Video Sunny Somerford Summer Regionals

HufflyPuffly

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2012
Messages
5,432
Visit site
So after a very up and down few weeks we made it to Regionals!

Brief re-cap of Topaz went lame :eek::(, then sound, but with only a week or so in work I was feeling it might be too soon! Had a lesson on the Thursday to see what top trainer thought, and it was a 'she's sound, she's looking great. go for it'! So we did, we have lost the changes a little again but then we'd only just got them nailed, so I guess time off at this point was the last thing we needed for them.

However, bathed, trimmed and groomed off we went from the wrong direction to Somerford, from Wales rather than Manchester which is a first! Re-attached her plaits (I must start sewing them in...), got acquainted with the arenas and before we knew it we were tacked up and in the warm-up.

66629822_10157757265674274_717234266844430336_n.jpg


Topaz is not great with competition breaks, it always takes her a couple of outings to get her eye back in, so it was a big ask for her but she did try her little heart out for me. This year with no resident Olympic champion to try and run over (I definitely do not think we were the reason she wasn't there, were we...), Topaz settled for just legging it away from the tack check tent :oops:, thankfully she did settle to warm up super!

Into the test arena and Topaz decided the crowd were very scary, getting her past C was a little victory all on its on lol. So the test was hectic, wobbly and not the most engaged we've ever been :p. The changes were rubbish, and she was very much a deer in headlights at anything at the C end, but our extensions in trot are still improving in comps, and I thought most of the trot work was ok, just a shame how many changes are in AM98!

62.32% 16th and not quite last :p:cool:.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Finished and smiling.

66644715_10157757265499274_4263628684872646656_n.jpg

66513591_1065884340264092_6284607103415877632_n.jpg


She may not be their champion, but she's mine and as my BD pathfinder I couldn't ask for anything more! Extra carrots and apples for her, ready for her BD debut at the end of August :cool:.
 

Hallo2012

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 June 2016
Messages
1,584
Visit site
well done! i really wanted to come and watch at somerford on sunday but we were just too busy, all the bloody hedges have sprouted in to triffid like monstrosities and required violent hacking!

you both look really happy and smiley :)
 

HufflyPuffly

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2012
Messages
5,432
Visit site
well done! i really wanted to come and watch at somerford on sunday but we were just too busy, all the bloody hedges have sprouted in to triffid like monstrosities and required violent hacking!

you both look really happy and smiley :)

Thank you, happy to have got there! One day we might be competitive too!

Well done on your dressage score

Thank you :).
 

milliepops

Wears headscarf aggressively
Joined
26 July 2008
Messages
27,538
Visit site
Well done :D so pleased that she's back to work and feeling good again. You need to be a bit kinder to yourselves, lots of good stuff in that test despite the spooking!
 

HufflyPuffly

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2012
Messages
5,432
Visit site
Well done :D so pleased that she's back to work and feeling good again. You need to be a bit kinder to yourselves, lots of good stuff in that test despite the spooking!

Oh I am not good at being kinder to myself, I keep making myself watch it back with various gasps of 'oh god, please stop bobbling about on that poor horse' :p...

I'm going to book her in for some normal AM classes to get our confidence back up and hopefully the bigger scores are still in there somewhere lol! So please that she feels great again, she's not the sort to be lame (in 10 years this has been her first :() so it had thrown me somewhat.
 

milliepops

Wears headscarf aggressively
Joined
26 July 2008
Messages
27,538
Visit site
Oh I am not good at being kinder to myself, I keep making myself watch it back with various gasps of 'oh god, please stop bobbling about on that poor horse' :p...
totally relate to that but your initial description made it sound like a car crash which it most definitely wasn't!! pat on the back to you both, it's a monster of a test to pull off after a break at the best of times so to get a decent score at a spooky champs is a big achievement.
 

HufflyPuffly

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2012
Messages
5,432
Visit site
totally relate to that but your initial description made it sound like a car crash which it most definitely wasn't!! pat on the back to you both, it's a monster of a test to pull off after a break at the best of times so to get a decent score at a spooky champs is a big achievement.

It's funny as it felt so much worse than it looked, and actually it doesn't really look like she's spooking that much in the test, no sure if I'm making it up or covered it up well lol!

If your horse has great changes it's a good test to show them off, but it did somewhat highlight our current struggles, and how many extensions can they fit in one test o_O.
 

McFluff

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 April 2014
Messages
1,775
Visit site
Well done, that looked lovely and much better than your description. What a test, must take some learning to remember that!
 

HufflyPuffly

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 October 2012
Messages
5,432
Visit site
Well done, that looked lovely and much better than your description. What a test, must take some learning to remember that!

Ah thank you, it really didn't feel great but then doing sitting trot on a carriage horse who is not quite 'through' enough is a challenge on its own :p.

Test learning is funny as I don't struggle generally to remember them, sometimes I struggle more with the simpler tests as I sort of forget what I'm doing lol...
 
Top