Hopalong's Spooky Scone report

FigJam

FigJam

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A bit of a mixed bag of emotions in this repot, bear with me! ;)

Set off to Scone yesterday with a leisurely dr time of 1.42pm and so plenty of time to walk the course on the day... as long as I didn't stop to blether too long en route! ;) Managed to turn picking up number from secretary into a 30min mission as managed to bump into 3 HHO-ers on the way! :o Luckily Daddy FigJam and Ems207 were escorting me on XC coursewalk and I managed to complete this within the 1hr allocated with minimal blethering on the way round. ;)

It was really hot and stuffy yesterday (although even worse for those competing today) and Hopalong was very quiet. Even taking a drink when offered which is not like her! Headed over to dressage and did a nice quiet wee warm up. Was going ok, not as well as she warmed up at Strathallan, but hoped that it might mean she was saving it for the test?!

Turns out we didn't do too horrific a test, ended up with 40.5 and off the bottom by 5 or 6 places, still plenty to improve on although didn't feel like we had quite as many fights about outline as normal and she stayed in quite a nice rythym. She also felt a little more relaxed and less distracted than normal. A few photos;

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One for your entertainment- Ms Giraffe McPokeyness extraordinaire! ;) :o
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Headed off to SJ and had a horrible warm up. :( She was being really sluggish and sticky, getting in close to the upright and having a couple of stops and the spread (down to a X-pole in front as always) and I was really having to ride her. :( Hoped that it was just me being a nervous pleb in warm up and we'd improve in the ring.

Hmmm... not really! We had what felt like a really horrid, sticky and spooky round getting in close to everything and taking horrible big leaps. :( Also managed a slip around the corner on the last turn, although Olivio is convinced this made me kick on properly and make a good stride to the penultimate fence! ;) So although this was probably one of our messiest and uncomfortable rounds... we somehow went clear and shrugged off the recent 4-fault-itis?! :confused: Not complaining, but wasn't patting myself on the back about it either. :(

No 2;
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No.3;
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No.4;
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No.5- another cat-like display of agility from Hopalong! How does she jump from these crazy take off spots?! She was really boggling at the filler and backing off a mile away, she got lots of leg and a growl and did go... but very lucky to leave it up here! :o
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No.8;
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Can't quite figure out what went wrong. She looks happy jumping in all the photos- ears up etc, she just felt like a totally different SJing horse than normal, not taking me to the fences like usual. :(

So although thrilled to have the clear SJ again at last, was also thoroughly miserable about how she felt and was worried something may be up. Was siwthering about whether to go XC or not. Gave her a slosh down to see if that would help as it was SO warm. She was happy munching some grass and I decided to go XC and if she felt unhappy, pull up.
 
Warmed up nicely enough and was happy to open up the canter in the warm up area, so set off out the start box to see what would happen. First two fences were rolltops and jumped ok, but a little looky still. No.3 was a house, jumped similar to roll tops, so kicked on to viaduct at no.4, she spent the approach boggling and spooking at spectators on one side and fence judges on the other, got horribly close to it but picked up and launched;
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Then kicked on with a "grrrr, let's go"!
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Up the hill, round the corned to a double of barrels on a downhill slope. Walked as 2 short strides, Hopalong managed to spook so much at first barrel that we managed 3 in here! :o Mr FJ managed to catch us from a distance over the 1st one, but trees hid us from view for part b! Defensive position much?! :o
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We then at last got into our stride, got a fab jump over a roll top off a turn at no.6, popped the flower fence at no.7 and ponced through the water splash at 8. Kicked on up the hill to the top loop and got a lovely jump over a spread box with brush laid on top at no.9. No.10ab was two logs on a long curving line with funny camber ground. She was mega spooky to the first one, then we had a disagreement about which side to pass the Christmas tree in the middle! Managed to avoid it just but lost my stirrup over part b so wiggled up the hill trying to get it back before no.11 & 12, two palisades on a turn.

