rara007
Well-Known Member
My pony is fab 
Left at 2am Weds for an 11 hour trek up to Scotland from Essex, fortunately as uneventful as 11 hours travel can be! Fortunately with the Mice also there he settled straight away and was soon munching in his side stabling. Slight worry overnight as they thought his vaccines hadn't been started right when he was 3 back in Holland but soon enough trot up day came. Very pleased with how he went in the afternoon though there was a slight lack of flat space issue!
Nice lie in as only got up at 5.30, with 6 to plait 5 of them being grey before 8.30 Relieved to hear from the vet it was their mistake and they were very apologetic so no harm done. 2nd to trot up and there didn't seem to be any hesitation passing him- phew
Again he worked well so I had a bit more confidence going into the dressage- I had all kinds of lengthy warm ups including riding planned (he typically decided to lose all rhythm the week before the biggest event of his life!).
First on in the FEI arena Friday (being first on was a theme!) and with only a minor panic involving a 4 min extended trot down the road (glad he's a driving pony not a dressage horse!) to pick up our number literally just before we were due to go in, straight back up the track through the collecting ring and down the centre line. He tried so so hard He struggles to relax and bend, which was picked up on, but a massive improvement on last year, and his changes of pace have really come on. One one handed move I simply cannot drive at the moment so I got a deserved 3.5 from one of the judges, but by some fluke he did a perfect halt that warranted a 9 from another of the judges! Would have been happy with any score after he tried so hard, even walking the walk, correct canter leads and not getting fussy in the 10m circles. Our class was technically speaking only 2 of us, and I won between us, if you included all the advanced singles at the event I was 6th/12 - very for our debut on the advanced test at a 'proper' show and FEI debut.
Bit of a chill after the Mice did dressage and soon enough it was XC day- the track was physically massive with tricky terrain but only a few questionable tight turns that really we had to take on. First on again, so the TD, FEI judge and FEI steward all followed me in a car the whole way including the roads and tracks, no pressure as a meagre single pony driver! Passed the mid-way vet check easily though I had a nifty solution to me slipping my reins too much- continental reins so I could hold at the right length which really worked. He took me through the first from start to finish (usually he dies in the middle of the obstacles and then picks up again a gate later). The second was on quite a slope and had a 180* turn after A heading downhill but he listened and came back round for me and picked up speed again. 3 was flatter but had a 'bogey' gap that I chose to go through both times, though it was narrow we didn't have to steady too much and he made it seem easy as he was forwards and even Onto 4 which was a golf bunker, complete with deep sandpit. We felt we had to go the direct routes and take on the sand, being the first ones on. Fortunately he took it on enthusiastically and it paid off. 5 was the first of 2 waters, this one a small water with 3 big concrete posts but sunken down in a deep bowl. Again we had to take on the direct routes, including an unusual one I took around the bottom of the bowl to save us from doing a 450* in the water around a post He took on the steep hill perfectly again, he tries so hard Obstacle 6 was tight and we were both a bit tired and that showed in our times. 7 the 2nd water, a massive lake. He had his energy back by now and cantered the full length of it, several times. Finally all downhill (Scotland isn't like Essex!) after a slight confusion about what compulsory flag we were supposed to be aiming for for the 8th which we managed the direct route in fine. Off to the finish just on the time to of course be met by the great and the good of driving again All OK there and they trusted me with my opinions of the course Back out again with the mice while Con got a very very well earnt break (as much as a passaging inhand pony will break!)
It was by far in a way the best marathon he had done. We were still 2nd/2 or 9/12 but we were not far off, closer to many people than we've ever been before so still over the moon with him.
Final day, and unsurprisingly I was first on, again! Passed the final horse inspection just as the heavens started to open. For some reason I seemed to have forgotten how to drive cones, any cone, getting 50% of warm up ones down. Down to the collecting ring and the rain got worse and so did my cones driving Got it together just before going in leaving a whole 3 in a row down so just waited until we could go. Through 1 clear, phew! then pushed on for the rest. He got a bit flustered after a tight section but we used a slalom to get him forwards again (he's so balanced in canter he can do that- clever boy!) and we really enjoyed the rest of the course. Silly one down at 17 where I just cut it a bit tight but we made the tight advanced time. Fastest of the day and 3rd/12 out of the advanced singles so not too shabby at all after our dire warm up. Popped back down home for 2am despite being on at 9am
This left us 2nd/2 or 6th/12 which I couldn't be more happy with- sadly life is way too full to put the time and training I'd like to in, and with him only being 10 (joint youngest FEI/Advanced single there) he's got a long career ahead were now we know we can hold our own we can hopefully make a good stab at some bigger internationals
I'm now away in the states until mid-late August So sadly he's playing happy hacker (not that that makes him sad) until then but I'm secretly hoping to get to Breda to complete the season (approval from BC permitting) if the Mice have a good season so the lorry goes!
