More XC stuff, part of an occasional series. ;) My worst errors xc...

Yup through trees, walk the course and make sure your brakes work, yes i was only 12 doing a PC 2'6/2'9, through trees, 90 degree right hand turn, I planned on going inside tree, pony spotted track that went round tree, ended up going somewhere in the middle and me getting wiped out on the tree.
 
Always check your brakes at home, PC areas (only Novice/Intro) only about 12/13, going through a little bit of a wood fat cob took off into it I hit my head on a tree and he went on and jumped the open fence.
 
ah yes, trees... always have a very very definite PLAN about trees and remember that usually horses look and go wherever you are looking!
i have seen and heard of a few major incidents, incl a very good YR horse who poleaxed himself on a tree (at Champs on team, iirc) and died. Also a top rider who is paralysed now after colliding with a tree.
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at Bonn-Rodderburg 3* there was a tiny sapling in the way a couple of strides after one of the early fences, I was really worried about it as my mare used to drift to the right in the air and if we'd taken off in the middle i could see us landing in line with this spindly sapling and me getting smacked in the face! i was more worried about that than the big fences!
 
curved brushes!! At little downham coming out of the novice coffin, left or right, everyone was having big discussion in the warm up, me on my JRN horse, "which ever side we end up" she was only 14.3 and tended to make her own decisions!! Anyway we ended up the bl@@dy enormous bit bang in the middle!!!!
 
Good thread!!

My most vivid one was very similar to yours kerilli....i was doing the N at Hambledon on horse that had a bit of a disliking to fences before water....she refused the little log just before the first 'pond' water twice, and we only just managed to crawl over the log third time at pretty much walk....came to the second water (drop log in) and i really got some pace and leg on expecting the same drop off from her when we got there.....which obviously didn't happen...cue the mare absolutely launching into the second water far too fast and catching her back legs on the log totally flipping herself and me into the drink!!! She bogged off back to the lorry park and i had a very soggy walk back...


....lesson learnt - DO NOT EXPECT A HORSE TO BACK OFF AND REDUCE THE PACE ON THE WAY IN, GET THE PACE RIGHT FOR THAT JUMP FIRST AND ADJUST ACCORDINGLY IF/WHEN THEY BACK OFF!!!!

The other one i can remember is jumping into a coffin at Gatcombe on a VERY bold but clever XC horse, (my first event horse i may add!), expecting a sweet log one stride ditch one stride log, only to have log one stride ditch bounce log....i was a little too far forward expecting the stride and she clouted me in the face as she came off the floor early....the next fence was a corner, not ideally to be jumped with blood pouring out of your nose and your vision impared....

...lesson learnt - ALWAYS SIT SLIGHTLY BEHIND THE MOVEMENT ON ANY HORSE XC AND EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED...EVEN THOSE THAT ARE AS BOLD AS BRASS AND WILL NEVER STOP!!!
 
ah yes, that reminds me.. brushes. know your horse. at Osberton CCI 2* there was a brush before the water, solid brush to 3'9"ish and then fairly weedy to a pretty fair height. obv you were supposed to brush through it but my grey mare was v precious and really didn't like scratching her tummy... course walked it with lots of experienced people, who all assured me that nothing on earth would try to jump over the top of it, EVERYTHING brushes through...
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yeah, right. wish we'd got a pic of her going literally 6' in the air over it as if it was a bloody puissance wall and me trying to stay on!
 
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in the last 3 strides i changed my mind from "i must be sensible and do the long route" to "we could get placed, try the direct route" (fairly meaty bounce). Changing my mind 3 strides away and changing direction to shove him at fence really wasn't smart at all - safety stop again
What I learnt - make your decision well before the fence and flipping well stick to it!
I am definitely not mentioning the missers where i have seen only a 'hospital stride' and just chucked the reins at the horse, kept leg on, prayed and let it get on with it. I suppose it's marginally better than removing its teeth and burying it instead...!

