Sarah_Jane
Well-Known Member
Another short trip 
to Goring for the Novice with Pippa. The weekend did not get off to the best start with the realisation on Friday night that after using the lorry mid week I must have left the lights on and we had a totally flat lorry battery. A panicked call to the mechanic (we were leaving at 6am) and he got it started but it then required a drive round to get the battery fully charged which I could have done without - guess I won’t leave the lights on again!
Goring is a lovely event, with a testing cross country that doesn’t really suit Pippa as very technical and hilly, I walked the course and felt it was certainly going to be the most testing track to date. We had lovely stabling at Checkendon Equestrian Centre and even better found a lovely village pub with some good grub.
Dressage day and it was that horrid test 111 that we have so struggled with! I have to say Pip is really trying now and although there were mistakes, particularly in the rein back and halts it was so much better. Even 6 months ago we had no right counter canter so I was particularly proud to score a 8 for this movement.
[youtube]XaE6vXTrVFA[/youtube]
33.5 a personal best for us at this test.
Show jumping was a long course, I missed the course walk as it was while I was doing my dressage, I was struggling to suss some of the stridings but kindly the course builder gave me a run down of the course and stridings.
I am so pleased with how Pip has recently improved in the show jumping. She made this course feel very easy and jumped one of her best rounds considering this phase has in the past had me pulling my hair out!
[youtube]1Czjn6sPWSw[/youtube]
So cross country time (have a look at the course pictures http://www.shoestringeventing.co.uk/coursepictures.html ), I thought it was a tough course with the undulations and hills really making life difficult. Set off over 1 & 2, (sorry only video we got) in a good confident manner.
[youtube]K3tMHpIEGYs[/youtube]
The first question came at 4 with a large saw bench a few strides in front of a big drop which took you down the hill to the water.
She jumped the bench and drop well but rather snaked towards the water however once established on the line jumped the roll top, stride and into the water 4 strides two steps to a brush and away we went.
No let up as next was a large log with a bit of a ditch on 3 strides to a narrow house,
I was determined to ride this positively and maybe over did it as made the 3 strides seem very short!
A let up fence then *we went down a steep hill before turning to a brush and then 3 slightly curved strides to a step and bounce to a large brush.
She was so powerful here and made the huge fences seem tidily! Some angled rails and a large corner caused no problems before we turned for home and jumped the large spread on a turn to the triple brush, I kept her moving and she really took this on and focused.
We finished over another corner and right hand turn to another narrow house which was probably the fence that concerned me most! The striding was 4 strides but a tree had been placed in the middle so you could only be straight and lock on a stride and half away. I popped the corner got the turn and although a slight wobble there was never any danger of running out like many before us!
Having had a near perfect round I then saw a shocker to the last but it was comfortably small enough for Pip to cope with! We had 10.8 time which was actually 7th fastest in our section and meant we finished a very creditable 6th and even better in the prize money!!
This weekend a change of scene and the Petplan area festival at Tall Trees followed by Gatcombe. I suddenly feel she is very ready for Intermediate but this will probably wait til early next season as currently I find it too painful to sit to her trot! Hoping another 6 months and the hip will be even better and I can sit long enough for a test! Any tips to help??? I need to try and source a dressage saddle but she has such a big movement and I find I am little stiff and locked
So onto new arrival number 1! I decided Andy had far too much to do in Scotland (and he is a show jumper anyway ) so persuaded Measles to divert a lovely young event mare in my direction
Impy is a 4yo mare by the famous event sire Master Imp (had 4 horses at the Olympics including Zara’s High Kingdom) out of a mare by the competition sire Paris Lights. She has been with me a week now and has settled easily (despite Sarnie & Pip jumping up and down and trying to show off ).
She has a fantastic attitude and is a quick learner, forgotten how satisfying the babies are! Secretly hoping she doesn’t move on too quickly as we could have quite a bit of fun!
