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COMPETITIONS

Patchetts, 16th August : Grand Prix

2010

Saturday, 15^th August

Having had such a good ride at Hickstead, I thought it quite a good idea to do one more competition to make sure it was not a fluke. So, I emailed Antonia de Bearn at Patchetts and asked if she would take a late entry. Antonia is very helpful and took my late entry for Patchetts, which is in two weeks time.

My intention was to try and improve the piaffe and passage, as I feel everything else is in the bag and having spoken to Hartwig, the plan was to ride for more piaffe and passage in the actual test. So the work plan for the next two weeks was to up the ante in the piaffe and bless Senorita she has really taken the pressure these last two weeks, and tried really hard.

However, we have had one or two ups and downs! Trying to make the piaffe more on the spot with more sitting has produced : - the front feet becoming airborne, running backwards and several new airs above the ground – BUT – the piaffe has improved. So, I am looking forward to Patchetts.

As for the new horse – we have been back for a second viewing and riding – and, I really like him. He is not a big mover, but his basic paces are all very correct and more importantly he is just the right size for me. Although he is only five years old, he appears to have a very trainable and will attitude. The last hurdle now is for him to pass the vet and hopefully Peter will be vetting him next week. So, fingers crossed X X !

Sunday, 1st August

The last two weeks seem to have flown by, with the first week being taken up by our short flying visit to Portugal – which was lovely. Super weather and food – not to mention the company!

However, back to work with a bang when I got home. I had only five days to get Senorita into ‘Hickstead’ mode after her also having a ‘lunging’ holiday whilst I had been away. The first couple of days were not easy as she had decided that holiday-mode was better than work-mode. Although by Friday Senorita was back on track, I was still having problems with the piaffe and without my indoor school, trying to work on piaffe alone was not easy. So, off to Hickstead we went with all the work in the bag and a very baby-ish piaffe.

How nerve-racking is it to work in with Hans-Peter Minderhoud on Nadine and the lovely Parzival being ridden by Adelinde?! Senorita was brilliant. A little bit fresh with her head-shaking and her back up, but she soon settled and off to the arena we went. My aim was to ride an error-free test – and we did it! She was wonderful and gave me the best ride ever. When I got to the pirouettes in the test, I felt physically sick because I could hardly believe we had not made a mistake in the GP. WOW! Unfortunately, the placing in the class did not really reflect how well she had gone. One judge was 30+ marks below the other judges, which eventually gave us quite a low mark. But the upshot of that was that two of the international judges came to talk to me afterwards, being very complimentary about Senorita.

As I walked away from the arena, many members of the public came to tell me how lovely the work and the test looked. All of this is a great confidence boost, so now it really is onwards and upwards.

Also, things are looking up on the horizon as we might have found a second horse. It is a little younger than I would have liked, but if he passes the vet, then I will probably do some young horse classes next year to get him used to the competition arena and atmosphere.

AT LAST!! The NFU have finally agreed the insurance claim so work can begin. Not bad – a legitimate insurance claim for a building that was fully covered by valuation and cost, taking SEVEN months to settle. However, the NFU will not pay any damages for the lost straw and haylage that was in the barn. As that was stored straw for re-sale during the summer months, the finances here will take a bit of a battering. Already we are going to be up against the clock to try to get the big barn re-built in time to take the straw at harvest. Looking at the way the corn has ripened with this marvellous sunny weather, I don’t think we will manage it.

As you can see from the picture – this is the state of the building at present – only a hole!

Sunday, 18^th July

I feel that I am now getting a little bit ‘stuck’ with Senorita and really need some help with the piaffe, but unfortunately I will have to go with what I have got for the moment until I can get back out to Germany. So in the meantime I must turn my attention to Barbary International, where I was President of the 2* Ground Jury.

It was a packed four days of work for our 2* Section, but it all ran very smoothly thanks to Secretary Holly Farr who always does a marvellous job of organisation. I judged 55 in the dressage section on Thursday followed by another 55 on the Friday, with some trot-ups in between. Now the FEI have changed the ruling with regard to trot-ups, the Ground Jury themselves have to be present and it cannot be done any other judge – so it made for a very busy two days.

The Saturday morning started early at 8.00 am with an inspection of the show-jumping course. The show-jumping then went on until 4.30 in the afternoon, with the cross-country starting and then going on until nearly 8.00pm. Phew! However, Sunday was a breeze! There was only a morning session of cross-country to oversee and that was then job done.

With Hartpury taking place the following Wednesday, I was up every morning before I went to Barbary to work Senorita. All of her work is improving and I feel that the she just has to be given time to ‘work out’ the piaffe. At the moment, she can either make steps behind, or sit behind. Unfortunately, she has not worked out that she has to do both together – but I think she will get there!

So off to Hartpury we went. Sadly for Philip and his crew the weather was absolutely foul with strong winds, sorry I’ll re-phrase that, VERY strong winds and rain. Many of the horses found these conditions difficult to deal with, as did Senorita. Nevertheless, the Inter II was not too bad and we were in the line-up. However, we were not so lucky in the Grand Prix the next day. Senorita absolutely lost the plot – not all her own doing though. One of the Hartpury Students was closing the arena, once the horse had entered. As I went round, I did say that the horse was very spooky and could she wait until we were nearly at C before she put the board in place, but she didn’t hear me. As we entered the arena, she walked with the board towards A, Senorita spun around and we travelled down the centre line backwards. We never really recovered from that major upset so I retired.

But, there was light at the end of the tunnel. We returned today to ride in the Inter II and Senorita placed second in the class. When we get the piaffe sorted I am sure that her percentages will rocket.

This week Mike and I are having a short break and when we get back, I am heading to Hickstead where I have been invited to ride in an Invitation Only Grand Prix for 12 chosen riders. Deep breath – watch this space!!

Friday, 2^nd July

The last two weeks have been very busy, with some lovely surprises for me.

The first weekend I judged two days, the PSG Qualifier at Berkshire Equestrian Centre on the Saturday and a Pick your own from Advanced Medium upwards at Sparsholt. There were some nice horses in both classes, but I think that many marks were thrown away by riders not paying enough attention to the basic way of going. This is absolutely paramount for anyone wanting to work their way up the grades in competition, with the intention of achieving the highest level that they possibly can.

I returned to ride the lovely new horse again and was thrilled with her, so arranged for Peter Thurlow to vet her. Unfortunately, the results were disappointing, but we are still trying to find a way to make that one work. In the meantime, we are still looking for a new horse. So if anyone knows of one, or anyone out there wants a horse competing, please do let me know.

Senorita was on fine form at Hickstead, but with several things wrong before we left home and on arrival at Hickstead, regrettably the rider was not on fine form. The Inter II was a good test, but with some rider errors and even more rider errors on the second day in the GP. Riding under stress is not the way to achieve good marks! But a rider must always take the positive out of every competition. I have now learnt that I must not ride under stress caused by outside influences! I am now looking forward to the Premier League at Hartpury. Philip Cheetham and his wonderful team who organise the whole show create a super atmosphere and the venue itself has super arenas, so it should be a very good show. As Senorita’s piaffe is coming more on the spot (well, it only travels 1 ½ metres instead of 3!) and she can find the passage a little quicker, I am hoping that the marks in the tests will reflect this improvement. Well – hope was the last thing to come out of Pandora’s box……..

