Harry Rasta
It is ages since I updated you. My apologies, after the chaos of summer we escaped to Portugal for a lovely relaxing holiday in the sun. I’m not sure what happened to the weather while we were away but we seem to have come back to winter.
The August Carmen Court jumping clinic started with a group of three very nervous jockeys who between them hadn’t left the floor in years. They were all somewhere between grey and green to look at, but they jumped around a small course of fences in fine style. And no Donna, Janine Lamy branded sick bags is not what I call good marketing!
We had two groups XC schooling at Bonfleur, including some four year olds having their introduction to XC jumps. They were all really good and took it in their stride, going away full of confidence for next time. Bonfleur is ideal for mixed groups as there is something for everyone and means I can have lead horses for the younger ones without interrupting the flow of the day.
Great news from the North West Kent pony clubbers, Lily Ward passed her B test care and Sophie Etheridge her B test riding. Well done girls!
I have been helping Mark Powell and his huge dude of a horse Harvey. We are starting to see where Laura gets her competitive streak and recently they were 2nd after the dressage and posted a double clear in the Sevenoaks RC ODE. All we need to do now is get the big boy (Harvey, not Mark) cutting some tighter lines to get home inside the time. Watch out Laura, your father is nipping at your heels!
Jasmine was delighted to be placed at the BD Area Festival at Pachesham on Reggie. I think the photo says it all! They have Regional qualification in their sights, fingers crossed.
Tomorrow I drop Harry to the vets for a bone scan. I am not expecting good news but after all this time a diagnosis would be good. He now has a rather long mane and is starting to look more Bob Marley than Michael Flatley.
Otto does good
Well a busy few weeks. There’s been lots of Pony Club rallies and Area Competitions, most recently the Horse Trials which was held at Coombelands, Pulborough. NWK pony clubber Sophie Etheridge was delighted to finish 7th in the Novice with the young Murray but the highlight of my day was Sally Stoddart finishing 7th in the Intermediate. Poor Sally was grey before she started, and utterly convinced she was going to die! With very limited mileage cross country it was a big ask to jump around the BE100 course. Top effort with gutsy riding rewarded!
Meanwhile the dressage divas have been to the BD Regionals. Donna and Otto did Carmen Court proud and came 5th in the Open Novice. This is a truly amazing transformation and all credit to Donna for sticking with it. Round of applause to Team Otto – it can be done!
I mentioned in my last update that I didn’t feel Harry was quite right behind. Two trips to the vets later we still don’t have a diagnosis. Initial investigations suggested kissing spines, but that was later ruled out and we are now thinking possible sacroiliac pain but need more tests to confirm it. Although most of the time I wouldn’t want Harry to talk, it would be easier and cheaper if he could explain what the problem was….“Feckin’ back ache! Arse!”.
We have had a couple of trips out XC schooling at Lodge Farm and Bull Farm. Given the opportunity to show off in front of many (including her breeder, u-hum) Pigtails made an appearance at Lodge Farm. A fair amount of Lily hysteria was on show for all, yet at Bull Farm with no-one about, Lily left Pigtails at home and came as herself. The perfect pony, even leading the other horse over the ditch and into the water…. Those who were at Lodge Farm will understand that I would have found it hard to concentrate on the Ginger Ninga and teaching the group at the same time. So it was Martin who did the deed. We have struggled with Lily’s ultra sensitive mouth this summer and have been having a play with bits. At home we are making progress again but at Lodge Farm we decided to give up and attached the reins to the noseband. Worked absolute wonders and she finished on a much more positive note!
Good news from Groomsbridge, Lexie has been scanned in foal. Obviously we wouldn’t expect it to be entirely straight forward and it started out as twins…but now has been narrowed down to one pregnancy. I hope they chose the right one!
Fantastic news from the National SideSaddle Championships – Morgan Schive won Junior Rider of the Year, and got a write-up and picture in Horse and Hound. Morgan works really hard with Smurf and thoroughly deserves her success. What a way to leave your Junior years. WINNER!
We have a Carmen Court jumping clinic today, XC schooling at Bonfleur next weekend, and I start life as a probationary B test examiner…must get a clip board!
