HufflyPuffly
Well-Known Member
We had an action packed weekend for once!
First up a lesson on Saturday and I swear my instructor picks times so I always get drenched
. Mixed bag of a lesson with a stroppy distracted Topaz to start, they were turning horses out and she could not help but stare at them , but after a little bit of insistance that I should be payed attention to she worked through it well 
. Her canter work was good from the get go which I was thrilled about as it is her weakest pace. Half pass left is still much more difficult than right and I need to not worry about her neck bend but where her actual shoulders and quarters are 
. Fnished with a look at walk pirouettes which erm as I've been left to my own devices meant they were a unique style at first , however once told how I should be doing it they started to look pirouettey .
Sunday we were off to Bold Heath, now it feels like forever since we were last there so aims for the day were nice 'clear rounds'. With that in mind not only did I enter two mediums but also M75 , erm yeah it made sense in my head .
Tummy troubles had us setting off late but managed a short but sweet warm up and then into M61. We were in the far ring which had xc jumps stored outside it, these were terrifying and then to add to the horror was a lovely family watching with wait for it.... a small child! So it was not our best test especially when said small child made a noise just as we were in extended walk and Topaz honestly seemed to think she'd been shot at , pony club kicking also made an appearance in the canter when heading back to the end of doom! However she is getting more ridable with every time out and that really is the goal, lots of pats to say it's ok and she came back down to earth. So was super pleased with 61% and third in the bronze section in a generally low scoring class.
Popped her away until it was time for M75... Same arena so worked on getting her relaxed at the end of terror, thankfully we were minus small child this time. Got to complete another goal of mine and entered in canter , test went much smoother this time. Our mediums/ extensions needed to be more ground covering and we were a little wobbly in our walk pirouettes (but did manage a 6 
), but her counter canter was actually really confident (first time for everything lol and I think as it was our first time on a curve it helped focus her) and the lateral work went well.
Still a low scoring class (same judge) but still very happy for the level of difficulty to gain another AF sheet and score 62%, which was good enough to win the bronze section and place us 3rd overall . Four medium tests done, 3 wins in the bronze section and two sets of sheets for areas done, clever black hippo pony .
Then a bit of a change of pace yesterday!
After going to badminton and doing the course walk with Lucinda Green, I got (as I always do) that twitch to go xc again. Now as we've had such a long break from when we last did any I felt we should probably be supervised, so I managed to bag a space on a clinic at Smallwood with the lady herself . The realisation that I was about to inflict a fatty, mental, cart horse upon such an esteemed equestrian started to sink in, but in for a penny in for a pound and all that so off we went! In an effort not to be laughed at too much, and much to Topaz's horror this has happened:
Though I needn't have worried Topaz was more than up for the challenge, I learnt so much and we had a ball. Jumped some decent fences, only had a stop/ run out when I rode like a pleb so once I sorted that she just flew. Lucinda seemed to like her too, despite her somewhat unconventional breeding, saying she was super, athletic and had just the right sort of attitude *so proud*. She did also name us the loons as Topaz was erm a 'touch' excited to be out jumping. Unfortunately no pictures as I went on my own 
, but it was a fantastic experiance.
I think a little more leaving the ground may happen this year!
Thanks for reading x
First up a lesson on Saturday and I swear my instructor picks times so I always get drenched
. Mixed bag of a lesson with a stroppy distracted Topaz to start, they were turning horses out and she could not help but stare at them , but after a little bit of insistance that I should be payed attention to she worked through it well . Her canter work was good from the get go which I was thrilled about as it is her weakest pace. Half pass left is still much more difficult than right and I need to not worry about her neck bend but where her actual shoulders and quarters are . Fnished with a look at walk pirouettes which erm as I've been left to my own devices meant they were a unique style at first , however once told how I should be doing it they started to look pirouettey .Sunday we were off to Bold Heath, now it feels like forever since we were last there so aims for the day were nice 'clear rounds'. With that in mind not only did I enter two mediums
but also M75 , erm yeah it made sense in my head .Tummy troubles had us setting off late but managed a short but sweet warm up and then into M61. We were in the far ring which had xc jumps stored outside it, these were terrifying
and then to add to the horror was a lovely family watching with wait for it.... a small child! So it was not our best test especially when said small child made a noise just as we were in extended walk and Topaz honestly seemed to think she'd been shot at , pony club kicking also made an appearance in the canter when heading back to the end of doom! However she is getting more ridable with every time out and that really is the goal, lots of pats to say it's ok and she came back down to earth. So was super pleased with 61% and third in the bronze section in a generally low scoring class.Popped her away until it was time for M75... Same arena so worked on getting her relaxed at the end of terror, thankfully we were minus small child this time
. Got to complete another goal of mine and entered in canter , test went much smoother this time. Our mediums/ extensions needed to be more ground covering and we were a little wobbly in our walk pirouettes (but did manage a 6 ), but her counter canter was actually really confident (first time for everything lol and I think as it was our first time on a curve it helped focus her) and the lateral work went well.Still a low scoring class (same judge) but still very happy for the level of difficulty to gain another AF sheet and score 62%
, which was good enough to win the bronze section and place us 3rd overall . Four medium tests done, 3 wins in the bronze section and two sets of sheets for areas done, clever black hippo pony .
Then a bit of a change of pace yesterday!
After going to badminton and doing the course walk with Lucinda Green, I got (as I always do) that twitch to go xc again. Now as we've had such a long break from when we last did any I felt we should probably be supervised
, so I managed to bag a space on a clinic at Smallwood with the lady herself . The realisation that I was about to inflict a fatty, mental, cart horse upon such an esteemed equestrian started to sink in, but in for a penny in for a pound and all that so off we went! In an effort not to be laughed at too much, and much to Topaz's horror this has happened:
Though I needn't have worried Topaz was more than up for the challenge, I learnt so much and we had a ball
. Jumped some decent fences, only had a stop/ run out when I rode like a pleb so once I sorted that she just flew. Lucinda seemed to like her too, despite her somewhat unconventional breeding, saying she was super, athletic and had just the right sort of attitude *so proud*. She did also name us the loons as Topaz was erm a 'touch' excited to be out jumping. Unfortunately no pictures as I went on my own , but it was a fantastic experiance.I think a little more leaving the ground may happen this year!
Thanks for reading x