Finally we lost our beloved lurcher Merlin (aged 15) a month ago so another canine member has come to join Rebel and Daisy! Meet Smartie
to Goring for the Novice with Pippa. The weekend did not get off to the best start with the realisation on Friday night that after using the lorry mid week I must have left the lights on and we had a totally flat lorry battery. A panicked call to the mechanic (we were leaving at 6am) and he got it started but it then required a drive round to get the battery fully charged which I could have done without - guess I won’t leave the lights on again!Goring is a lovely event, with a testing cross country that doesn’t really suit Pippa as very technical and hilly, I walked the course and felt it was certainly going to be the most testing track to date. We had lovely stabling at Checkendon Equestrian Centre and even better found a lovely village pub with some good grub.
Dressage day and it was that horrid test 111 that we have so struggled with! I have to say Pip is really trying now and although there were mistakes, particularly in the rein back and halts it was so much better. Even 6 months ago we had no right counter canter so I was particularly proud to score a 8 for this movement.
[youtube]XaE6vXTrVFA[/youtube]
33.5 a personal best for us at this test.
Show jumping was a long course, I missed the course walk as it was while I was doing my dressage, I was struggling to suss some of the stridings but kindly the course builder gave me a run down of the course and stridings.
I am so pleased with how Pip has recently improved in the show jumping. She made this course feel very easy and jumped one of her best rounds considering this phase has in the past had me pulling my hair out!
[youtube]1Czjn6sPWSw[/youtube]
So cross country time (have a look at the course pictures http://www.shoestringeventing.co.uk/coursepictures.html ), I thought it was a tough course with the undulations and hills really making life difficult. Set off over 1 & 2, (sorry only video we got) in a good confident manner.
[youtube]K3tMHpIEGYs[/youtube]
The first question came at 4 with a large saw bench a few strides in front of a big drop which took you down the hill to the water.
She jumped the bench and drop well but rather snaked towards the water however once established on the line jumped the roll top, stride and into the water 4 strides two steps to a brush and away we went.
No let up as next was a large log with a bit of a ditch on 3 strides to a narrow house,
I was determined to ride this positively and maybe over did it as made the 3 strides seem very short!
A let up fence then *we went down a steep hill before turning to a brush and then 3 slightly curved strides to a step and bounce to a large brush.
She was so powerful here and made the huge fences seem tidily! Some angled rails and a large corner caused no problems before we turned for home and jumped the large spread on a turn to the triple brush, I kept her moving and she really took this on and focused.
We finished over another corner and right hand turn to another narrow house which was probably the fence that concerned me most! The striding was 4 strides but a tree had been placed in the middle so you could only be straight and lock on a stride and half away. I popped the corner got the turn and although a slight wobble there was never any danger of running out like many before us!
Having had a near perfect round I then saw a shocker to the last but it was comfortably small enough for Pip to cope with! We had 10.8 time which was actually 7th fastest in our section and meant we finished a very creditable 6th and even better in the prize money!!
This weekend a change of scene and the Petplan area festival at Tall Trees followed by Gatcombe. I suddenly feel she is very ready for Intermediate but this will probably wait til early next season as currently I find it too painful to sit to her trot! Hoping another 6 months and the hip will be even better and I can sit long enough for a test! Any tips to help??? I need to try and source a dressage saddle but she has such a big movement and I find I am little stiff and locked
So onto new arrival number 1! I decided Andy had far too much to do in Scotland (and he is a show jumper anyway
) so persuaded Measles to divert a lovely young event mare in my direction Impy is a 4yo mare by the famous event sire Master Imp (had 4 horses at the Olympics including Zara’s High Kingdom) out of a mare by the competition sire Paris Lights. She has been with me a week now and has settled easily (despite Sarnie & Pip jumping up and down and trying to show off
). She has a fantastic attitude and is a quick learner, forgotten how satisfying the babies are! Secretly hoping she doesn’t move on too quickly as we could have quite a bit of fun!
Finally we lost our beloved lurcher Merlin (aged 15) a month ago so another canine member has come to join Rebel and Daisy! Meet Smartie
