What were your highs and lows of 2009?

[CleverHorses]

With your horses?

My highs would be managing to get my horse to novice level eventing and have several placings at the end of the season. That he has qualified for the novice regionals.
He finished the season sound.
I broke in my 4 yr that I brought untouched from Malvern Sales.
Lastly that I am still with my 2 familys I work for and still loving my job, training the kids and schooling their ponies.

My Lows would be that I lost my gorgeous eventer in the Autumn after a longer battle of trying to keep him sound after a suspensory injury.

That I still didn't manage to find a miracle cure for my show jumping!

What are your highs and Lows?

 

[TinselRider]

Highs;

* Finding a livery yard I'm actually happy at
* Competing at a county show SJ and being placed 3rd
* Getting some money on Bans card (BSJA)
* Getting my lorry
* Getting a NEW jumping saddle

* Getting Lord of course

* Finding a VERY good RI

Lows
* Ban getting his virus not too long ago
* Being bronced of lord many times

 

[Gamebird]

Lows - realising that Carthorse didn't have the inclination for Intermediate SJing (I still maintain that he had the scope, just not the desire!

) and having to decide to sell him.

Highs - selling Carthorse and buying Fugly

 

[tigers_eye]

Good post!

Highs - Selling Liberty to a lovely junior rider, it seems ages ago now!
Getting QRs on William at a CCI**, CIC** and CIC***. We only did two other events and he jumped double clears at both those and was placed so that was good too.
Finding our own yard (now to move in)!

Lows - D'Anver. The best horse I have ever sat my arse on, bought him, turned out he'd got emmenthal cheese for joints. Went back to the dealer for an uncertain future.
Bagatelle - she wasn't a complete disaster but she wasn't a huge amount of fun and I still have a large lump on my leg from her using me to break a fence.
A friend and pupil of mine passing away at the age of 41, a real blow.

 

[ladybones]

Highs- Breaking in my homebred 4yo
*having 2 healthy foals born
*being placed at intro on Harvey
* finding THE most perfet loan home for Tig (a horse i thought would never get on with anyone)

Lows-
* it taking til our last event to manage to leave all the poles up in sj
* my broodmare a) not getting in foal b) becoming very very thin and looking like a charity case whilst away at stud

2010 is goingt o be the best yet though, i'll have harvey upto PN and be competing my 4yo aswell!

 

[PnO]

Highs;

* Doing Aston-Le-Walls unaff intro and getting a sub 40 dressage score and a double clear

* Jumping our biggest XC course ever, a mixture of intro to novice fences at the local hunts hunter trial. (A low of this event was having two stops at the smallest fence on course)
* Jumping BSJA at my first county show (we had two fences down but just being there was great!)
* Backing my 3 yr old that I bred

Lows;

* Havng to 'retire' my horse older horse from XC as although he loves it so much I have no control for a month afterwards!
* Both catching a nasty respiratory infection from a new horse coming onto the yard

 

[Golden_Match_II]

Highs - Going round a pre-novice track on a 13.2hh pony, and getting placed! Getting Tam, and joining BE - and getting placed (and winning moolah!!)

Lows - Millie going lame. Possibly the worst thing that ever happened to me - it was like she died

Saddest thing ever! :'( :'( Was glad I had some lovely HHOers who empathised (Little pink piggies xxx)

 

[LauraWheeler]

Highs

Winning lots of showing rosettes with lucy
Qualifing for the vhs regional finals
Winning a huge trophy in our first handy pony class
Getting photo evidance of Lucy leading two children on there ponies out hunting

Lows

When Lucy fell ill and was diagnosed with amyloidosis. If she survives she will prob never hunt again

 

[Sarah_Jane]

Highs
Achieving an ambition to compee at advanced
13th at Gatcombe Advanced with Sarnita
Winning the BE100 at Pontispool with Poppy
Finding a lovely home for Poppy where she is much loved
Placed at Royal Cornwall show jumping

Lows
Going to Breda CIC*** and having 4 down show jumping then w/d cross country
Having to sell Poppy to help fund Sarnie

 

[Chloe_GHE]

Highs - getting sponsored with fab goodies/instruction/facilities and meeting lots more peeps from the equine circuit as a result
Completing my first 3day
Starting to beat those SJing deamons
Finishing with a sound Soap
Jack coming back into work
Buying Dustry to play with

Lows - Not realising Soap had a virus and having a horrid time at a hunter trial as a result
The depths of SJ glooom but happpily we are getting over it now

 

[MandyMoo]

Highs:
*Jumping my first ever 1m10 bsja course on Monty

*Completing my first year of bsja membership with some money in the bag

*Buying Bugsy, the most gorgeous looking horse i've ever seen!

