Super Successful day at Solihull

wispagold

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I don't really do any competition reports but after I have such a wonderful and surprising day at Solihull I thought I would share it with you guys. I also have a question to ask as well!

I had pretty late times for Solihull and the event is fairly local and as I got all my stuff ready (bar the horse) the day before I thought I could have a nice, relaxed lie in on Sunday only to wake up at a ridiculous time in the morning, oh well! Had the luxury of being able to get Wispa ready slowly and ambled off to the event at around 11 only for the sat nav to announce half way down the M42 that we had reached our destination! I was pretty sure we hadn't and luckily spotted another horse box on the motorway so decided to hedge my bets and follow that ! The gamble paid off and we made it to the event with plenty of time to spare!

Left my little sister (doubling as super groom) to sort Wispa out and wandered off to walk the course and collect the numbers. Thought the course was lovely, with fantastic going and nothing that I thought would cause us any trouble. Got back and set about getting ready for the dressage. Had to say that the dressage warm up was great, loads of space and nice and flat. She warmed up really nicely, very chilled and relaxed. Had been working at home on getting her more forwards and quicker behind while keep her neck out as she tends to go tense through her neck and drop off the contact. Did a few walk to canter transitions to get her a bit more up hill and announced I was ready to go in for my test. Only to realise I still have 20 mins before my time. Gave her a walk round on a loose rein and picked her up with 5 mins to go. She still felt very relaxed so off we went feeling hopeful.

Dressage warm up, taken off my phone so not great quality






I thought our test was ok, it was flowing and nothing really went wrong. I felt as if she just tightened in almost every transition which ruined it for me but overall was pretty pleased. She has been consistently getting around the 32 mark so I thought we were on track for a similar score.

Had an hour and a half before the SJ so was very chilled and managed to fit in a course walk and go for a walk around. Got on for the SJ and she was half asleep! She soon woke up and nearly deposited me on the floor when she spotted a man messing around with some wire on the other side of the hedge. Started jumping and she was really pinging so didn't do too much before I went in. The course was on the small side but with lots of related distances and twists. Apparently this doesn't faze us as she jumped a super clear. Just as I was finished they announced over the speaker that I had the best dressage score of the day with a 22.5 and was in the lead!!!! :D This lead to hysterical giggling from me and little sister was also pretty stunned. I have NEVER had a sub 30 dressage score eventing before. I promptly decided this score was a mistake and they had obviously misread 32, which is what I normally get and far more realistic!

Quick turn around and we headed straight off to the XC. Super Groom went off to check the score board and came back with a huge grin on her face saying that indeed I had got 22.5. At this point I went completely to jelly, promptly forgot the entire XC course and how to ride.

Luckily Wispa was not bothered by the floppy jelly legged person sat on her and set off on the XC with great gusto. As soon as we jumped the first everything came flooding back and I managed to pull it together. I have to say she jumped one of the best XC rounds I have ever done. Made the course feel tiny and I barely had to take a check. Finished the course with a huge grin on my face and they announced I was well inside the time. :D Promptly jumped off, forgetting to unclip my air jacket. Luckily it didn't go off as Wispa is small and I was stood on tip toes desperately trying to unclip myself and hoping no one had noticed! Opps!



So was able to ring everyone at home and tell them I had actually won!! Still in a state of complete shock! Lots of pats for a very clever ponio! Finally made it home at 11pm so was a long but brilliant day.

So the question is do I make the step back up to novice this year or next (or do I quit eventing and finish on a good note?!!)? We have had a 3yr gap after doing a season at novice due to injury. I never felt established at novice and feel it is at the top end of our ability. However BE100 presents no challenge to us. We had done 5 events and done 4 double clears and 1 fence down SJ. I only get to ride at the weekends and don't have the money to event and have lessons/ other competitions in-between. Wispa is only hacked during the week so the other issue would be fitness levels. My instructor/ YO who I have known for years(she backed Wispa as a 2yr old for me) thinks I should enter a novice as my next event but I would like to wuss out and wait until next year as I don't feel prepared for the step up yet. Anyone have any advice or been in a similar position? I enjoy just doing the BE100s as there is no pressure and I know we will be fine but I don't want to wind people up by not moving forwards. We are never going to jump round Badminton so why can I not just enjoy myself and have fun?!

That turned out longer than expected. Egg custard for those that made it this far!
 

wispagold

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Also don't know how to post photos on the new forum or how to search for threads explaining how to do it...sorry!
 

wispagold

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Yes we are still eligible for grassroots. We were placed at Badminton in the 90 section in 2010 so maybe I will see if I can qualify for the 100 class. Thanks :)

I suppose because I know she is capable I feel as if I should move her back up to novice. It is the lack of preparation on the SJ side that worries me.
 

TarrSteps

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If you're happy where you are for now, there is no reason you HAVE to move up. Certainly not to meet other people's expectations! I think you have a valid point that you feel under prepared given your lack of riding time and if YOU feel it's a concern then it's only sensible to respect that. That's not to say you'll feel like that forever but you can always change your mind!

Big congrats on your day! Super result.
 

BeckyD

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Wow well done!!! That's a tremendous achievement!

Lovely XC pic.

If you're having fun at 100 then why do you have to move up at all? We do this for fun and enjoyment, unless it's your job, so if you're enjoying competing at this level then keep doing it :D No need to make it more stressful than it needs to be. You might suddenly get an overwhelming urge to try a Novice and if you do then that's fine too! Don't let anyone else tell you you should be doing more than you are.

It sounds like you would have a great chance of getting to Badminton again! Good luck!

Well done again :D
 

only_me

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Fantastic result! Very well done and as the others have said, if you are happy at PN why not finish the season at PN and then next year think about novice so you have lots of time to prepare :)
 

wispagold

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Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think I will stick at BE100 for this year at least. Then hopefully will manage to get in a few SJ rounds over the winter to get use to jumping the bigger courses again. I think I will start next year with a BE100+ and take it from there. I feel a lot happier with that idea than rushing to move up now and possibly spoiling what has been a really good season. :)
 
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