Warmup:
Canter soft and forwards - remember to keep hands high and keep him soft. Ask and release. Reward as soon as softens. Canter to halt - get tough if needed, he must listen. Soften him in the halt before rewarding, walk on, prepare and back to canter. Move the canter on, bring it back. Small circles to get him sitting on his hocks.
Started with trotting a x-pole then 5 strides to an oxer which got bigger and bigger and bigger until it got to 1m30. Must remember to give the contact forwards, not bring it back first and then sit up and halt in a straight line.
Then we did a single fence and aim to halt within 3 strides in preparation for doing curved lines. Took a few goes to get that one.
Moved onto a course with some related distances and a turnback after an oxer - 3 strides straight, 90 degree turn back and then 3 strides to a x pole oxer. He did it fabulously the first time, 2nd time I got a bit deep to first oxer and let him jump a bit right so didn't quite make it right but we got over it. Don't think I'd have held for the extra stride if it had been bigger - it's the little ones that make me do that! He did the rest of it beautifully though. He was meeting them off tight turns spot on and flying. Finished with course at about 1m05 with final line a sharp turn up the centre line to a 1m05 oxer followed by a 1m20 vertical on 4 strides and he pinged. He is such a superstar!
BSJA tomorrow at Merrist - see if we can put it all into practice in competition.
Friday, 28 February 2014
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Merrist Wood Winter Regional Dressage Championships 2014
We started on Saturday afternoon with the Novice Restricted Freestyle to Music. I spent the afternoon grooming and washing white socks and making my plaits as special as possible. The nerves were kicking in which was weird as I never normally get nervous for dressage. We arrived at Merrist Wood with plenty of time and went to have a look at the arena which had been fully decked out with flowers, mini trees and a couple of massive flags. I wasn't quite sure what Monty would make of it all. He is very used to Merrist Wood but not complete with all that and he can be quite spooky.
I got on him for the warmup and did lots of lateral work to try and get him sitting behind but I could feel he was a bit tense and I kept getting shouted at to relax so I assume that was down to me! It was a big occasion and I wanted him to do his best. We went into the arena and his eyes came out on stalks, the giraffe made a reappearance and I had a wrestling match on my hands to get him to listen to me. Because he was tense his trot stride shortened and I found myself behind the music for the whole test. I tried to adlib it as much as I could but it didn't feel as smooth as usual. He broke to canter in one of the trot circles so I thought I'd repeat it at the end but managed to repeat it on the wrong rein - oops! All in all, it was most definitely not the best test we have ever done. We were second to go so had a long wait. We scored 66.019% which is disappointing when he's capable of 70% plus but it was the Regionals and I assumed they would be marking harder. Ended up in 6th place out of 17 which I was really pleased with considering how tense he was. Turns out the judge at C had him in 2nd place by just half a mark but the other two judges weren't so keen. Still, a great first experience and we got to do a fab prize giving and lap of honour.
prize giving:
So, onto Sunday. I decided given his reaction to the arena on Saturday I would make the effort to get up early and take him down there for the arena walk at 7am. We arrived at 6.45am and spent half an hour wandering around the outside of the arena, weaving in and out of the flowers, having a close up look at the judges' boxes and the banners on the wall. It was definitely worth doing as he was more relaxed when we finished. I then took him into the warmup and let him have a wander round and did a bit of loose stretching work. Back to the lorry for a couple of hours to get us both ready and then a short 20min warmup keeping it much simpler than the previous day - lots of stretchy, loose work, lots of transitions and not so much lateral work. This regime worked beautifully. He went into the arena, nice and calm and did a really sweet, soft, obedient test. Just one little mistake where he struck off on the wrong leg in the canter-trot-canter on the right rein but otherwise fabulous - really pleased with him. The marks were really close so our mistake cost us about 3 places which was frustrating but we still managed to sneak into 9th place out of 24 on 66.724%. He tends to score mid to high 60's at a normal show so really pleased to get that score at Regionals. The winner was on 69% so we weren't really that far off the pace. Another mounted presentation and lap of honour and feeling so chuffed with my boy.
N39:
prize giving:
He had the day off on Monday followed by a short schooling session Tuesday evening which involved popping over a couple of little cross poles with his mate and generally having a bit of a laugh!
Wednesday morning dawned bright and early again. We were second to go again so another early start. I was more relaxed by this point. He had already exceeded my expectations and although he has had a couple of plus 70% scores at Prelim, he wasn't even placed at the Area Festivals and is not always the judges' cup of tea - it depends how flashy they like them. He is correct and rhythmical but not flashy.
Kept the warmup similar to Sunday - loose and stretchy, nothing too technical, plenty of transitions. He went into the arena and had clearly forgotten about the banners from Sunday so a little eyes out on stalks moment but I managed to regain his concentration. He was a little tight and tense in the trot work and had a couple of massive chuck head in air moments when he decided to spook which I was worried would really impact on our marks. His canter work was gorgeous though and he did a fabulous free walk and final centre line with a superb final halt.
So, back to the lorry and straight on the internet on my phone to check the live results feed. The first score of the class went up as 60% and then mine went up and I had to look and look again - 72.244% - his highest ever score at BD. Get in! There commenced an agonising three hour wait and constant refreshing on the phone to watch each score go up one by one. Only the winner was going to qualify for the Nationals so it really was nail biting. We got something to eat, chatted to the tradestand reps and looked at the photos but the time dragged on by. Finally got to the last score to go up and it nearly did it but not quite. We'd won by just under a percent. We'd actually won and qualified for the National Champs. It really hasn't sunk in yet. The judge at C gave us a 9 for our entry and a 9.5 for our final halt! That was Lady Inchcape. There were also many 8.5's on the sheet and an 8 for my riding. What a result. We had our own special presentation in the indoor arena and then a lap (or two!) of honour with a couple of photographers and lots of clapping. It was absolutely awesome! I am so proud of my little horse. Giraffe no more - Nationals here we come!
P17:
prize giving:
What a Regionals!
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Today's dressage lesson
Things to remember:
- Must look up down the centre line
- Must ride forwards into the halts and lift up his ribcage so he stays soft. Use legs to ride the back legs underneath him into a square halt
- Don't sacrifice softness for uphill outline - keep the softness and suppleness even if not the more advanced outline
- Start the stretchy stuff before the marker so he is really stretching and top of his neck needs to drop below his withers
- Lots of excessive bending in the warmup to get him really soft and accepting
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
A winter of training
So, in my last blog I introduced you to me and my orange boy and told our story of how we qualified for Badminton Grassroots. Now it's time for an update on what we've been up to since then.
After the Regionals our next outing was to Pulborough for the BE90. He did a cracking dressage test with just one small mistake to score 26.5. Sadly we didn't get much of a showjumping warmup due to the ground and so we had 4faults in the SJ and I decided not to run him XC as the ground was deteriorating rapidly. Onwards to Larkhill the following week. He did a nice test for 29, slipped his way round the SJ for one down and pinged round the XC clear inside the time to finish 8th.
In the dressage at Pulborough:
So, that was the end of the season but not having had many runs I took advantage of there being a couple of hunter trials at Larkhill. He skipped round the RC Open course which involved most of the BE100 jumps and a couple of Novice ones for 5th place and then again round the Army Intermediate course for 4th place. A nice end to the year.
We also cracked on with some dressage and managed to get him qualified for the Winter Regionals at Prelim and Novice, plus Novice and Elementary Freestyle. Back in September he'd also qualified for the Area Festival Finals at Novice. A new personal best at prelim of over 72%, some great scores at Novice and a win at Elementary on 68% finished off our dressage season for 2013. I think you could safely say that the ginger giraffe has been banished for good. A lot of hard work and he's turning out to be a cracking little dressage horse. We started training with Sara-Jane Lanning, a top level rider and judge and have been working on our half pass and flying changes. If he ever has to retire from eventing, he now has a decent back up career.
In January we started SJ training with Chris Burton. In only a few lessons he has started to change Monty's whole way of going for the better. Getting him to hold himself and connect himself. He had us jumping 1m20 in the first lesson. Last lesson he hopped on for 5minutes and had him looking like a 4* horse in seconds. I have really enjoyed watching him ride when I've been at the yard - he has a lovely soft way with his riding and I am really looking forwards to continuing to train with him and seeing what further improvements he can make to us.
Following on from this, we entered the JAS at Merrist Wood in January. Our first attempt at JAS and he aced it - double clears in the time in the 90 and 100. 6th place in the 90 and qualified for the Finals. 11th place in the 100, one of only 3 double clears inside the time. We've also made the leap into the world of BSJA and have really been building confidence round more technical tracks. Following on from that success I decided it was time to push myself out of my comfort zone and bravely entered the 100 and the Novice for February's JAS. The 100 went really well until I got a bit complacent at the arrowhead and he snuck out the side. A timely reminder with Badminton in mind that he is not invincible and he has a nasty habit of chucking in a left hand run out at the most inopportune moments - I will do well to remember that at Badders! Shame as otherwise he jumped clear and would have been placed. Onto the Novice and I had no intentions of riding for the time, just aiming for a safe clear. He got a little onwards bound and flat and just tipped a few poles in the SJ but he stormed round the XC section, taking our first bounce in copybook style and feeling full of confidence. Not the best results on paper but I'm super chuffed with how our confidence has improved over the winter. I'm really excited about this year - if only the rain would stop!