*Completing my first ODE on Monty at eland lodge in august
*Receiving lots of rossettes and money prizes for my showjumping

*Qualifying for 90cm and 1m Amateur 2nd rounds on Monty
*Bringing on Dani from a very green horse to jumping confidently round BN/Disc

Lows:
*Dani rupturing a ligament in March, and he has only just come back into work this september...so i have to start from scratch of all i did with him from nov 08-feb 09
*Monty getting old

he will be retiring from bsja at the end of december
*Refusal problems with Bugsy, which im currently working with

not a bad year overall. was ace for Monty, average for bugsy and a bit shitty for poor old dani, but role on 2010!!! Once i've sorted out bugsy, and brought dani back on...i will be out bsja-ing them both and hopefully doing well

role on 2010! xxx

 

[jumptoit]

Highs

- Getting consistently placed BE90 up until July.
- Jumping a 1m15 - 1m 25 course at camp!
- Sorting out (or beginning to sort out...) TB's SJing issues.
- Finally passing my C+.
- Improving my dressage and getting over 70% at a PC ODE.

Lows

- It all went steadily downhill from Mid July time but on the up side I think I now know why and it should be sortable, fingers crossed.

- Moving on from ponies.


All in all not a bad year, but I can't wait to help back our first homebred youngster next year

!

 

[ihatework]

Highs:
Winning my first 3 aff dressage tests in a row on my 5yo, my first BD 70+% test too.
Watching proudly as same 5yo finished his second BE event on 28 and double clear

Lows:
Getting bronced off above in competition twice in the same month, once mid test

 

[kick_On]

highs
* quailifing for BE grassroot championships at badminton at first attempt
* get names for sponsorship
* team chasing
* winning an RC area quailifier
* buying new lorry and doing it up

lows
* getting big E at RC championship cos they change format of competition - d'oh that horse doesn't do coloured poles!!!
* i know not horsey but good friend's sister dying of cancer so sad with such a young family........... but it really does put everything else into place

 

[millitiger]

Highs
- Pilfer coming home- God i have missed having an established horse!
- cracking Millie's show jumping so that....
- Millie coming 3rd with a double clear in her 4th BE event
- riding my 3yro Vinnie
- killing off Vinnie's sarcoid

outside of horses, a fabby new job with lots more to do and lots more money!

Lows
- Millie and i being hit by a car just after new year. she is still quite jumpy out hacking
- getting eliminated in the dressage with Millie at her first BE event!
- selling Ellie; she was never going to event but had owned her since 6 months old so still very sad.

outside of horses, someone crashing into my new Mini after i had owned it for 4 weeks!

 

[Holidays_are_coming]

Highs: Sorting out poppys demons, and finding a amazing horse underneith.
Completing my first ODE I cant believe that I managed to get round a x-c course
Winning money BSJA, and getting a couple of double clears

Lows:
The Dressage of every event god she hates it!!!

 

[kit279]

Highs - Happy sound horses. 10th on the chestnut at his 1st BE. Grey horse jumping double clear at Holdenby BE. Getting my lovely grey horse all to myself these last few weeks

Lows - Anything involving the local planning department inevitably ending in tears..

 

[flutterby321]

Highs-
getting my absolute star of a horse

Finding a lovely home for Jasper now he's moved on.
Having an amazing PC camp, jumping 3"3 cross country and showjumping, when this time last year i was still doing 1"6.
Coming 2nd in my first 2"6 comp. back in June.
Winning over 20 rosettes in 4 months with my new boy

Lows-
Having to sell Jasper.
Being thrown on top of a jump.
Failing my C test

 

[KatB]

Lows:
Realising my darling horse wasn't going to make the grade BE with me anyway, and making the very tough decision to sell him.

Highs: Buyng my slightly strange but gorgeous 4yr old who seems to LOVE work in general, finding the perfect home for Goddy where they adore him, and realising what fantastic friends I have

 

[lizzieb]

High - buying a new horse who is such a sweetie

Lows - said new horse violently bucking me off 4 times in the first 2 weeks leading to diagnosis of kissing spines

Other mare has also been intermittently lame all summer so generally hasn't been a good year for me

I'm seriously hoping 2010 is going to be much better than 2009 has been!

 

[diggerbez]

ooh what a good post

highs
- selling the grey in my siggy. i learnt a lot with him but he was also a nappy to$$er and had me in tears more than he made me smile. even better,sold him to a nice hacking/petting home for LOTS of money

- buying my 4 year old who is really the sweetest and most talented thing i've ever sat on. i LOVE him!
- getting placed 2nd and 1st on same 4 year old in his first couple of outings BD.
- having a super lesson with mark todd where horsey was amazing!

Lows:
- getting bucked off said 4 year old about 30 times before realising he's cold backed and persuading him i'm not a scary monster

- frustrating stopping thing SJing (see below post) that is bad pilot error

really hope i'm not going to break this lovely little horse

 

[cheekycharley]

Lows:
- Milly going lame and being retired

-Realising Mils had been wrong for quite a long time

-My darling Milly spending 1/4 of the year on box rest

Highs:
- Buying the new horse!
-Competiting two intros on my old pony who i had had since she was 4 - going from not jumping doubles to two double clears at intro
-Milly in general - she is just so special even now she cant be ridden

 

[Stoxx]

Low:
Loosing my darling pony after 22 years together.

High:
Buying what I hope will be my dream horse last week!

 

[SamuelWhiskers]

Highs:
Jumping our first open xc

My wonderful trainer helping us achieve and maintain canter in a school!

Competing in Working Hunter at the big Agricultural Shows & getting a super clear at one of them

Winning our first ODE

Winning both ridden and in hand veteran classes at Newark County

Riding my Veteran to Church to get married and having both my beautiful boys meet us coming out of church

Completing a few stressage tests on my Irish lad ...with canter in them!

Lows:
Nappiness XC at the beginning of the seaon & silly frustrating stops

A well know event rider telling me my horse was a pig and knocking our confidence and self belief!

The news of my wonderful trainer above having cancer and understandably no more training for a while

 

[Baydale]

Lows: how long have you got?

- fracturing my pelvis at the first event of the season.
- finding out Hector has KS, hence the above.
- having William PTS after 17 years of fun. God I miss him.

Highs: nothing hugely exciting but lots of confidence- and character-building bits including
- BYEH finals with Jup
- Hartpury with HH
- Hector coming back into work
- passing my HGV (I love trucking

)

 

[kerilli]

highs:
successfully backing my two 4 yr olds and having some fun at home on them both, pretty pleased with how they were progressing...
selling my big old lad to a lovely friend as a hack/dr schoolmaster.
having 2 great runs xc on Katy before accepting that she wasn't right AGAIN.
lows:
Katy not getting in foal and costing me a chuffing fortune.
Getting bucked off 2 weeks ago and mullering my cruciate again.

 

[worMy]

HIGHS:

Kelsall JRN - 4th
Double clear at withington
Chatsworth IN - 11th
Goring JON - 1st
Various unaff placings on rosie and ross at intro and pn level.
Selected for JRN Champs at weston park and finishing as one of the 4 team members out of 10 origional people thus getting to go to prize giving.
Finding a new SJ trainer that IMO is revolutionising our SJ

thank the lord

Meeting some awesome people and having a great time at Matt Ryans.
gaining belv 10 more points

LOWS:

Our confidence crash in SJ and dressage and all stops SJ at weston nov, arley JRN, llanymynech JRN, and longeat nov.
20 pens at gatcombe (first xc penalty and after our first ever clear SJ at novice.)
screwing up belv's dressage

still stuck there

belvs injury at goring
and thus our disarster at weston J*
my showjumping....12's, 16's and 20's... not to mention 32 at weston + time

essay much

but TBH, both safe and sound and only missed ONE event due to injury (gatcombe CIC*) and completed my aim of getting belv up to 10 points (got him up to 15) and going to JRN champs, so i really shouldn't complain...

yet i still do as weston was rubbish and wanted to go int but didnt

and i hate my sj and dressage and need to learn to ride properly and listen to people WHO WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG!!!!!!
ahem... sylvia jrn co-ord....
ahem...kerilli..and
ahem....everyone else

LOL
roll on 2010

 

[dieseldog]

Highs:
Dolly still being sound
Rejoining BSJA after a forced break
Dolly being totally imba and getting placed at nearly every show.

Lows:
A non horsey thing that has become a complete nightmare

 

[only_me]

HIGHs
Consistently getting better dressage every time out
Always in top 10 if finished
Getting better and better xc, and also getting nearer the time

Only 2 poles down all season with me
representing Northern Ireland again for the 3rd consecutive year, this time at RDS and coming 5th in very tough class, and jumping clear in the 1.15-1.20 class.
Ending the year with a sound and happy horse

LOWs
Falling on the flat xc

Twisted fetlock from that = missed pc areas and some events
Having very bad rut for 3 months where everything i touched went lame
I was lame for while
Not improving fast enough dressage
My riding was horrendous

having 2 poles down
Lost all my confidence
LOTS of cancelled events

 

[Santa_Claus]

Been another quiet year for me due to lack of funds but..

Highs
- Managing two events, first one 2nd at Stockland Lovell with fab double clear. second one good dressage clear SJ and baby stop at water xc so all good!
- Feeling that Fleur is finally growing up though she does occasionally still show her naughtness like dumping me on floor last week

- moving yard (as also moved house) and finding what so far seems to be my ideal yard!

Lows
- Finally retiring Dan at only 15 as he just wouldn't stay sound with work. He is though not happy fat and living out in a field with friends and fluffier then he has ever been before