& vis: The highs & lows of eventing.. Hopetoun & Aston reports + a question

[Ali16]

To say that the last few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride would be an understatement...

It started with Hopetoun 2* and I was really hopeful that we could pull a decent dressage test out the bag as Morris has been awesome at home and he was just brill at Salperton, but sadly I let him down hugely during the test by going wrong TWICE (halted too soon and then tracked the worng way at C!). Flow of the test was interrupted as I dwelt on my mistakes & didn't ride forward/set up for movements etc. This meant that Morris turned into a wooden plank and wouldn't turn for my canter serpentine, so our first loop was larger than it should have been. Finished my test and the ground jury president (judge at C) got out of her car to say that she was going to eliminate me for 3 errors of course! I said that there were definately two, but not a 3rd? Apparently my large first loop for the serpentine was an error? Trudged back to the lorry, furious at myself and wondering why I had dragged my support team all the way up there for such disappointment on my part... Anyway, a couple of pics from the test:

So turned out that they didn't E me after all... just got heavily penalised & got an all time low score for Morris of 66. But hey, still a QR.

Walked the XC and was slightly disappointed that it wasn't tougher - we were expecting a bolder Starky track, but it was beautifully presented & looked like it should ride well. Ground wasn't looking too bad either. Course pics here.

Saw the lovely Gamebird at the stables too

Next day went to walk the course again & ground had deteriorated with torrential rain the day before & overnight. The novices had also run on some of the international ground & it was seriously deep. At this point I was going to SJ then W/D due to deep ground. The ground jury obviously heard our pleas to adjust the course & removed a fence where the ground was worst, so I decided to see how the SJ went then make a decision. Warm up for the SJ was v deep & crowded. Not ideal for 'Rear & spin' Morris. For some reason I had a massive wobble in self confidence during the warm up - I was panicing that I would cock it up for Morris & keep putting him in awkward spots to jump out of. So much so that I actually LEFT the warm up to walk home at one point. I only returned after my lovely support team gave me a talking to, told me I could in fact ride & just to go in & have a go... So did a few more fences then went in feeling very wobbly indeed... But, the result was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_5CdRdtVTA


And my fav pic:

So we decided to give the XC a go & was feeling much more confident after that SJ round.

Walked over with a lovely HHO lurker (HI!) & did a quick warm up, then we were off. I must say now, Morris made it feel like a PC track Went fast and direct up to fence 11 then was held for a couple of mins on course at fence 12. Not overly sure that the timing was done correctly at this point but more on that later... Got started again and flew the next couple of fences, including the water (video here) then onto the big double of oxers. I was paranoid about him over jumping going in (have had nasty experience in the past of him over jumping going into a double) so approached in a SJ canter & he flew both. Then pinged the next few, approached the penultimate fence and... he just never took off. He had just sunk in the deep ground & (unknown to me at the time) pulled a shoe Re-presented and we popped that fence & the last beautifully... Gutted does not cover it. We had my time down at approx 75 secs over the time.

For XC pro pics & lots more of the whole weekend, take a look at this album

Morris recovered in just 2.17mins & was bouncing around back at the stables Clever boy. Sorted him then went to get his passport back but was told that that ground jury wanted to see me for dangerous riding Shocked... I look after my horse and would NEVER put him in a situation I didn't feel that he could cope with... So wandered on over to see what I was going to be told off for, only to find 7 other people waiting for the same reason. Lots of other people waiting to complain about timing on the XC too. Went in when called & the ground jury president first told me off for going too fast over the last fence. When I said I really hadn't as we had stopped at the fence before, she said she had made a mistake & it was actually because my horse was tired. So I said he really wasn't & was positively bouncing at the finish, she then said 'Oh, I'm thinking of someone else then'. THEN, when I described Morris to her she said 'OH yes, I remember you now... you were in a SJ canter going into the double of oxers'. I replied 'Yes, because he over jumps' So she told me that I need to think about my horse more & go faster into fences like that... Then she said goodbye & let me go... So really Spoke to my trainer about it & he said to stick to what I was doing & stay safe. After all, I do know my horse...

Shrugged it off & went to check my time.... 66 tps! Could not believe it. Even with the stop it shouldn't have been that much. We decided against questioning it as (a) no point and (b) there was a huge queue of people waiting to speak to the GJ about the same thing...

SO, after Hopetoun we headed to Aston Intermediate yesterday after a very stressy week, so I probably wasn't in the best frame of mind anyway. I was keen to leave my dressage demons behind & determined to ride Morris how he deserves to be ridden, and the result was a forward, fluid test with a couple of minor errors. But we got our first Intermediate sub-30 score of 29!!

Onto the SJ & I hadn't got a chance to walk it as it wasn't built when I first went over there & they had begun jumping by the time I had done my dressage. Warmed up very well, with a few rears & spins from Morris for good measure and went in. Morris was on FIRE! He didn't touch a rail & we jumped what I thought was a clear round... But my delight soon turned to dispair when the judge annouced I was eliminated for error of course I'd missed out a fence... Gutted. Again. Walked home in tears. How could I have let Morris down SO badly? The judge had said that I could go XC HC but I decided against it as I was just so distraught & not in the right frame of mind.

Looking back, I probably wasn't in a great place going to Aston as this week has been, well, hard to say the least. So, the plan going forward is to train hard, go SJ a lot, have a lot of XC lessons and then head to Gatcombe 2* next month.

With regard to self confidence though, does anyone else suffer from the same thing? It's hard to describe really... I'm not remotely nervous about the fences, I just know that I have this INCREDIBLE horse and I worry myself sick that I am going to let HIM down. Any other horse & I'm fine... it's just with Morris that I get like this.

Any suggestions are, as always, very welcome & thanks for reading if you got this far

 

[siennamum]

Oh my gosh, poor you. I really think that without the administrative oddities at Hopetoun you might have been in a better frame of mind.

I really think you clearly are a fab rider and have a wonderful relationship with M. Just chalk it up to experience and move on. Nerves are hell, you don't even have to be afraid of imminent death or injury to go to pieces. My biggest fear is invariably ruining my horse and cocking everything up. It is so debilitating.

I think you need to have a couple of session remembering the stuff you've done well. Really focus on the stuff you are good at, reconvince yourself you can ride and accept that you can make mistakes like the rest of us.

 

[Leg_end]

Poor you, what a rubbish time you've had Hopetoun sounds horrific

As you know I suffer with confidence issues and I can understand the effect that two session like that will have had. For me, it is surrounding myself with people who tell me when I'm doing well, can help build a solid foundation so I know I'm not totally rubbish and are there to help pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong. It's important to replace the negative thoughts with positives so maybe go and do something you find really easily and know you'll be good at. A few sessions like that will put the disasters in perspective and have you ready to attack Gatcombe with your normal gusto

 

[dollymix]

What a shame - for what it's worth, I agree with above re the earlier Hopetown issues putting you in the wrong frame of mind. You clearly have a fabulous horse and a great bond with him.

Try your best to put these two behind you, what's past is past, and I'm sure you'll be back on track

 

[saz5083]

Sorry things didnt go so well at Hopetoun I was actually the fence judge at the last in the 2 and 3* and saw you going round. We didnt report anything all day for dangerous riding at our fence and yours was one of the few in the 2* who didnt look tired at the end, quite a few rattled it! I can only assume the half a dozen people who seemed to be congregated in the commentary box were making those decisions and not those of us actually judging the fence!

Self belief I am no help with as I constantly question my ability to not let my horse down, but all I can say is from what I saw you rode beautifully and obviously have a great partnership with Morris. Im sure he doesnt care if he comes home in the ribbons, as far as he's concerned he's out having a blast with his partner in crime and loving every minute of it

 

[icestationzebra]

Sorry you have had such a horrible couple of weeks. It's clear that you have a great partnership with Morris and he probably wouldn't want to be ridden by anyone else so stop worrying about letting him down! The administrative cock-ups at Hopetoun would have frazzled most peoples nerves - what a shame when people have spent so much money and travelled so far

In terms of your nerves - it's sounds almost like you fulfil your own prophecy by focusing on what could go wrong so much that it actually happens. Some sports psychiatry should help you focus on the positives instead

You and your horse are clearly talented so give yourself a break!

 

[Mince Pie]

Hopetoun sounds like a bit of an administrative disaster, I'd just put it out of my mind if I were you.

As for your SJ fence-forgetting demon, when walking the course name the jump in your head (eg, red oxer, blue upright, green double...) and repeat it until your support crew know the course inside out and backwards! Then, when doing your round, say the name of the fence in time to the canter - "oxer, oxer, oxer"...."upright, upright, upright".... If worst comes to worst, write the course on your sleeve!

As for letting the horse down, who produced him to intermediate - you! Yes the horse is super, but you're not so bad yourself! I also agree with Saz, he's just out having fun with his best mate. Do you still get up on the day of the competition and think "Yes!! I'm going eventing " ? If not maybe it's time to put the fun back in it for you as well?

 

[kerilli]

Crikey, I would be VERY VERY angry at being incorrectly told off for dangerous riding and then told to go FASTER into a combination (by someone who does not know your horse at all) when you had already jumped it safely and well. That is really dodgy advice imho!
As for the confidence... it sounds as if you do a great job when you get in there (missing out fences doestn't count, that's momentary daftness, all done it... sounds as if it was a great round), so your riding isn't the problem (i can totally understand people who are nervous when they are also not competent yet!).
I haven't tried it but lots of people rate NLP, and Jo Cooper's name comes up a lot. Got to be worth a try.
Also, what about watching your videos dispassionately again, and really taking in how it looks, how well it went. Or, play the rounds in your mind again, savouring how good it was to go clear, how well you set it up, the good strides you saw, etc. Emphasising the positives to boost your self-belief.

 

[Jenni_]

Morris is laaavley

Even though I've never competed anywhere near your level I can totally relate to how one little mishap can ruin my state of mind for the whole day. Knocking a pole in my first class will ruin my confidence the rest of the day! A mistake in one dressage test makes me tense and causes me to rush in any others

Not to mention that I can be fine for weeks and then just look at a fence wrong and my confidence deserts me.

It's a shame it was such a bad weekend for you, but I'm sure Morris just enjoyed being out and about at 2 parties. Look forward to you next (and winning ) report

 

[lex2501]

Oh Ali my dear, don't EVER feel inadequate! You are the most fabulous rider and most importantly Morris is loved and cared for more than most horses I know so you deserve him through and through! You guys are both in one piece and so strong in all 3 disciplines so this month is just one to forget - we all have those - and you will come back fighting!!

Big hugs xxx

 

[Tillypup]

Hi, such a shame to read about your eventful (!!) outing at Hopetoun. You (or someone close to you), needs to give you a good talking to! You are clearly a capable rider with a talented horse so you "should" be going into these comps full of confidence in both your abilities.

From my very inexperienced eye it is clearly a mental/confidence issue for you so you need to come up with some strategies that will boost that. Tonight, when you go to bed, before you go to sleep, think through your next event, all the way from leaving your yard, chugging through traffic, etc etc. try and think about how all the different parts of the day feel, try to capture those thoughts and feelings so that you can use them on the day.

Listen to Chris Evans Breakfast Show from this morning when they had the sports psychiatrist guy from the GB cycling team, that was very interesting!

Good luck!

 

[Renvers]

doesnt sound like Hopetoun was very well organised at all. Well done the photos are great, you look a great team

Confidence issues seem to hit everyone, I have found that when my confidence goes it is me trying to alert me to something (if that makes sense?), like I am not ready to do a thing, or have ignored something that needs to be done in prep. I now try and find out what it is, just asking myself the question is usually enough to find the issue and once i have dealt with that I am fine.

Maybe your concern with letting Morris down was making you doubt yourself and your confidence was hit by that.

Maybe have a session with a sports psychologist. I can recommend Charlie Unwin, but I think there are a lot of good ones out there.

 

[Ali16]

It is so debilitating.

I think you need to have a couple of session remembering the stuff you've done well. Really focus on the stuff you are good at, reconvince yourself you can ride and accept that you can make mistakes like the rest of us.

You're really right there - I feel so silly looking back but at the time I was a total mess! Got a lesson coming up so going to pin the trainer down & put lots of dates in the diary for the next 6 weeks! Thank you for your kind words too. Really appreciated

For me, it is surrounding myself with people who tell me when I'm doing well, can help build a solid foundation so I know I'm not totally rubbish and are there to help pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong. It's important to replace the negative thoughts with positives so maybe go and do something you find really easily and know you'll be good at.

Thank you, I'm so very lucky to have such a wonderful support team around me when I go eventing, I know that a lot of people go it alone. I do definately need to concentrate on the positives, rather than letting myself listen to that little voice inside my head that keeps saying 'What if...?'

You clearly have a fabulous horse and a great bond with him.

Try your best to put these two behind you, what's past is past, and I'm sure you'll be back on track

Thanks, I really do, he's a once-in-a-lifetime type of horse and is just so forgiving. That's exactly it, I tend to dwell on things far too much rather than moving on. COnstantly telling myself off for something!!

Sorry things didnt go so well at Hopetoun I was actually the fence judge at the last in the 2 and 3* and saw you going round. We didnt report anything all day for dangerous riding at our fence and yours was one of the few in the 2* who didnt look tired at the end, quite a few rattled it! I can only assume the half a dozen people who seemed to be congregated in the commentary box were making those decisions and not those of us actually judging the fence!

