Lyle
Well-Known Member
Well! Back from a long, boiling hot weekend of dressage, and I had an absolute ball thanks to Tali!
With the forecast for the weekend being 34C+ both days, I loaded up the esky with ice, sparkling wine, juice and cheese, and headed off as the sun was rising on Saturday morning.
I arrived at the venue with enough time to give Tali a break in his shady yard to recover from the long trip. By the time I saddled up, the sun was blazing over-head, and I was sweltering, setting the apparent theme for the weekend. I hopped on and toddled off to the warm up, seriously contemplating simply standing in the shade as I figured we were plenty warm already! After a quick Gear Check, I gave Tali a quick warm up. He was absolutely on song, had his game face on and was ready to tackle those tests! Just before my first test, my awesome friend with her awesome camera arrived, and managed to get her horse unloaded and bolted over to my ring to take photos!
As I presented to the judge, she peered at me with a slightly pained expression, and asked if she could have a quick loo break before I rode. Pretty much unable to say no, I had to watch as she wandered off in the direction of the loo's and air-conditioning. In the vicinity of 15 minutes later, she returned and I was ready to start my test!
Tali did not disappoint, and for once neither did I and we rode a personal best for a score of 77.8% in the Level 3 (a mix between a high Prelim/low Novice test) We took the win by 6% To say I was stoked is an understatement!! Due to the unfortunate loo break delay, it meant I was literally out of one test and into the other, so I had no opportunity to run through my second test, nor did Tal get a much needed breather. While I didn't 'officially' make any errors, there were a few moments of 'whoops, meant to be circling/walking/cantering'! So not my finest hour, but a score of 68% and 6th place so again thrilled. The thrills didn't end there, as the great score in the first test bumped us up to take the over-all jackpot!!
So celebratory drinks back at the truck, while Tali mooched in the shady yard while staring, in what he no-doubt considered seductively, at my friends' pretty mare.
Sunday morning was a rush as my friend luckily got early times, so we were up feeding/walking and getting her mare ready to ride. I wasn't on until 1pm, and by the time to get ready rolled around I had to steel myself to put on my breeches, and set about the 10 minute struggle to pull them on!
So off to the warm up again, and Tal worked in beautifully. He produced yet another excellent test, although perhaps a little flat, and finished second by .2, with 74% A walk break, and then headed to the final test of the weekend. Well, he felt fabulous, soft, forward and really gave it his all. Apparently the judge disagreed, and a score of 62% and 7th place Well that's Stressage isn't it!!
Tali cooled off for an hour while I packed up. An eventful trip home, driving through 2 enormous summer storms complete with hail, lighting and torrential downpours. Finally emerging back into the oppressive summer heat, the truck decided to keep me on my toes by waving it's temperature gauge around, so I was stuck letting it decide what speed it would like to travel! Glad to be home safe and sound!
Here's a few photos my awesome friend took. These are in no way professional photos, just a fancy camera, and I took about 700 shots of her while she was riding (point and cliiiickkk), so the favour was reciprocated! Button pushers be banished!
Cheese and sparkling Red if you got this far!!
With the forecast for the weekend being 34C+ both days, I loaded up the esky with ice, sparkling wine, juice and cheese, and headed off as the sun was rising on Saturday morning.
I arrived at the venue with enough time to give Tali a break in his shady yard to recover from the long trip. By the time I saddled up, the sun was blazing over-head, and I was sweltering, setting the apparent theme for the weekend. I hopped on and toddled off to the warm up, seriously contemplating simply standing in the shade as I figured we were plenty warm already! After a quick Gear Check, I gave Tali a quick warm up. He was absolutely on song, had his game face on and was ready to tackle those tests! Just before my first test, my awesome friend with her awesome camera arrived, and managed to get her horse unloaded and bolted over to my ring to take photos!
As I presented to the judge, she peered at me with a slightly pained expression, and asked if she could have a quick loo break before I rode. Pretty much unable to say no, I had to watch as she wandered off in the direction of the loo's and air-conditioning. In the vicinity of 15 minutes later, she returned and I was ready to start my test!Tali did not disappoint, and for once neither did I and we rode a personal best for a score of 77.8% in the Level 3 (a mix between a high Prelim/low Novice test) We took the win by 6%
To say I was stoked is an understatement!! Due to the unfortunate loo break delay, it meant I was literally out of one test and into the other, so I had no opportunity to run through my second test, nor did Tal get a much needed breather. While I didn't 'officially' make any errors, there were a few moments of 'whoops, meant to be circling/walking/cantering'! So not my finest hour, but a score of 68% and 6th place so again thrilled. The thrills didn't end there, as the great score in the first test bumped us up to take the over-all jackpot!!So celebratory drinks back at the truck, while Tali mooched in the shady yard while staring, in what he no-doubt considered seductively, at my friends' pretty mare.
Sunday morning was a rush as my friend luckily got early times, so we were up feeding/walking and getting her mare ready to ride. I wasn't on until 1pm, and by the time to get ready rolled around I had to steel myself to put on my breeches, and set about the 10 minute struggle to pull them on!
So off to the warm up again, and Tal worked in beautifully. He produced yet another excellent test, although perhaps a little flat, and finished second by .2, with 74%
A walk break, and then headed to the final test of the weekend. Well, he felt fabulous, soft, forward and really gave it his all. Apparently the judge disagreed, and a score of 62% and 7th place Well that's Stressage isn't it!!Tali cooled off for an hour while I packed up. An eventful trip home, driving through 2 enormous summer storms complete with hail, lighting and torrential downpours. Finally emerging back into the oppressive summer heat, the truck decided to keep me on my toes by waving it's temperature gauge around, so I was stuck letting it decide what speed it would like to travel! Glad to be home safe and sound!
Here's a few photos my awesome friend took. These are in no way professional photos, just a fancy camera, and I took about 700 shots of her while she was riding (point and cliiiickkk), so the favour was reciprocated! Button pushers be banished!
Cheese and sparkling Red if you got this far!!
Last edited:
