July has been so jam- packed I can't believe it's only been a month since my last blog! After Rackham, Skip and Myrtle were prepped and ready to go to Farley Hall only for it to be very sadly cancelled due to the monumental amount of rain the south of england had in such a short space of time. Devastating for the organisers, and such a shame as I was looking forward to testing out the new intermediate track. We made a quick decision to re-route Myrtle to Eridge intermediate which was originally un-planned. We were keeping our fingers crossed for Brightling International which was a week after Farley Hall was due, but the ground was still soggy. Very sadly once again Myrtle missed a run as the 1* class had to be abandoned as the ground lower in the course had not recovered. This was made slightly better by the fact they managed to run the BE90 course which Joss and Crystal were entered for. Joss was on bright and early and very much raring to go! She produced a solid test for a good mark of 26.5. Crystal was also on best behaviour and got a 29.5. Much to my disbelief both girls had the last fence down show jumping after fault free rounds! On Joss I may have come a little tight around the corner and clipped the front rail so on Crystal I was sure not to make the same mistake again. Looking back at the video I think there may have been a sneaky dip in front of the jump! Joss flew around the XC so boldly to finish 4th in the prize money, and credit to Crystal who also finished in 10th place after a clear XC with forward movement throughout!! A good day and we were very lucky with the weather.
Hay Josephine | Brightling International
The following weekend we headed to Tweseldown, this time with Dunny and Crystal. First up was Crystal (again very early!). This time she was not feeling quite herself and a bit lack luster compared to normal. We did a good test for 30.5 but it just lacked a little 'oomph'. She show jumped well just having one down after the long strided double which she then struggled to shorten for the upright that followed. I set off on the XC but I could feel that Crystal was not in the zone at all. I decided to retire her as she was not quite herself and I did not want to push her. Post Tweseldown we found out that in fact she had a low iron count after some blood tests which would explain her lethargy. A little break now in order.
Dunny however was the complete opposite and trembling to be out at the party! She did a very smart test for third best with a 27! A minor distance disagreement show jumping (Dunny thought she knew best!) meant we just rolled one pole but otherwise a pleasing round. After waiting ages in the XC warm up after the course was causing complete carnage I was worried how Dunny would cope as this was only our second event together. I needn't have worried because she totally ate the course up I was having to hold her back. As we ran up the hill to the first water she let out a huge buck and a squeal! She was having a whale of a time!! 4th place and in the money again.
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The day after Tweseldown we planned a little trip down to the coast where Carolyne (Dunny's owner) lives. Edward, Mum, Carolyne and myself went for a lovely ride on West Wittering beach. I took Danny for his first ever time and he was a superstar! It was a windy day and there were so many kite and wind surfers, dog walkers and canoes and he didn't bat an eyelid at any of it! He merrily cantered behind Joss and Edward who went charging off in front of us at 100mph and jumped all the groynes first time on his own! Mum and Carolyne meanwhile had a far more quiet ride! It was lovely to see Mum riding on the beach again after so many years. Huge thank you to Carolyne for spoiling us with such a beautiful ride and for lending Mum a GG.
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In between competitions I have been keeping up with training. I am thoroughly enjoying my dressage lessons which have been so beneficial. The rewards were seen at Eridge Horse Trials where Joss (even after her beach ride) scored a fantastic mark of 21.8 which was the best in her arena in the BE90. A double clear inside the time left her unbeatable and over 8 marks in front of her nearest rival! She is undoubtedly a very special and incredibly versatile horse. Her second win of the season.
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Day 2 at Eridge, this time for the Intermediate with Myrtle and Novice with Skip. I was so pleased with Myrtle's dressage test, and I was really delighted when I learnt she got scored 25.2 which was 6th best in a very tough section. Skip also did a good test with just one blip where we broke in our second medium trot. Her mark however was a little disappointing of 36.5 but all the marks seemed to be relatively high in that arena. Into jumping mode and Myrtle was up first. The course was very long and twisty and causing no end of faults. I kept my cool and had watched a few so could see where I would need to adjust Myrtle's stride. Myrtle was brilliant and listened to my every aid which earned us a clear round- 1/3 to do so!! A huge achievement and I finally feel I am finding my rhythm show jumping! I set out on the XC very positively, the first few fences were very big and got Myrtle to really 'open up'. Due to missing so many events on Myrtle I lacked the knowledge that I needed to really get her back again to get her focused and we had a silly fly-by at fence 5 because her eye got distracted by something at the side. We carried on the rest of the course very strongly. Myrtle is great because she doesn't look at anything - nothing seems to bother her and she gives me a great, bold ride. Although disappointed at first, I took it as really good experience and am enjoying having the chance to ride at this level. We still finished 15th however as the show jumping results were very influential! No rest for the wicked and I was straight back onto Skip. At home we have been trying to alter Skip's technique jumping for the better. She can be very 'buzzy' and explosive over the jumps and does not actually give herself time or space when the jumps get bigger. Having had a spook last time out at BCA, I rode strongly around the course. We rolled a couple of poles as I am trying to get her jump out of a better, more controlled rhythm- although this seems bad, she actually needed to roll some poles in order to learn. Second fastest clear XC round put us in 11th place. A great day of learning for Skip and I am so happy how confident XC she has become.
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The following week, Carolyne was off to Dublin horse show so we had the pleasure of Dunny and Fern (another of Carolyne's horses) come to stay. It was great for Dunny and I to have some bonding time. I am trying to improve her lateral work and find those gears within the paces which is all coming along all the time. Did some fun exercises with Fern over the week too.
Silken Creme aka Dunny
In other news, I am now officially a British Dressage member, and the other week I competed in my first BD show at Brendon Pyecombe on the lovely Dunny (Silken Creme). I didn't know what to expect but Dunny did two really lovely tests and I was very pleased with her. She has such a great attitude to work. A big surprise when I found out we had won both tests!! We scored a huge 72.60% and 76.07%- a very successful debut indeed!
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A flying visit to the RIHS meant I could catch up with my sponsors, Arka Equipe. I am incredibly lucky to have such a supportive brand behind me and am so grateful for all they do and provide me with. They currently have some great items on sale which I would highly recommend checking out!
Rounding off what has seemed like a very long month, was Wilton Horse Trials in Wiltshire. A new event for me and I was very excited as lots of friends and family could be there with us. The 4am start was worth the stunning venue and gorgeous blue skies. I was very pleased that Bridget and Martin, Skip's owners, and Brigitte, Myrtle's owner, could be there to watch. Skip was in the Novice once again and her dressage was first. She was so calm and relaxed and listening to me I felt we could do a good test. She has come on such a long way, she is like a different horse to ride. The hard work is paying off as she scored a PB of 30.0 which was third best! A very quick dash back to the lorry to get on Myrtle who was competing in our first OIu21 (Open Intermediate under-21). I was very happy with the quality of work in the warm up and was pleased that this continued into the arena as it can be so easy to lose it! Her transitions were clean and soft and she maintained a good rhythm. I was over the moon to find out I had scored best dressage with a 28! It was then Myrtle's turn to show jump and I couldn't believe we jumped another clear round at intermediate level! We picked up some time faults but this was not un-common on the day so must've been a very tight time! Leaving the jumps up was my main aim! The XC was probably the most technical one I have done so far with many tricky questions including the biggest and steepest drop / hill I have ever done leading to the skinniest chair I have ever seen- in fact I wasn't sure I could even fit through it! There were two water questions; the first you had to jump two skinny turtles (which were actually quite big when you got close) one stride apart on the edge of the water. The second was a big hedge jumping into a wood, but in fact into water in the wood! Myrtle was loving life out on the XC and we tackled the first combinations well. Unfortunately she jumped down the drop so boldly and saw all the spectators she didn't even register the fairly innocuous looking chair! We spun round and popped it when I managed to re-gather my knitting! Flew round the rest of the course and she actually jumped the water jumps really well compared to some I saw go through them. Another great ride at this level and I am gaining confidence all the time. We finished 7th place which is my first top ten placing at Intermediate level so a huge tick in the box! Meanwhile, Skip had been waiting so patiently for her turn and she did not disappoint. Mum assured me she would have learnt from her round at Eridge and she was right. Skip did the most beautiful clear round so effortlessly. I was buzzing for the XC and what a machine she was! She made it seem ridiculously easy and took on all the new questions in her stride. Another 4th place but Skip's best to date at Novice level! So exciting! I feel like Skip and I have really gained a true partnership together.
Some great results this month and I am so pleased with how all my horses are going; at competitions and at home.