Mike and I have travelled many miles this last week looking at horses, but still with no luck at finding a Romario replacement. Oh well, we shall just keep on trucking……

Well, three lovely surprises have happened in the last two weeks. Firstly, following my practice judging with David Hunt, I was told that I am now a Judge/Trainer for the International Young Horse Classes, secondly I have been invited to join the Ground Jury at Blenheim Horse Trials (WOW) but best of all, I have been appointed a Regional Trainer for the Central Region!! As it is said on Masterchef – ‘It doesn’t get better than that!’

So, I am looking forward to seeing many of you here on the Regional Training Dates. You can book your lessons with Kim Moloney (aka Supergirl) our RDO, whose details are in your magazine or on the BD website. Anyone wishing to come here for Regional Training is more than welcome to come and watch me work horses at home. Just let Kim or myself know.

Friday, 4^th June

The last two weeks have been a very good learning curve for both Senorita and me. She has learned how to cope – or not – with a big competition and I have learned much more about my horse.

I was very busy teaching in the week before Somerford – which is good. Teaching is something I really enjoy. It gives me a great buzz when I can teach something to a rider, who can then get the horse to produce something, which neither horse nor rider have done before. And for me, that goes right the way through from prelim horses and riders to advanced combinations.

This week Senorita had worked really well. The passage had bigger steps with more cadence, the piaffe was coming more and more on the spot and the ones were so big I had to start them really early to get them all in!

The plan was to arrive at Somerford on the Friday so that we could settle Senorita into her box and the do some ridden work in the afternoon before the II on the Saturday. Unfortunately the traffic on the M6 was absolutely crazy, so were very late in arriving. Senorita took umbrage at her temporary stable and took some persuading to go in. However, her mood was good as she produced some lovely work that evening.

Sadly, for the Organisers the weather that weekend was simply foul, so we rode the II in horrible rain and I almost had to over-ride her to keep her going in it. Whilst it was not the best test she could have produced, we were still in the placings. Although the rain stopped for the GP on the Sunday, the wind was strong with the flags around the arena flying horizontally and flapping very noisily. Under these circumstances, with Senorita being such a sensitive horse to noise, the GP was a disaster. Not really what I wanted when I needed to post a good mark on the run-up to Hartpury.

When we got home Sunday night, Senorita was flat out in her box and Monday morning still doing the same, so I asked Peter Thurlow, our vet, to come and have a look. She had some pulled muscles in the back over the sacro-iliac. Therefore, the week was spent with massages, lunging, physio exercises and a heated pulse machine on her back so that we could go to the Welsh Festival the following weekend to try another GP.

Let us hope the regime has worked!

As for the indoor school – well – what can I say? Dealing with the NFU is like trying to catch the bar of soap in the bath. They are very slippery customers and we are no further forward in settling the claim. It is now six months we have had no indoor school and when the weather is bad, people don’t want lessons outside – and – who can blame them! Does this bother the NFU – not one jot? Because of this, we shall be moving all our insurances to another Company.

Saturday 22nd May

The last two weeks working with Hartwig have been fantastic. I have learned how to ride a pirouette and then completely forgotten the next day – how to ride the transitions passage to piaffe to passage – and then couldn’t do them the next day. All this and staying light with hand and soft with the leg – how difficult is this – and Hartwig makes it look so easy and cooooooooool.

However, I do feel more confident in what I am riding for and what I am trying to achieve in the basic work. So, I am looking forward to Somerford Premier League. Even though Senorita will probably be the baby in the class, it will give me a good idea as to how she copes with a ‘big’ competition with atmosphere.

All that is good news, but the news on me having a new horse is not so good. Unfortunately, the five year old didn’t come up to Hartwig’s high standards, so I am still without a second ride. As a result, we are still looking.

The drive home was not a good one. Mike flew out to help me drive home and we decided to try a different route to Calais by turning right at Osnabruck and driving through the top of Holland. That was a mistake on a Friday afternoon. We agreed to split the driving half-and-half, so Mike drove for the first four hours and then we changed over. I then drove for a supposed four hours - which turned into seven hours, at one point travelling at 4 kilometres per hour! We were very pleased to arrive at our overnight stay on the outskirts of Calais and collapse into bed.

There was one BIG highlight to that day – I had a telephone call from Lianne Harris, the International Officer of British Dressage inviting me to ride Senorita in the Big Tour in Hartpury CDI. How exciting is that! I was thrilled, and I did say a very BIG yes, but I also made a proviso. I asked if it would be possible to take a rain check on Hartpury if Senorita could not cope with Somerford. Therefore, everything is riding on Somerford! (Sorry for the pun :-) )

Whilst I really love being at Hartwig’s, it was very nice to be back home. Although I had to stay focussed for Somerford, I also had a lot of other work to do at home and the claim with the NFU is still not resolved. Now they are asking for more information and more quotations. Can you believe that? All I can say is that if you are insured with the NFU it may be worth looking elsewhere for insurance, especially if you want better service than this.

During the week I had lots of teaching to catch up with, so I gave Senorita a two-day holiday. When I picked up the work with her, it all felt very good and it seemed that I had not lost much of what I had learned with Hartwig. The pirouettes were still in the back pocket, the passage felt good, piaffe was a little bit wobbly, but it was all feeling good for Somerford.

Fingers crossed, let’s hope it all goes well next weekend.

7th May

Friday 23rd was a very frenetic day, with everyone abandoning ship! I taught all morning, got the lorry loaded for Senorita to leave for Germany, made sure the packing was done so that Mike and I could leave Friday teatime for our holiday, organised a horse to go home that had been here for training and had several meetings with builders for the new school. Phew!

However, it all came off, with a few stresses along the way. The teaching over-ran and as I was rather late finishing, Mike collected Shelley, who was driving Senorita to Hartwig’s. The owner of Lotus turned up on time to collect her horse, so I was heading for the shower when the builders turned up. We have had some problems with the collapsed roof of the indoor. As we had a few windy days, sheets of roofing started flying off and landing anywhere they saw fit, including the outdoor school when horses were working! So, the NFU, who have still not settled the claim, agreed that we could take off the roof and make the building safe. See the photograph below - what a sad picture that is.

As for the holiday, it was fantastic and Egypt and Jordan are very interesting places. However, because of the volcanic ash problem, we were not even sure that we still going until the day before.
So, holiday over and now back to work.

Hartwig won the German Professional Riders Championship and scored a 9 for his riding – in my dreams! I flew straight out to Germany to find a very happy Senorita. She was working really well with her piaffe and passage improving – they are now starting to look like movements from the Grand Prix test and not some sort of soft-shoe shuffle from Riverdance! Hartwig is making me ride specific movements from the Grand Prix on a daily basis so that the test is less of a shock to Senorita – oh – and me as well.

So back to Germany for another two weeks work before we come home for the competition at Somerford. There is though some exciting news – Hartwig has found a horse for me as a replacement for Romario and I get to ride him next week! Watch this space!

23rd April

The last two weeks have been rather like the Curate’s Egg – good in parts!

I was without full-time help for the week running up to Hickstead, so with only help in the mornings I had quite a lot of the ‘day horse work’ to do, as well as run the farm, meet with builders and continue discussions with the NFU. This left me quite tired at the end of the week for Hickstead, but the bonus was that Senorita had been working really well at home.

At the beginning of the week, Mike insisted that I should be videoed working at home. What a bonus that was. I could clearly see where I needed more bend, less bend, clearer transitions, et al, and this has really helped my work this week.