After the Regionals our next outing was to Pulborough for the BE90. He did a cracking dressage test with just one small mistake to score 26.5. Sadly we didn't get much of a showjumping warmup due to the ground and so we had 4faults in the SJ and I decided not to run him XC as the ground was deteriorating rapidly. Onwards to Larkhill the following week. He did a nice test for 29, slipped his way round the SJ for one down and pinged round the XC clear inside the time to finish 8th.
In the dressage at Pulborough:
So, that was the end of the season but not having had many runs I took advantage of there being a couple of hunter trials at Larkhill. He skipped round the RC Open course which involved most of the BE100 jumps and a couple of Novice ones for 5th place and then again round the Army Intermediate course for 4th place. A nice end to the year.
We also cracked on with some dressage and managed to get him qualified for the Winter Regionals at Prelim and Novice, plus Novice and Elementary Freestyle. Back in September he'd also qualified for the Area Festival Finals at Novice. A new personal best at prelim of over 72%, some great scores at Novice and a win at Elementary on 68% finished off our dressage season for 2013. I think you could safely say that the ginger giraffe has been banished for good. A lot of hard work and he's turning out to be a cracking little dressage horse. We started training with Sara-Jane Lanning, a top level rider and judge and have been working on our half pass and flying changes. If he ever has to retire from eventing, he now has a decent back up career.
In January we started SJ training with Chris Burton. In only a few lessons he has started to change Monty's whole way of going for the better. Getting him to hold himself and connect himself. He had us jumping 1m20 in the first lesson. Last lesson he hopped on for 5minutes and had him looking like a 4* horse in seconds. I have really enjoyed watching him ride when I've been at the yard - he has a lovely soft way with his riding and I am really looking forwards to continuing to train with him and seeing what further improvements he can make to us.
Following on from this, we entered the JAS at Merrist Wood in January. Our first attempt at JAS and he aced it - double clears in the time in the 90 and 100. 6th place in the 90 and qualified for the Finals. 11th place in the 100, one of only 3 double clears inside the time. We've also made the leap into the world of BSJA and have really been building confidence round more technical tracks. Following on from that success I decided it was time to push myself out of my comfort zone and bravely entered the 100 and the Novice for February's JAS. The 100 went really well until I got a bit complacent at the arrowhead and he snuck out the side. A timely reminder with Badminton in mind that he is not invincible and he has a nasty habit of chucking in a left hand run out at the most inopportune moments - I will do well to remember that at Badders! Shame as otherwise he jumped clear and would have been placed. Onto the Novice and I had no intentions of riding for the time, just aiming for a safe clear. He got a little onwards bound and flat and just tipped a few poles in the SJ but he stormed round the XC section, taking our first bounce in copybook style and feeling full of confidence. Not the best results on paper but I'm super chuffed with how our confidence has improved over the winter. I'm really excited about this year - if only the rain would stop!
Sunday, 9 February 2014
Chris Burton SJ lesson
Focused on getting him round in the canter to start with - he must soften and connect his back end. Struggling so Chris got on and immediately had him soft and in self carriage - awesome to watch - no idea how he did it! Then he just calmly popped him over a x pole oxer warmup and he pinged it before coming to a smooth halt a couple of strides later. Easy peasy!
I got back on and initially almost had the same feel then Monty worked out it was me on top again and started being a giraffe - he doesn't make my life easy! Had to give him a nudge with the spur and hold with my hand for 3 strides max then let go. Eventually he did soften to this, especially on the left rein but it still needs a lot of work. Not sure Chris believes me when I tell him the horse is working at Medium and scores really well at dressage now! He really tells me off for nagging. I did much better with my leg today - he had to react and go and he was really towing me into the jumps which was good in a way although he was totally ignoring me when I said wait - normally just saying wait with my hands is enough but I think I probably should have been using my weight and seat more when he was being so forwards. He says I nag with my hands too to get him round and mustn't coz it annoys him! To be fair, I don't normally even attempt to get him round in a SJ round and normally fail in the warmup too. I'm sure it's me - in a dressage saddle I can sit deep and use my core to hold him. In the SJ saddle I really struggle to even sit to his canter with my knees jacked up. Got told off for bouncing as well today - need to work more on being able to sit to the canter and hold him with my core.
Did an exercise cantering between 2 poles - had to start off in a nice, forward canter and he naturally put 5 strides in so then had to do 6 on each rein then 7 on each rein. At this point had got it spot on every time and lots of praise - he said I'd judged it perfectly :) Struggled with 8 strides but got there on 2nd attempt. Chris was laughing and said at last I'd got it wrong! Failed at 9 strides though. This was the point where Chris got on and very easily put 9 strides in having never even ridden the horse before. Core is the key. He said he just holds him with his seat - easier said than done I feel! He said he does between 3 and 13 strides on his advanced horses and Monty should be able to do the same!
