HeresHoping
Well-Known Member
You are all no doubt bored of my tales of woe by now but just to recap:
After 18 years of no riding, in late 2010 get given a little KWPN mare. She's on/off lame but 10 months later we enter stressage at Sissons. She won't load. Attempt aborted. She is shipped off to stud. Next horse tries to kill me. My bottle ups and leaves. I find this very hard to swallow as I was once an ok jockey with many rides. I am desperate to event but after two months of bucking bronco, I can't even tack up without shaking like a leaf. He goes to the big fields in the sky. Enter Binks. Gradually regain my confidence (although it is not without some trepidation that I put my foot in the stirrup every day), if not my ability to ride (have acquired a defensive forward seat, appalling hands, and an inability to apply legs). Go to Houghton for first stressage in 22 years. Score 60% and don't entirely disgrace ourselves. Enter a couple more tests at... Sissons. Three weeks to go and Binks sits down in a field. He's now happily munching _GG_'s grass.
In May last year the YO very kindly offered me a ride on her little Connie hack, whom she has had since Christmas 2013. JimJams was a broodmare, but after 4 foals ran dry. She had done nothing for 6 years. I clambered on and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was not an easy ride, but we just seemed to fit. A month later we tried a spot of dressage at our own show and came 5th... out 6. We've not otherwise been out, largely due to a) she's not mine, and b) no transport. But, we've worked very hard and have had lessons fortnightly. It's still not pretty to look at but it's 1000 times better than it was and we're cutting some quite fancy moves on the dancefloor these days. And then my lovely friend said why don't you come out with us to Sissons.
Sissons, then. Only to find with a week to go, they'd closed the entries. Gah. Only one judge and they need two if they are to have bigger class sizes. Oh, says me, I can solve that one. So I sneakily gave them my instructor's number (she's training to be a BD judge) and told them I knew she was free because she had threatened to come and watch. Judge sorted and we're on. I entered the Intro B and Prelim 4 - on the grounds that we should have 'one throw away test.' Actually, on the grounds that I might do ok at the baby level. We had a practice run in the lorry Friday (JimJams had a nasty experience and we weren't sure she'd be happy). All ok. My friend, however, had to pull out of the competition as she has hurt her elbow very badly. She's a wonderful friend, though, and drove us anyway.
Emergency lesson Friday evening - left my instructor wondering why she bothers as I rode like a dork and JimJams said she'd had enough by planting by the gate. How embarrassing. I'm 43, have competed at quite a high level and can't get my pony to move.
Up bright and early Saturday to plait up. JimJams was rather put out that she was STILL in her stable after 8:00 and, to make matters worse, had been WASHED. Load up and off we went. We get out the other end into fine drizzle. JimJams then did her 'O.M.G. what the????' act at the site of all the lorries in the park but we headed to the warm up with about 30 mins to the Intro. She was a little stiff and very looky. She also snorted behind some poor child on a little Welsh, making the pony buck and the child burst into tears. Eventually we got some long and low and she started moving a little more off the leg. I did do a bit of 'extended' canter to try and get her to wake up a bit whilst there was a hold on the tests. The little Welsh had bucked its rider off in the ring next to ours. Then it was us.
O.M.G. There were banners. And something very scary in the corner. JimJams was very, very concerned at these. We trotted around looking for all the world like we'd just started riding and someone had forgotten to put the leading rein on. She slammed on the anchors at the second sighting of the scary corner monster and I shot up her neck. But the bell rang and we pretended it was to lull the opposition into a false sense of security. Down the centre line without an argument about which way her bum should go. She wasn't sitting on her bum, though, and I didn't want to start arguing now so we aimed for accuracy and worked on softness to her inside in the corners. She was a little nappy going away from the gate and I just pray the judge didn't see me pony club kicking. It was over in the blink of an eye.
Whilst warming up for the prelim - we really needed to canter halt canter because she's not a fan of canter transitions but it was heaving so I managed about two - my friend fetched my sheet. She handed me the papers all wrapped around a rosette! A pink one! No. It wasn't a pink one. It was a red and pink one. My little pony had only gone and won the Intro B. By 9 marks. I burst into tears and headed off to the prelim looking like something out of a Bram Stoker novel but too happy to care. Oh well. We'd just have to pray the canter happens. We were in a different arena for the prelim - no scary banners. But O.M.G. A redundant judge box. And the boards were definitely the pony-eating type.
The bell went and in we went, very nicely down the centre line and even past the redundant judge box. Our bends could have been a bit better and we missed a marker. I was worrying about the canter instead of riding my half halts to half halts and we did run into it. But we managed to pull it back together. I need to ride up the pommel more to get her more on her bottom and then we won't hollow into the transitions so much. Our contact lacks consistency in the trot work and I was very conscious of it being the case in front of the judge. But, she behaved, although she showed the judge her heels on the second canter transition.
I let her eat the green grass whilst we hung around for the results. I was hoping we might have been in the running for a green rosette, or perhaps a pink one, and there had been a couple of flashy gee gees in our test. My friend tootled off to get the papers and this time handed them to me without a rosette showing. Oh well.
OH WELL! She only went and did it again. 76.4%! I know the Sissons judge is incredibly generous, and I would have given us 65% at the very most, but still! Our first time away from home together and the little girl pulled a double whammy!
Some gratuitous pics of JimJams the 15.1hh Connie ex broodmare. And the results.