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I've done that too
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In fact I did it at our last BE! At my first CIC* last month at fence number 3, it was a log / wall thing with ditch and drop behind it, land and immediately turn to 2 angled logs (1 stride in between). They had decided it was a bit tough so we were allowed to turn a circle after the first bit before the logs if we wanted. I had intended to do the circle but as my horse jumped quite big over the log/wall and we somehow ended up on the right line to the logs - I had no reins at all but horse is often ridden on the buckle end, so I kicked on and vaguelly aimed! However, this was too much for me to ask of him, it was a bit ridiculous I have to admit so we just ran past them. I was livid with myself as he popped the rest of the course brilliantly.

TBH, my horse is extremely honest and there's no way I would have got to where I am without him. Often I have not seen a stride, been on the buckle end and just left him to it and he's got me out of some real messers. But then I think thats what you need in a XC horse. Any faults on our BE record have always been rider error!
 
oh gosh yes, i've seen awful/no strides (usually to v big parallels, i used to have a thing about them) and just chucked reins and hoped. this included a HUMUNGOUS parallel in the woods at Bonn-Rodderberg, wouldn't have looked out of place at Burghley! i couldn't see a stride at all on the way in so i went into passenger-mode and the mare jumped it great out of her stride, thank god! lots of relieved pats for that one.

actually, i have changed my mind at the last sec with a good result. years ago at Withcote Hall there was a tricky combination you could take a number of ways. first part - fwd distance to corner, or first part - turn sharp left to jump gate, iirc. i'd intended to do 1st route, but got deep stride to 1st part and realised as we took off that no way would we make distance to corner, so turned on landing and jumped gate fine. that's the only time i've ever thought that fast, i think!
 
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ah yes, that reminds me.. brushes. know your horse. at Osberton CCI 2* there was a brush before the water, solid brush to 3'9"ish and then fairly weedy to a pretty fair height. obv you were supposed to brush through it but my grey mare was v precious and really didn't like scratching her tummy...

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That reminds me of another one of mine!
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Never trust friend who is competing @ I to do your entry for the local hunter trial! Arrived to find I (competing first season BE at the time) had been entered for the 3'6'' cubhunter!!! It was 31 fences!!! on horrid dropping away ground, and the course was basically the team chasing course MASSIVE hedges with a rail in front at 3'6'' and a foot of hedge behind!!!
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I was pretty
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as my tbx didn't brush anything so was v worried going out the start box but he tried his heart out and went clear was so relieved/knackered when we finished that I pulled up and got off before the finish flag so E for me
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This is him over the 31st and smallest fence (he is 15hh) and this is the only 1 he dipped his toes in probs coz by this point he was knackered, me too so please excuse shockingly bad position!!
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also learnt another valuable lesson on that course when I did it again the next year and at fence 29 pushed for a long one. NEVER GO FOR A FLYER ON A TIRED HORSE
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He caught his back feet on the rail and I got catapoulted out of the saddle. Felt so bad for telling him to go, and that he trusted me to do it. lesson learnt
 
god yes, NEVER GO FOR A FLYER ON A TIRED HORSE, that one needs to be one of the Ten Commandments of XC Riding.
if in doubt, pull him together and really get your legs on and jump them sensibly out of a good rhythm!
(i went for a flyer at small post and rail fence at top of long hill at the only ever Team Chase i did) mare caught the top of it, i flew over her head taking bridle with me, and she put a hoof right between my shoulder blades as she carried on. (days before back protectors.) i had a lovely hoof-shaped bruise for months!
god, they're all coming back to me now. it's a miracle i'm still here!
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The more I read on this thread the more flashbacks of my own I have! So indebted to that little horse for getting me out of so many scrapes, he was the best tutor of all
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Ouch horse shaped bruise does not sound fun! although I think my friends fall off her I eventer might just beat that...somehow she landed underneath him and he trampled all over her in big studs and now she has 2 obvious stud dents about half a cm deep on the front of her leg, and the respective holes in her long boots!!!!
 
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curved brushes!! At little downham coming out of the novice coffin, left or right, everyone was having big discussion in the warm up, me on my JRN horse, "which ever side we end up" she was only 14.3 and tended to make her own decisions!! Anyway we ended up the bl@@dy enormous bit bang in the middle!!!!

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I did that (at the same fence!)
 
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