Hickstead RIHS first timer report! *pics*

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flyingfeet

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Long so I've highlighted the key stuff in bold for the skim readers! :D

So having never been before I went off to Hickstead for 5 and a half days, travelling down on Tuesday afternoon and returning late on Sunday.

I was completely on my own, as KAL couldn't make it as is still having a horrible time with hospitals and her OH. This was a bit nerve wrecking as my homebred Dinky's first stay away from his birthplace!

First task was been turned away on the gate, as sat nav took me straight to the dressage entrance, so had to pop back on the dual carriageway to the SJ entrance! It was very efficient with the stop on the line, get stable number and follow the bloke on the quad. However the horsebox park was something else, Oakely supreme and supremacy's, Ketterers, Lehels and basically not many in there for under £100k, so I felt slightly outclassed in my conversion!

Dinky had a brick stable, as the temporary ones weren't man enough to cope with sweet itch! However first time he'd ever been in one so small, so he did look a little confused to start with. The permanent stables have bedding in, in our case around 2ft deep in stale brown coloured shavings! Eww so spent the next 5 days slowing removing a good foot of it!

Pic of tiny stable:
37966_457404292094_532297094_6883027_7481287_n.jpg



So weekday reports on my competitive efforts:-

Wednesday
Just did the 1m, which was a big old 1m and looked suspiciously like a 1.05m!
Dinky jumped really well and we just rolled an upright in the jump off which was fence 13 a vertical going uphill

Example of the 1m - as wide triple bar! :
38002_457404227094_532297094_6883026_8251238_n.jpg


I failed to do the 1.05m as I had a stonking headache because I failed to drink enough and realised my body had suddenly had the caffeine supply cut off (I was drinking squash and water rather than litres of diet coke!). Probably also not helped by me thinking this is huge when I walked the course. The jump off was definitely 1.20m as I measured it on my boob height!! :D

Thursday
Resolved to try harder, but didn't quite work out!
Again got through to the jump off in the 1m and then had a funny moment on a dog leg in the jump off and failed to communicate where we were going in enough time, so a not really a stop, but cannot jump it from here with your dodgy steering from Dinks! Jumped clean though :D

I also had shocking long reins in the 1m :mad: pic by pleasure prints:-
http://www.pleasureprintsgallery.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=111568

1.05m well when I turned up it was really quiet and I hadn't walked the course, as I thought if I didn't know it was more like a 1.10m with a 1.20m jump off I would be braver! However this plan back fired as there was hardly anyone there! Just one (NewHeights!) warming up, and sadly she didn't do the jump off, so muppet here just had instructions from stewards to rely on. Sadly my memory is like a gold fish and once we we in the jump off, it was a "holy ****" I have no idea where we are going, so some cantering around later we clocked a 4 faults as I lost 11 and had to cross my tracks to find it! Then I totally lost 14 and had to to retire as Dink was very confused with dodgy directions. It was a comedy moment, and despite this he was jumping really well and didn't touch a thing! We even got applause for our efforts! :D

Hickstead 1.05m planks from Pleasure Prints:-
http://www.pleasureprintsgallery.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=112100


Friday
I resolved to learn the course this time around!
All was going well, but again in the jump off we lacked energy and although he tried his best and put height on the width of the triple bar at fence 12 caught us out!

Nice pic from friday 1m
http://www.pleasureprintsgallery.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=113063

Evil triple bar that caught us out and I'm too far back so didn't help :mad::
http://www.pleasureprintsgallery.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=113066

Then I watched the nations cup, which was very cool and cracking day to be a GBR supporter!:D

Saturday
Day off, I was entered in a 1.10m, but seeing as we are only just jumping that height the thought of 1.15m first round to 1.25m jump was too much! I did try to get a pro rider to volunteer, but they didn't bother phoning me back, despite saying they would do it, which I though was rather rude.

So instead I watched the queen Elizabeth cup and then in the afternoon my Riding Club friends arrived (yay friends!)

Sunday
Riding Club team event! They were 99 teams entered and 97 jumped! So that's still 291 people, but organisation was good and it actually finished by 4.30pm

My team all tried very hard, but obviously hadn't had the advantage of being there for a few days, so we had an unlucky 4 fault in the first round, and sadly the 95cm rider's horse was going like a rocket and got a bit flat and ended on 16 faults. Then I jumped Dinky and we both thought the 1.05m was delightfully small and narrow compared to the BS! So jumped a nice clear (although pressure off, goodness knows I might well have muffed up if the pressure was on!! :D). Lots of fun though, and so nice to be a team rather than you against the world!

Sunday finished on a lovely high with lots of lovely friends from the teams, my sister came to watch and we jumped a clear! :D.

