Sarah_Jane
Well-Known Member
It had always been in my mind this season to get a CCI*and CIC** under our belts this year. With a successful Blair the next target was Gatcombe CIC**. Due to weather issues we only had 3 intermediates behind us but they were not soft courses and lets face it Gatcombe has always been a softer 2 star (never ever presume 
)
Friday was dressage day and a nice leisurely start as dressage wasnt until 16.40. The nice thing about being near the end was a virtually empty warm up arena. The test was quite a nice test for us with no rein back but shoulder in, traverse, turn about the haunches all of which kept us thinking.
The arena lacked the atmosphere of Blair but she tried really hard producing an accurate and consistent test with no major mistakes.
[video=youtube;5HiCE8oYWvg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HiCE8oYWvg[/video]
The judges seemed to be marking quite hard and a 56.1 left us in 15th place out of 47 on day 1 and after both days of competition we slipped to 41st out of the 100 starters. In a strong field this wasnt to be sniffed at!
It seemed strange to have a day off but we headed back to Gatcombe to properly walk the course and watch some of Saturdays action. The course at Gatcombe was a little strange, often when I walk big courses the more I walk the more the problems diminish but this time every walk seemed to increase my concerns. Decided to make sure I arrived in plenty of time on the Sunday to see a few go first.
The course pictures are on my website here
My main concerns revolved around fence 4 a log on a mound with a stride to a ditch that suddenly came on you quickly.
Fence 7 an interesting combination of corners and the water towards the end. The one thing that I wasnt keen on was the amount of drops on the course either as a step down or a significant drop on landing, There were 7 jumping efforts that involved some sort of drop and this did seem a bit punishing to the horses although on the positive side the ground was great.
So arrived in good time on the Sunday and quickly walked a few of the combinations to get plan a and b fully in my mind. Positioned myself where I could watch 4 and the corners at 7 and so the carnage began! On a bright note the log on the mound to ditch and skinny at 4 was jumping well however of the first 8 I watched at the rail to double of corners at least 5 had faults.
The water was riding little better with faults jumping in, horses tripping over the railings at the top or then running out at the boat. Safe to say I did not arrive back at the lorry in a confident frame of mind. In actual fact in a strong class only 37 out of 100 horses went clear!
Warmed up but even this was spoilt as there were stops on course constantly and just before I went Dan Jocelyn had a nasty accident at the corners and there was another lengthy wait. We eventually got on course about 30 minutes late.
My intention was to set off positively and take all the direct routes and hopefully move up a few places. Jumped the first 3 well before approaching 4, got a good jump over the log and then she saw the ditch and flung the brakes on, despite me trying to keep the shoulders up I was flung forward, I recovered got my leg on and she went and despite a slightly unbalanced position then carried on over the skinny house. Too be honest I wasnt sure whether we had hesitated enough to be given a stop, she hadnt moved back but I couldnt judge it, I put it out of my mind and carried on over number 5 a straightforward fence and then through the strings, as it was strung the day before suddenly realising I shouldnt have done and having to turn back! Over 6 and then towards the corners which despite the problems I wanted to go straight, I didnt however get a good stride to the rails meaning I was off the first corner and unable to turn for the 3rd corner. I managed to turn and squiggle the long route before crossing my tracks! So by fence 7 we had one possible stop, one wrong side of a string and one unintended long route.
The video shows 4 and then the corners at 7
[video=youtube;3h4NreO3vhQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h4NreO3vhQ[/video]
So over a few simple ones nicely and into the woods down the big drop to the skinny which was nicely done. Then there was a sunken road type fence in the woods with a rail, drop down and then steep rise to another rail where we just slithered over. The bounce to the wall and hedge were easily done but she was a bit backward over the next 2 which both were on ground going away from you and she was just losing a little confidence with the amount of drop fences. We headed towards the water and considering by this time she was not going brilliantly decided to take the long route however this still involved a big hedge in! Got a good bit of impulsion and had a good jump in the water then had to make a couple of turns back on ourselves to the alternative route which really upset out rhythm, the second part of the water was deeper and she just left a leg on the boat nearly sending me for a swim! Luckily she got her landing gear out and kept her head up (and ears pricked) and we survived.
Jumped the last 5 home and finished clear albeit very slow. A good wash down and lots of pats (I think she thought she had finished for the day!) Plenty of grass and strolling to keep her moving and at 2 we trotted up. No dramas here and we lay in 38th after cross country with show jumping in reverse order.
The less said (or written) about show jumping the better! I am still very upset about what happened but can see the positives. The course was fair and well within our capabilities. Considering she had been cross country already she came out and jumped really well keeping her shape and the two that came down could be laid at my door. However the main issue was despite watching the horse before miss the penultimate fence I went in and did exactly the same thing eliminating myself! No excuses I walked it when I walked the course, it did involve a turn back and a fence where you didnt expect it and 5 other people made the same mistake
[video=youtube;0CbthMPzatQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CbthMPzatQ[/video]
So the high of jumping clear in a 2* xc and the low of being eliminated in the show jumping really demonstrates the highs and lows I always promised of Shoestring Eventing. If I had written this eport a few days ago you would have had depth of depression indeed my Facebook and Twitter followers were absolute stars in giving the correct amount of sympathy and kick up the backside. I can see real positives in our 2* and at the end of the day I only did one fence less than anyone else!!
