TableDancer
Well-Known Member
So I know I haven't done a report for ages - my main excuse is I only had my iPad for ages which is rubbish as no photos or anything, plus loads of other pathetic ones which I won't even bore you with 
I thought I would bring you up to date by reporting on the British Pony Championships at Brand Hall last weekend. I can't be accused of only reporting on the good ones as they've had a pretty satisfactory spring, with double clears and placings in two of their three trials (Lincoln and Weston) and only just outside the placings due to a rail down at Tweseldown.
We left home for Brand on Wednesday afternoon, with a dressage session with Islay Auty planned on the way. Islay has, over the last month or so, been undertaking the unenviable task of trying to persuade Noffy that he likes dressage and T that she can in fact do it. Islay likes Noffy as, despite her roles as international dressage judge and BD youth teams selector, she is a closet jumping-lover and understands that the most important thing is being able to fly over fences twice your height
Noffy is unsure about Islay, as she makes him work far harder than he thinks is justifiable at something so pointless, but does give him copious quantities of polos afterwards 
Anyway, they had a very satisfactory session, and we were all left feeling fairly optimistic that they could pull off a respectable test...
We stayed at the yard afterwards as we were halfway to Brand, and set off for Shropshire in good time the following morning. After a remarkably uneventful trip (still can’t get used to a lorry which seems, on the whole, to manage to get from A to B and back again under its own steam...) we arrived in good time and settled Noffy into his stable. Both he and T were surrounded by old friends – one of the best things about the Pony Programme is how very supportive the kids are of each other, and what good friends they become – and it was all I could do to kick them out to go and get measured on time. Measuring is an incredibly stressful time for some pony riders and their connections, and I feel very sorry for them, while Noff sails through ashe is not in the least a “big pony”
This year’s measuring was especially lively as they had built a special rubber platform, presumably carefully levelled, but it was slightly raised and surrounded by woodchips, and the ponies universally decided it was a pony-eating trap 
Most of them leapt on, then straight off again several times before they could be persuaded to stand still long enough for the two vets to creep up on them from either side. The remainder grew to at least 16 hands and breathed fire for a good 15 minutes before they sank to a more familiar height...
Trot up followed later that afternoon – always good for entertainment: lots of nubile 15 year olds dressed in the shortest mini skirts and/or shorts imaginable, and large numbers of poor officials not knowing where to look One was held (pony, that is, not official), but all passed ok so that was a relief. Evening passed with a quiz for the kids, who are put into somewhat seeded teams before the competition starts, and some serious catching up for the rest of us.
Dressage on Friday: T and Noff were drawn no 6 and were actually 5th to go. Islay had very kindly offered to come up and warm them up so I was strangely redundant – you might think it would be frustrating but I can officially confirm that it was rather liberating
There had already been some outstanding tests, but we knew Noffy was capable of something solid at the least. Unfortunately what he is capable of and what he delivers are not always the same thing... Last year, he took us by complete surprise at Brand by blowing up completely, professing terror at the flags around the main arena, knocking markers and judges’ cars flying in the process 
This year he tried a different tactic: as they went around the outside of the arena, he started to drop behind her leg. He dragged himself up the centre line in dribble, and heaved himself to a halt with his hindlegs in a different timezone to his front ones (this is usually one of his party pieces, standing still is what he does really well and halts are usually certain 8s, with one memorable 10!) This set the tone for the test, with T working harder and harder and Noff doing less and less – it was like something out of a Thelwell cartoon, with her legs flailing, and him completely ignoring her 
Naught Noffy!! He has been inclined to drop behind her sometimes but this was by far the worst he has ever been. In fairness T tried really hard and they had a “clear round” with no errors, but Islay and I knew the mark was going to be disappointing and it lived down to our expectations: 57.2 
At the end of the day that left them somewhere around 30th of the 40. T was inconsolable as she has worked incredibly hard on the dressage and seemed to have made great strides forward, but just couldn’t produce it in the arena. However, we had to focus on the next bits – that’s the great thing about eventing
Walking the XC, it quickly became clear this would be no dressage competition. Last year, the course was criticised for being too soft and too short, causing very little trouble. This year there were some new questions and an extra loop, making it exactly 6 minutes. The main issues were a coffin complex early on, comprising a large ditch with a log on the take-off side, then one long or two teeny strides to a steeply angled rail, then another stride to another rail, steeply angled the opposite way. The water was very big, with a skinny, very wide brush rolltop on the way in, then a sharp turn in the water to “Rosemary” (a max height, square, quite wide boat for those who don’t know her) coming out. Finally, there was a skinny box combination near the end which had a very demanding line through – would have been impossible to ride on a horse, but was only very difficult on a pony That evening, we drowned our sorrows, or at least I did, in Pimms, and girded our loins for the morning.