That's re-assuring to hear, thank you I was wondering if my 'feel' was totally off! I did think it was odd that there were so many people called in. I was so surprised to be told off for SJing a fence that clearly needed respect (didn't fancy being wrong to the second part due to overjumping!).

 

[BeckyD]

Just had to reply because I really feel for you - what an utter nightmare at Hopetoun. In so many ways. I think you do need to trust your instinct and your XC trainer, as it doesn't sound like the stewards etc had a clue about who was doing what there in terms of "dangerous riding" (surely that's an excessive number to be pulled up for it?!).

I think a problem at Aston would have been inevitable after the mess at Hopetoun, you would have had to be superhuman to move on from that so quickly. Missing a fence isn't the end of the world, and I say that having just last week missed a SJ fence at Carlton and got us eliminated in the SJ, and I was pretty distraught at the time and also not "up" for going XC HC. You are both safe and well and will live to fight another day. Time to regroup and perhaps as others have said, speak to a sports psychologist, which I think we would all benefit from actually. Might just give you that winning edge and confidence boost to get out there and really attack and get through with grim determination when things don't go according to plan. I really think most of us would benefit from that as we're not all born capable of dusting ourselves off and putting bad things behind us; most of us do tend to dwell and it's not productive usually.

Well done though for the videos and photos - looking as fab as ever! It must be wonderful to have such a great relationship with Morris. Enjoy it!!

 

[Ali16]

In terms of your nerves - it's sounds almost like you fulfil your own prophecy by focusing on what could go wrong so much that it actually happens. Some sports psychiatry should help you focus on the positives instead

You and your horse are clearly talented so give yourself a break!

Luckily what goes through my mind has never actually happened (touch wood!) and Morris is still jumping as well as ever I think the sports psychiatry is a good idea... will be looking into it before Gatcombe I think! Thank you for your kind words too

Hopetoun sounds like a bit of an administrative disaster, I'd just put it out of my mind if I were you.

As for your SJ fence-forgetting demon, when walking the course name the jump in your head (eg, red oxer, blue upright, green double...) and repeat it until your support crew know the course inside out and backwards! Then, when doing your round, say the name of the fence in time to the canter - "oxer, oxer, oxer"...."upright, upright, upright".... If worst comes to worst, write the course on your sleeve!

As for letting the horse down, who produced him to intermediate - you! Yes the horse is super, but you're not so bad yourself! I also agree with Saz, he's just out having fun with his best mate. Do you still get up on the day of the competition and think "Yes!! I'm going eventing " ? If not maybe it's time to put the fun back in it for you as well?

I think when I actually walk the course I'm OK, it's just if I don't actually get to walk it that it all goes to pot! I might be writing it on my sleeve tho in future!

Yes, I still SO look forward to going out eventing and I trust Morris totally - he has never put me in a situation where I need to worry. Thank you very much... I know how much he enjoys it & I just love it too, so really want to get over this whole 'I'm going to let my horse down' thing ASAP!

Crikey, I would be VERY VERY angry at being incorrectly told off for dangerous riding and then told to go FASTER into a combination (by someone who does not know your horse at all) when you had already jumped it safely and well. That is really dodgy advice imho!
As for the confidence... it sounds as if you do a great job when you get in there (missing out fences doestn't count, that's momentary daftness, all done it... sounds as if it was a great round), so your riding isn't the problem (i can totally understand people who are nervous when they are also not competent yet!).
I haven't tried it but lots of people rate NLP, and Jo Cooper's name comes up a lot. Got to be worth a try.
Also, what about watching your videos dispassionately again, and really taking in how it looks, how well it went. Or, play the rounds in your mind again, savouring how good it was to go clear, how well you set it up, the good strides you saw, etc. Emphasising the positives to boost your self-belief.

I was very confused and rather upset. There were a few people who came out in tears after speaking to the GJP too, luckily I was too confuddled to care that much though.

Thank you, I'll look into NLP, also heard good things. Wish I could go back to being a kid when I really didn't care what stride I hit/how it looked, just whether it stayed up or not.. things were so much simpler back then!

Morris is laaavley

Even though I've never competed anywhere near your level I can totally relate to how one little mishap can ruin my state of mind for the whole day. Knocking a pole in my first class will ruin my confidence the rest of the day! A mistake in one dressage test makes me tense and causes me to rush in any others

Not to mention that I can be fine for weeks and then just look at a fence wrong and my confidence deserts me.

It's a shame it was such a bad weekend for you, but I'm sure Morris just enjoyed being out and about at 2 parties. Look forward to you next (and winning ) report

Bless you, thank you very much So nice to hear I'm not the only one!

Oh Ali my dear, don't EVER feel inadequate! You are the most fabulous rider and most importantly Morris is loved and cared for more than most horses I know so you deserve him through and through! You guys are both in one piece and so strong in all 3 disciplines so this month is just one to forget - we all have those - and you will come back fighting!!

Big hugs xxx

This made me a little teary! (Very tired and emotional today, lol!) Thank you very much. Gatcombe party in Sept then? xxx

Hi, such a shame to read about your eventful (!!) outing at Hopetoun. You (or someone close to you), needs to give you a good talking to! You are clearly a capable rider with a talented horse so you "should" be going into these comps full of confidence in both your abilities.

From my very inexperienced eye it is clearly a mental/confidence issue for you so you need to come up with some strategies that will boost that. Tonight, when you go to bed, before you go to sleep, think through your next event, all the way from leaving your yard, chugging through traffic, etc etc. try and think about how all the different parts of the day feel, try to capture those thoughts and feelings so that you can use them on the day.

Listen to Chris Evans Breakfast Show from this morning when they had the sports psychiatrist guy from the GB cycling team, that was very interesting!

Good luck!

Ooh thank for the Chris Evans tip... will listen tonight It's just a self-belief thing. Some people are just born confident - wish I was more like Unsain Bolt but others have to work on it, guess I'm the latter.

Maybe your concern with letting Morris down was making you doubt yourself and your confidence was hit by that.

Maybe have a session with a sports psychologist. I can recommend Charlie Unwin, but I think there are a lot of good ones out there.

That's exactly it... I just worry so much that I am going to let him down. Looking at videos of training and comps, there has only been one instance where I have actually put him in the wrong spot & he just carried on jumping. But for some reason I just seem to constantly replay that moment in my mind before I go in. XC I am fine.. It's just the SJ really. Thanks for the recommendation.. will definately look into it!

(surely that's an excessive number to be pulled up for it?!).

I think a problem at Aston would have been inevitable after the mess at Hopetoun, you would have had to be superhuman to move on from that so quickly. Missing a fence isn't the end of the world, and I say that having just last week missed a SJ fence at Carlton and got us eliminated in the SJ, and I was pretty distraught at the time and also not "up" for going XC HC. You are both safe and well and will live to fight another day. Time to regroup and perhaps as others have said, speak to a sports psychologist, which I think we would all benefit from actually. Might just give you that winning edge and confidence boost to get out there and really attack and get through with grim determination when things don't go according to plan. I really think most of us would benefit from that as we're not all born capable of dusting ourselves off and putting bad things behind us; most of us do tend to dwell and it's not productive usually.

Well done though for the videos and photos - looking as fab as ever! It must be wonderful to have such a great relationship with Morris. Enjoy it!!

Yes - I think it is rather a large number, and lots of the others were really upset about what was said to them when they spoke to her Thank you very much for replying though - it really is all appreciated

I am definately going to look into sports psychology as I so want to get out there and do my horse & support team proud, without listening to those little demons inside my head telling me that I am going to 'fail' & let them all down...

 

[kerilli]

Ali, I think the other thing is that when you only have 1 horse at a decent level, it's very easy to absolutely obsess about it (I was warned about this by a top rider ages ago when doing exactly the same.) Look at this:
http://www.whittingtoneventing.co.uk/Diary.htm
Paragraph 2 of 26 July.

If I had a round with 5 down I'd be berating myself, probably convincing myself I was rubbish, etc etc... but because he has other horses that went well, and a lot of confidence in his ability, he just ignores it, puts it down to being 'just one of those days' for that horse, and carries on.
You look great in the video: you are very stylish and competent, you get a super rhythm and come positively in great balance with power to the fences... there is loads and loads to like there, no dodgy moments at all, you make it look easy, and small.
The video absolutely tells the story... believe it!

 

[Tillypup]

It IS a self-belief thing! if you are not born with that kind of attitude then there are ways that you can teach yourself to think that way!

 

[Ali16]

Ali, I think the other thing is that when you only have 1 horse at a decent level, it's very easy to absolutely obsess about it (I was warned about this by a top rider ages ago when doing exactly the same.) Look at this:
http://www.whittingtoneventing.co.uk/Diary.htm
Paragraph 2 of 26 July.

If I had a round with 5 down I'd be berating myself, probably convincing myself I was rubbish, etc etc... but because he has other horses that went well, and a lot of confidence in his ability, he just ignores it, puts it down to being 'just one of those days' for that horse, and carries on.
You look great in the video: you are very stylish and competent, you get a super rhythm and come positively in great balance with power to the fences... there is loads and loads to like there, no dodgy moments at all, you make it look easy, and small.
The video absolutely tells the story... believe it!

Thank you so much... I would probably be suicidal if I had 5 down! I actually am very lucky & have another horse coming soon on loan that has been to 2* with another rider in the past so it might take the pressure of poor old Morris slightly (not saying that I'm going to get said mare back to 2* but to have even another Novice ride would be very nice indeed!). Lol... not sure why I don't believe what my eyes are seeing, something to work on I guess Thank you very much though.

It IS a self-belief thing! if you are not born with that kind of attitude then there are ways that you can teach yourself to think that way!

And where there's a will, there's a way... I'll get there, just need some help first! Lol

 

[SpottedCat]

It looks great, tho the Hopetoun thing must make you wary of bothering to drive all that way again!

Just a quick thought - do you think you might feel the pressure a bit less if you didn't have the support team there? So just go with one person (maybe a paid groom?) and see if that helps? It's just that one thing which you repeat a lot is not wanting to let people down who've given up time to support you. I know I'd be the same!!

 

[Firewell]

The thing you need to remember is the errors in your report are technical errors. They are not errors because of your riding. To me it just sounds like bad luck, you didnt do anything wrong, if anything it sounds as though the actual jumping parts went really well!
Saying you were noticed for SJ'ing a double on the XC course sounds ridiculous, if you went clear over it then how did you not do the right thing? Eventers always go on about 'coffin canter' into combinations, and in deep mud to get a really short bouncy canter would sound much the safest thing to do to me! Not go flying in.

I would put those events behind you, honestly they were just one of those things. I know a bit about how you feel as I remember a show once when I took the wrong course showjumping with my lovely horse and got eliminated. The next round I was riding my other horse, got into the jump off and blimin forgot the course again! Was stood in the middle dithering with the tock ticking away. I was in tears, felt like I had let both horses down and myself.

Things like that happen though, it's more frustrating than anything.

The only way you will let your horse down is if you show the horse you are upset about these things. To your horse (and you!) you did a beautiful test at the 2nd event before doing a beautiful showjumping round. Your horse doesn't know you took the wrong fence, he did a really good job and so did you. These mistakes really arent your fault or your horses, just put it down to navigational issues and they really are the easiest things to sort .

Your horse just wants to know that he has pleased you and that he has done a good job, all he cares about is that he has you to look after him and that you are both happy.

Try not to put so much pressure on yourself next time and just enjoy it. Crikey I'd love to know I was doing the sort of eventing you do!!

 

[measles]

What a horrible few events for you. Positive mental attitude is easier to say than implement. Spending an evening with a glass of wine looking over old videos and photos of all you have achieved together wouldn't be a bad thing to do. Only you will know whether dropping down a level for some fun at ON at an event or two would be a positive move for you or not.

I hope that you find your confidence again, put these behind you, and finish the season on top form together

 

[Sarah_Jane]

Hard luck, I can totally relate to the self confidence issues, having tried NLP and sports physcology however nothing has really ever cured that feeling that I am not good enough for the level I ride at and constantly let my horse down. I don't think it is coincidence that most of the top sports people are confident and sometimes arrogant (or that is there outward face).

You may find NLP or sports physcology helps you, also make sure you are surrounded by positive people and start making a conscious effort at looking at the positives. There are many that other people can tell you so start recognising them for yourself.

Good luck

 

[Ali16]

It looks great, tho the Hopetoun thing must make you wary of bothering to drive all that way again!

Just a quick thought - do you think you might feel the pressure a bit less if you didn't have the support team there? So just go with one person (maybe a paid groom?) and see if that helps? It's just that one thing which you repeat a lot is not wanting to let people down who've given up time to support you. I know I'd be the same!!

Yes, it does, though the overall event was lovely & it was great to be able to gallop across the lawns of the house. It was just that GJP that brought the whole experience down

Thank you, that's definately something to consider - although I go SJ on my own/with one person quite frequently & still worry that I'm going to b***er it up for Morris...

Saying you were noticed for SJ'ing a double on the XC course sounds ridiculous, if you went clear over it then how did you not do the right thing? Eventers always go on about 'coffin canter' into combinations, and in deep mud to get a really short bouncy canter would sound much the safest thing to do to me! Not go flying in.

Your horse just wants to know that he has pleased you and that he has done a good job, all he cares about is that he has you to look after him and that you are both happy.

Yep - that's genuinely what she said. I wouldn't have believed it myself but luckily I took a friend in with me who heard it too! The ground was definately deep & holding too, so I thought a powerful, bouncy canter would be better than being a bit flat/onward bound?

I am so grateful to Morris for everything he has done/continues to do for me & I know he is a happy bunny in himself, or he wouldn't carry on jumping like he does. We have been on one hell of a journey together & I guess I just worry most about sending him back down to the stressy, worried little horse he once was...

Spending an evening with a glass of wine looking over old videos and photos of all you have achieved together wouldn't be a bad thing to do. Only you will know whether dropping down a level for some fun at ON at an event or two would be a positive move for you or not.

I hope that you find your confidence again, put these behind you, and finish the season on top form together

Thank you Considering getting an entry in for an ON before Gatcombe. Just need to find a spare weekend!! I'm sure I will pick myself up, just as you say, easier said than done!

Hard luck, I can totally relate to the self confidence issues, having tried NLP and sports physcology however nothing has really ever cured that feeling that I am not good enough for the level I ride at and constantly let my horse down. I don't think it is coincidence that most of the top sports people are confident and sometimes arrogant (or that is there outward face).

You may find NLP or sports physcology helps you, also make sure you are surrounded by positive people and start making a conscious effort at looking at the positives. There are many that other people can tell you so start recognising them for yourself.

Good luck

Thank you - wise words indeed Will be booking an evening with the trainer to talk it all through (when he's back from bloody holiday!).

 

[Gamebird]

Thank you - wise words indeed Will be booking an evening with the trainer to talk it all through (when he's back from bloody holiday!).

Book an evening in a quiet corner of the local pub and sit down and talk it over with a glass of wine. Sitting on a horse is always a distraction!

OK, here's my take...

I really enjoyed Hopetoun, even if the conditions were fairly awful at times and my competing didn't go to plan. I thought it was a nice laid-back sociable event, helped by the fact that most people were there for 3 days. The stuff you had to go through after your XC sounds vile, and very confused. I suspect that an inexperienced fence judge had seen 20-odd people gallop at thier fence, then you come at it a lot more steadily and they picked you out as the one in the wrong. It probably all blew up as a result of a couple of badly-chosen phrases over the radio.

I wonder, like S_C, about your support team. I was so jealous of the big crowd you had with you and all the help and support you had but perhaps it is a double-edged sword. I recently came to the same conclusion about my husband - whenever he goes with me to events things go wrong - usually in the SJing. I think, subconsciously, that I want to impress him, do my best for him and make him proud of me and I end up over-cooking it. I'm going to stop him from coming for a bit (no great disappointment for him... ) and go back to going on my own or with Supergroom to see whether that takes the pressure off.

I watched your SJ warm-up and was impressed by how cool you and M were. SO much better than the last time I shared a warm-up with you . I knew you had warm-up issues with him but if I hadn't known I wouldn't have known - if that makes sense. It looked good on the surface, funny, really given your description of what was going on underneath. Your actual round went really well (I saw a few people make an absolute Horlicks of it, especially the treble) and I was touched by how pleased/amazed you were when you came out of the ring!

The biggest problem for me is trying not to make my show-jumping issue into an 'issue' so that it doesn't become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm trying very hard to think of myself as someone who doesn't have show-jumping issues! I'm not too worried about the horse being too good for me or letting it down but I have other things that get in my way. I can't afford personal NLP help at the moment (have looked into it and have had it recommended), but am trying to put together a plan to help with a positive mind-set and am reading around the subject as much as I can.

Best of luck at Gatcombe and with the new mare and if you find the answer please let me know!

 

[SpottedCat]

Can I just take this opportunity to point out that you have jumped 2 clears in a row, both in less than ideal circumstances. You need to focus on that!

 

[AnShanDan]

All I can add, is that you have to ask yourself: "how did my horse go?".

The answer to that is that he went well!!

Maybe you had a few dizzy moments (forgivable!) and the ground jury at Hopetoun sound pretty disorganised (who were they?), I wonder if they feel they *have* to pull so many people up so that they can be seen to be doing something. The timing issues are annoying too, but none of these things are worth worrying about.

You have done a great job on him and you will continue to have success together.

I saw you showjump at Hopetoun and it was a lovely round, there weren't many clears either.

Then your most recent dressage sounds fantastic, followed by (as far as the horse knows) a clear show jumping: what's not to be happy with?

 

[Horsemad12]

I agree about the support team, I tend to do better on the days I go eventing on my own!!!!

Most of us at some stage if not most of the time feel like you do, I think it gets harder the higher you get though as you start riding against more and more pro's and we should never compare ourselves to the full time pro's!!

Ultimatley he is your horse, (I assume) you do this for fun and you have done bloody well to get him where he is. Train and work to do your best but try to enjoy the journey!!

There is no doubt that a pro would do better on my horse than I ever will, but so what? She does not know that (Thank god!)

