Ambers Echo
Still wittering on
Well that was interesting...... again!
I walked the course yesterday and quite early on was an A-B-C combination in and back out of a pond. The out was over a, sizeable and slightly spooky looking fence on the brow of a very steep bank. I don't even like cantering down hills, let alone flipping jumping into space and landing on them. Yikes. Then there were quite a lot of skinnies including 2 combinations: fence to skinny up a steep hill then table to skinny at the bottom of a steep hill. Way, way more challenging than Eland had been. Oh god......
But anyway, first dressage and what felt like a fairly decent test resulted in a(nother) personal worst. I really don't understand why my scores are so terrible when several instructors tell me we should be on solid 7s by now based on how we are at home. I was doing better on my poky-nosed fell pony! Sigh....
Then SJ and that felt brilliant. She was calm, she was rideable, she was fab and we jumped clear within the time. Woohoo.
Then the Cross Country..... and a serious case of brake failure. 1-4 were ok if a little fast but as she launched herself over 5C landing on the bank, I lost a stirrup and decided no way was I jumping 6 without it. Unfortunately 6 was near the bottom of the hill Amber was accelerating down at pace. Cue much circling and swearing and 'will you stop you bloody horse' type comments. Stirrup retrieved we were off again and she hurtled up the hill after 6 and I overran 7 which was in a dip and I did not see it till too late. Cue more swearing and circling. Very embarrassing. But I didn't present so no jumping faults luckily. After 7 I managed to contain her enthusiasm and the rest of the course flew by. Amber as ever just had no hesitation at anything. She is so bold and so willing. As I was nearing the end I heard the commentator say something along the lines of 'well she's still clear though she is having a few problems out there." Which may have been about me - I don't know - but it summed up the round very well. We did jump clear. Though had 20 time pens: circling related! So my first ever double clear and on by far the hardest course I have ridden round. So I am delighted. Especially with how the show jumping has come on since Aston le Walls.
But serious work to do on gears and brakes. And on dressage.
Amber in her element: She just adores XC!
I walked the course yesterday and quite early on was an A-B-C combination in and back out of a pond. The out was over a, sizeable and slightly spooky looking fence on the brow of a very steep bank. I don't even like cantering down hills, let alone flipping jumping into space and landing on them. Yikes. Then there were quite a lot of skinnies including 2 combinations: fence to skinny up a steep hill then table to skinny at the bottom of a steep hill. Way, way more challenging than Eland had been. Oh god......
But anyway, first dressage and what felt like a fairly decent test resulted in a(nother) personal worst. I really don't understand why my scores are so terrible when several instructors tell me we should be on solid 7s by now based on how we are at home. I was doing better on my poky-nosed fell pony! Sigh....
Then SJ and that felt brilliant. She was calm, she was rideable, she was fab and we jumped clear within the time. Woohoo.
Then the Cross Country..... and a serious case of brake failure. 1-4 were ok if a little fast but as she launched herself over 5C landing on the bank, I lost a stirrup and decided no way was I jumping 6 without it. Unfortunately 6 was near the bottom of the hill Amber was accelerating down at pace. Cue much circling and swearing and 'will you stop you bloody horse' type comments. Stirrup retrieved we were off again and she hurtled up the hill after 6 and I overran 7 which was in a dip and I did not see it till too late. Cue more swearing and circling. Very embarrassing. But I didn't present so no jumping faults luckily. After 7 I managed to contain her enthusiasm and the rest of the course flew by. Amber as ever just had no hesitation at anything. She is so bold and so willing. As I was nearing the end I heard the commentator say something along the lines of 'well she's still clear though she is having a few problems out there." Which may have been about me - I don't know - but it summed up the round very well. We did jump clear. Though had 20 time pens: circling related! So my first ever double clear and on by far the hardest course I have ridden round. So I am delighted. Especially with how the show jumping has come on since Aston le Walls.
But serious work to do on gears and brakes. And on dressage.
Amber in her element: She just adores XC!