Big thanks to LizzieJ for coming all the way up to help and backstep, as well as my sister who helped me get him fit whilst I was busy
Left at 2am Weds for an 11 hour trek up to Scotland from Essex, fortunately as uneventful as 11 hours travel can be! Fortunately with the Mice also there he settled straight away and was soon munching in his side stabling. Slight worry overnight as they thought his vaccines hadn't been started right when he was 3 back in Holland
but soon enough trot up day came. Very pleased with how he went in the afternoon though there was a slight lack of flat space issue!Nice lie in as only got up at 5.30, with 6 to plait 5 of them being grey before 8.30
Relieved to hear from the vet it was their mistake and they were very apologetic so no harm done. 2nd to trot up and there didn't seem to be any hesitation passing him- phew
Again he worked well so I had a bit more confidence going into the dressage- I had all kinds of lengthy warm ups including riding planned (he typically decided to lose all rhythm the week before the biggest event of his life!).
First on in the FEI arena Friday (being first on was a theme!) and with only a minor panic involving a 4 min extended trot down the road (glad he's a driving pony not a dressage horse!) to pick up our number literally just before we were due to go in, straight back up the track through the collecting ring and down the centre line. He tried so so hard
He struggles to relax and bend, which was picked up on, but a massive improvement on last year, and his changes of pace have really come on. One one handed move I simply cannot drive at the moment so I got a deserved 3.5 from one of the judges, but by some fluke he did a perfect halt that warranted a 9 from another of the judges! Would have been happy with any score after he tried so hard, even walking the walk, correct canter leads and not getting fussy in the 10m circles. Our class was technically speaking only 2 of us, and I won between us, if you included all the advanced singles at the event I was 6th/12 - very for our debut on the advanced test at a 'proper' show and FEI debut.
Bit of a chill after the Mice did dressage and soon enough it was XC day- the track was physically massive with tricky terrain but only a few questionable tight turns that really we had to take on. First on again, so the TD, FEI judge and FEI steward all followed me in a car the whole way including the roads and tracks, no pressure as a meagre single pony driver! Passed the mid-way vet check easily though
I had a nifty solution to me slipping my reins too much- continental reins so I could hold at the right length which really worked. He took me through the first from start to finish (usually he dies in the middle of the obstacles and then picks up again a gate later). The second was on quite a slope and had a 180* turn after A heading downhill but he listened and came back round for me and picked up speed again. 3 was flatter but had a 'bogey' gap that I chose to go through both times, though it was narrow we didn't have to steady too much and he made it seem easy as he was forwards and even Onto 4 which was a golf bunker, complete with deep sandpit. We felt we had to go the direct routes and take on the sand, being the first ones on. Fortunately he took it on enthusiastically and it paid off. 5 was the first of 2 waters, this one a small water with 3 big concrete posts but sunken down in a deep bowl. Again we had to take on the direct routes, including an unusual one I took around the bottom of the bowl to save us from doing a 450* in the water around a post He took on the steep hill perfectly again, he tries so hard Obstacle 6 was tight and we were both a bit tired and that showed in our times. 7 the 2nd water, a massive lake. He had his energy back by now and cantered the full length of it, several times. Finally all downhill (Scotland isn't like Essex!) after a slight confusion about what compulsory flag we were supposed to be aiming for for the 8th which we managed the direct route in fine. Off to the finish just on the time to of course be met by the great and the good of driving again All OK there and they trusted me with my opinions of the course Back out again with the mice while Con got a very very well earnt break (as much as a passaging inhand pony will break!)It was by far in a way the best marathon he had done. We were still 2nd/2 or 9/12 but we were not far off, closer to many people than we've ever been before so still over the moon with him.
Final day, and unsurprisingly I was first on, again! Passed the final horse inspection just as the heavens started to open. For some reason I seemed to have forgotten how to drive cones, any cone, getting 50% of warm up ones down. Down to the collecting ring and the rain got worse and so did my cones driving
Got it together just before going in leaving a whole 3 in a row down so just waited until we could go. Through 1 clear, phew! then pushed on for the rest. He got a bit flustered after a tight section but we used a slalom to get him forwards again (he's so balanced in canter he can do that- clever boy!) and we really enjoyed the rest of the course. Silly one down at 17 where I just cut it a bit tight but we made the tight advanced time. Fastest of the day and 3rd/12 out of the advanced singles so not too shabby at all after our dire warm up. Popped back down home for 2am despite being on at 9am
This left us 2nd/2 or 6th/12 which I couldn't be more happy with- sadly life is way too full to put the time and training I'd like to in, and with him only being 10 (joint youngest FEI/Advanced single there) he's got a long career ahead were now we know we can hold our own we can hopefully make a good stab at some bigger internationals
I'm now away in the states until mid-late August
So sadly he's playing happy hacker (not that that makes him sad) until then but I'm secretly hoping to get to Breda to complete the season (approval from BC permitting) if the Mice have a good season so the lorry goes!Big thanks to LizzieJ for coming all the way up to help and backstep, as well as my sister who helped me get him fit whilst I was busy
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