It was an early start on the Saturday. Not knowing how long it would take me to plait Senorita, I was on the yard at 5 o’clock. She was quiet, the plaits went in like a dream – could be a good day. It was. She was second in the Intermediare II with 65.53%, in a class of very well established horses. The Grand Prix was a very ‘hot’ class with two Olympic riders running and the rest of the class were again very established horses. We earned 63.4% and from one judge had the same mark as Bukowski! All looking good for the future. However, I was very tired. I couldn’t count in the tempis to save my life, came round the corner on one occasion in the Grand Prix, and completely forgot where I was! It is not good to ride horses when the rider is so tired!

However, it is all looking much better and the next competition will be Somerford Premier League. In the meantime, we are having a week’s holiday in Egypt and Jordan and Senorita is going to Hartwig whilst I am away. I will then go for three weeks training with her, to bring her back at the end of May for Somerford. In the meantime, we have found a super girl, Vicky, who will be here full time in May.

At the time of writing Hartwig is on the front page of Eurodressage, leading the German Professional Riders Championship at Hagen. He has two more tests to ride before the final winner is decided – Good Luck Hartwig!

10th April

At the end of March, wearing my other Judge’s hat, I was President of the CIC** at Somerley Park Horse Trials. It is such a lovely event at a beautiful venue and run by delightful people, Adele Schardt and Suzie Cotterill, but unfortunately the weather was atrocious with a lot of rain and wind. My Technical Delegate was Mike Tucker and it is great to be able to work in a team with such an expert. The weather did not really dampen anyone’s enthusiasm, but we did spend three days walking around in waterproofs! With me spending three days at Somerley Senorita had a bit of a holiday.

In spite of that, it must have done her brain good as she won the class at Step by Step. Some parts of the test were a great improvement on the last outing, but some bits that had been good were not so good. It does go to show that when both of us can get it together and get it right on the night, we should be able to produce quite a classy Grand Prix. So we are now heading to Hickstead next weekend for the Grand Prix class, which will be quite a test for her as I am sure the showground will be busy.

In the meantime I am still plodding on with the NFU trying to settle the insurance claim, so that we can start to replace the existing building during the summer months. The dilapidated building obviously wants to demolish itself, as last weekend when it was quite windy, some of the roofing sheets came loose and started ‘flying around’! Quite frightening for horses and riders alike.

Monday 29th March

It has been a busy two weeks in lots of ways. I have been doing quite a lot of teaching, with one Saturday having been taken over completely by Tadley and District Riding Club. This is a super Riding Club to work with and a good way for like-minded people to get to know each other.

I have also been busy putting together Senorita’s music, and in my opinion making a dressage music track for a horse is not a simple task. It is personal choice as to music choice and how many pieces of music to use, and then there are many ways of arranging the music. For her Grand Prix test I have chosen five different pieces of music, and these will be arranged to suit her different paces and footfall. Having said how difficult it is, I do however think that dressage to music is fun to do and looking at the number of people ‘having a go’ from novice level upwards, dressage to music is definitely on the increase.

Continuing with the ‘competition training’ plan’ for Senorita, Hartpury very kindly took a late entry for the Grand Prix, which meant riding at 8.10 pm last Saturday night. Considering Senorita sees gremlins on the ground and is quite often scared of the ground, she coped very well with the darkness and the shadows in the lorry park. In the working-in she was much more settled, but then going into Hartpury’s lovely big indoor International Arena was quite overwhelming for her. She was immediately very tense, and in the test I could only really manoeuvre her through the movements, riding her was not an option! But it was another competition under her belt and the working-in was very good. So some improvement! Oh well, onwards and upwards!

Monday 15th March

Aren’t horses brilliant? Just when you think you have done enough work and enough training and everything is looking good for the next competition – it all falls out of bed!

Myerscough was rather like the curate’s egg – good in parts. It took almost six hours to drive there and the plan was to arrive early on the Friday and ride Senorita Friday afternoon, then to do the arena walk Saturday morning – at 6.15am! The working-in arena on Friday afternoon was rather busy and Senorita found this quite stressful, making her somewhat ‘hot’, so I hoped that the arena walk the next morning would help settle her – which it did. The Inter II was good except for the ring-rustiness of the rider, which culminated in three expensive errors. However we were in the placings so into the prize-giving we went – she found that VERY exciting. I think at one point we were going round on one leg!

Following on from Saturday, my expectations of Sunday were rather high. After all in the Inter II we had received quite a lot of 7’s and the odd 8 in the piaffe/passage tour (as well as 3’s and 4’s). Unfortunately on the Sunday, once more the working-in area was rather hectic which again made Senorita very tense and rather stressed, but our time arrived and into the arena we went. Being so tense, Senorita had left Planet Earth! So the first half of the Grand Prix was full of errors and I nearly lifted my hat and came out, but decided that ‘we’ had to get through this, so continued with the test. Senorita suddenly started to breathe and the last third of the test just got better and better – again ending up with 7’s and 8’s. Although I was very disappointed as my expectation of Sunday had been high, I was really pleased because I know that when we eliminate the mistakes and Senorita gains more confidence and breathes, then the marks will improve dramatically. Also all the judges had made really good, positive comments about her.

So onwards and upwards, I feel that more competitions will help her to get over the phobias in the working-in arena. Now to try and work out the new format of the BD schedule, to see where we are going to next.
Oh – and I do miss Romario.

Friday 5th March

Well as the saying goes ‘many roads lead to Rome’, unfortunately it seems to me that some of them come to a dead end!

Having had four fantastic weeks training with Hartwig, it now seems that I have a very difficult decision to make about the horses. Senorita is absolutely flying along and does now understand what is wanted of her in the Grand Prix work. However it has not been so easy for Romario. Whilst he tries to make it all happen, he is really struggling with the level of work and finding it very difficult to carry out the more advanced movements. Under the circumstances, rather than keep pressing him to do what he cannot really do, I have decided to find him a home where he can work at a lower level and be happy. So tomorrow when we leave for England, I will be leaving him behind. After four years of working with him, I will find that heartbreaking.

However, that is life with horses so I must look forwards to a good season with Senorita. She has just about got everything under her belt, so we will be going to Myerscough to try the Inter II and the GP, BUT I am regarding the competition as training session to see how she copes with this level of work in competition conditions.

Tomorrow we leave for home but will be making one overnight stop, as I feel the journey is too long to make in one hit. Hopefully the Channel will not be too rough which could mean waiting in Calais for the seas to quieten down before we can sail, and all being well we will be home on Sunday afternoon.

26th February

Such a lot has happened in the last three weeks, which is why I have been unable to update the ‘What’s New’ page.

We did eventually manage to get out to Germany at the end of January arriving at Hartwig’s stables on Tuesday 2nd February and what an eventful drive it was! I had been keeping an eye on the weather in Germany, which had been very snowy and temperatures of -11C, but as it seemed to be improving we finally left England. We missed the turning north in the Rhein valley and ended up in Essen - and then it started to snow. It never really stopped and by the second day of being parked at Hartwig’s the snow was three-quarters of the way up the wheels of the lorry with freezing temperatures. However the drive was worth it. I had a really super first week training, with Hartwig re-capping all the basics with both horses, when it was suggested that instead of staying for two weeks I should stay for four! This was so that Senorita and Romario could become more established in the Grand Prix work – oh – and the rider! My plans at home were thrown into complete disarray, as I had to re-arrange some work for the Jeffress Trust and make a plan to come home for an evening with the Berkshire County Riding Club - BUT all of that was worth it. My riding has improved dramatically and so have both horses. Unfortunately we did not run in Braunschweig as the weather was too bad, but Hartwig would like to see me in a competition before I return home. There is a competition on Saturday 6th March where I will be able to ride an Inter II, and then we can make a plan for the rest of the season.

As for what I have learned in three weeks - the word rhythm is firmly engraved on my mind, together with - a soft and light hand. How basic is that, yet it has made a fantastic difference.

I will be coming home on Sunday 7th March with the horses, but will be returning at the end of April to learn yet more about how to ride horses!

If any of you have any questions or would like any more information, then please do email me.

February 5th

I mentioned in the January 22nd post about the snow collapsing the Indoor School roof - here is the photo evidence!

January 31st

Senorita was very well behaved at Sparsholt, managing to get through the whole of the Grand Prix without breathing! It was really good practice for her, having to concentrate on the working-in when ponies were being turned out in surrounding fields and then galloping off! During the test it happened to be feeding time for the sheep in the adjoining building, which meant Senorita was definitely not going into ‘that’ corner just because whatever was the other side of the wall would certainly kill her. However, all in all I was pleased with her attempt.
The next competition will be the CDN Braunschweig – if we ever get to Germany.
Unfortunately January has not improved as it has gone along. I have had a really bad cold lasting for almost a fortnight and putting me completely out of action for one week. As a result the horses have had another enforced holiday with Becky doing all the work with them.
This has put my plans behind for going to Germany so we may not get out there until the first week of February and that will leave us with only one week’s practice before the CDN.
Ho hum that’s horses.

January 22nd

January has sort of followed on from December really – a stop-start month with the horses, because of all the snow. We have been very badly affected here with the snow. So much so that we could not get out of the farm for four days – even the tractor could not get out of the driveway!
However much worse than that has happened - the roof of our lovely indoor school has collapsed under the weight of all the snow. We are now completely in the hands of the NFU as to how quickly we can deal with the problem.
So with that disaster and the snow on the outdoor school Senorita and Romario are having a really lazy time of it!
This is not good news as we go to Germany for two weeks training with Hartwig on 29th January, but I am still risking it and taking Senorita to Sparsholt on Sunday. She definitely needs an outing! I put the double bridle on for the first time today since last October, OOPS! Very fresh! So Romario will not be going as I don’t think I can deal with two fresh, under-worked horses in double bridles, in one day!

January 2010

Happy New Year from everyone at Lindsay Jenkins Dressage!

December 2009

Well December has been something of a start-stop month. Both horses were going really well at the beginning of the month and making great strides forwards with all of their work. So much so, that I was already trying out movements for their dressage to music classes. Senorita will be doing Big Tour music and Romario Small Tour. It will be more difficult to organise Romario’s music as I want to make his Kür for the Intermediare 1 (just in case he is invited to an international competition), but I will then have to adapt that test for PSG music to use in England.
However with the snow arriving, the horses seemed to get very fresh, so I had to revert to just everyday working and training without trying anything too fancy – didn’t really want to be deposited on the ground!
Olympia was on and the big highlight for me was being invited to attend the two day International Dressage Judges’ Course taking place during Olympia. What a lot I learned, not only from a judging point of view, but also from a rider’s view, so hopefully my Kürs will be more polished than they otherwise would have been! And although riders are very quick to blame judges for marks they receive, perhaps the riders should sit in with judges and then they could see where marks are so easily thrown away and lost!
Happy New Year everyone and here's to a super successful 2010.

December 22nd 2009

No riding today at KPF!

November 2009

This has been a very exciting month! The Breeder of Senorita sent me an email to tell me that Senorita is the half-sister to Potomac (horse of the German team in the Europeans at Windsor) and hoping that we can follow in Potomac’s footsteps. No pressure then!
I was lucky enough to be invited to train with Hartwig Burfeind in Germany. Hartwig won the Professional Rider’s Championship in Germany this year. What a super rider and trainer he is. I was there with both horses for 10 days and learned such a lot. We did not work on Senorita’s piaffe, passage and ones as Hartwig thought they were well established. However the lateral work needed more development, so it was half-passes, canter zig-zags and pirouettes! With Romario we worked on his roundness, piaffe and passage, but he will probably start 2010 at Small Tour as he has not got the confidence or strength he needs to carry him through the Grand Prix at the moment. Well - both horses have improved dramatically so it is fingers crossed for next year.

November 2nd

Firstly I have to ask if you all like this new website now it is completed? If anyone has any particular views on it I would be pleased to hear from you.

Well, it is eight weeks to the day since I had the foot operation and it is only now that I can feel comfortable in a riding boot - thanks to my sports physio, Victoria Kerr-Davies. So much for my Consultant telling me I only had to wait four weeks!

At least both horses are now back on track and in the frame of mind for working, which is good as we travel to Germany in two weeks time for training. Hopefully the training will consolidate the Grand Prix work for Senorita and the canter pirouettes and sitting canter for Romario.

October 2009

I saw the Consultant on 5th October and the dressing and surgical boot came off! Thank goodness - I was free! However, it was not as easy as I thought it would be.

The first time on Senorita was quite an eye opener. She took off round the yard with me on board with her back up and me not daring to put the leg on! So we have had to lunge her before I can get on - and being the horse she is - she is still trying it on two weeks later!

As for Romario – well he was the opposite. He thought he was still on annual leave so I had to try and ‘encourage’ him along with only one good leg. That was difficult. But they are now both on a ‘get fit programme’ – and so am I! Amazing how the breathing is the first thing to go when there is no riding –from both the human and the horse point of view.

Anyway we are aiming for some serious training in November in Germany.

September 2009

Well this month has been a complete write-off. My foot operation was on Monday 7th and I now have a black neoprene and Velcro surgical boot on the right foot. How unfashionable is that! I cannot weight bear on the foot for two weeks, which means that it has been up to Becky to lunge the horses on a regular basis, making Becky’s day quite busy. I do think though, that giving the horses a breather at this end of the year is good for them before the training work begins again in the winter.

However I have managed to do some teaching, from a very regal position of reclining on cushions and lying with my foot up on the bench. It is though quite frustrating not being able to walk onto the school and give the riders some help and encouragement when they need it.

The only good thing to come out of this 'enforced rest' is my new website and as you can see………… IT IS FABULOUS! This is all thanks to Gemma at Sitewizard.

July 2009

The College Regionals
Having been with Ferdi the week before the Regionals, Ferdi had been working on developing Senorita’s paces. So the trot was getting bigger and more powerful and the canter was moiré sitting and powerful – but – Senorita could not always keep her balance with the ‘new’ power turned on! The Regionals then were going to be a big ask.
This was the first time in six years that I had ridden in a Regional so I was nervous, let alone Senorita! But she went like a true campaigner. None of the arenas fazed her, nor the audience by the scoreboards and cafeteria. The only thing that she really looked at were the spectators sitting on the bank, but she soon settled into her work.
We didn’t qualify for the Nationals but I am not disappointed at that, as she has proved herself that she can cope with the big competitions. We are now going to work towards her Big Tour career through this winter and might contemplate the Sunshine Tour next year.
BUT before then I have to have an operation on my foot which will keep me out of the saddle for four weeks! Can you imagine!
So whilst I am ‘foot up in the air’ I shall be making a new web site and Kevin Sparrow has already been here taking the photographs.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

Badgeworth E C
This was a lovely competition to go to and Jeanne Hooper is very friendly and accommodating to all competitors. Senorita was very good and although she lost the plot – again in the tempis – she got some very high scores, being second in the PSG and winning the Inter 1.