I'm really proud of my boy, as he made no errors and was super brave from day one! So I haven't got a Hickstead rosette, but its not the be all and end all! Plus in all these classes 112-120 entries were reduced to around 10 double clears, so they were tough like blue chip qualifiers!

So I'm back and lame - my blisters have blisters! On the plus side despite living on greasy junk, I lost weight due to the walking! :D

I bought too much, as nothing to do but shop!

Would I do it again? Only if I knew people going as very hard on your own!

Final pic from top of grandstand:
40235_457404872094_532297094_6883028_7397647_n.jpg
 
Well done great report. The pic's are lovely and they do look v up to height. It sounds like a productive show and you got in to the JO every time which is fab :) I can't imagine going to something like that on my own i would be super stressed!
 
I saw you on the final day as i was there watching my friends in the RC team. I saw your boy and thought i reconised him but wasnt sure. Nicely ridden round i thought and yes def not up to BS height so a fab way to finish. I thought the way they got through them was really good with the exit at the bottom of the ring.
Well done for going on your own, i dont think i would be brave enough to do it. I flap over the small things like not knowing where to go etc so i would be a jibbering wreck! :o
And nothing wrong with lots of shopping :D
 
Well done, especialy for going alone :D I was there for the 1st time on Wednesday (showing) and although I knew loads of people and had the parents with me, still found it all a bit daunting! Didn't even attempt to go in the warm-up :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Well done you for going, and for some great rounds, great report loved the bold so i could skim read!! lol.

They def have different measuring sticks at Hickstead!
 
Good report - nice to see you're busy at work :-)

really enjoyed weekend, and thanks for all the 'handy hints' which made it so much easier than arrival totally unprepared! Feel I have had an insight into the rather strange world of large showjumping shows (3am drunken teenagers a particular high point!), but was def worth the effort and am looking forward to the same (but more successful!) next year...

Bring it on!
 
Well done, sounds like your had a fab time! We went for the showing classes and had a brilliant couple of days - next year I definately want to go for the whole thing, so working on OH!! I know what you mean about the lorries - they were huge!! We were parked next to an enormous Lehel with double pop outs, and all it had in it were two tiny show ponies! The 4yo and 5yo that rode them walked up to my friend and I and asked "why is your lorry so small?" (not in a nasty way, they were genuinely shocked!).

Were you doing a bit of practise jumping on Saturday night? I saw a few horses jumping saturday evening (around 8.30pm) and thought one was Dinky. Probably mistaken (we were walking the cob rings to check the ground before the cob classes on Sunday).
 
zoeshiloh said:
Were you doing a bit of practise jumping on Saturday night? I saw a few horses jumping saturday evening (around 8.30pm) and thought one was Dinky. Probably mistaken (we were walking the cob rings to check the ground before the cob classes on Sunday).
Click to expand...
Not guilty - was just about to commence drinking with riding club team at that time!! :D

Vam - I think the RC was up to height, but they didn't stick the extra 5cm BS leeway on! Plus nice and narrow!! :D

honeybee123 - I can multi task, honest! Yes next year would be good and I want to be parked with you guys rather than miles away! ;)
 
oh bless you went on your own??? come to the Derby meeting next year its better and a lot more of us there as this time we was at Arena UK and Wales !!!
 
Awwww brings back memories. I got to do the inter schools and pony club jumping at Hickstead for 3 years and I remember turning up thinking 'my god it's Hickstead, and I've arrived here with my cob x!!!!!!' it's a fab venue really nice to be competing at the same place as the best sjers. I still have my rosettes even though they were only completion ones :)

Great report and I would buy the Hickstead planks pic, show off? me? ;)
 
Well done. It must have been hard work on your own as it is a long walk box to stables to warm up to ring etc etc (having discovered that this year at the Derby meeting being "owner" rather than "rider") but I really love Hickstead and it sounds like you enjoyed it as well.
 
well done :) great report and lovely photos. sounds a great few days, and also sounds very positive.. but dear me - i don't think i would be brave enough to go to a big show like that on my own! so kudos to you for managing!! :D
 
Fab report, well done :)

The first year I jumped there I had 2 silly stops, the second year it chucked it down the whole time and my small horse scraped a clear and my big horse up ended in the combination even with 2 huge studs in each shoe! Decided not to bother again lol. Although we took Cordy a couple of years ago (not me rider ;) lol) and it was scorching, too hot, felt so ill by the end of the week and don't mention the blisters, I was crippled! Oh well all part of the Hickstead experience ;)
 
I couldn't understand why there were lots of people in mobility scooters (clearly people with no problems). However then discovered that they rented them out and you could go anywhere in them, whereas cycles are banned from the show ground!

If I do 5 days again, I think it may be worth hiring one to stop the blisters!:D
 
wowee - well done you - sounds like an epic trip! shame about the mishaps but hell - you've jumped at hickstead and got the plank piccie to prove it - who cool it that?!!
 
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