Autumn is upon us as, the days are getting shorter but there is still time to cram in as many events as possible before the end of the season! (And not to mention the start of Autumn trail hunting for the young ones!)
Back at the end of August was Firle Place International where I was riding Skip in the BE100 on the Saturday and Elvis in the Novice on Sunday. Skip did a very good dressage to score 33.8 in her arena and then jumped very well to just catch the second part of the double out as she jumped the first part so big! Her huge jump slightly caught us out on the cross country as we had two skinny houses on undulating ground and as she jumped the first so big again we ran out of room to jump the second so I turned a circle to represent in a better spot! She is still only 6 and relatively green so nothing time and patience won't solve! It was lovely to be joined with many friends and family to watch that day and the fact we also missed the thunder storms that were forecast!
Firle Place International | Skip To The Beat
The following day, Elvis was very much on his toes for the dressage so it was a little tense. However he jumped a super show jumping (despite having two down). I was so delighted to jump through the bogey treble clear which was causing no end of problems running down hill away from the collecting ring! Cross country once again he was faultless and flew round no problem just picking up a couple of time faults. We finished up in 12th place!
Firle Place International | Brighton Rock II
After Firle I decided to take Skip back there to cross country school on the Wednesday whilst the course was open to have a jump round the novice course on her. The ground had become a lot deeper since the rain but she gave it her best shot and I'm pleased to say she jumped the whole novice course! The height of the fences is no problem to her, it is just making sure she understands the question being asked of her. Click the link for a little video of her schooling.
Next out for cross country schooling was Buttercup, aka 'B', this time at Coombelands. Mum was teaching a client so I decided to pop along too. B is only 5 and this was her first ever time cross country. Once she had jumped the first couple of fences and realised what she was meant to be doing, she totally loved it! She was so bold jumping skinnies, ditches, trakheners, water jumps and banks all for the first time and in very neat style. She is a very willing little mare and will be a fantastic horse for someone to take on and compete. You can see in this video how confident she was!
At the beginning of September, Mum and I travelled with Skip to Goring Heath horse trials near Reading. I was the very last to go of the day, due to go cross country at 6.50pm!! Thankfully it was a beautiful day so it was still light! This time she was ever so slightly un-settled in her dressage test (partly thinking that the dressage boards which were different to usual were totally terrifying!) so we scored average marks but she then went on to outdo herself with the most perfect double clear! She was so easy cross country, neither of us were remotely puffed afterwards! Click the link to view her video.
In between competitions I have been taking my youngsters out for some Autumn trail hunting which does them the world of good. They have to learn lots of manners and to be well behaved among other horses. Levi, Danny and Laddy have all been out now and are starting to learn the ropes from Joss (Edward's horse) who is an expert. It is great to be able to take them out with a more experienced horse.
The last week has been fantastic. Skip went and had a go at her first Novice combined training at Felbridge. We made a couple of mistakes but I was very pleased with how she went overall. The jumping course was up to height and very spooky but she made nothing of it. We were so unlucky to have the first part of the treble down but she has never jumped one before and I perhaps lacked a bit of power to help her through. Nevertheless a super round and we achieved the aim of seeing whether she was up to jumping that height course which she clearly is!
Last but not least, was Blenheim Palace BE100 Equilibrium Eventers Challenge. Skip and I had qualified for this having gained enough foundation points over two consecutive events this season. In this competition I had to jump a course of show jumps, followed immediately by a course of cross country fences all in an arena and timed. The closest to the optimum time and clear was the winner. However the last fence on the course was a 'joker' fence which was a skinny at 1.10m and if knocked, you incur 6 faults rather than 4. I was 19th to go, and I had Skip's owners and her breeder Guy Avis (Bridget's brother) watching as they were there to also watch their horse in the CIC3*. The course was very bright, colourful, spooky and twisty but Skip took it on so well. I was not sure how she would find the triple brush as she has never jumped one before but I took a wide line to give her enough time to get straight. I had such an amazing ride on her, it was so much fun! She jumped foot perfect and cleared the joker no problem! My new Lorenzini titanium three ring bit (available at Arka Equipe) has made a huge difference to our jumping as I have more control and Skip responds so well to it. Although it is slightly stronger than a snaffle, it is not causing her jump to flatten at all, if anything she is pinging even more as I can now use more leg. We were over the moon with her! I was only the second clear of the class and I had gone into the lead. I never imagined that after 50+ horses I would still be in the lead! We had a mounted prize giving and the sponsor said how much she loved Skip's round which was very touching. We had a lovely day out at the horse trials and I was very pleased to be coming home with my first Blenheim win!!
