Blackandorange
Member
Hi all!After myfirst introductory thread I'm afraid I've been silent but a mammoth report nowfollows!
Part 1 - finished my degree - phew! And raced home to baththe pony ready for Part 2....the next day
Part 2 - Royal Windsor
I entered my distinctly not a show horse in the working showhorse class mostly because Mum and I have never been to Windsor and we thoughtsome big ring experience would do Miss-mad-and-never-stands-still-15.2hh-cobgood!However we were distinctly lackingmatch practice.I had been shut in thelibrary and Anni hadnt jumped a round since Pulborugh BE last October due tothe lack of a fitting saddle (ie she got fat over the winter!) but she was veryfit from a lot of hacking.
We arrived and got parked bear the 4-in hand carriages andthe train line.The carriages were veryimpressive however poor Anni who suffers from nerves got very worried by thewhole occasion and pulled Mums arm out but continuously walking around.Thankfully she doesnt actually do anythingnaughty!Although I did manage to nearlyfall off getting on three times!Onceon board however she always settles down really well.So we trundled off to the main event gawpingat all the entourages with their wheelbarrow loads of bandages and cleaningproducts!It was a fabulous warm day andwe had to wait around while the cobs finished ( I didnt realise they are quiteas round in person as they are!).Hada warm up the surfaces were to die for and I was so excited to be in the samewarm up as Phillip Miller and Caritar Z at one point! (We also saw Nip Tuck,Uthopia and Half Moon Delphi in the stables which was fascinating!).Finally they built the course and I felt itwas quite meaty, including a black plastic water-filled tray but my darlinglittle mare popped round for an easy clear!Such a little star.
At this point we gracefully retired as we didnt fancy theshowing part or subjecting an innocent ride judge to trying to get on myslightly mind blown little mare!
However we bought the picture;
http://www.esphotography.co.uk/eventsandphotos/eventphoto/year/2014/day/21/category/FridayBHSWorkingShowHorse/photo/N23_1180/
and had a lovely day out and again my little mare provedwhat a superstar she is!
Part 3 Borde Hill BE90
Ground was sticky!!Anni was very chilled (relatively) and I put a massage pad on her whileI walked the course and a fly hood for the dressage.I think it made all the difference for thedressage as she was more relaxed stretched better than ever before (even athome) in the warm up!She has been veryconsistent at BE90 level last year always getting either 31 or 32 and this timewas no exception with a 32 as when I drop my stick she slightly drops me.I think I will introduce some normal spurs asopposed to roller balls next time which I think will make all the difference!
Showjumping she jumped a beautiful round until the lastline! We met the one stride double on a half stride she picked up on the longone and continued through on one stride so had the pole coming out.Then I had the last down because I hadntsorted myself out and didnt help her whatsoever! 8 faults the most weve ever had but it hadto happen sometime and all we need is a few more rounds under our belts shesonly 7 afterall!
Cross country it felt like a bit of rush due to not manypeople in the warm up area.The groundhad cut up quite a bit and Anni went very green on me, which is to be expectedfor her first time out over a beefed up course.Unfortunately when she goes green she jumps bigger and bigger so withthe ground and her overjumping she essentially jumped around a 1.10course.Unfortunately we had one stop atthe bogey fence on the course we essentially got stuck in the mud (shes runin mud before successfully but not in sticky conditions) and although it wasdisappointing, in hindsight it could have been a nasty accident if she hadtaken off.But we can round again andpopped over it and I got her round the rest slowly but safely.It was an educational outing for both of usand one I know will only take minor adjustments to fix.As my trainer pointed out prior to BordeHill together we have always been in the top ten so the only way was down!So Im taking a very positive outlook on thewhole event.
Part 1 - finished my degree - phew! And raced home to baththe pony ready for Part 2....the next day
Part 2 - Royal Windsor
I entered my distinctly not a show horse in the working showhorse class mostly because Mum and I have never been to Windsor and we thoughtsome big ring experience would do Miss-mad-and-never-stands-still-15.2hh-cobgood!However we were distinctly lackingmatch practice.I had been shut in thelibrary and Anni hadnt jumped a round since Pulborugh BE last October due tothe lack of a fitting saddle (ie she got fat over the winter!) but she was veryfit from a lot of hacking.
We arrived and got parked bear the 4-in hand carriages andthe train line.The carriages were veryimpressive however poor Anni who suffers from nerves got very worried by thewhole occasion and pulled Mums arm out but continuously walking around.Thankfully she doesnt actually do anythingnaughty!Although I did manage to nearlyfall off getting on three times!Onceon board however she always settles down really well.So we trundled off to the main event gawpingat all the entourages with their wheelbarrow loads of bandages and cleaningproducts!It was a fabulous warm day andwe had to wait around while the cobs finished ( I didnt realise they are quiteas round in person as they are!).Hada warm up the surfaces were to die for and I was so excited to be in the samewarm up as Phillip Miller and Caritar Z at one point! (We also saw Nip Tuck,Uthopia and Half Moon Delphi in the stables which was fascinating!).Finally they built the course and I felt itwas quite meaty, including a black plastic water-filled tray but my darlinglittle mare popped round for an easy clear!Such a little star.
At this point we gracefully retired as we didnt fancy theshowing part or subjecting an innocent ride judge to trying to get on myslightly mind blown little mare!
However we bought the picture;
http://www.esphotography.co.uk/eventsandphotos/eventphoto/year/2014/day/21/category/FridayBHSWorkingShowHorse/photo/N23_1180/
and had a lovely day out and again my little mare provedwhat a superstar she is!
Part 3 Borde Hill BE90
Ground was sticky!!Anni was very chilled (relatively) and I put a massage pad on her whileI walked the course and a fly hood for the dressage.I think it made all the difference for thedressage as she was more relaxed stretched better than ever before (even athome) in the warm up!She has been veryconsistent at BE90 level last year always getting either 31 or 32 and this timewas no exception with a 32 as when I drop my stick she slightly drops me.I think I will introduce some normal spurs asopposed to roller balls next time which I think will make all the difference!
Showjumping she jumped a beautiful round until the lastline! We met the one stride double on a half stride she picked up on the longone and continued through on one stride so had the pole coming out.Then I had the last down because I hadntsorted myself out and didnt help her whatsoever! 8 faults the most weve ever had but it hadto happen sometime and all we need is a few more rounds under our belts shesonly 7 afterall!
Cross country it felt like a bit of rush due to not manypeople in the warm up area.The groundhad cut up quite a bit and Anni went very green on me, which is to be expectedfor her first time out over a beefed up course.Unfortunately when she goes green she jumps bigger and bigger so withthe ground and her overjumping she essentially jumped around a 1.10course.Unfortunately we had one stop atthe bogey fence on the course we essentially got stuck in the mud (shes runin mud before successfully but not in sticky conditions) and although it wasdisappointing, in hindsight it could have been a nasty accident if she hadtaken off.But we can round again andpopped over it and I got her round the rest slowly but safely.It was an educational outing for both of usand one I know will only take minor adjustments to fix.As my trainer pointed out prior to BordeHill together we have always been in the top ten so the only way was down!So Im taking a very positive outlook on thewhole event.