Plan B
Well the weather goes from one extreme to the other. Martin and Tinka were at Brightling Park for the BE90 in the worst rain and mud I can ever remember being at a horse trial in. We were towed into the lorry park which is never a good start, but the rain that fell at lunchtime was something else. It came at you sideways! Tinka has never even cantered in mud, let alone jumped out of it, but was totally unfazed. In two wheel drive (she doesn’t even wear hind shoes!) she jumped a super clear round SJ (Horse and Hound reported only 27% jumped clear in the BE90) then went on to jump a really confident clear around the XC with only a few time faults leaving her 8th. Top banana!
On the Sunday I took Harry to Royal Leisure BS as he has been feeling on fine form. He was delirious to be out again, behaving more like a four year old! The plan was to test-drive him SJ, then XC school and if all OK get him entered for Smiths Lawn. However, with horses it’s always good to have a B plan….although he felt fine at Royal Leisure, he doesn’t really look his usual happy self in the pictures and now I am not sure he is quite right behind and so he has not been worked since. We shall investigate further….
So with Lodge Farm booked for XC schooling I decided to take Lily instead. Unfortunately with Harry off games and Martin away there was no lead horse or companion. She coped with that pretty well, jumping like a star until the only other horse at Lodge Farm left the course, loaded and went home. This did prompt a little ‘Pigtails Moment’ but in fairness we would not usually school a young horse on its own and Lily rarely even hacks on her own so not entirely unexpected. She got over it! Lots more schooling planned in August and with Harry off I reckon I know who Martin has his eyes on for this season’s hunt horse!
We had a great jumping clinic at Bedgebury. I somehow managed to persuade Louisa to take Strider. In recent times her feet have been firmly planted on the floor, in fact she hasn’t jumped a course of fences in over 12 years. Strider on the other hand, has never jumped a course of fences in his life and yes, you guessed it – they jumped a little course – Woo Hoo! I was so chuffed!
The dressage winners have been out in force again. Emma Pearce and Kathryn Nichols were first and second in the Chelsfield Prelim Championships – go girls! Tiny and Clare won their arena at the RC qualifier and are off to Lincoln for the National Championships. Janet Crumbie and Drummer have only recently started competing at Novice but won their test at Speedgate. Zalena who we restarted and sold to Claire Carter won her Novice test at Stilebridge. Jazz and Debbie won their first attempt at Medium – now that’s just showing off! On top of that our North West Kent Pony Club girls Sophie Etheridge and Ruby Fryer qualified for the Novice and Open PC Showjumping Champs. What a few weeks!
I was also delighted to see that the August edition of Local Rider has a double page spread of our Bedgebury camp pictures. It looks amazing and is fantastic advertising. My only problem is how to accommodate the number of people already showing in interest in camp 2012!
Lily, NO!
“Maybe someone needed a granny” turned out to be rather prophetic . On Sunday 26th June we made the horrible decision to have Lucy put to sleep. There was nothing else that could be done, she had fought hard for her short three weeks of life and it was time to call it a day. To be honest this year has been pretty rubbish so far and I can only hope that the second half is an improvement on the first.
Who’d have thought it? Martin being mentioned in the Dressage pages of Horse and Hound! Written up as a bit of a Guru in ‘Against the Odds’ last week, it says “Martin doesn’t get into confrontations; he just quietly sits out the tantrums.” This is very true and probably why Lily so gently placed him on the floor before laying on him. Respect!
I have now discharged myself and the horses from the chiropractors for a while. We are taking very gentle steps between the three of us but I feel like we are making progress. Lily is improved but it is still rather fragile and I think there are also bitting issues that I need to resolve. Harry on the other hand feels like a totally different horse. He is having very few angry moments and is generally much looser than before. I jumped him this week and he felt amazing, really up for it and stretching his head and neck. Quite bizarrely he has also enjoyed being groomed for the first time ever, pulling nice faces and saying ‘ooh yes, just there’. Totally unreal, we’ve been fighting with him for three years! But then the third time I saw my chiropractor I was so wiped out that I could barely put one foot in front of the other for two days. Half an hour of gentle tapping and tweaking and I felt like I had the flu – I don’t really understand it so I’m starting a rumour that they cut up frogs for the cauldron….
Jasmine and Kevin continue to improve their scores with a 64 and 66% at Step by Step BD last week. They had been stuck in the 58-60% doldrums when I started helping in November last year and I am really pleased that we are starting to see the benefit of our work. Her other ride Reggie has also pulled out all the stops and recently produced a personal best for Jasmine of 68% – happy faces at last!
Tinka and Martin went to Eridge last Saturday for the BE90. She was a little excited about the dressage but it was improved on the last test, jumped a fantastic clear SJ and was going great guns on the XC when she lost a shoe and missed the turn to the second last fence. Bless her, she didn’t even realise she was supposed to be turning let alone jumping. To add insult to injury she would have been third! So although a little disappointing we are really pleased with how she is coming on. She seems well up for the job and is really smart!
Louisa was at the Stilebridge dressage championships last Sunday and despite it only being their fourth Novice test, they came 3rd with 67% Top effort, he is really starting to look the business!
Then yesterday we had a Carmen Court jumping clinic. I took the opportunity to jump Harry and Lily, mostly as an assessment of how they are feeling after two months off. Harry, although as fat as a house after the break, felt well up for it and was really keen which is very unusual for him at home. I needed to stay behind him and allow him his head more. I admit to being a little rusty! Lily seemed pretty relaxed, perfectly confident and although she had lost a little technique I know this will come back and was really pleased with her. However I was reminded of how quickly she reacts and how I need to think ahead (they are so different!). We had a breakdown in communications on turning to one fence, she saw it at the last minute and skipped past it, then had a red-headed angry with mother moment “How dare you put me in that situation?!” There was much bucking and leaping and boy it came up thick and fast. At one point I swear I could have touched the sand with my tongue I was that close, eventually I found myself sitting on her neck holding onto the throatlash with both hands! Fortunately she didn’t like that very much and flipped her head back, boinged again and hey presto I was back in the saddle. I had no idea which way was up, no stirrups and was manically grabbing at bits of leather in the hope of finding some reins when she saw what she thought was the next fence….”Lily, NO!”
While we were jumping at Carmen Court four of our North West Kent Pony Clubbers (Ellie, Morgan, Sally and Elize) all passed their C+ tests – well done girls!
A brilliant weekend of fun
We’ve been so busy!
A pretty quiet Carmen Court clinic but as always it was great to see the improvement in the regulars, plus some new faces.
Harry and Lily have been slowly brought back into work, quietly tempting them off the naughty step. It’s been very tentative but Lily and I have had three sessions in the school without drama so fingers crossed that this is progress. Harry on the other hand is firmly in the bad-boy camp, and has thrashed about to the extent that now I am the one having my back treated! Before I go any further, you may know, is it normal to find your chiropractor with her head in her hands staring blankly at your notes after a session?!
Anyway both ponies went back to see Jose yesterday and while Lily was looking loads better, Harry still was very sore. Guess that explains things. I have stopped with his carrot stretches, his behaviour in the stable now verging on dangerous. I probably should have trusted my instinct and not even gone there, now I have a monster to tame (again).
He had qualified for the Hickstead Masters Semi-final but won’t be ready in time so was thinking maybe he can go to the Area Festival instead…it would be nice to think we will solve this soon and get out eventing again. This was not my plan this year!
Lucy lurches from one crisis to the next. Two days after my last post we made the awful decision to have her put to sleep. She looked really uncomfortable, was covered in horrid sores, so it was all arranged for the Sunday morning and the stud had started to look for a foster foal for Lexie. Much upset at White Cottages. The vet from Rossdales turns up that morning, she boots him, leaps about and says ‘no thank you, you will do no such thing‘. A reprieve! Two weeks later the fetlocks are off the floor but she still has some horrid sores…so this week she has been fitted with some heel extensions to get her standing properly. Another nervous wait as she was feeling so sorry for herself after a day of standing like this that they were worried she had an infection in the joint….I tell you, when my head eventually explodes it‘s going to be messy. Thank god there was no infection and we leave the story there…..come on Lucy, we are all rooting for you.
Last weekend we ran an adult camp at Bedgebury – wow, what a laugh! A fantastic weekend was had by all, I really could not have asked for it to go better. A huge thanks must go to Martin who did an amazing job of feeding us all, and to Louisa who took a million brilliant photographs. The facilities at Bedgebury were tops – anywhere else in that weather would have been horrendous. Even the BBQ was under cover and to have a very smart cottage to use made all the difference – somewhere dry and warm to shower, have a few beers and meet up for breakfast in the morning – Go Bedgebury! We had a great morning XC schooling at Hurstwood Farm on Sunday and wearily made our way home that afternoon. I still haven’t recovered!
On Tuesday, half asleep, I had my final UKCC level 2 assessment. Whether I find the time and energy to do Level 3 I don’t know….the amount of paperwork is a nightmare. My parents will be disgusted to hear that the years haven’t changed me. My homework not done, I was frantically scribbling my lesson plan out at the venue that morning. Don’t tell my assessors!
Then some very sad news. My mum’s pony Truffles had very suddenly gone blind over the last few days and there was no choice but to put her to sleep on Wednesday. A bright perky little pony, 17 years ago viewing her in the snow I advised mum not to buy her. With only hacking experience I thought she would be too much for her but mum was adamant. A special bond developed, many years of great friendship and fun. I got the call “Will you teach me to jump?“. Uh-oh. Tell you what, once you get a pony and rider into the middle of a willow tree it is almost impossible to get them out! They did Riding Club camp, Truffs introduced the grandchildren to cantering and jumping, they gave it all a go. Mostly, hours and hours of hand grazing, grooming and hacking. Mum has lost her soul-mate. She has gone to catch up with the others, sooner than we expected, maybe someone needed a granny….
Lucy, born 5th June
Crikey, where to start..
Lily seems a good place. She has continued to be a bit challenging so I put Martin up to see if I could see what was causing it from the floor. Oops! After much dummy spitting Lily lost her balance and slipped over sideways with him onboard. By the following morning he couldn’t stand so it was off to A&E we went. Well actually….I have to admit that he was being such a bad patient that I dropped him in the carpark, left him to hop, went to do a lesson and went back later to see if he was still in the queue! When I got back he was his usual cheerful self, couldn’t see any reason why he needed a wheelchair, moaned about my driving (OK so I hit the odd door-frame, a couple of chairs and an elderly patient as I pushed him the short distance back from X-ray…), didn’t think he needed crutches, etc etc. Enough! So when we got home I left him with strict instructions to do the ironing and I went out again to play ponies.
The following day he could take some weight on it so he decided to try riding (you think I‘m joking), and on Monday he came and walked the XC course at Hurstwood Farm with me. If anyone asks, he’s ‘fine’…
I was supposed to be with Louisa and Strider at the Hickstead SouthEast Unaffiliated Dressage Champs, not at Darenth Valley! However, she did a brilliant job without me and was 7th in her class. On the same day Sue Wheble took Morgan to Speedgate for her second outing since starting with me seven or so months ago. Superb effort, by all accounts she really rode him well and scored 68% in both prelims. Fantastic!
A trip to the Orthopaedic specialist for Martin and they think he has torn the meniscus cartilage in the knee and may need an operation to sort it out, so we wait for an appointment for an MRI. In the meantime Tinka has her first BE90 in a week….and nothing is stopping him from riding her there.
I carried on working Lily on long-lines for the next week so that I could watch what is happening and work through it from the safety of the ground. She still wasn’t a happy girl so in order to tick off all possible problems the dentist took a look and she went to see a chiropractor on the Saturday.
It’s not just Lily on the naughty step, Harry has been foul too. But for about two months. I decided to give him two weeks of hacking to see if it made a difference and I can report it has, but not one I wanted. He was pretty fit and two weeks of doing very little has turned him into a giant snorting loon! Suddenly he is scared of everything and I am often seen reversing up the lanes because he wont go past something. He had a blood test to make sure all was OK, went down the Gastro route to see if he had pain in the stomach, and finally he went off to see the chiropractor too.
So I took out a mortgage, loaded the lorry with fuel and ponies and headed off to see Jose Gomez-Garcia down near Pulborough. Lily had a back like a snake, “no wonder she doesn’t want to turn right” and was generally tight through her back, very sore in her withers (possible cause of rearing), and very stiff in the neck. We were discussing what a mess she was, and why (maybe a fall in the field in the winter) when it was Harry’s turn. “Oh this poor boy”…..”he is very sore, been in pain for very long time, I think for years”. Oh great. Call the RSPCA now why don’t you, they do have their backs checked regularly, honest! Harry had a twisted pelvis which meant he was sore just about everywhere. So…..I am slowly bringing both horses back into work, they go back in a week or two for a check-up and I will let you know how things progress. Doing carrot stretches with Harry is rather like dangling raw meat in front of a lion, not a very safe practise!
Tinka went off to Little Downham where she was a little feisty and distracted in her dressage test, had two poles in the SJ and was clear inside the time XC. What a star, she has only been in proper work for five months – she is going to be fab! We were delighted with her. She is now pretty much ready for sale so we must get my camp out of the way and get her advertised for her Owners…
That night Lexie gave birth to a lovely natured bay filly ‘Lucy’. Unfortunately she had carried Lucy too high and her front legs weren’t in the correct place and she was born with no tension in her tendons and her fetlocks and pasterns on the floor. Only time will tell whether this will resolve itself but as I write this it is not looking particularly hopeful….Lexie is being the perfect mother, really relaxed and looking after her. Everything is crossed for a little miracle.
Savege, or savage? It’s all in the name….
As I write this several ponies are still on the naughty step, and not all of them are mine. What on earth is going to happen if it rains and we get a flush of grass?!
We had a lovely Carmen Court jumping clinic. We were blessed with sun again, and it was great to see some new faces, some returning faces, and of course my regulars. We worked through exercises on riding accurate lines, although I think the emphasis for some seemed to be staying on! There is definitely something in the air at the moment!
While we were jumping at Carmen Court, Martin took Otto for a last minute XC school to Lodge Farm and then both Otto and Tinka headed off to their first unaffiliated ODE at Nurstead on the Sunday. They both contested the 90cm class, and did Martin proud. Otto got best dressage in his arena and finished 4th. Tinka belied her experience, took everything in her stride and finished up 2nd – top effort, she looked so smart!
Returning to Carmen Court Tinka and Lily were kicked out full-time for a week while the concrete outside our three stables was replaced. Harry moved onto the main yard, was put behind bars and a notice went up ‘Please stay away‘. First morning and a huge hole in the wall had appeared. You can imagine how much trouble I am in! In his defence I think he may have got cast and put both front feet through the wall but he seems to prefer the Bad Boy version of events. The Ginga Ninga and her mate were a total utter hysterical pair of drama queens, suddenly welded at the hip. Eventually they settled, and now are out at night for the summer so that some of Louisa’s paddocks can be rested and I can save money on fuel. I’m also hoping that Lily will get over her Spring Madness more quickly, so far so good but it’s very early days!
Harry was off to Tweseldown BE100 yesterday. Unfortunately he seems to be feeling the ground and although he got an amazing score for his dressage he wasn’t happy show-jumping and I decided not to run him XC. He has been a total pain in the neck at home and I also wonder if in all his bucking and thrashing about he has hurt his back. So a few things to check out and some rain needed before we run again. Back to his dressage, maybe I should frame the sheet – he got 22.5 (77.5%), best dressage in his arena, loads of 8s and three 9s. Bless him, he really tried his best. If you saw what he was like at home you wouldn’t think it possible. I rode him in sitting trot for the first time and found I could balance him through the test much better.
The quote from Gail Le Milliere’s daughter on Saturday “you haven’t had one of those in ages mummy”…and what was she talking about? A red rosette! After years, literally, of struggling with a very tense horse, Gail won her Elementary at Speedgate BD. Hurrah! This is a story of perseverance, and yes there have been times when giving up seemed sensible….Hettie now has a different feed regime, a different warm-up routine and a different bridle. And it worked!
On Sunday I did a jumping clinic at Chelsfield Equestrian Centre before heading off to Bedgebury for the afternoon. One of those joining in was Caroline Savege. All I can say is that I will be keeping my distance in future. I rushed to her rescue by grabbing her mount as she found herself sitting on her neck. What did I get for my trouble? She swiped me across my eye at full pelt with her jumping whip! Yeouch, did that smart – I was only trying to help! Half blind I limped off to Bedgebury for a fantastic clinic, indoors due to the hard ground, and just as well because it turned out to be windy and wet. Quite a lot of new faces, and everyone did a grand job. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
While I was there I had a call from Kate Lawson, back from travelling around New Zealand and Australia on Monday, new horse purchased Sunday. I do love a new baby to play with….
As angry as a bag of wasps
Sorry I am a bit late with this blog, computer induced stress!
Harry has been practising his Irish Dancing at Bedgebury BD. Not to be outdone he clickety click clicked his way through the first Novice and scored 71% and won. He wasn’t quite so on-side in the second test as he had a three hour wait, but we still managed a yellow ribbon. The boy was on fine form!
Then we had the first Carmen Court jumping clinic of the year. It was really lovely to see ev
eryone again,the sun shone and we had a great day. Best of all, the horses all jumped really well which is a perfect way to start the year. It was like we’d never been away…
Then on the Sunday Lily had her first XC school. What a clever little ginger thing! We really were delighted with her, she took everything onboard without any fuss and was very brave. Martin rode her and I lead the way on Harry who was a fantastic lead, really giving Lily confidence. She seemed to say ‘if he can do it, I can do it’. Then she worked on her own while Harry napped and spun and made a huge fuss about not being with his 
woman. What a plonker! The only thing she didn’t jump was a ditch because they have filled in the dry ditch at Bonfleur and we didn’t think her first ditch needed water running through it! Onwards and upwards for Lily-head!
Sally lessons for both came next. Lily jumped around a course on grass for the first time, and went really well. It’s all about new experiences for her at this stage. Then I told Sally that I wanted to work on straightness and corners with Harry, and boy what a grilling I got! Needless to say I now understand exactly how my wonky position affects my horse and have learnt a thing or two about holding a line on Harry to a narrow fence. U-hum. I will hasten to add that this is very much work in progress. I almost had a teenage moment in the middle, having run past the same fence about eight times in a row…I gave myself a good talking to and said through gritted teeth ‘I’m finding this a little frustrating’. Much deep breathing and we got there in the end!
We had a lovely day out at Badminton on Sunday. We have some friends over from Australia who we haven’t seen in years and have been busy catching up while they are here.
Then Lily, Otto and Tinka went XC schooling to Coombelands on Monday. Lily was a star, jumped her first ditch without even blinking, and took everything on for her mother. She really felt at ease, and had a great ‘bring it on’ attitude. I was dead chuffed with the girl. You never know how they are going to take to XC, and she seems well up for it! Unfortunately Martin fell off Otto but otherwise he went well and is looking much improved. Despite a very sore knee Martin then schooled Tinka who was also fab, and looking very comfortable with the job. Unfortunately a check up at hospital shows that Martin has sprained the collateral ligament around his knee and he is very lame indeed. Poor old crock!
Talking of old crocks, Ivy has been out doing some novice dressage with Laura gaining a very respectable 66.8% and a 2nd place. Hard to imagine we were all in floods of tears last Summer at the prospect of saying goodbye. Funny little dumpling.
Coming up Harry has Nurstead BE100 on Sunday. I am now dreading this as he was totally beside himself with anger tonight and eventually I got off before I was thrown off, only to find that one of the girth straps had broken during his thrashing about! Me thinks the branch Chief Instructor really should practise what she preaches regarding checking her tack – will put that one down as a ‘near miss’. Lily has some more clear round jumping at Felbridge, both horses have another Sally lesson, Harry has Step by Step BD, and we have the next Carmen Court jumping clinic…bring it on!
Hoo-hah!
We have been away, a few days with the dogs in the New Forest….impossible as it would be for everything to go to plan, it started with Martin having food poisoning…I think sometimes we are not meant to have holidays! We had a lovely relaxed time though and the weather was very kind to us. My horses had a week off and Tinka had two off so let’s hope we can all return to work suitably refreshed with hayfever tablets at the ready!
Before going away Lily went to Bedgebury to school around the clear round, which she did in fine form (which is just as well as we had the yard Christmas meal the night before and rather than sticking to the plan of going easy because I needed to be up early I guzzled rather a lot of vino blanco….!). Then yesterday she jumped around the clear round at Felbridge. I really struggle to get her concentration for the first fence but after that she was a star. Lots more going out, standing around, on and off the lorry etc planned.
Both horses had flatwork lessons with Char on the Friday before Munstead. Check out the photo of Lily – “bend zee knees!” Harry also had a flatwork top-up before Munstead which obviously did the trick because he scored a much improved 30 (good enough to keep our place in the 70% club!). I rode a much better test after our practise effort a few weeks before and he really tried his best. He also jumped a super round and left all the coloured sticks up. Go Harry! Lying in 6th position we set off onto the XC where (cue some background music) his mother let the side down. Should have been in a lower gear on turning to the corner, unbalanced poor Harold, had hold of his mouth (u-oh) so he argued and ran past it. Oh pants. Big boys pants. Sorry Harry. Bit rusty. I generally feel I need to set him up more in front of his fences, particularly the more straightforward ones so I will take this thought forward to Nurstead.
He was a superstar all day, totally relaxed and easy to have around. Just one little incident (isn’t there always?!) when he managed to get one of the rather large and heavy lorry back gates off its hinges with his head (don’t ask). Not sure who wet their knickers the most, us watching (these things always seem to happen in slow motion don’t they?) or him but once he had thrown it to the floor he set off around the lorry park for a celebratory gallop. It seemed to work very well as a pre-dressage warm-up but I don’t think we’ll try it again….
We were delighted to see Sally and Tom Forster get the recognition they deserve in the Horse and Hound article “Groomsbridge Stud. Attention to detail”. They do a fantastic job and the Groomsbridge Girls chez Carmen Court are very proud!
Tinka and Martin headed off to Lucy’s on Friday for a jumping lesson. Lucy couldn’t believe how much she had changed since she last saw her, both physically and also in her confidence. Tinka was pretty ‘Bring it on!’ and jumped like a star.
But yesterday was the highlight of the year for me so far. Hannah Bartholomew jumped around her first BE100 aged thirteen – top effort Hannah, I am very impressed! Back at Felbridge some dressage was also running. A lady on our yard Sue has been struggling with her dressage, in particular reaching the much wanted 60%. I have been helping for around six months, had put a ban on competing, taken things back to basics, changed the way of riding him, changed the way we even think about him, and basically asked her to put a whole load of trust in me. This is a really difficult thing to do and the process often takes a long time so there is nearly always a moment when the rider will doubt my sanity. After years of aiming for 60% Sue rode brilliantly to get an amazing test out of her horse for 65.81%, a second rosette and a place in their championships. You couldn’t take the smile off my face if you tried. Hoo-hah!
Coming up, Harry goes to Bedgebury BD, Lily has more show-jumping practise, we have the first Carmen Court clinic of the year, a debut ginger trip out XC schooling, and both of mine have Sally lessons.
In the club
So, what have we been up to? Well two Saturdays ago I had a small group XC schooling at Littleton Manor. The going was great, everyone went really well and we even managed to persuade Otto to get his feet wet for the first time, almost wiping out one of Lucy Thompson’s clients in the process!
Sunday we were up at 4am to take all three to Munstead for the pre-season combined training. As I loaded Harry I could only apologise for wedging him between the Groomsbridge Girls. We knew that this was a big day for Lily and Tinka, their first experience of a big lorry park, working on grass, those little white boards and a busy warm-up….but actually needn’t have worried. Lily went on to win her dressage with 68.5% and Tinka, bless her, wobbled her way through her dressage test and also jumped very greenly around the 80cm course a couple of times – she takes it all on! Laura Powell stopped worrying that she didn’t yet have stud holes when Martin told her that his horse doesn’t yet have shoes! Harry meanwhile was yelling his head off back at the lorry….and when I got on him it took a good ten minutes to get him out of the lorry park. Much spinning, rearing and calling to his ‘bitches’. We survived the dressage (it takes riding a test on grass to remind me HOW to ride a test on grass!) and jumped a super clear in the showjumping. What a good boy.
We were delighted with all three but I was particularly impressed with Lily who I had expected to be slightly hysterical about the whole experience. Bearing in mind I had fallen off three days previously I thought it best to ride in my jumping saddle, but there was no need. That’s our Lily….bumbles along being a good girl then has these rare (and often painful!) blips. Possibly should have noted that her mother is called ‘Misdemeanour’….think perhaps that was my clue. Lamy being slow on the uptake again!
That Friday Louisa and I were off to Stilebridge BD with Harry and Strider. Louisa is now a proud member of the 70% Club with a win in the Prelim – hurrah! Harry was a good boy, still struggling with softness but consistently getting 65% in both Novices to pick up two 3rds. Oh, and I had better admit to forgetting to halt at the start of the second test. Doh, let’s not tell Char! You can see how impressed the parents were with my efforts (see pic!).
Then last Sunday we had two big groups at Bonfleur XC schooling. A great day was had by all. Both Facebook and the Tack Room Frolics forum have been flooded with pictures and video links. I think it would be fair to say that everyone really enjoyed themselves, even Stacey who got a swimming lesson, much to the hilarity of her friends!
On Monday all three said ‘Ahhh’ to their Uncle Nick (Coles). It’s a perfect time of year for the dentist, now we can start the season knowing all is well. I wouldn’t be very helpful if I had sharp teeth! And then yesterday I took Lily to Bedgebury to use their school and pop a few fences…
Coming up we have the Carmen Court Christmas meal (!), clear round SJ for Lily, lessons with Char, and then Harry has his first day out of the season at Munstead BE100. After that we have a bit of a break as Marge goes into Horsebox Hospital for two weeks…catch up with you all in April!
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