good novices??

worMy

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Joined
19 October 2008
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www.katherinebegley.com
erm...was wondering if you guys could recomend some good novices with tricky, technical, big xc etc.
because im fed up of doing novices with pathetic xc!!!! lol
then (when 09 calendar is up) i can plan next season!!
thanks so much!!!
xx
 
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Please tell me where the pathetic xc's are, I will definitely go!

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bahaha lol
berrington, gatcombe, pontispool, (broadway and aldon inbetweenish)
 
Got to ask why you dont go intermediate if novices are so easy?
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tweseldown varies, but can definitely be a tricky novice,
hambledon is pretty decent,
withington is big,
aston-le-walls varies but can be quite technical,
chepstow is quite technical, steep hills make it ride trickier than it walks (I found)
barbury was certainly VERY big the year I did it!
brightling park is up to height with some interesting questions
south of england can also have some interesting combinations.
 
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Why don't you do a a 1*? If you have gone clear xc at 4 Novices a 1* track will be more difficult.

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i will do some next year ASAP.
its just persuading mother--entry fees :O and stabling...
 
yeah its simple to register,,u do it all via BE, and its not expensive to register either.
because we're members of BE, its 30 quid for me and 30 quid for the horse,,or suming like that i think!
 
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Please tell me where the pathetic xc's are, I will definitely go!

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bahaha lol
berrington, gatcombe, pontispool, (broadway and aldon inbetweenish)

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personaly i dont think any xcs are pathetic!
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yes there are some for first timers and some for more experienced but nothing is pathetic!
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Personally I wouldnt rate broadway as inbetweeny its very straightforward and non technical - a large pn i think.

I have only once been to pontispool and never ridden but do remember a HUGE drop in the novice - people have different opionions
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In regards to gatcombe, maybe its not the biggest, but the sj is fairly big i thought - i think if the xc is smaller/easier the sj is harder/bigger.

Anyway i am looking for some 'pathetic' novices for me and my horse to go novice next year.... I have no shame in admitting this!

But if you want a hard novice def go to Withington - my parents promised to buy my sister a bridle if she went clear (which she did) as they never thought she would get round... it was also her birthday a few weeks after though
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ETS just giving a view to balance the argument - Im getting into assignment writing balanced view frame of mind.

*toddles off to finish writing assignment*
 
Yep will second withington its big but rides really well if you kick on. Other than that Daunsey, Longleat and Barbury would be my top rated novices. Daunsey was really well built- lots of tables, and ditches!
 
Burnham Market, but that's a long way for you. Oasby rode harder than it walked this year, Gt Witchingham [again a hell of a way for you] was more intermediate than Novice, v big, reasonbly technical from what I hear.

I think pathetic is a bit harsh - it's all relative to the horse and rider, and their combination. Just look at Oasby - pro's not going clear, but a reasonbly nice track, the conditions were seriously influential. I think it would be better [and kinder to the less competent novice riders, or those who feel novice is their limit] to refer to them as "softer" novices.
 
exactly.. there are so many variables in cross country, and what suits one horse can definitely not suit another!

For example, Broadway novice does walk fairly small, but on my big grey, we really struggle with steep terrain, and the fact that there were a few downhill landings and combinations meant it was a fairly tricky course to ride on him. Ditto for Chepstow - doesn't walk massive, but was hard for him, as is fairly twisty with some steep downhill efforts.

Equally he's been around some fairly 'big' novices like syde or barbury without finding it too hard.
 
and my reply to you, to sound quite rude, is that its my oppinion.
end of.
thats my frank oppinion and im not gonna sugar coat it.

in a section of 30-40 competitiors there should be a fair amount of xc penalties, there should be lots of xc penalties. not just 2 people having 20 penalties. and when that happens, which it has, the xc clearly was far far to easy.
maybe they arnt easy for less experienced people, but that doesnt mean that they are hard novices, it means they're either average novices, but for the less experienced person its hard, or its an easy novice, but the less experienced person is still gonna find it hard. just cus they may not be used to what a novice xc should be like, doesnt mean its hard, even if its hard for them.
and sure u may wanna call it a 'softer' track, but thats sugar coating the obvious, that its easy and pathetic for a so called 'novice' competition which should have a good hard xc.
 
I think I am correct in saying eventing magazine on its anual preview of bht events published in two issues around spring time, gives the percentage clears for all cc course in each class.

I too have never found a pathetic novice yet, however some courses are more challenging than others.
 
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It does sound like you should worry less about the Xc and get working on the dressage and Sjing and move up to Intermediate
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bahah lol i like your thinking!! yeah i am,,thats what this winter is all about, dressage and showjumping!!! and chilling via hunting until jan.
 
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