vallin
Well-Known Member
I promise I will go to somewhere other than Keysoe soon as I'm sure you're all bored to tears of Keysoe reports - it's just so damn convenient!
So on to today, a classic 'bad on paper' day if ever there was one. Since I last reported I am glad to say that my thumb has healed enough to have the cast removed, although the consultant thinks it will be 3 months before I have full use back, i.e. the ability to unlock the car using the button on the key and my year 11s having some that doesn't resemble scrawl doubling up as marking! Needless to say I hadn't been heading either the consultant or my brother's advice not to ride
Post broken-thumb incident I had a bit of a crisis in confidence SJing, resulting in my (fabulous) instructor telling me that I either needed to get off or start riding the bl**dy horse, because I was about to make us crash and burn. Thankfully I found my (metophorical) manhood and got on with it. I'm still not 100% back Sjing, but we're getting there. We have, however, finally began to gel on the flatwork, with DP going from strength to strength. There is suddenly a level of consistency that just wasn't there a month ago and she is feeling so much more engaged making her much easier to ride.
We have also had a couple of XC schooling trips, one to Ely and one to Alconbury. After our last Keysoe outing I made a conscious decided to really focus on our technique and confidence when jumping rather than try and push for the bigger/more technical combinations, even if it means we don't make BE90 this year. As such, when schooling we just went with the aim of having fun and making sure DP did some work away from the other horses and popped some spookier fences. We achieved all our goals, coming away from both sessions with big grins and lots more white marbles in the jar.
Onto *this* ( ) Keysoe outing then. My aims, as published on facebook were:
1) Remember the dressage test, SJ and XC Course
2) Don't get eliminated
3) Don't fall off
4) Finish with a score of less than 108.75!
DP started the day off well by actually loading onto the 3.5t without a big argument (a major achievement) and we got there with enough time to get my number and walk the SJ course before dressage. A was meeting me there which as she was competing in a later class. Naturally this meant I ended up running late as I hadn't taken into account the fact that she usually tacks up DP whilst I get ready so we got to dressage with one horse to go before me *oops*. Despite this DP pulled off a nice consistent test for 35 and the lead in both 70cm sections.
Popped DP back on the box, got the OH some food to shut him up, and then ran round the XC course (I wasn't intending on running but A had set off before me to walk her course and I was trying to catch up her ridiculously long stride, needless to say all 5'5" of me failed ) I was pleased that the course looked really inviting and nothing concerned me so I could set off with a PMA. A also then proceeded to laugh so hard she vomitted coffee all over the Keysoe walk way, serves her right for laughing at my OH choosing to sunbathe over 'help'
Got back and tacked up for SJing and then went to warm up. DP's eyes were on stalks and I was in a bit of a panic about the number of people in the warm. Unsurprisingly, we therefore crashed through the first jump giving us both a bit of a shake up and reminding me that I actually needed to *ride*. Into the SJing and it certainly wasn't a pretty round, but she cleared everything and went when I asked so I couldn't really ask for more
Monsters under this one
BIG pats for the pony and a breath for the hideously unfit rider
We then had a bit of an unexpected wait for XC so sat twiddling our thumbs and A did a very good job of removing DP's plaits whilst I pretended to help and the OH continued to sunbathe (he's really into horses ) Eventually mooched over to the XC warm up to find it rather busy due to a delay. DP munched some grass and then popped up a couple of fences. We then went to the start to watch the three horses before us go so that (in theory) DP could be thinking about following them rather than leaving the horses in the start behind *ahem* . Unfortunately the horse before us had a bit of a paddy at the first which meant DP switched off completely and when we finally got going had the inevitable stop at the first. I then really put my leg on and despite the horse eating people/chairs/leaves/other inanimate objects we made it over the next couple. Towards the middle of the course I really felt her start to pick up, grow in confidence and have fun. She flew down the step, through the water and over everything asked to finish a bit over the optimum time. Tuned out I'd been having a bit too much fun and had sailed straight past fence 11 (where if I think back on it I realise now that I was pretending to ride the grand national *oops* ) but DP doesn't know that so in her head we got the second place we would have had it the jockey wasn't such an ignoramous
Loving it!
All in all a really educational experience for both of us and even the hour it took to load her on the way home couldn't remove the smile from my face, and at the end of the day that's what matters Hopefully we'll be out and about (somewhere different!) soon, so until then, over and out!