Then over a table at 13 which we got a little close to, but happily cantered down the steep hill to the main field again. I thought she might boggle the trakhener at no.14 so she got a wee smack on the bum and we launched over one-handed! Mr FJ managed to catch a horrifically unflattering photo of us over this! :o But I'm one to share good and bad, so here it is for your entertainment! Poor Hopalong, sack the jockey! :(
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But to prove we can jump nicely, here's a photo of us over the bench at 15 which she jumped beautifully. :)
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She then zoomed through the water at 16abc (rolltop, ramp in then skinny brush out) fab and got a nice jump over the parallel rails at 17. 18ab was a decent sized square box fence filled with potatoes to a corner. We got a nice jump over the box fence, but numpty rider saw a long one at the corner, Hopalong didn't and we didn't look very stylish over the b part! :o A little close, but fine over straw bales at 19 then nice jump over the saw bench at 20 to finish clear.

The looking/spooking/general oddness meant we had 8 time pens, but this didn't affect any potential placing. So first DC for us at PN, yet I'm still a little :( about it?! I think I may be over analysing a little, looking back on the XC, we had more good jumps than bad overall. She was happy to gallop on and cantered happily down a very steep hill with hardcore track, so this hopefully means it wasn't soreness bothering her.

I'm hoping it was a combination of me being a bit plebby/defensive in the SJ, her being a bit sluggish due to the heat and having a bit of an off day too. We have Drumclog on Saturday so hopefully both on better form.
 
PS- was lovely to meet lots of HHO-ers over the weekend. Including someone who has admitted to being a lurker but not yet braved posting, hopefully she will join in soon- but was good to meet you if you're reading! ;) Had great fun today cheering on Joss's OH and Echo and punk's daughter and pingy pony in the Novice champs and enjoying the sunshine. :cool:
 
Thanksd measles, I'm desperately hoping it was just the heat/bad day. Joss has suggested she is maybe a little too lean and may be needing extra fuel (Hopalong says "thank you" for this Joss, she enjoyed her monster dinner tonight! ;) ) so will try upping the rations and see if we have a rocket-fuelled Hopalong next weekend?!

Going to try get along to my RC low key SJ on Wed night and pop round the 80/90cm classes for a fun outing and see how she feels at this. Hopefully better!

I do love jumping her (although the SJ yesterday was definitely not one of our better rounds!) and just love the XC. :D
 
Do agree with Joss - from when I last saw her she looks like she has lost some condition and muscle. I would be looking at building her up a little. You are both stars though and doing brilliantly and it does look a very meaty XC from the pics so ENJOY your DC :D
Dressage Pah! Who cares :p
 
Mistatiger- thank you. :)

DHB- thanks. Poor H, I'm a bad Mum, been worrying so much about keeping her lean over the summer I've overdone it and not really realised. :( Have started adding some sugar beet into her feed and will up the oil/comp mix. Do you think bringing her in to a haynet for a couple of hours a day would help also?
 
It's a really hard balance! I have had TBs who are impossible to get enough condition on particularly as they get older and now I have a young boy with predisposed fat genes who can get fat on fresh air ;):rolleyes:

I would have a chat with a feed specialist about what she might need. I am not much use as living on a farm where we specialise in fattening things ours get a lot more from pasture than most typical horse places...
 
Shame to have mixed feelings after what was a really good day. She does remind me of Sienna though, and after years of struggling to keep the weight off Sienna, and then having a hungry horse all the time, I now just ensure she isn't gross and is fit enough.
I think your mare looks a bit too lean, if she were mine I woudl really focus on her roughage, try to give her more grass/haylage/hay, I think if their guts are healthy - they are healthy. Mine events on no hard food whatever, has done 2x 2 days on just hay and grass......

The only other thing I would do in your place is take her temperature every day for a while, she could have a low grade virus
 
Well done for first DC at PN :) It's horrible having the feeling something's not quite right with your horse but I'm sure she'll be fine with a bit of an adjustment to her feed.
Lovely pics yet again from Mr Figjam :).
 
Well done again on your DC! Take that as your positive and don't worry about the time faults. Again, the courses were tricky for all levels, so you should be delighted to have completed so well.