Crofton Manor
Well Romario still didn’t get his promised run in the PSG at Crofton Manor. He pulled front shoe off in his box and we didn’t have time to put it back on and then set off for the competition. The organisers of Crofton Manor were very understanding and even offered to get a blacksmith there to put the shoe back on for us! But, as Romario wears aluminium shoes and his feet are very crumbly I couldn’t run the risk of travelling him down there and finding he was foot sore with the new shoe on.

15th/16th June : Hartpury

Before we went to Hartpury I did ask Ferdi to look at Senorita to see if she was fit enough to go and we had the thumbs up from him, so off we went.
Oops – eight weeks without competitions meant that this competition was VERY exciting. She managed to cope with the beginning of the PSG and keep the lid on it until the canter work and then unfortunately excitement set in and everything was done with a few one times thrown in. Mustn’t complain – I shall need those one times when we come to do the GP competitions!
She was rather more settled the second day for the Inter 1 and it didn’t take me 2 ½ hours to put her plaits in, which it did the day before!
Again all the work went well until after the medium canter, and then she just lost the plot, thinking everything must be done in medium canter! Ah well – such enthusiasm is a necessity I suppose.
Well they are both back on the road, so we will try to do as many competitions as possible, although there are not many left – now that we are into the winter season! How daft is that?

June

Well – this has not been a good month. Both horses are still very sick and our vet, Peter Thurlow, is doing everything he can to get them better as quickly as possible. Senorita has been on 10 minutes work a day, with no cantering, so that we don’t raise her stress levels and Romario began working for 20 minutes including cantering the third week in June.
It seems to me that if horses haven’t completed enough competitions and/or qualified by the end of June, the summer season is over. How daft can that be. So we hope that Senorita will be well enough and fit enough to go to Hartpury.

May

Well the month of May has finished quite miserably. Romario is still getting better and now Senorita has a low red cell blood count, so she is off the road and Somerford is out of the window. It looks like both horses will not now be competing until the middle / end of June. So hopefully Hartpury Premier League is looking possible. Fingers crossed!

10th May : Sparsholt

Off we go again with Senorita to do a PSG and Inter 1. She was getting better all the time. The riding-in was more settled and the tests were coming together. I still couldn’t quite ride all the movements on her through the PSG but some parts of the test were brilliant, but it seemed that the two judges did not agree. One really liked and one didn’t. Ah well. On to the Inter 1 and for the first time in an arena I could actually influence her within the test. She gave me a lovely ride and it showed in the marks. She won the class. The plan with Ferdi was to now take her to her first Premier League Show at Somerford. I can’t wait!

3rd May – Hartpury

Again Senorita was quite bright in the working-in and then tense when we started the PSG. At the beginning of the test I could not quite ride her through corners or set her up for any of the movements, but as the test went on she calmed down and did get better. She was 3rd in that class and only 11 marks behind the winner, so I was very pleased with that. Then for the Inter 1 she was much calmer and settled, but I felt that I could not really ride her for all of the movements. Nevertheless she won that class and one of the two judges gave her 68%. I was thrilled! The long term plan might be working!

30th April : Hickstead

I thought that it was time to dip a toe in the water at a big venue, so decided to run Senorita at Hickstead. She was wild! In the riding-in she was rather tight and unfortunately this was carried on into the test arena. In the PSG she was just looking around and as we came to the end of the first extended trot she saw two horses playing the field and wanted to join them, so had a bucking fit in the PSG. I wasn’t sure that I was going to stay on board, but did manage it to finish the test. I thought that as she was entered for two classes she would then be more settled for the Inter 1. None of it! At the end of the medium canter she packed in a couple of fly bucks and was then unsettled for the rest of the test. Driving home I thought it was best to just keep on with competitions to settle her into the routine, so we were off to Hartpury on 3rd May.

29th April : Burrows Court

I took Romario to Burrows Court to do the PSG and Inter 1 and although he was placed in both his classes, he did not go very well. The riding-in arena was quite deep and when Romario is apprehensive he holds his breath and then does not really go forwards, so riding on deep going was not the best for him. The competition arena was a completely different surface with the horses riding on top and the surface being rubber was moving underneath their feet. Again because Romario is not the most confident of horses, the arena surface made him even more hesitant. However, it was an outing which was part of the overall plan.
Following on from Burrows Court, at the beginning of May, I then took him to Wellington Riding for a PSG and PSG music. However he felt totally flat and disinterested in the whole thing, which is not like him! So when we got home I had him blood tested to find that his red blood cell count was on the floor. This meant that he was now off the road until the blood count was back to normal, which could take some six weeks! Ho Hum – that’s horses.

April

Well we have managed to do two competitions this month, giving both of the horses a ‘run’.
Senorita went to the Berkshire College of Agriculture. She was brilliant in the working-in, but then going to the indoor school she decided to have a major panic and did not really settle even though we were riding inside. I think that Senorita needs to just go out with four or five competitions on the bounce to try and get her much more confident. The work at home is absolutely brilliant and we just need to get her more confident and less spooky at competitions. She should also have gone to Hickstead at the beginning of April, but we were wait-listed. However we are going there on 30th April.
Romario is making great strides forwards and he has been to Merrist Wood, where he was very good. He was placed in both the PSG and the Inter I. He was very tense for the first class but much more relaxed and settled for the Inter I. So much so that one judge had him to win the class on 67%! Romario now needs to let me ride him in the tests whereas at the moment I am just sitting and steering, because every time I ask with the leg in the test, he just gets faster rather than coming with more ‘sitting’ energy and cadence. Ho hum – we will get there.

March

So we have not had a very good start to the year, and it seems that we are some two months behind with the training where I would want the horses to be at this time of the year. So Myerscough looks out of the question.
Senorita has been out once to do a Prix St Georges – this was a ‘testing the water’ competition to see how well behaved she was – and she was quite good, just a little spooky in places. The test was at Step by Step, and what a lovely competition to go to. Marion Pace runs a very friendly show and very efficiently to. Romario has not done anything yet as we are still working on his suppleness.
Ferdi has been helping me with both horses and they are coming along very well with his help in their training. He is so positive and precise and fills both the horses and riders with such confidence.
Senorita is will be doing some competitions to hopefully ‘rub out’ her spookiness.

January

Having made a work and competition plan for the year , there is nothing quite like the weather for putting all plans into complete disarray! We have just had two weeks of intense cold and whilst the arenas have been rideable – Senorita and Romario have not always been quite so accommodating!
However Senorita is working towards Myerscough Premier League and Romario will do one or two small shows before then. If he behaves himself then he might go to Myerscough!
Watch this space!

2008

October

Well October didn’t quite go according to plan!
It was my intention that both horses should ‘cram in’ at least 3 competitions each this month. We started off well with Romario winning the Intermediare I at Merrist Wood and having been judge by Jennie Loriston-Clarke that was very encouraging. Senorita did not go to Step by Step for the Grand Prix – I promise we will get there one day. The next weekend Romario went to Berkshire Riding Centre for the Intermediare i. I thought that test was better than Merrist Wood, but the judge didn’t!
Then, to cap it all, the week after Berkshire RC, I was very ill which resulted in a longer than expected stay in hospital. I then had to return to hospital later in October for an operation. So all in all that put an end to competitions and indeed riding and to top it all, I was grounded by the Hospital Consultant until 17th November!