Our Prelim Centre Line:
Our Streeetch in Intro (one day we'll get to the end without lifting our head up):
And some frillies:
After 18 years of no riding, in late 2010 get given a little KWPN mare. She's on/off lame but 10 months later we enter stressage at Sissons. She won't load. Attempt aborted. She is shipped off to stud. Next horse tries to kill me. My bottle ups and leaves. I find this very hard to swallow as I was once an ok jockey with many rides. I am desperate to event but after two months of bucking bronco, I can't even tack up without shaking like a leaf. He goes to the big fields in the sky. Enter Binks. Gradually regain my confidence (although it is not without some trepidation that I put my foot in the stirrup every day), if not my ability to ride (have acquired a defensive forward seat, appalling hands, and an inability to apply legs). Go to Houghton for first stressage in 22 years. Score 60% and don't entirely disgrace ourselves. Enter a couple more tests at... Sissons. Three weeks to go and Binks sits down in a field. He's now happily munching _GG_'s grass.
In May last year the YO very kindly offered me a ride on her little Connie hack, whom she has had since Christmas 2013. JimJams was a broodmare, but after 4 foals ran dry. She had done nothing for 6 years. I clambered on and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was not an easy ride, but we just seemed to fit. A month later we tried a spot of dressage at our own show and came 5th... out 6. We've not otherwise been out, largely due to a) she's not mine, and b) no transport. But, we've worked very hard and have had lessons fortnightly. It's still not pretty to look at but it's 1000 times better than it was and we're cutting some quite fancy moves on the dancefloor these days. And then my lovely friend said why don't you come out with us to Sissons.
Sissons, then. Only to find with a week to go, they'd closed the entries. Gah. Only one judge and they need two if they are to have bigger class sizes. Oh, says me, I can solve that one. So I sneakily gave them my instructor's number (she's training to be a BD judge) and told them I knew she was free because she had threatened to come and watch. Judge sorted and we're on. I entered the Intro B and Prelim 4 - on the grounds that we should have 'one throw away test.' Actually, on the grounds that I might do ok at the baby level. We had a practice run in the lorry Friday (JimJams had a nasty experience and we weren't sure she'd be happy). All ok. My friend, however, had to pull out of the competition as she has hurt her elbow very badly. She's a wonderful friend, though, and drove us anyway.
Emergency lesson Friday evening - left my instructor wondering why she bothers as I rode like a dork and JimJams said she'd had enough by planting by the gate. How embarrassing. I'm 43, have competed at quite a high level and can't get my pony to move.
Up bright and early Saturday to plait up. JimJams was rather put out that she was STILL in her stable after 8:00 and, to make matters worse, had been WASHED. Load up and off we went. We get out the other end into fine drizzle. JimJams then did her 'O.M.G. what the????' act at the site of all the lorries in the park but we headed to the warm up with about 30 mins to the Intro. She was a little stiff and very looky. She also snorted behind some poor child on a little Welsh, making the pony buck and the child burst into tears. Eventually we got some long and low and she started moving a little more off the leg. I did do a bit of 'extended' canter to try and get her to wake up a bit whilst there was a hold on the tests. The little Welsh had bucked its rider off in the ring next to ours. Then it was us.
O.M.G. There were banners. And something very scary in the corner. JimJams was very, very concerned at these. We trotted around looking for all the world like we'd just started riding and someone had forgotten to put the leading rein on. She slammed on the anchors at the second sighting of the scary corner monster and I shot up her neck. But the bell rang and we pretended it was to lull the opposition into a false sense of security. Down the centre line without an argument about which way her bum should go. She wasn't sitting on her bum, though, and I didn't want to start arguing now so we aimed for accuracy and worked on softness to her inside in the corners. She was a little nappy going away from the gate and I just pray the judge didn't see me pony club kicking.
It was over in the blink of an eye. Whilst warming up for the prelim - we really needed to canter halt canter because she's not a fan of canter transitions but it was heaving so I managed about two - my friend fetched my sheet. She handed me the papers all wrapped around a rosette! A pink one! No. It wasn't a pink one. It was a red and pink one. My little pony had only gone and won the Intro B. By 9 marks. I burst into tears and headed off to the prelim looking like something out of a Bram Stoker novel but too happy to care. Oh well. We'd just have to pray the canter happens. We were in a different arena for the prelim - no scary banners. But O.M.G. A redundant judge box. And the boards were definitely the pony-eating type.
The bell went and in we went, very nicely down the centre line and even past the redundant judge box. Our bends could have been a bit better and we missed a marker. I was worrying about the canter instead of riding my half halts to half halts and we did run into it. But we managed to pull it back together. I need to ride up the pommel more to get her more on her bottom and then we won't hollow into the transitions so much. Our contact lacks consistency in the trot work and I was very conscious of it being the case in front of the judge. But, she behaved, although she showed the judge her heels on the second canter transition
.I let her eat the green grass whilst we hung around for the results. I was hoping we might have been in the running for a green rosette, or perhaps a pink one, and there had been a couple of flashy gee gees in our test. My friend tootled off to get the papers and this time handed them to me without a rosette showing. Oh well.
OH WELL! She only went and did it again. 76.4%! I know the Sissons judge is incredibly generous, and I would have given us 65% at the very most, but still! Our first time away from home together and the little girl pulled a double whammy!
Some gratuitous pics of JimJams the 15.1hh Connie ex broodmare. And the results.
Our Prelim Centre Line:
Our Streeetch in Intro (one day we'll get to the end without lifting our head up):
And some frillies:
