Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for 2011
Well, what a year! My highlights….
Starting with some North West Kent Pony Clubbers – Hannah Bartholomew had an amazing first British Eventing season culminating in winning the South East Eventers League Swish Equestrian Grassroutes First Timer ranking. Sally Stoddart made a huge improvement to her flatwork and put her XC demons to rest by galloping round in horribly wet conditions inside the time to come 5th in her first Intro – this really put a smile on my face. Morgan Schive has done a great job moving from a small pony to her first horse and had a fantastic National Side-Saddle Championships. Also on a new horse, Sophie Etheridge put in a great performance in the Burghley Young Event Horse final. Go girls!
Moving onto my favourite young horses; Debbie Reeves and Jazz had a fantastic year, now consistently getting British Dressage scores of 70% at Novice – there was the Trailblazers Final, Reserve Elementary Sunshine Tour Champion, wins at BD Novice and Elementary, qualifying for the BD Summer and Winter Regionals, and even clothing sponsorship! Louisa Day and Strider won the Stilebridge Dressage Championships, the Hadlow Riding Club Championships and their first BD Prelims. Phewee!
Bonnie Kerr’s hard work has also paid off with some great scores and British Dressage wins at Novice and Elementary on Oliver. He could barely canter a circle a few years ago and now does his bit for non-warmbloods in the dressage arena! They really have come a long way. Alas we said goodbye to her cousin Kate Lawson’s little ginger man Caffrey. As is sometimes the way with horses we had just turned the corner with him, had won at BE Intro with Pre-Novices planned, when he was injured.
The Carmen Court jumping clinics have been a huge success. It’s been great to see some new faces but the improvement in the regulars will keep me feeling warm and fluffy all winter. In particular Rachel Stewart, Nicole Garbett, Morgan Schive, Ellie Bryant and more recently Gill Miller appears to be having a ball! Big thanks to Louisa, not only for allowing us to invade the yard once a month but also for taking photographs for everyone. The 2011 clinic dates are on the ‘clinic’ page, but before then we still have two remaining dates under cover at the lovely Bedgebury Park.
The fantastic summer camps that I taught at restored the fire in my belly for holding my own next summer. I think this could be great fun and Martin has promised to cook breakfast! Let me know if this appeals to you and we’ll see what we can organise…finding an affordable venue is the challenge…
Then our own horses; there’s been a massive improvement in Harry this year. Thanks to the help I’ve had from Char Lassetter and Sally Thurloway. They are both amazing and I have learnt so much about how to ride him. Harry’s a funny boy but it’s been really great to be out competing again. Lily has been a dude (mostly!), is absolutely lovely to have around (she’s like an ‘anti-Harry’!) and hopefully will be ready for some parties next year. Fingers,
paws and hooves crossed for Lexie and Rose to have healthy foals. We were lucky enough to spend some time with Ivy this summer before she headed back to the Reeves family, reminding us what a character she is. She’ll be twenty next year – unreal, and still such a feisty little madam! Tiny and Clare have enjoyed a great year with wins in all disciplines and much Riding Club success for Dartford and District. She’s a good girl and is looking great.
After 35 years involvement with the North West Kent branch of the Pony Club Martin now leaves the branch and moves on to be Area 11 Representative. He has somehow found time to help Donna Johnston with Otto, amazing how these dressage horses can thrive on a bit of cross country schooling and hunting!! Very unexpectedly we said goodbye to Tyra, a peaceful but sad end.
I hope that you all have a fantastic Christmas. My very best wishes for a fun, successful 2011. Keep up the good work and hopefully see you soon!
Snow, frozen ground, then more snow
Firstly to let you know that Dad is back home and the lucky socks have returned to the drawer…
What a nightmare this weather is. The first time it snowed we managed to clear a track by moving the snow off the school at Carmen Court. So Harry was back into work, as angry as a bear. Nothing new there – you just have to stay cool, hold on tight and remember that it will pass. I shall have to get some pictures next time, it really is a spectacle!
Great timing, I’ve been testing an Ariat thermal top for Horse magazine. At nearly eighty quid it ought to have been warm, but I wasn’t particularly impressed. It had ‘thumb cuffs’ which I did try despite thinking I must look like a truculent teenager, and it meant the top got very dirty and worse, very wet. In minus three degrees, this made me very grumpy! Oops, there goes my Ariat sponsorship….
Martin had been busy preparing the Larkins Brewery meet at Chiddingstone with Master Sally Mack but it just didn’t melt in time so Coakham rerouted to a day on the South Downs at Jevington. I had a few lessons to do so couldn’t join them (first work I’d had in two weeks!) but sent Martin off with strict instructions to come back with a photo. I hear that Harry was Mr Responsible and led the field over the little XC jumps with his eyes closed (literally – see link!). He then had his ego dented when someone asked Martin “where’s that nice horse you brought to the Opening Meet?” (Otto). Poor Harry!
(http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/craigpayne/albums/coakham_bloodhounds/134871/browse/43/?w=625&h=525–).
With almost no teaching on, I nipped down to Golden Cross to watch a jumping clinic with Nick Turner, FBHS and Accredited BE and BD coach. What a lovely guy. He had some tricky lines set up and was encouraging riders to ride forwards to a soft hand – easier said than done if you are also making a tight turn. It’s a horrible time of year but I do have more time to watch from others and catch up on Trainer training, something that I think is really important if I’m to stay in touch and develop, but crikey it was cold!!
I had to cancel the Bedgebury jumping clinic tomorrow due to the snow. It’s such a shame as fourteen of you were coming. Let’s hope the weather is OK for the next one, only a few weeks away on Saturday January 8th…
Stay warm and safe!
Costa del Brrr
Well I think Hartpury must be the coldest place on earth! Louisa and I went to the British Dressage National Convention last Sunday. It was -8 degrees when we left home and didn’t rise above -4 degrees all day. The poor people sitting on the short side of the arena with no heaters looked like icebergs! This year the convention was with Klaus Balkenhol, aided by the Bechtolsheimers, and was excellent. The message was about patience, listening to what the horse is telling you, taking time to get understanding and importantly, correctness before extravagance (there is hope for Harry after all!).
So on the theme of being patient and giving things time, Lily is on a brief winter holiday. It’s freezing cold, we are under a foot of snow, the forecast is still pants and she has that splint bumbling away. So she can chill until the weather improves…Costa del Brrr for Lily!
I’ll not beat around the bush about this – when we got back from Hartpury it became clear that Martin had shared the bed with another. I’m not one to air my dirty linen in public (if you pardon the pun!), but there was evidence. Now I’m pretty laid back but some things are a no-no. Martin, the dogs sleep downstairs!!
Then one of the highlights of last week was Tuesday. How far can you push Lamy without her going crazy day! It had started to snow but I got to the yard to get the horses done without too much drama. Unfortunately I chose the M25 as my route home, a mistake of giant proportions! I was stuck for ten and a half hours. TEN AND A HALF HOURS!! It’s just as well the dogs weren’t with me, I may have eaten them! Not only was I as hungry as Harry, I was even considering whether a Dubarry would double up as a portable toilet! Only the radio, Facebook and texting kept me sane. And I never thought I would hear myself say that…
More drama on Wednesday as my dad was carted off to Darenth Hospital following a minor heart attack. An angiogram shows his pipework is seriously clogged up, and as I write this he is at St Thomas waiting for heart bypass surgery on Wednesday…Now this is going to horrify anyone who has had help of a Sports Psychology nature from me, but I am making no apologies. On Wednesday I will be wearing my lucky socks.
I managed to lunge Harry today and what a feisty boy he was! Let’s cross our fingers, paws and hooves for some sun to melt this horrid white stuff. I haven’t earnt a penny since it arrived and I am worried that the Red Lion will close without my patronage!
About
Janine is a British Dressage Recognised Coach and Group 3 Rider based in Kent. She has trained and competed from Prelim to PSG but with a background in the training of young event horses she is also very popular for show-jump instruction and cross-country schooling. She is a UKCC qualified coach, is on the BHS Register of Instructors, is a Centre10 Advanced Coach (Applied Psychology for Equestrian Coaches) and a Pony Club B+ Test Assessor and instructor.
She has always had a broad range of clients with numerous wins in British Dressage including the all important qualifications to the Regionals and National Winter Championships. She has lots of British Eventing clients with qualification to the much sought after Badminton Grassroots Regionals. On the showing side there has been a National Side-Saddle Working Hunter Champion, and riders at HOYS in the Search For A Star classes. With a very diverse bunch of clients nothing gives her more pleasure than to receive a text with the day’s results. However she is happy teaching all levels, so long as you want to improve.
Janine is based at Carmen Court near Tonbridge (owned by one of her sponsors Louisa Day Photography) but also teaches from home in Swanley Village. Most of her teaching is in Kent and the local Sussex area but she can travel further by arrangement.
There are very popular show-jumping clinics at Carmen Court from April to August each year, and clinics through the winter under cover at Four Elms Farm. Janine is always happy to do clinics at other venues in the South East.
She has been very successful with rider confidence problems and helping with the psychology of training and competing. As coach, Janine is often very much part of the team as required.
Janine and Martin are sponsored by Simple System Horse Feeds and are Product Ambassadors for Equilibrium Products. They can be found on Facebook under the name Team Lamy Wright.
click here to find them.
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