Your vid's looked lovely, I wish I looked like that.

Perhaps try and get out doing some BS in the next few weeks so that next time you are out it is just another SJ round.

Good luck and chin up

 

[Ali16]

Book an evening in a quiet corner of the local pub and sit down and talk it over with a glass of wine. Sitting on a horse is always a distraction!

Best of luck at Gatcombe and with the new mare and if you find the answer please let me know!

Likely to be a curry and a LOT of beer from previous experience!

Overall I had a good time at Hopetoun, the jouney up there was fun and the XC was fabulous (bar the ground). Loved the evening entertainment and all the stands. It was really just that bloomin GJ president that cocked up my weekend

Thank you for your comments about the SJ.. if only you has known what I was thinking, LOL! Morris jumped his heart out & was just fabulous, even in that awful warm up.

Re the support team, yes, there were a lot of people with me and not sure it was the best choice for them all to come, but it was a case of if that person comes, then she has to come too. It was originally just going to be me, mother and the groom, but a few other people were 'visiting relatives in Scotland anyway' etc so it just kind of snowballed!

If I find a magic cure (might be alcohol related!) I will let you know

Can I just take this opportunity to point out that you have jumped 2 clears in a row, both in less than ideal circumstances. You need to focus on that!

Hadn't looked at it like that... Thanks

All I can add, is that you have to ask yourself: "how did my horse go?".

The answer to that is that he went well!!

I saw you showjump at Hopetoun and it was a lovely round, there weren't many clears either.

Then your most recent dressage sounds fantastic, followed by (as far as the horse knows) a clear show jumping: what's not to be happy with?

He is going amazingly well at the moment Thank you very much re Hopetoun SJ, he did jump beautifully.

I am thrilled with Mr Morris and I think that might be part of the issue.. that I'm terrified of messing up and sending him back to being a stressy, worried boy again (aka the Morris of 5/6yrs ago)..

I agree about the support team, I tend to do better on the days I go eventing on my own!!!!

Most of us at some stage if not most of the time feel like you do, I think it gets harder the higher you get though as you start riding against more and more pro's and we should never compare ourselves to the full time pro's!!

Ultimatley he is your horse, (I assume) you do this for fun and you have done bloody well to get him where he is. Train and work to do your best but try to enjoy the journey!!

There is no doubt that a pro would do better on my horse than I ever will, but so what? She does not know that (Thank god!)

Your vid's looked lovely, I wish I looked like that.

Perhaps try and get out doing some BS in the next few weeks so that next time you are out it is just another SJ round.

Good luck and chin up

Thank you very much Yes, he is my horse and yes, we do event for fun ultimately. Definately going to go to lots of BS over the next few weeks before Gatcombe and lots of lessons too. Then hopefully I'll be in a better place mentally (fingers crossed!!)

 

[BronsonNutter]

First off, can I say that I LOVE Morris?

Secondly, you're being far too hard on yourself! Fair enough if you were beating yourself up because you'd been tipping him over/missing at fences etc, but you hadn't. You went the wrong way dressaging and SJing - do you really think Morris knows or cares if he jumped the wrong SJ fence or turned left instead of right in a dressage arena? He won't, so stop whittling about that

And finally, if it makes you feel any better, my most recent SJing efforts include forgetting completely where I was going (despite having helped build the course together ) and Wibs ending up on his back because of a crosspole. So you're doing much better than me

 

[almostthere]

OMG...you poor thing. I am a mere amateur compared to you guys so hope you don't mind me commenting but the emotion that is coming across from you compelled me to respond. I am the very worst for always thinking it's my fault when things go wrong BUT please please remember the positives (yes there are some) from this "tricky" time. 1. You did actually jump clear sj in what sounds like very difficult ground conditions. 2. It sounds like you were a "victim" (for want of a better word) of a somewhat chaotic Ground Jury at Hopetoun - it just hurts that much more when someone who clearly adores their horse is told they were putting him in danger - and 3. Your horse obviously MUST trust you implicitly to go clear in such conditions and only stop when it would have been bad for both of you to carry on. He clearly adores you and his job and you have a lovely partnership, he doesn't care about the ribbons and obviously had a ball if he was bouncing around 2 minutes after a heavy run like that.
I am waffling now but just know this there are a very few people on here whose reports I always read because not only do I admire the levels at which they compete but the sheer adoration for their horses comes across forcefully in their reports and that to me is what it is all about. You are one of those people. You love your horse and he does everything he can for you. At the end of the day - it's the partnership that counts and you have a wonderful one. I will shut up now and go back to my BE80