Echo what's been said about food, but watch what you do give her as you then don't want a fired up Heidi in the dressage (I speak from personal Alfred experience - attempting to canter down the centre line!!).

Also, maybe worth giving her a break? I tend to find they become a bit stale at this time of year so time off and then find them fighting fit and keen for autumn events.
 
Saw your results online last night and was really pleased for you :) (And secretly hoping your not in our section at Drumclog, if we get there, lorry a bit dead!).
Are you able to give her a wee week off after Drunclog? Just to chill a bit and mooch around. Am sure you remember J's slight hat rack look in May? He's now on balancer, conditioning fibre and ERS pellets and is looking well on them. His diet is very low start and high oil (from the ERS) and it seems to suit him. Lots of energy without blowing his brains :) Not that she is anywhere like what he was, just sharing our experiences :)
Fingers crossed she was just feeling the heat and will be back to normal next weekend though. And well done again!
 
Well Done on your Double Clear.:) You deserve it from all the hard work you put in and should give yourself that HUGE pat on the back. Shame you don't feel the high you should be if H didn't feel her usual pingy self.

Cobs you have to love them but are not the easiest to feed and keep in balance. Maybe try a bit of Red Cell for a wee perk up?

The FC gets that when he has been working hard and he has struggled this week with it being more muggy but don't give it the night before a competition!!

We will see you at Drumclog with bells on and the way things are going I think I better get shopping this week for that top ten place!!!!:D:D:D
 
Well done!! Thought both the sj and xc were rather spooky...especially the giant inflatables next to the warm up eeep! We also had a rather unstylish double clear and 8 time faults ;) think I saw you riding past just as we were leaving, might manage to actually come say hi at drumclog seeing as we're doing the same class :)
Fab pictures and report as always, and I love Hopalong she looks awesome, and very athletic with her 'interesting' take off spots :D agree about maybe having a couple of days off in the week? Gave beth a couple of days before strathallan, she was a bit insane to jump but at least not lazy :)
 
Hey don't be so hard on yourself! Fab pics as ever, she still looks like she's really enjoying it (and I'm sure the SJ looks bigger than 1m in places...). I'm so used to super lean pointers that I wouldn't have noticed she was a bit on the lean side, don't beat yourself up about it. I get the impression Drumclog won't be anything like as strong as your past couple of events, so a nice sweetener before her weekend off while you go to Blair!
 
Well done! That's a super result and her little reluctance may have just been the heat/feeling a wee bit tired.

Those photos at no5 SJ are great! If you see the first one alone you'd swear that was about to be a refusal and then she looks MsCool going over it in the next one!

Love the 'grrrrrrrr' face of determination in the XC pic!
 
Congrats! Try not to be too hard on yourself, the SJ caused lots of problems, seemed to be very spooky. I had an interesting day helping with scoring, wish I'd been riding though! Cant wait for Drumclog!
 
DHB- cheers. With her being a cob-X I have been so keen to keep the weight off that I guess I have forgotten to take into account just how busy she has been. Plus the fact that she's now getting older she won't be quite as adept at turning fresh air into calories as she was previously! We have now been 3 weeks at new yard and the grass there maybe just isn't as good as last yard. I think I might try her on some of the A&P Power& Performance? High oil, low starch build up/comp feed and A&P feeds usually pretty good for condition.

siennamum- thank you. See above comments to DHB- it has indeed usually been a case of "keep weight off" rather than worry about putting it on, but this is the fittest/most work she's ever been doing, so I guess I need to forget about the weight watchers mindset. Feel so guilty that I've let her get too lean, but hopefully not bad enough that she won't pick up the condition again too quickly. :( Might speak to yard owner about getting her brought in through the day for a couple of hours to chomp through a haynet as well and see if that helps.

Rosiefan- thank you. :) Mr FJ was a busy man all weekend with his camera!

NJ- thanks. I think I may be at risk of overanalysing, so trying to focus on the positives and hopefully with a few days off and some extra feed plus a softer course (predicted of course, since no one has a clue what Drumclog will be like!) and cooler weather, we will have a smoother run this weekend coming. :) A proper break won't really fit in with the calendar sadly as there's only Drumclog/Turnberry to go until end of BE season. :( But will try keep the next week quiet with some light hacking and a wee hoon round the RC SJ which is much smaller than we're jumping BE.