September

Having just had 6 days away doing the FEI Judges Course at Blair, it seems that I have come home to two rockets!!
Both horses have decided that a permanent holiday would suit them very well. However, I have other ideas!
Senorita will be doing Grand Prix this winter and I think Romario will have to stay with Inter 1 and II. I have the feeling that he needs to develop more confidence in himself with the piaffe and passage before I can try really complicated things with him.

August 14th, 15th, 16th

Fry’s Premier League
We made the long trip to Aike Grange Stud, and although the wet weather was very disappointing Simon and Laura Fry made everyone feel very welcome and put on a very good show.
Simon and Laura have made every effort to give the showground a real top-class and international feel, so this is a good testing ground for learning horses and riders.
It was certainly very testing for Senorita! The riding-in area was busy – which she found very exciting – and following that we then had to walk to the test arena. Unfortunately this gave her too much time to think, by which time she was very tight and tense, had completely forgotten there was a rider on board, so none of the movements came off. The second day was pretty much the same, so I withdrew from the music and we came home.
I did after all say that this year was a learning and training year!! Ho hum!

July 31st

Step by Step Dressage
Unfortunately Marion Pace could not find a List 1 judge for the Grand Prix, so we didn’t get a run there.

July 19th,

Oldencraig
Not having much luck with competitions in England! Oldencraig had so many entries for their earlier classes that the Grand Prix was running at 8.30 pm, and with a three hour drive home I didn’t think Senorita would much like arriving home in the early hours of Monday morning! So we didn’t run.

June 28th, 29th

The Duchy College, Cornwall
Horses are now back in England until September so that they can do more competitions and get arena practice.
Our first competition in England was at The Duchy College. Unfortunately as Romario had knocked a hock on the way home, he was grounded, so I took Senorita on her own. She was much more settled and, aside from her being very fresh on the Saturday morning before the Intermediare II – she decided being a bucking bronco in the riding arena was more fun than being a dressage horse – she was rather well behaved. Both the Intermediare II and the Grand Prix were won by her. There are still many mistakes, both from her and from myself, but I am treating this season as a training season, in the hope that next year she will be much more established at this level.

June 1st

Liege CDN
Both horses went to this competition and were more settled than Frankenthal – BUT – they were still very fresh and rather electric. Because of that I had no chance to ‘ride’ them in the arena. The competition was at a very large Riding Centre, which meant that we had horses galloping past the arena, western horses going past in groups, children being taken out on ponies with parents riding bicycles along side! Little wonder that our Continental competitors have bomb-proof horses!!

May 16th, 17th, 18th

Frankenthal
Both horses went to this show with the intent of them both doing the Intermediare II and the Grand Prix, and following on from the BrusSelles success I had high hopes for them. What I had not realized was how big an ordinary National show in Germany could be!! They were both very excited and unsettled, which made them virtually unmanageable, so discretion being the better part of valor, I withdrew the horses and we drove home feeling very dejected. However, onwards an upwards – we had found another competition to go to on 1st June in Belgium.

May 4th, 5th

Brusselles CDN
This is the first Intermediare II and Grand Prix for both horses. The weekend started fairly dramatically as we could not find the showground and ended up driving for two hours around Brussels until a kind person came from the Equestrian Centre, found us and delivered us to the show.
The atmosphere was fairly electric with the restaurant being down the long side of the arena – and very busy it was too!! Still - all good training fro the future – that was until someone pushed a chair back from a table making a BIG scraping noise and terrifying Romario!
Romario was quite electric in the Inter II and not all the movements came off according to plan. He panicked in the zig-zag and I panicked in the piaffe and passage, but all in all it was a good first attempt and he was placed third in that class. Ingo decided that we should not run him in the Grand Prix as he had tried quite hard in the Inter II.
Senorita was very good in the Inter II – although she stuck in the first paiffe the second one at A was better and her passage felt quite established. She performed some super pirouettes, but changed early in the zig-zag. I felt rather ring rusty but all in all it was a good test for a first one and she did go on to win the class. We managed to complete the Grand Prix, but there were rather a lot of green mistakes. However she was very calm and even began to run out of steam – which is not like her!
So now we are working towards Frankenthal which is in two weeks time and hope we can improve on our performances!

January – May

Not a lot to report, except to say that I have been commuting weekly, Monday to Friday, to Koblenz for training with Ingo. The horses are based there for the foreseeable future, until the Grand Prix work is more established with both horses.
Senorita seems to have taken to this level work with rather more ease than Romario, although she does ‘pretend’ to sit and work from behind when she is not!! But she has so much power sometimes she can fool the rider!!
Romario finds all of the work physically easy, but mentally he is not always prepared to do what the rider is asking! I do believe that this is just a learning plateau and that he will come through this phase.
The plan is to make 3 or 4 competitions in Germany to see how they cope with the work away from home.

Jan 20th

East Soley
I have just done a Dressage to Music clinic at East Soley 2000, which was super. There were 15 riders, each having an individual session with me, doing whatever the riders wanted to help them with their dressage to music! All the riders were so enthusiastic about dressage to music it was a pleasure to teach them, and they were of all ages and levels.
The facilities were great with a really friendly atmosphere. Emma and Peter Dove have everything so organized and make people feel really welcome. The day was so successful that Emma will be running another one in March, so do give her a ring.

January 10th

I am very pleased to have been asked by the Selectors to take both horses on the Sunshine Tour. However I have asked David Trott if they would consider me later in the year for another International, as I would like to get the work much more established at home, before either of them make a big competition.

January

It has been a while since I put any news on the page, so this is catch up time.
Senorita and Romario have been in Germany since Christmas week and I have been doing my ‘4 day week’ in Germany, dashing out Sunday evening and returning on Thursday afternoon. The work with both horses is going very well and they both are staying together in the learning process. However I have days when I think he is better than her, and then he has a whoopsie and decides he cannot do the ones, so I think she is better than him. Then she has a wild day thinking everything is either one-times or all work has to be done in passage, which is when I think he is better than her! Patience certainly is the name of the game at this stage of the training.

2007

Nov 28th

Hunters Equestrian
Romario’s second PSG. For the first time, he was rather ‘lit-up’ and I wasn’t sure that I was always in control!! However he showed some very good work – and some costly mistakes. But I was very pleased with him and he did win the class.
This will be the last competition for either of the horses. They will now return to Germany before Christmas to start preparing them to do Grand Prix next year.
Onwards and upwards!!

Nov 20th

Senorita should have been going to Manor Farm Equestrian Centre, Cambridge to do her first Inter II. However we have now found out that she has a serious virus so she is sidelined! Talk about one step forwards and ten steps backwards!! So she has to rest for three days and then another blood test to see how she is recovering. Because she has a virus we also have to check Romario.

Nov 18th

Sparsholt College Equestrian
Romario’s turn to do a PSG. He was good but he still needs to learn to sit and wait in the pirouettes instead of doing his own thing!! The weather was absolutely appalling – heavy rain, windy and very cold. I wasn’t sure that we would even run when we got there. However we did – and he won the class.

Nov 17th

Merrist Wood Equestrian
Well – Senorita’s first competition since Herentals. It was much better – but – she is still rather spooky in the arena. So she has three more competitions to do and hopefully she will settle in the arena. However, she was placed second in the class! Well done that girl!

Nov 11th

Senorita and Romario are back home and I have a very busy three weeks planned for them competition wise. Hopefully Senorita will do her first Inter II whilst she is here!!

