Midget round up....

Hallo2012

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in typical horse style the last few weeks have been flying highs as well as some lows, you can always rely on dressage to keep you grounded!

He made a cracking effort at the NEXGEN 5yo test which is a really tough one for the age group, and although he won he missed the magic qualifying 7 by 0.04! I was all set to give that another shot until we realised that despite this being a PONY class he actually falls foul of the lower height limit (138cm and he is only 133) so shouldn't have ever been allowed to enter.............i hold my hands up as not having bothered to read the rules in full stupidly assuming a pony is in fact a pony.
A real shame too as there are not many small performance stallions around and another chance to prove them is now forbidden!!!!!

But anyway......the work at home has been flying, that harder left to right change is coming along. I've worked out i need to keep the canter shorter and sharper and not let him get too forward in to them at the moment, but I've got a few weeks now before the BD young Pony champs to really crack on with these :)

we then had an absolute shocker of a show where he took total violent offence to possibly an old paving slab, but also possibly nothing and most unlike him told me it was a hard NO and refused to do anything except jump up and down on the spot........he's always been noticeably more tense in this arena compared to others but it still took me by surprise and i spent the following week freaking out he was 1.lame and 2.ruined (as is total horse owner logic, despite not taking a wrong step!)

so we set off this weekend to a venue i know he likes just to see..........................and despite me riding the worst first medium trot EVER and not preparing my first canter in the slightest, he got 67.41% in N37A and 4th overall out of 11.................annoyingly if i had actually got my act together and made it a 68% we would now have all our regionals points, as it is we need just 1 more!!!!!

E43 was the better test, i actually rode properly and he swung along a bit more..........a PB of 68.27% and 2nd overall out of 6 :)

So i am not sure what it is about paving slab arena that he hates so much, but i am going to book an arena hire in Oct with a friend to try and work it out.

Next stop Young Pony Champs and then hopefully nab our last regionals points :)

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lar

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I saw the photos of the hard NO - that was some impressive moves. If it's any consolation my pony always HATED that arena. When they first started running shows there it took me a whole season to get him to settle in there. At the end of the season he did his best elementary test ever there and then at the start of the next season also took violent exception to nothing at all and managed to ditch me right in front of the judge.
 

Hallo2012

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I saw the photos of the hard NO - that was some impressive moves. If it's any consolation my pony always HATED that arena. When they first started running shows there it took me a whole season to get him to settle in there. At the end of the season he did his best elementary test ever there and then at the start of the next season also took violent exception to nothing at all and managed to ditch me right in front of the judge.

i had SO many messages after that show from people having/had similar issues......i honestly cant work it out as he is the bravest pony,, the one that gives everything a lead, the one that maybe rolls an eye and that's it and like you say it was a very determined NOT ON YOUR NELLY!!!

ancient burial site maybe?!

if still wont settle at an arena hire i think I'll just avoid it as he's so genuinely good everywhere else......
 

PinkvSantaboots

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in typical horse style the last few weeks have been flying highs as well as some lows, you can always rely on dressage to keep you grounded!

He made a cracking effort at the NEXGEN 5yo test which is a really tough one for the age group, and although he won he missed the magic qualifying 7 by 0.04! I was all set to give that another shot until we realised that despite this being a PONY class he actually falls foul of the lower height limit (138cm and he is only 133) so shouldn't have ever been allowed to enter.............i hold my hands up as not having bothered to read the rules in full stupidly assuming a pony is in fact a pony.
A real shame too as there are not many small performance stallions around and another chance to prove them is now forbidden!!!!!

But anyway......the work at home has been flying, that harder left to right change is coming along. I've worked out i need to keep the canter shorter and sharper and not let him get too forward in to them at the moment, but I've got a few weeks now before the BD young Pony champs to really crack on with these :)

we then had an absolute shocker of a show where he took total violent offence to possibly an old paving slab, but also possibly nothing and most unlike him told me it was a hard NO and refused to do anything except jump up and down on the spot........he's always been noticeably more tense in this arena compared to others but it still took me by surprise and i spent the following week freaking out he was 1.lame and 2.ruined (as is total horse owner logic, despite not taking a wrong step!)

so we set off this weekend to a venue i know he likes just to see..........................and despite me riding the worst first medium trot EVER and not preparing my first canter in the slightest, he got 67.41% in N37A and 4th overall out of 11.................annoyingly if i had actually got my act together and made it a 68% we would now have all our regionals points, as it is we need just 1 more!!!!!

E43 was the better test, i actually rode properly and he swung along a bit more..........a PB of 68.27% and 2nd overall out of 6 :)

So i am not sure what it is about paving slab arena that he hates so much, but i am going to book an arena hire in Oct with a friend to try and work it out.

Next stop Young Pony Champs and then hopefully nab our last regionals points :)

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Great report the pictures are great really love the last one, you certainly look like your riding ok to me! I think some horses just take a total dislike to some things, my Arabs freak out over the most silly things, I walk past a water trough most days and one of mine will still give it a sidewards look and hurry past bloody horses!!
 

lar

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i had SO many messages after that show from people having/had similar issues......i honestly cant work it out as he is the bravest pony,, the one that gives everything a lead, the one that maybe rolls an eye and that's it and like you say it was a very determined NOT ON YOUR NELLY!!!

ancient burial site maybe?!

if still wont settle at an arena hire i think I'll just avoid it as he's so genuinely good everywhere else......

Mine also brave as a lion (was once the only one on a 6 horse hack who didn't explode at some chickens running on the side of the road. You could practically hear him saying "it's just chickens you idiots!" as he marched past) everywhere but that place.
 

Hallo2012

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Mine also brave as a lion (was once the only one on a 6 horse hack who didn't explode at some chickens running on the side of the road. You could practically hear him saying "it's just chickens you idiots!" as he marched past) everywhere but that place.

deffo ancient burial site-only logical explanation!!!!!
 
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