more uphill in medium trot for 8s, its taken a long time to crack medium trot away from home so I was over moon with all 7s! So that's 9 more points towards Regionals, 6 more to get. 5 points now need to come from qualifier classes so need to decide how I am going to play it as I want to start Elementaries soon to hopefully get Area Festival qualification.
Here's the videos from the RDA, first misses the start and the second one misses the end!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJuFCLjvWs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbmp4JeNeiA
At home training is definitely going up a gear, my trainer is pushing for Medium by the end of the year and I am starting to believe him when he says we're capable. We've started teaching flying changes which is very exciting and leg yield/ half pass is coming along nicely. We now a month of training before our next outing in May.
Thank for reading.
We had already gained 4 points towards the 19 we need before Winter Regionals so a few weeks ago we decided to go to Hunters Equestrian on a Wednesday. My theory being who would compete mid-week so this should be a nice and quick outing. Turns a lot of people like to compete mid week at this popular venue so early start for us! I've recently changed Chew's bit to a NS Tran Angled Lozenge eggbutt which has really help with our contact. Hunters was our first outing away from home in this bit. She warmed up brilliant, actually stretching down pretty much straight away so I was feeling really good about things. Into the indoor for the first test, she trots around beautifully and I am beaming inside. Judge rings the bell, my mum puts my coat and her boots down on the table under the window. Well Chew spots the reflection and just tenses up.....sigh! Couldn't catch my mum's eye for her to move them so just have to hope for the best. Everything was tense and abrupt as she wasn't really focused on me. Came out with 57%, she scored 67% in the same arena and test only a few weeks before. Oh well that's horses, on to the next test in the outdoor. The outdoor test was much better but lacked flowing, a couple of transitions are a little abrupt. She was very naughty in the medium walk, anticipating the trot so tried breaking and crab walked over to K. Managed just under 64% so close to the magic 65% but not close enough!! Both judges really liked her, just the tension got us again! No videos for analysis though the indoor test was definitely one to forget!
Onto this Wednesday just gone, we decided to go the Cotswold RDA. She has always gone well at the venue despite people saying its one of the spookiest indoors around. I really like it there as its always so friendly, there isn't normally a long wait between tests and my entry fees go to the RDA. Arrived in plenty of time, so had plenty of time for the warm up, lucky we did as it was errrr interesting! She's always found the warm up a little spooky there but Wednesday there were monsters everywhere! I ended up doing my warm up backwards. Really got her powering on and listening, perhaps a little too round to start with but it was that or give up! I managed to stretch her our in all three paces 5 mins before the first test. In for the first, up the C/L and everything was feeling good and accurate. Unfortunately she had a good spook in the first canter (she just had to!) but got her back and produced what felt like a pretty good test. Felt we would hopefully scrape 65% depending on the outcome of the spook in canter. 15mins to walk around and pick her back up for the second test. This time she felt a lot more relaxed but still lovely and forward. Had a moment of miscommunication in the first 20m trot circle. She said canter, I said no, she said YES, I said NO!! That was the only blip so again felt enough for the magic 65% depending on the scoring of the blip. Loaded her up and went to get the scores. We'd done it! 67.68% (6th) in the first and 69.58% (2nd)(would have been over 70% if it wasn't for the blip grrrr)!!! Main comment was she needs to be more uphill in medium trot for 8s, its taken a long time to crack medium trot away from home so I was over moon with all 7s! So that's 9 more points towards Regionals, 6 more to get. 5 points now need to come from qualifier classes so need to decide how I am going to play it as I want to start Elementaries soon to hopefully get Area Festival qualification.
Here's the videos from the RDA, first misses the start and the second one misses the end!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJuFCLjvWs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbmp4JeNeiA
At home training is definitely going up a gear, my trainer is pushing for Medium by the end of the year and I am starting to believe him when he says we're capable. We've started teaching flying changes which is very exciting and leg yield/ half pass is coming along nicely. We now a month of training before our next outing in May.
Thank for reading.