Sept 17th

So both horses are back with Ingo and we will keep working towards the Grand Prix. In November Ingo goes to the States to teach for two weeks and the horses will come home for three weeks to try some competitions in England. I will post the dates and venues when I know where we are going.

Sept 14th – 16th

Herentals CDI
Thrilled to be here. I had forgotten what it was like to ride in international competitions. The atmosphere is electric and unfortunately we cannot create this on a regular basis back in the UK.
However the competition was disappointing and I was very disappointed with the result – let alone having to tell the Chairman of the Selectors that we could not make 60% in the tests! I believe that Internationals are a big responsibility for the rider. The Selectors put faith in the rider and horse and allow them to ride against other international riders and ‘fly the flag’ (which I am very proud of doing), and I consider that as riders we must do our utmost to return that loyalty.
Senorita had a real panic attack. She stopped blinking and breathing through the PSG and when we came into the arena in the Inter I she thought it best if she stopped and went home! We did ride our way through both tests and learnt a lot from the outing. My motto – onwards and upwards!!

20th August

Returned to Germany to work with Ingo on the run up to Herentals. Ingo and I have both decided that Herentals will be a steep learning curve for both Senorita and myself. For her it will be the biggest question ever and for me it will tell me just how rusty I am at international competitions, having not ridden in one for six years.

16th August 2007

Moulton College Eq Centre
Oh well – what can I say!! Moulton college is a super place. However in my opinion it was never intended as a competition venue – and no this is not sour grapes. Lorries are parked on a very clean, tidy, well paved area. Who wants to unload horses on paving? The riding in arena, although quite a walk from the lorry park, is on a lovely, rubber surface. Unfortunately it is underwater in the bottom 20 metres of the arena. The indoor school where the competition takes place is not long enough for a 60 metre arena and a judge’s box/table/car, so a garden shed is wheeled into situ with the double doors open behind it!! Not to mention the farm tractors driving past! All very frightening. Unfortunately I thought it was too much for Senorita, so retired halfway through the PSG and withdrew from the Inter I.

8th August 2007

Leyland Court Dressage
This was a big day for Romario – his first Prix St Georges and Intermediare I – and his first competition since last October. He was a good boy and really tried hard for me. He stayed completely calm throughout both tests but everything felt a little ‘green’ in the arena. He is still struggling with the pirouette work, but it is coming better and better. This was only a testing competition for him to see how he coped with surroundings and things and for that he was very good.
He will not make any more competitions now until perhaps December. We will concentrate on the work and especially the ‘sitting’ work and go back to Germany at the end of August for the winter. So I will be back to my ‘four-day-week’ in Germany and my ‘three-day-week’ in England looking after my pupils here! It works really well.

1st August 2007

Well all the best laid plans go awry!!
Unfortunately Simon Fry had to cancel the International because of all the rain, so we are back in England and now have different plans. Senorita has been nominated to go to an International in Belgium! So she will make one more competition here and then we trundle back to Germany at the end of this month and go straight from training with Ingo to Herentals. It so exciting!!
Romario goes to do his first Prix St Georges – who knows what will happen!
Watch this space!

24th June 2007

I have just had the most super week with the horses in Germany training with Ingo Menze. ‘We’ (Ingo, the horses and I) have a plan working towards Fry’s. The training for both Senorita and Romario is going very well. Senorita is still very ‘bright’ and works out what I want her to do BEFORE I know what I want her to do!! However, Ingo tells me this is a good sign for the Grand Prix work. Romario is being Romario – one day he wants to be a top class dressage horse, doing everything some ones, a little bit of piaffe, a little bit of passage and the next day he just wants to be a thug!

18th June 2007

Having heard from Lianne, International Secretary that we are nominated for Fry’s CDI with Senorita, both horses have gone to Germany this weekend and will be staying out there until the week before Fry’s.

11th June 2007

Welsh Festival of Dressage
Unfortunately we didn’t make either Oldencraig or Hickstead. Both competitions were full with waiting lists – but – we did go to the Welsh Festival.
If anyone needs to take a horse to a ‘full on’ show to get ready for a Regional or a Championship show, then this is the one for you!! It is very busy with lots going on – and not all dressage! Little show ponies learning to canter/gallop circles in the lorry park. Very frightening for Senorita. I was not sure that I was even going to get her to the dressage arenas – let alone complete the tests.
However we did make it. The going in the arenas was very good. Senorita was rather lit up but she was good , and is improving with every outing. She won both the Prix St Georges and the Intermediare I, with good marks despite her mistakes. Another write up in Horse and Hound!

23rd May 2007

Belmoredean Dressage
I thought that some competitions in quick succession would cure Senroita of her nerves. So we tried the Prix St Georges and the Inter I here. Unfortunately there was sunlight on the floor in the indoor school and she jumped it EVERY TIME we came across it – so it spoiled the PSG and we ended up 3rd with 64%. That means that she has qualified for the Young Horse Prix St Georges class at Hickstead. In the Inter I I overrode her and was just a bit too strong with the aids so the test lacked fluency and many of the transitions were very sharp. I asked her to collect in the canter for the first pirouette and she stopped!! My fault – but she is such a talented horse that we won that class.
This was a super venue to take a nervous horse (and rider) to. Louise and her tema make everyone feel so welcome and it is a very relaxed atmosphere, and as for Louise’s new indoor surface – it is super! You all must go there.

17TH May 2007

Swallowfield Equestrian
Senorita’s first competition – gulp! In at the deep end with an AM98 followed by a Prix St George. She was very whizzy to ride in – head disappearing between her knees in the riding in! However she was well behaved in the 98, even if we didn’t get any of the changes! She finished a creditable 3rd with 64%. The Prix St George had more mistakes. She was so busy looking around she forgot to listen to me, but she was 2nd with a 62%.

2007 – A NEW YEAR

A lot has happened since I last wrote on the news page and there has been such a gap because there have been disappointments. However the luck here might just be on the change! I do now have a new horse to ride – Senorita – a Hanoverian bay mare by Segunas. She has to be one of the brightest buttons in the tin! She will be aimed at Small Tour this year and then we will be working this coming winter towards Grand Prix.
Romario is also back on track – after such a long time off! Jenny Hall, our vet, discovered that he had some discomfort and pain in the left stifle. So that has been treated and it is hoped that he will make some Small Tour competitions this year.

2006

DRESSAGE TO MUSIC WORKSHOP
On Saturday 25th November I am running a Dressage to Music Workshop at East Soley EC2000, so if anyone would like to come either on four legs or two legs, please ring Emma Dove on 01488 686232 to book in. This workshop is aimed to help all people of all levels, from helping them to advise and choose their music right the way through to helping with details of their floor plan. Anything is possible!! Do come along and join in.

30.10.06

Unfortunately the tooth abscess has caused Romario to have more time out of work then I would have liked. He is now of the opinion that life is one long holiday and he really is not too keen on getting back to a working life!! So it will be back to basics for him for a while.
Guiness has eventually stopped coughing - after six months - and hopefully he will be fit to compete in three weeks time.
Watch this space!
The news is not so good about Chips. He is lame again, so I think it is retirement for this lovely horse.

24/09/2006

We have had three weeks training in Germany and now come home with a view to trying a Prix St Georges before Christmas. Unfortunately Romario has a tooth abscess so will be out of work for a couple of weeks. Damn! These things are sent to try us!!
But it was bonus to have his photograph in Horse and Hound last week.
Chips is now back in work. We will have to wait and see if he stays sound before we can make a competition plan for him.