Heading to Dauntsey's new Intermediate to finish our season and dreaming of of CCI** and advanced next season. Sadly it appears I have a date with a consultant and possibly a few operations on my hip so we will do what we can!
)Friday was dressage day and a nice leisurely start as dressage wasnt until 16.40. The nice thing about being near the end was a virtually empty warm up arena. The test was quite a nice test for us with no rein back but shoulder in, traverse, turn about the haunches all of which kept us thinking.
The arena lacked the atmosphere of Blair but she tried really hard producing an accurate and consistent test with no major mistakes.
[video=youtube;5HiCE8oYWvg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HiCE8oYWvg[/video]
The judges seemed to be marking quite hard and a 56.1 left us in 15th place out of 47 on day 1 and after both days of competition we slipped to 41st out of the 100 starters. In a strong field this wasnt to be sniffed at!
It seemed strange to have a day off but we headed back to Gatcombe to properly walk the course and watch some of Saturdays action. The course at Gatcombe was a little strange, often when I walk big courses the more I walk the more the problems diminish but this time every walk seemed to increase my concerns. Decided to make sure I arrived in plenty of time on the Sunday to see a few go first.
The course pictures are on my website here
My main concerns revolved around fence 4 a log on a mound with a stride to a ditch that suddenly came on you quickly.
Fence 7 an interesting combination of corners and the water towards the end. The one thing that I wasnt keen on was the amount of drops on the course either as a step down or a significant drop on landing, There were 7 jumping efforts that involved some sort of drop and this did seem a bit punishing to the horses although on the positive side the ground was great.
So arrived in good time on the Sunday and quickly walked a few of the combinations to get plan a and b fully in my mind. Positioned myself where I could watch 4 and the corners at 7 and so the carnage began! On a bright note the log on the mound to ditch and skinny at 4 was jumping well however of the first 8 I watched at the rail to double of corners at least 5 had faults.
The water was riding little better with faults jumping in, horses tripping over the railings at the top or then running out at the boat. Safe to say I did not arrive back at the lorry in a confident frame of mind. In actual fact in a strong class only 37 out of 100 horses went clear!
Warmed up but even this was spoilt as there were stops on course constantly and just before I went Dan Jocelyn had a nasty accident at the corners and there was another lengthy wait. We eventually got on course about 30 minutes late.
My intention was to set off positively and take all the direct routes and hopefully move up a few places. Jumped the first 3 well before approaching 4, got a good jump over the log and then she saw the ditch and flung the brakes on, despite me trying to keep the shoulders up I was flung forward, I recovered got my leg on and she went and despite a slightly unbalanced position then carried on over the skinny house. Too be honest I wasnt sure whether we had hesitated enough to be given a stop, she hadnt moved back but I couldnt judge it, I put it out of my mind and carried on over number 5 a straightforward fence and then through the strings, as it was strung the day before suddenly realising I shouldnt have done and having to turn back! Over 6 and then towards the corners which despite the problems I wanted to go straight, I didnt however get a good stride to the rails meaning I was off the first corner and unable to turn for the 3rd corner. I managed to turn and squiggle the long route before crossing my tracks! So by fence 7 we had one possible stop, one wrong side of a string and one unintended long route.
The video shows 4 and then the corners at 7
[video=youtube;3h4NreO3vhQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h4NreO3vhQ[/video]
So over a few simple ones nicely and into the woods down the big drop to the skinny which was nicely done. Then there was a sunken road type fence in the woods with a rail, drop down and then steep rise to another rail where we just slithered over. The bounce to the wall and hedge were easily done but she was a bit backward over the next 2 which both were on ground going away from you and she was just losing a little confidence with the amount of drop fences. We headed towards the water and considering by this time she was not going brilliantly decided to take the long route however this still involved a big hedge in! Got a good bit of impulsion and had a good jump in the water then had to make a couple of turns back on ourselves to the alternative route which really upset out rhythm, the second part of the water was deeper and she just left a leg on the boat nearly sending me for a swim! Luckily she got her landing gear out and kept her head up (and ears pricked) and we survived.
Jumped the last 5 home and finished clear albeit very slow. A good wash down and lots of pats (I think she thought she had finished for the day!) Plenty of grass and strolling to keep her moving and at 2 we trotted up. No dramas here and we lay in 38th after cross country with show jumping in reverse order.
The less said (or written) about show jumping the better! I am still very upset about what happened but can see the positives. The course was fair and well within our capabilities. Considering she had been cross country already she came out and jumped really well keeping her shape and the two that came down could be laid at my door. However the main issue was despite watching the horse before miss the penultimate fence I went in and did exactly the same thing eliminating myself! No excuses I walked it when I walked the course, it did involve a turn back and a fence where you didnt expect it and 5 other people made the same mistake
[video=youtube;0CbthMPzatQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CbthMPzatQ[/video]
So the high of jumping clear in a 2* xc and the low of being eliminated in the show jumping really demonstrates the highs and lows I always promised of Shoestring Eventing. If I had written this eport a few days ago you would have had depth of depression indeed my Facebook and Twitter followers were absolute stars in giving the correct amount of sympathy and kick up the backside. I can see real positives in our 2* and at the end of the day I only did one fence less than anyone else!!
Heading to Dauntsey's new Intermediate to finish our season and dreaming of of CCI** and advanced next season. Sadly it appears I have a date with a consultant and possibly a few operations on my hip so we will do what we can!