V
PS. A did sickeningly well in her class
So on to today, a classic 'bad on paper' day if ever there was one. Since I last reported I am glad to say that my thumb has healed enough to have the cast removed, although the consultant thinks it will be 3 months before I have full use back, i.e. the ability to unlock the car using the button on the key and my year 11s having some that doesn't resemble scrawl doubling up as marking! Needless to say I hadn't been heading either the consultant or my brother's advice not to ride
Post broken-thumb incident I had a bit of a crisis in confidence SJing, resulting in my (fabulous) instructor telling me that I either needed to get off or start riding the bl**dy horse, because I was about to make us crash and burn. Thankfully I found my (metophorical) manhood and got on with it. I'm still not 100% back Sjing, but we're getting there. We have, however, finally began to gel on the flatwork, with DP going from strength to strength. There is suddenly a level of consistency that just wasn't there a month ago and she is feeling so much more engaged making her much easier to ride.
We have also had a couple of XC schooling trips, one to Ely and one to Alconbury. After our last Keysoe outing I made a conscious decided to really focus on our technique and confidence when jumping rather than try and push for the bigger/more technical combinations, even if it means we don't make BE90 this year. As such, when schooling we just went with the aim of having fun and making sure DP did some work away from the other horses and popped some spookier fences. We achieved all our goals, coming away from both sessions with big grins and lots more white marbles in the jar.
Onto *this* (
) Keysoe outing then. My aims, as published on facebook were:1) Remember the dressage test, SJ and XC Course
2) Don't get eliminated
3) Don't fall off
4) Finish with a score of less than 108.75!
DP started the day off well by actually loading onto the 3.5t without a big argument (a major achievement) and we got there with enough time to get my number and walk the SJ course before dressage. A was meeting me there which as she was competing in a later class. Naturally this meant I ended up running late as I hadn't taken into account the fact that she usually tacks up DP whilst I get ready so we got to dressage with one horse to go before me *oops*. Despite this DP pulled off a nice consistent test for 35 and the lead in both 70cm sections.
Popped DP back on the box, got the OH some food to shut him up, and then ran round the XC course (I wasn't intending on running but A had set off before me to walk her course and I was trying to catch up her ridiculously long stride, needless to say all 5'5" of me failed
) I was pleased that the course looked really inviting and nothing concerned me so I could set off with a PMA. A also then proceeded to laugh so hard she vomitted coffee all over the Keysoe walk way, serves her right for laughing at my OH choosing to sunbathe over 'help' Got back and tacked up for SJing and then went to warm up. DP's eyes were on stalks and I was in a bit of a panic about the number of people in the warm. Unsurprisingly, we therefore crashed through the first jump giving us both a bit of a shake up and reminding me that I actually needed to *ride*. Into the SJing and it certainly wasn't a pretty round, but she cleared everything and went when I asked so I couldn't really ask for more
Monsters under this one
BIG pats for the pony and a breath for the hideously unfit rider
We then had a bit of an unexpected wait for XC so sat twiddling our thumbs and A did a very good job of removing DP's plaits whilst I pretended to help and the OH continued to sunbathe (he's really into horses
) Eventually mooched over to the XC warm up to find it rather busy due to a delay. DP munched some grass and then popped up a couple of fences. We then went to the start to watch the three horses before us go so that (in theory) DP could be thinking about following them rather than leaving the horses in the start behind *ahem* . Unfortunately the horse before us had a bit of a paddy at the first which meant DP switched off completely and when we finally got going had the inevitable stop at the first. I then really put my leg on and despite the horse eating people/chairs/leaves/other inanimate objects we made it over the next couple. Towards the middle of the course I really felt her start to pick up, grow in confidence and have fun. She flew down the step, through the water and over everything asked to finish a bit over the optimum time. Tuned out I'd been having a bit too much fun and had sailed straight past fence 11 (where if I think back on it I realise now that I was pretending to ride the grand national *oops* ) but DP doesn't know that so in her head we got the second place we would have had it the jockey wasn't such an ignoramous
Loving it!
All in all a really educational experience for both of us and even the hour it took to load her on the way home couldn't remove the smile from my face, and at the end of the day that's what matters
Hopefully we'll be out and about (somewhere different!) soon, so until then, over and out!V
PS. A did sickeningly well in her class
