measles
Well-Known Member
An eventing report from us! Yes, a proper one with mud and studs and an early start and trudging and falling over in the mud. Did I mention the mud?
We set off bright and early just after 6am on Sunday with Holly, an irish mare we are producing, and a client of ours who bought a smart girl from us last year. Holly has done some of everything in Ireland and we'd had her xc schooling once so were well prepared for some BE...
Being towed in set the scene for the day. It was such a shame for the organisers as the ground had been perfect the evening before when we walked the course. We were parked at the top of a hill and I proceeded to give a display of "welly-skiing" which turned into sledging close to the bottom as I discovered I had sod all grip left on the bottom of my wellies and went flat on my backside!
Our client was on around an hour and a half before Holly and was delighted to go clear in her first 90, so there were lots of big pats and our supergroom for the day did a sterling job of helping get both ready for different disciplines while cooking bacon rolls. I am proud to say that our lorry's hob has now been christened, after 8 years of ownership....
Holly is very quiet to be around, and stood sensibly to have studs in despite the increasing wind and rain. As we entered the dressage field however I am sure I saw a glimpse of GP potential as she did a rather natty passage while eyeing up the water jump on the xc We were initially worried that she would be lit up and inattentive but she did knuckle down and while J tried to avoid the mud by warming up on the top of a small hill the weather improved a bit.
They were second last to go in their section and by the time it was their turn the arena was getting pretty boggy. However, others in later sections had to cope so I turned the camera to the wind and rain and Holly put her best hoof forward. She did a fair test in the circumstances and could have been softer and more contained in the canter but we were pleased for her first test with us at an event, even though she stuck her head in the air to watch a horse through the water jump in halt at x! I guessed 38 but she got 35.5 which left her just in the top 10.
As we got ready for the sj the heavens opened and there was wind and rain of biblical proportions. We attempted to wait for it to pass but were going to be late so just had to crack on. By this stage I'm certain Holly thought she was back in Ireland hunting and all of the pleasant clears she has done in PC teams etc with us went out of the window as she ploughed on through what was by that time a bit on the muddy side. Have I mentioned before that it was muddy? I saw all this as someone who spends their life SJ'ing on surfaces
She rather disappointingly had 2 down after sliding on a turn but she kept going and it was all rather wild to be doing anything in, so she got big pats.
Now, with all the experience of one xc school on Holly and no previous BE runs J had wondered how the roll top to a skinny roll top on sloping ground at no 5 would ride
As J and Holly set off over no 1
the commentary stopped and nothing further was said until we had walked Holly off at the end and were on our way to the lorry! One very anxious me as most of the course can't be seen from the start/finish. J said Holly flew everything and was just fantastic, coming in bang on the optimum time without her pushing for the time at all. She has such a ground covering stride
This should have left Holly in third place in the class. Can you hear the But coming? The coffin at - you guessed it 13! - had become muddy before the coffin and it all looked dark with the dark wood, and Holly had slid to a trot seeing it at the last minute having locked onto the second element. When she broke rhythm and dropped a back leg into it she was given 20p and this, despite coming in on the time, cost her a placing
Naughty coffin at no 13
Although a disappointing end to the day we couldn't be anything other than delighted with Holly who got on with the job and make the xc seem well within her capabilities. She is off to a local HT at the weekend and then to Auchinleck the following weekend. We will be running out of ticket opportunities soon and will be faced with the thought of registering and moving up to 100. Or instead sticking to warm, dry BS venues where it never rains indoors
We set off bright and early just after 6am on Sunday with Holly, an irish mare we are producing, and a client of ours who bought a smart girl from us last year. Holly has done some of everything in Ireland and we'd had her xc schooling once so were well prepared for some BE...
Being towed in set the scene for the day. It was such a shame for the organisers as the ground had been perfect the evening before when we walked the course. We were parked at the top of a hill and I proceeded to give a display of "welly-skiing" which turned into sledging close to the bottom as I discovered I had sod all grip left on the bottom of my wellies and went flat on my backside!
Our client was on around an hour and a half before Holly and was delighted to go clear in her first 90, so there were lots of big pats and our supergroom for the day did a sterling job of helping get both ready for different disciplines while cooking bacon rolls. I am proud to say that our lorry's hob has now been christened, after 8 years of ownership....
Holly is very quiet to be around, and stood sensibly to have studs in despite the increasing wind and rain. As we entered the dressage field however I am sure I saw a glimpse of GP potential as she did a rather natty passage while eyeing up the water jump on the xc
We were initially worried that she would be lit up and inattentive but she did knuckle down and while J tried to avoid the mud by warming up on the top of a small hill the weather improved a bit.
They were second last to go in their section and by the time it was their turn the arena was getting pretty boggy. However, others in later sections had to cope so I turned the camera to the wind and rain and Holly put her best hoof forward. She did a fair test in the circumstances and could have been softer and more contained in the canter but we were pleased for her first test with us at an event, even though she stuck her head in the air to watch a horse through the water jump in halt at x! I guessed 38 but she got 35.5 which left her just in the top 10.
As we got ready for the sj the heavens opened and there was wind and rain of biblical proportions. We attempted to wait for it to pass but were going to be late so just had to crack on. By this stage I'm certain Holly thought she was back in Ireland hunting and all of the pleasant clears she has done in PC teams etc with us went out of the window as she ploughed on through what was by that time a bit on the muddy side. Have I mentioned before that it was muddy? I saw all this as someone who spends their life SJ'ing on surfaces
She rather disappointingly had 2 down after sliding on a turn but she kept going and it was all rather wild to be doing anything in, so she got big pats.
Now, with all the experience of one xc school on Holly and no previous BE runs J had wondered how the roll top to a skinny roll top on sloping ground at no 5 would ride
As J and Holly set off over no 1
the commentary stopped and nothing further was said until we had walked Holly off at the end and were on our way to the lorry! One very anxious me as most of the course can't be seen from the start/finish. J said Holly flew everything and was just fantastic, coming in bang on the optimum time without her pushing for the time at all. She has such a ground covering stride
This should have left Holly in third place in the class. Can you hear the But coming?
The coffin at - you guessed it 13! - had become muddy before the coffin and it all looked dark with the dark wood, and Holly had slid to a trot seeing it at the last minute having locked onto the second element. When she broke rhythm and dropped a back leg into it she was given 20p and this, despite coming in on the time, cost her a placing Naughty coffin at no 13
Although a disappointing end to the day we couldn't be anything other than delighted with Holly who got on with the job and make the xc seem well within her capabilities. She is off to a local HT at the weekend and then to Auchinleck the following weekend. We will be running out of ticket opportunities soon and will be faced with the thought of registering and moving up to 100. Or instead sticking to warm, dry BS venues where it never rains indoors