28/8/2006

Stilebridge Barn
Romario was a superstar, winning both the Advanced Medium Qualifier and the Advanced 100. The mark was good in the Advanced Medium, but he got in a bit of a muddle in the 100. The 100 is quite a complicated test for the first-time-advanced outing. There are two diagonals in medium/extended canter, and then the next diagonal is tempi changes. As Romario was feeling quite helpful, he darted off on the third diagonal, thinking a medium or extended was wanted! Unfortunately I couldn’t stop him until X – so the tempis didn’t happen! C’est la Vie!
This is the last competition for Romario before we go to Germany for more training.

19.08.06

Summerhouse E.C.
Yet another successful outing for Romario, who won the Advanced Medium 89. Unfortunately I had to withdraw from the other Advanced Medium class, because the Test was changed the night before the competition from the 94 to the 98.
I felt that the 98 was just too complicated for him at this moment. He is ‘breathing’ now in the test arena, but he still needs to relax much more so that we can find the level of work in the competition that we have at home.

4/08/06

Summerhouse E C
This was a big question for Romario. Summerhouse is quite an open place and a lot of things going on for young horses to look at rather than getting on with the job in the arena!
However, Romario was very good – rather spooky in the first test so ended up with a third place. But he was more settled for the next class and won the Medium Qualifier. The mark was just under 67% and perhaps would have been more if he had been steadier in the head and stopped being so nosey! I think it is time for him now to try the next level up, so we will be doing the Advanced Mediums at Summerhouse’s next competition. ~Watch this space!

1/7/2006

West Wilts E C
Had a super day!! I like taking young horses to West Wilts E C, it is a very quiet calm place with a friendly atmosphere. It paid off for me today, as Romario won the Medium 61 with a score of just under 70%. Unfortunately the weather was so hot we withdrew from the Medium qualifier.
Let’s hope he keeps up the good work. I am not brave enough just yet to try another Advanced Medium with ‘bucking changes’!! Perhaps I will leave that until mid/late August. Chips continues to progress, but as he has been out of work for so long, I think it will take him a little longer to come back to competition fitness, so perhaps September for a Grand Prix was rather ambitious!

7/7/2006

Arrived back from Germany with Romario. The journey home was rather tortuous. We were stuck in a traffic jam on the Aachen ring road, then had to wait for 2 hours for a ferry and on arrival in Dover there was a detour. Yours truly thought the detour could be avoided! However all I did was to put a further one hour on our journey!!
The training went well. I am sure Romario will make a good advanced horse, but I am always amazed as to how long it takes the horses to learn some new movements and then to feel very confident with them. I am still hoping that we can perform a Prix St George test before the summer is out.
Chips is still doing very slow work, so I don’t think he will be ready for Frys CDI. So I will have to look for another Grand Prix in England, hopefully during September time

26/6/2006

On Sunday evening I am leaving with Chips and Romario for Frankfurt, Germany. I shall be staying for two weeks, in the hope that I can get the tempi changes better with Romario and also improve his canter pirouettes. If the training goes according to plan, fingers crossed, Romario should be in a position to do a Prix St Georges by the end of the summer.
Chips will be staying out there with Ingo Menze for perhaps the next six weeks. It just depends how long it takes for Chips to re-arrange his brain and stop doing airs above the ground. I had thought that he might make an appearance at Frys CDI in August, but we shall have to wait and see.

18/6/2006

East Soley EC 2000
I took Romario to his first ever competition here in England. It was to do the medium and advanced medium classes at East Soley EC 2000.
What a lovely place to take a horse out for the first time. Peter and Emma Dove run a very efficient competition and make everyone feel most welcome. There is a really relaxed atmosphere which is very good for first-time horses and first time people!
Romario was quite well behaved in the medium, but he is rather nosey and just was looking everywhere and not really keeping his mind on the job! Despite all of this he did win the medium with quite a good percentage.
The advanced medium was just too much for him and he got rather tense after the walk pirouettes. So the canter transition was done reluctantly, but we did manage to finish the test even with the HUGE flying changes he put in it!

Saturday, 15^th August

s for the new horse – we have been back for a second viewing and riding – and, I really like him. He is not a big mover, but his basic paces are all very correct and more importantly he is just the right size for me. Although he is only five years old, he appears to have a very trainable and will attitude. The last hurdle now is for him to pass the vet and hopefully Peter will be vetting him next week. So, fingers crossed X X !

Sunday, 1st August

The last two weeks seem to have flown by, with the first week being taken up by our short flying visit to Portugal – which was lovely. Super weather and food – not to mention the company!

As I walked away from the arena, many members of the public came to tell me how lovely the work and the test looked. All of this is a great confidence boost, so now it really is onwards and upwards.

As you can see from the picture – this is the state of the building at present – only a hole!

Sunday, 18^th July

Friday, 2^nd July

The last two weeks have been very busy, with some lovely surprises for me.

Mike and I have travelled many miles this last week looking at horses, but still with no luck at finding a Romario replacement. Oh well, we shall just keep on trucking……

Friday, 19^th June

Oh dear, the ups and downs of horses!

Jeanne Hyett the secretary for the Welsh Festival had been very kind and taken a late entry for the Grand Prix. As we had worked very hard with Senorita’s back all week, and having followed Peter’s instructions to the letter we were all set for the competition.

Sunday morning did not start the best. Senorita was being very difficult about being plaited (nothing new there then) so with time running out, she then stepped on herself in the box and pulled a front shoe off. I know that it was Sunday, but I quickly telephoned Martin to see if he could put the shoe on. However, when I got his voicemail, as the time for leaving was rapidly approaching, it made me think I should telephone Jeanne and withdraw from the competition. With ten minutes left before our ‘ramp up’ time Martin rang and we arranged to meet off the M4, in T H White’s car park so that Martin could put the shoe back on. What a Superstar he is.

The riding-in was not good. Senorita felt stiff, tight and against the hand and as Senorita is a very willing horse, always going forwards, I should have realised that all was not well. Further proof that perhaps we should not be there.

In a sentence : the Welsh Festival was a disaster. Maybe I should have gone with my gut feeling in the morning and withdrawn from the competition. It seemed the gods were telling me I should not have gone.

Ho hum – we live and learn.

So Peter came again on the Monday morning and as her back muscles were in complete spasm, the decision was that Senorita needed more time her back to recover. Under the circumstances and having not posted the scores I felt I needed to post to support the Selectors choice in sending me to Hartpury, I decided to withdraw from the CDI. I wrote to the Selectors offering my apologies and thanking them for considering me for the CDI at Hartpury

The plan now is for Senorita to go to Hickstead Premier League, followed by Hartpury Premier League.

To lift my spirits the week following the Welsh Festival l, I was doing a practice judging of a young International Horse Class at Wellington Premier League with David Hunt, and David thought he knew of a horse that might suit me. So, the spirits were up again.

Fingers crossed for trying the new horse. Off we went (Mike and I) to try the new horse yesterday. I liked her a lot and asked if I could go back for a second ride the next weekend, with my own saddle. Sometimes a horse can give a very different feel in a strange saddle.

So let’s hope this is an ‘up’ of horses and not a ‘down’!

Next time I write the news page we might have a new horse.

As for the NFU and settling the claim – well – their behaviour is simply preposterous. They are hiding behind their Loss Adjusters, who in turn are now asking for yet more amended quotes before we can begin the repair works. This claim is now in its sixth month and it seems that we shall be very lucky to have it settled and the new building done before the winter arrives!

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