Nickymac
Well-Known Member
Hector and I dragged our sorry backsides to Weston, me still sore from being wiped all over the first fence at M Morrell, and him just generally being a hypochondriac drama queen, so probably not on the best fighting form. Thankfully k9h met me there to be my right-hand man (psychotherapist, pony grazer, polo provider and general calming influence - huge thanks to her for that).
The ground was like rock everywhere and H was not impressed at me wanting him to strut his stuff; the more I asked him, the more he tightened and came back at me, so I had to ride a conservative test where he did everything, but nothing was particularly special (other than how he recovered when his back legs went completely from underneath him on a corner in canter!). I wasn't too surprised to get 59.4, although was a bit miffed to see that the two judges were 16 marks apart (one gave me 64%, the other 57%, and for one movement one gave me a 4 and the other a 7!)
Onto the interesting stuff, walking the course (and having had a 6 year break since I last did a two star) I thought it was pretty big and square, particularly early on. A lot of fences seemed to have the ground fall away in front of them, or something that led your eye to the bottom of the fence, thus making them seem huge when you looked up to the top. The pumpkin box at 11 bothered me as it was approached between two trees on ground falling away, but was big and square and wide, and it still looked like that when I walked it the 4th time! Good job I had from 10am Thursday to 3pm Saturday to mull the whole course over eh?
Thankfully I was about 5th to go in the two star, so how anyone else got on was not going to get a chance to influence my plan of action. I had a bit of a stud drama shortly before I started when we couldn't get one to stay in a hind (bar) shoe, so I went to the start box with that inner calm that comes with knowing that anything could happen as you have only one stud in behind and the first six fences are on the side of a hill..... I'd already decided not to go hammer and tongs (what's the point when you're 35th after dressage?!), but to use it to see what my not-very-brave pony was capable of. H likes things to be right in his head and then he'll have a go, but you can't hassle him or he just worries and shuts down.
So off we set, got a bit of a funny line to the second of the houses at 4, but was fab to the big pimple brush at 6, then did a real baby "OMG it's got a ditch in front of it" to the brush at 8, but settled over 9 and 10, and having seen a good one to the Pumpkin Box we took off, but he seemed to ponder for a millisecond and next thing I know he was ploughing a furrow on the other side of it! Normally this would reduce him to a gibbering wreck, but he picked himself up and off we went, nicely over the first coffin, first water, second water (funny double of logs into a wide ditch), through the arena and over a few big wide ones before coming to the second coffin. It was a skinny in that was like the front half of a roll top with brush on top, and was seriously wide, then the ground disappeared and two strides to the ditch, then two strides to another skinny exactly the same. So whilst I know what a coffin canter is, this had to be a bit bigger and more forward, particularly on Mr I'd-Like-To-Have-A-Look-Before-I-Commit-Myself. He was great in, minced a bit over the ditch, and then I sat and let him make it three strides to the skinny out. Off then to the Kidney Pond (decent drop in and then brush in the water), then the double of corners which (and I never say this
) he was copybook through, then two on a curving three strides and two more to finish. Ok, so I was 33 seconds over the time but I reckon that's one we wasted at each fence and 8 that he spent picking himself up after the Pumpkin Box.
We got round better than I could have hoped, and whilst he was green and a bit looky at some, he was 100% genuine and totally up for it, so hopefully having had an easy trip it should sit well with him, and he'll be a better horse for it next year.
We had a couple of G&Ts by way of celebration once we'd picked the bits of Pumpkin Box out of his knees.......ONLY JOKING!!! He had a bit of a scuff but there was no heat or swelling (they must breed em tough in Yorkshire!), and he trotted up fine on Sunday.
Showjumping was in reverse order so I was early-ish (lying in 45th place
) He warmed up really badly, I couldn't get a forward stride and I had no great expectations of leaving the particularly skinny poles up. However, once we got in there he turned into Superpony: I kid you not, he was like a different horse! He skipped round beautifully, I don't think he touched one and he was soft and forward and just a joy to ride, and no time penalties either - yay! So it was big pats and lots of polos for him, and me chuffed to bits (chatting inanely and grinning a lot
)
And now the obligatory "if only": if only I had got round within the time and still showjumped clear, we could have been 10th (even with the rubbish dressage mark). Not bad for not very brave, not very tough but very, very genuine pony. (I was 35th btw, and he got 5 points for his efforts).
The ground was like rock everywhere and H was not impressed at me wanting him to strut his stuff; the more I asked him, the more he tightened and came back at me, so I had to ride a conservative test where he did everything, but nothing was particularly special (other than how he recovered when his back legs went completely from underneath him on a corner in canter!). I wasn't too surprised to get 59.4, although was a bit miffed to see that the two judges were 16 marks apart (one gave me 64%, the other 57%, and for one movement one gave me a 4 and the other a 7!)
Onto the interesting stuff, walking the course (and having had a 6 year break since I last did a two star) I thought it was pretty big and square, particularly early on. A lot of fences seemed to have the ground fall away in front of them, or something that led your eye to the bottom of the fence, thus making them seem huge when you looked up to the top. The pumpkin box at 11 bothered me as it was approached between two trees on ground falling away, but was big and square and wide, and it still looked like that when I walked it the 4th time! Good job I had from 10am Thursday to 3pm Saturday to mull the whole course over eh?
Thankfully I was about 5th to go in the two star, so how anyone else got on was not going to get a chance to influence my plan of action. I had a bit of a stud drama shortly before I started when we couldn't get one to stay in a hind (bar) shoe, so I went to the start box with that inner calm that comes with knowing that anything could happen as you have only one stud in behind and the first six fences are on the side of a hill..... I'd already decided not to go hammer and tongs (what's the point when you're 35th after dressage?!), but to use it to see what my not-very-brave pony was capable of. H likes things to be right in his head and then he'll have a go, but you can't hassle him or he just worries and shuts down.
So off we set, got a bit of a funny line to the second of the houses at 4, but was fab to the big pimple brush at 6, then did a real baby "OMG it's got a ditch in front of it" to the brush at 8, but settled over 9 and 10, and having seen a good one to the Pumpkin Box we took off, but he seemed to ponder for a millisecond and next thing I know he was ploughing a furrow on the other side of it! Normally this would reduce him to a gibbering wreck, but he picked himself up and off we went, nicely over the first coffin, first water, second water (funny double of logs into a wide ditch), through the arena and over a few big wide ones before coming to the second coffin. It was a skinny in that was like the front half of a roll top with brush on top, and was seriously wide, then the ground disappeared and two strides to the ditch, then two strides to another skinny exactly the same. So whilst I know what a coffin canter is, this had to be a bit bigger and more forward, particularly on Mr I'd-Like-To-Have-A-Look-Before-I-Commit-Myself. He was great in, minced a bit over the ditch, and then I sat and let him make it three strides to the skinny out. Off then to the Kidney Pond (decent drop in and then brush in the water), then the double of corners which (and I never say this
We had a couple of G&Ts by way of celebration once we'd picked the bits of Pumpkin Box out of his knees.......ONLY JOKING!!! He had a bit of a scuff but there was no heat or swelling (they must breed em tough in Yorkshire!), and he trotted up fine on Sunday.
Showjumping was in reverse order so I was early-ish (lying in 45th place
And now the obligatory "if only": if only I had got round within the time and still showjumped clear, we could have been 10th (even with the rubbish dressage mark). Not bad for not very brave, not very tough but very, very genuine pony. (I was 35th btw, and he got 5 points for his efforts).