Saz- thank you. :) Ha ha, you and J have nothing to fear from us- how many placings in how few runs do you have this year?! ;) She has 2 weeks between Drumclog and Turnberry (and only doing intro at Turnberry) so can have some quiet time then. Oh no about lorry, hope you get it all sorted asap. :(

FC- cheers. :) Will see what I can pick up at feed shop later but have heard on here about red cell being good for a pick up. Best clear the dressage warm up at Drumclog if we have quiet week + Power & Performance + red cell...?!
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I do think the weather was a large factor, especially for something not TB! Looking forward to seeing you and the FC on Sat and enjoying a much more civilised SJ warm up! ;)

bryonyjane- thank you. Mr FJ was looking out for you, but thinks he may have missed you. :( You were possibly early for XC and he was snapping me SJ? :( Will have a look and see. Seems unstylish DCs and 8 time pens were what all the best pairings were getting! ;) Hopefully catch you at Drumclog. :)

JenB- thanks. Do you really think the SJ looked big? I must be getting much more confident about it as I didn't feel too sick at any of the spreads! :o

Booboos- I know, it's incredible how agile she is! And I was definitely growling over the viaduct ! ;)

_Rach_- yes, even though she was being a bit sluggish, she was still jumping and giving them air and it's reassuring to see in the photos she looks her usual self over them, even if it felt different to normal.
 
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Well lorry man is going to let us know asap if it will be fixed by Saturday. In the mean time I am perfecting the poor puppy dog look I may require to beg a lift :) We have only had 4 runs this year (I know, 4! Ridiculous!) and I need my fix! ;) Hopefully once Im settled in this job we can do more next year, I have them all picked out already :)
 
Well done on the DC, she looks happy enough in those pics, how strange! Probably just the heat and an off day!

Fantastic pics as always and super report!

Well done again....could you give her a little more food, would that help? Or maybe just the spookiness was backing her off a little!
 
FigJam said:
jumpingkanga- well done putting in a volunteer stint, hope it wasn't too painful?! Yes, not one person I spoke to said they'd had a lovely, flowing SJ round, so we at least weren't alone. ;)
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It wasn't painful, lots of banter and laughs to keep everyone going. Was good to see how much goes into running these events that we all love to do! I'll def do it again when I've got the time.
 
FJ - Well done on the DC! was a very spooky SJ and XC. I would put some of the stickyness down to the heat as Bop can be really effected by hot sticky weather. Might be an idea to have a chillaxed week before drumclog like alot of others have suggested and a maybe look at more energy from feed. Maybe she was dehydrated from the weather and a electrolyte suppliment may help?
 
SamuelWhiskers- yes, I'm hoping it was the heat/off day. Will up her food rations (Hopalong doesn't mind this at all! ;) ) and see how she does this weekend coming.

jumpingkanga- glad it was fun. I've found similar when doing start box duties, because there's a team of you it's good fun and you get a good chat. :) Hopefully see you at the weekend. :)
 
Ems207- she gets electrolytes in her feed anyway whenever it's warm/she's been sweaty. I bought some of the HorseQuencher stuff from Olivio at the weekend, so will try that to see if it encourages her to drink more out and about, although she was drinking on Sat (more so than normal, so I guess she definitely was feeling the heat/was potentially more dehydrated than normal). Thanks again for the help, esp when being a numpty in SJ warm up! :o
 
FJ - you where not a numpty! I was glad I was of use. I know how handy it is having some1 in the warm up to help (I have my mum whos very good at protecting the jumps!) and thanks for the course walk - was a very good recky for next year! I was out with the spray paint again on Sunday! I will need to get some pics of the infamous fillers to post soon! yesterday was neon yellow and white poka dots in a scottish SJs style!
 
Well done on your DC. :D


Hopalong certainly looks happy in the photos but it is always worrying that something is wrong especially when their are normally so up for it.

Fab Pics & report :D

Good luck on Saturday :D
 
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