Fiona
Well-Known Member
After our successful run out last Sunday, Flo and OH were well up for their latest affiliated outing (Intro at Kircubbin), and were glad to get a run after the rain we had all week (event supposed to run a fortnight ago, but postponed).
Got up to heavy rain, but it eased and went off completely just as we drove into the lorry park (which was on hardstanding)
The ground was fantastic considering the weather, bit sticky along the short end of the arena next to the judges car, but due to our mega early start (5am to leave at 7) they were second into the arena so definitely got the best of the ground.
A few warm up pics....
and just because I love it..
I videoed the test and was quite pleased, she was a lot less tense than at her last event, and apart from a wobbly first centre line everything seemed to go well. Unfortunately Mrs Judge didn't agree. She was 7th after dressage, but with a score of 39 (top was 30 - v big moving warmblood), and I thought perhaps ~35 would have been fairer and would have placed her nearer horses she normally beats. Joys of dressage, anyway it didn't turn out to be a dressage competition
Anyway, had a four hour break then before SJ so Poppy, OH and I walked the XC (nice course, twisty but nice, and a good variety of fences incl a coffin with a turn between a and b, couple of skinnies, and a trakhener).
The SJ judge didn't take her lunchbreak (dedicated lady) so the intro SJ was running early with OH due in 3rd in the class. We had a short warm up (10min) but FLo was going really well in a nice rhythm and not touching anything, so didn't ask for extra time and they went on in.
She turned into a 4yo after she jumped the second fence, bouncing and humping and let out quite a large buck just after fence 4, nearly missing the tight dog leg turn to number 5 and understandably taking the front pole of it. Unfortunately she also had the last fence down (2nd part of a two stride double)as OH pushed far too hard in the middle and she flattened. Oops
XC was next and the second and third fences were causing lots of problems for the N and PN classes as they were right beside the lorry park, and 3 was a blind drop into a laneway so lots of backward thinking horses there.
OH was 2nd intro to go XC and the first had already napped at fence 1, and had a stop at 3 before he started.
One was fine telegraph pole spread with flowers in front)...
and so was 2 (a large seat fence off a downhill approach away from the collecting ring)...
and three (drop into lane) was fine, just slowed up slightly. Fence 4 was a combination. A was a skinny made out of sleepers, two strides to B - a tyre fence, and the only problem I could potentially see was that they were jumping into a gap in a gorse copse. Well anyway from where I was (roughly behind her) she seemed to be slowing up and at the last minute dropped her shoulder and ran out left. They re-presented and sailed over, and flew through all the potentially more difficult fences - water with a v narrow approach, the coffin with water running in the ditch, the trakhener and came home v fast.
Call me shallow, competitive what ever you like, but I can't help being a little disappointed that she still feels the need to 'have a look' at an unusual question, and I admit to being sharp with the OH and called him a muppet (among other things).
However - we washed her off and walked her, and I calmed down a bit. Boxed her up, and we headed over to the sec's caravan to say goodbye and make a start on the 2hr journey home.
This is the good bit
!!
Seemingly fence 4 caused carnage in the intro class, there were about 8 stops at it I think. Once they put the time faults up especially, the scoreboard completely changed. OH only got 4.8 time, and most others got in double figures, so unbelieveably there were only 5 clear rounds and OH and Flo were 6th
!!
So...good points were..
- they got placed again
- she seems to have got over her ditch and water phobias
-dressage was OK
Slightly disappointed by...
- dressage score (though poor first c line may have out the judge off, she was def more lenient with others ie comments about bad ground which we didn't get any allowance for)
- two fences down SJ (was previously clear in last 3) but she was being an real t*t
- the stop XC (even though it was at the bogey fence)
I was really thinking she was ready for PN (confident XC, and nearly finding 90cm SJ too small), but after Saturday maybe not, and we should wait a bit longer.
Help
Fiona
Got up to heavy rain, but it eased and went off completely just as we drove into the lorry park (which was on hardstanding)
The ground was fantastic considering the weather, bit sticky along the short end of the arena next to the judges car, but due to our mega early start (5am to leave at 7) they were second into the arena so definitely got the best of the ground.
A few warm up pics....
and just because I love it..
I videoed the test and was quite pleased, she was a lot less tense than at her last event, and apart from a wobbly first centre line everything seemed to go well. Unfortunately Mrs Judge didn't agree. She was 7th after dressage, but with a score of 39 (top was 30 - v big moving warmblood), and I thought perhaps ~35 would have been fairer and would have placed her nearer horses she normally beats. Joys of dressage, anyway it didn't turn out to be a dressage competition
Anyway, had a four hour break then before SJ so Poppy, OH and I walked the XC (nice course, twisty but nice, and a good variety of fences incl a coffin with a turn between a and b, couple of skinnies, and a trakhener).
The SJ judge didn't take her lunchbreak (dedicated lady) so the intro SJ was running early with OH due in 3rd in the class. We had a short warm up (10min) but FLo was going really well in a nice rhythm and not touching anything, so didn't ask for extra time and they went on in.
She turned into a 4yo after she jumped the second fence, bouncing and humping and let out quite a large buck just after fence 4, nearly missing the tight dog leg turn to number 5 and understandably taking the front pole of it. Unfortunately she also had the last fence down (2nd part of a two stride double)as OH pushed far too hard in the middle and she flattened. Oops
XC was next and the second and third fences were causing lots of problems for the N and PN classes as they were right beside the lorry park, and 3 was a blind drop into a laneway so lots of backward thinking horses there.
OH was 2nd intro to go XC and the first had already napped at fence 1, and had a stop at 3 before he started.
One was fine telegraph pole spread with flowers in front)...
and so was 2 (a large seat fence off a downhill approach away from the collecting ring)...
and three (drop into lane) was fine, just slowed up slightly. Fence 4 was a combination. A was a skinny made out of sleepers, two strides to B - a tyre fence, and the only problem I could potentially see was that they were jumping into a gap in a gorse copse. Well anyway from where I was (roughly behind her) she seemed to be slowing up and at the last minute dropped her shoulder and ran out left. They re-presented and sailed over, and flew through all the potentially more difficult fences - water with a v narrow approach, the coffin with water running in the ditch, the trakhener and came home v fast.
Call me shallow, competitive what ever you like, but I can't help being a little disappointed that she still feels the need to 'have a look' at an unusual question, and I admit to being sharp with the OH and called him a muppet (among other things).
However - we washed her off and walked her, and I calmed down a bit. Boxed her up, and we headed over to the sec's caravan to say goodbye and make a start on the 2hr journey home.
This is the good bit
Seemingly fence 4 caused carnage in the intro class, there were about 8 stops at it I think. Once they put the time faults up especially, the scoreboard completely changed. OH only got 4.8 time, and most others got in double figures, so unbelieveably there were only 5 clear rounds and OH and Flo were 6th
So...good points were..
- they got placed again
- she seems to have got over her ditch and water phobias
-dressage was OK
Slightly disappointed by...
- dressage score (though poor first c line may have out the judge off, she was def more lenient with others ie comments about bad ground which we didn't get any allowance for)
- two fences down SJ (was previously clear in last 3) but she was being an real t*t
- the stop XC (even though it was at the bogey fence)
I was really thinking she was ready for PN (confident XC, and nearly finding 90cm SJ too small), but after Saturday maybe not, and we should wait a bit longer.
Help
Fiona