We fed at 6am as they were on at 9.10 (or at least T did – what sort of a mother do you think I am??) T was on board by 8.40, then I took a barrow of stuff up to the finish. Me and several other parents were trying to fill our water buckets from the water tanks that had been left there on a trailer: someone cleverer than me figured out how to connect the batteries to the pump and off we went... Only it was like that game Pass the Bomb, and I was the one left holding the hosepipe, filling someone else’s buckets I might add, when up screeches the organiser Janet Plant in her Range Rover. To say my hair was plastered to my scalp and my cheeks blown back in my skull by the ferocity of her wrath would be no exaggeration Apparently we weren’t supposed to use that water Meekly, I left it – safe in the knowledge my own buckets were already full and my ice boots cooling nicely Went back to the start, greased Noffy’s legs and waited for the off.
Long story short: they were fab Clear and 15 seconds inside the time, T said it was one of those rare rounds where everything comes up perfectly and every fence is foot perfect Looks it, too...
Noffy finished easily and I must admit to not having many of the usual concerns and worries you have – it seemed just like a one day. After all the usual ministrations and a good long hand graze (and hand roll...) we put him back in his stable for a sleep – he likes a good sleep after breakfast and this had been rudely interrupted by the need to go round the XC It being about lunchtime by now, and the course quite evidently having caused plenty of trouble, we started celebrating gently with various friends After lunch, the ponies had an “informal” trot up in front of selectors, team vet and team physio which always feels anything but – no pressure then Noffy trotted up without a care in the world though
[To be continued]
I thought I would bring you up to date by reporting on the British Pony Championships at Brand Hall last weekend. I can't be accused of only reporting on the good ones as they've had a pretty satisfactory spring, with double clears and placings in two of their three trials (Lincoln and Weston) and only just outside the placings due to a rail down at Tweseldown.
We left home for Brand on Wednesday afternoon, with a dressage session with Islay Auty planned on the way. Islay has, over the last month or so, been undertaking the unenviable task of trying to persuade Noffy that he likes dressage and T that she can in fact do it. Islay likes Noffy as, despite her roles as international dressage judge and BD youth teams selector, she is a closet jumping-lover and understands that the most important thing is being able to fly over fences twice your height
Noffy is unsure about Islay, as she makes him work far harder than he thinks is justifiable at something so pointless, but does give him copious quantities of polos afterwards Anyway, they had a very satisfactory session, and we were all left feeling fairly optimistic that they could pull off a respectable test...We stayed at the yard afterwards as we were halfway to Brand, and set off for Shropshire in good time the following morning. After a remarkably uneventful trip (still can’t get used to a lorry which seems, on the whole, to manage to get from A to B and back again under its own steam...) we arrived in good time and settled Noffy into his stable. Both he and T were surrounded by old friends – one of the best things about the Pony Programme is how very supportive the kids are of each other, and what good friends they become – and it was all I could do to kick them out to go and get measured on time. Measuring is an incredibly stressful time for some pony riders and their connections, and I feel very sorry for them, while Noff sails through ashe is not in the least a “big pony”
This year’s measuring was especially lively as they had built a special rubber platform, presumably carefully levelled, but it was slightly raised and surrounded by woodchips, and the ponies universally decided it was a pony-eating trap Most of them leapt on, then straight off again several times before they could be persuaded to stand still long enough for the two vets to creep up on them from either side. The remainder grew to at least 16 hands and breathed fire for a good 15 minutes before they sank to a more familiar height...Trot up followed later that afternoon – always good for entertainment: lots of nubile 15 year olds dressed in the shortest mini skirts and/or shorts imaginable, and large numbers of poor officials not knowing where to look
One was held (pony, that is, not official), but all passed ok so that was a relief. Evening passed with a quiz for the kids, who are put into somewhat seeded teams before the competition starts, and some serious catching up for the rest of us.Dressage on Friday: T and Noff were drawn no 6 and were actually 5th to go. Islay had very kindly offered to come up and warm them up so I was strangely redundant – you might think it would be frustrating but I can officially confirm that it was rather liberating
There had already been some outstanding tests, but we knew Noffy was capable of something solid at the least. Unfortunately what he is capable of and what he delivers are not always the same thing... Last year, he took us by complete surprise at Brand by blowing up completely, professing terror at the flags around the main arena, knocking markers and judges’ cars flying in the process This year he tried a different tactic: as they went around the outside of the arena, he started to drop behind her leg. He dragged himself up the centre line in dribble, and heaved himself to a halt with his hindlegs in a different timezone to his front ones (this is usually one of his party pieces, standing still is what he does really well and halts are usually certain 8s, with one memorable 10!) This set the tone for the test, with T working harder and harder and Noff doing less and less – it was like something out of a Thelwell cartoon, with her legs flailing, and him completely ignoring her Naught Noffy!! He has been inclined to drop behind her sometimes but this was by far the worst he has ever been. In fairness T tried really hard and they had a “clear round” with no errors, but Islay and I knew the mark was going to be disappointing and it lived down to our expectations: 57.2 At the end of the day that left them somewhere around 30th of the 40. T was inconsolable as she has worked incredibly hard on the dressage and seemed to have made great strides forward, but just couldn’t produce it in the arena. However, we had to focus on the next bits – that’s the great thing about eventing Walking the XC, it quickly became clear this would be no dressage competition. Last year, the course was criticised for being too soft and too short, causing very little trouble. This year there were some new questions and an extra loop, making it exactly 6 minutes. The main issues were a coffin complex early on, comprising a large ditch with a log on the take-off side, then one long or two teeny strides to a steeply angled rail, then another stride to another rail, steeply angled the opposite way. The water was very big, with a skinny, very wide brush rolltop on the way in, then a sharp turn in the water to “Rosemary” (a max height, square, quite wide boat for those who don’t know her) coming out. Finally, there was a skinny box combination near the end which had a very demanding line through – would have been impossible to ride on a horse, but was only very difficult on a pony
That evening, we drowned our sorrows, or at least I did, in Pimms, and girded our loins for the morning.We fed at 6am as they were on at 9.10 (or at least T did – what sort of a mother do you think I am??
) T was on board by 8.40, then I took a barrow of stuff up to the finish. Me and several other parents were trying to fill our water buckets from the water tanks that had been left there on a trailer: someone cleverer than me figured out how to connect the batteries to the pump and off we went... Only it was like that game Pass the Bomb, and I was the one left holding the hosepipe, filling someone else’s buckets I might add, when up screeches the organiser Janet Plant in her Range Rover. To say my hair was plastered to my scalp and my cheeks blown back in my skull by the ferocity of her wrath would be no exaggeration Apparently we weren’t supposed to use that water Meekly, I left it – safe in the knowledge my own buckets were already full and my ice boots cooling nicely Went back to the start, greased Noffy’s legs and waited for the off.Long story short: they were fab
Clear and 15 seconds inside the time, T said it was one of those rare rounds where everything comes up perfectly and every fence is foot perfect Looks it, too...
Noffy finished easily and I must admit to not having many of the usual concerns and worries you have – it seemed just like a one day. After all the usual ministrations and a good long hand graze (and hand roll...) we put him back in his stable for a sleep – he likes a good sleep after breakfast and this had been rudely interrupted by the need to go round the XC
It being about lunchtime by now, and the course quite evidently having caused plenty of trouble, we started celebrating gently with various friends After lunch, the ponies had an “informal” trot up in front of selectors, team vet and team physio which always feels anything but – no pressure then Noffy trotted up without a care in the world though [To be continued]
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