Moved onto jumping - started with an upright then halt after then a skinny and halt after. Praised for these. Moved onto a course - remembered to open my inside hand on landing and he landed on correct lead after every fence. Made the course more difficult - 2 curved lines on 5 strides - oxer to skinny, oxer to upright then oxer to oxer, then skinny, 4 strides to 1 stride double. Got in a bit deep to 1st oxer-oxer so really had to ride the 5 strides but just about made it - if he gets in deep and lands deep he does then struggle to get his hocks under him to make up a distance. Went clear - more praise. Had to ride the oxer line again and this time got perfect stride and he clipped it in front - pesky pony. I get it right and he gets complacent and doesn't try! I bugger it up and he turns himself inside out to clear it. Generally pleased - I did hold him a couple of times when maybe I should have pushed on for the bigger stride as it then made the related distances awkward by landing deep but he still had the power to clear the fences and he feels full of confidence rather than before when he'd get in deep with no power and make a horrid shape.
Chris asked how he was bred and said what a good horse he was. He asked Monts if he'd like to go and live in his yard. Only if I can come too lol!
I got back on and initially almost had the same feel then Monty worked out it was me on top again and started being a giraffe - he doesn't make my life easy! Had to give him a nudge with the spur and hold with my hand for 3 strides max then let go. Eventually he did soften to this, especially on the left rein but it still needs a lot of work. Not sure Chris believes me when I tell him the horse is working at Medium and scores really well at dressage now! He really tells me off for nagging. I did much better with my leg today - he had to react and go and he was really towing me into the jumps which was good in a way although he was totally ignoring me when I said wait - normally just saying wait with my hands is enough but I think I probably should have been using my weight and seat more when he was being so forwards. He says I nag with my hands too to get him round and mustn't coz it annoys him! To be fair, I don't normally even attempt to get him round in a SJ round and normally fail in the warmup too. I'm sure it's me - in a dressage saddle I can sit deep and use my core to hold him. In the SJ saddle I really struggle to even sit to his canter with my knees jacked up. Got told off for bouncing as well today - need to work more on being able to sit to the canter and hold him with my core.
Did an exercise cantering between 2 poles - had to start off in a nice, forward canter and he naturally put 5 strides in so then had to do 6 on each rein then 7 on each rein. At this point had got it spot on every time and lots of praise - he said I'd judged it perfectly :) Struggled with 8 strides but got there on 2nd attempt. Chris was laughing and said at last I'd got it wrong! Failed at 9 strides though. This was the point where Chris got on and very easily put 9 strides in having never even ridden the horse before. Core is the key. He said he just holds him with his seat - easier said than done I feel! He said he does between 3 and 13 strides on his advanced horses and Monty should be able to do the same!
Moved onto jumping - started with an upright then halt after then a skinny and halt after. Praised for these. Moved onto a course - remembered to open my inside hand on landing and he landed on correct lead after every fence. Made the course more difficult - 2 curved lines on 5 strides - oxer to skinny, oxer to upright then oxer to oxer, then skinny, 4 strides to 1 stride double. Got in a bit deep to 1st oxer-oxer so really had to ride the 5 strides but just about made it - if he gets in deep and lands deep he does then struggle to get his hocks under him to make up a distance. Went clear - more praise. Had to ride the oxer line again and this time got perfect stride and he clipped it in front - pesky pony. I get it right and he gets complacent and doesn't try! I bugger it up and he turns himself inside out to clear it. Generally pleased - I did hold him a couple of times when maybe I should have pushed on for the bigger stride as it then made the related distances awkward by landing deep but he still had the power to clear the fences and he feels full of confidence rather than before when he'd get in deep with no power and make a horrid shape.
Chris asked how he was bred and said what a good horse he was. He asked Monts if he'd like to go and live in his yard. Only if I can come too lol!
Sunday, 2 February 2014
Getting to Grassroots
Our journey to Grassroots started back at the end of 2010 when I came across this little orange horse with four big white socks and a heart of gold. He more closely resembled a giraffe on the flat and had a reputation for being exceedingly sharp. He was a push button showjumper though which was just what I needed having not showjumped for years after losing my confidence following a nasty fall from my old horse.
We set about a winter of hunting, showjumping and a mission to turn the giraffe into a presentable dressage horse. Then I decided I fancied a crack at eventing. We started at Tweseldown 80cm in April 2011 where he jumped double clear, bagged a rosette and eventing suddenly became my new purpose in life. I discovered the challenges of juggling work as a full time small animal vet with keeping three horses on DIY livery and all the training that goes into producing a successful event horse. We competed in a BE90 Regional Final at BCA but the giraffe wasn't fully tamed leaving us last after the dressage. Even his trademark double clear couldn't rescue us from that situation! 2011 was an awesome year though, starting in April having never evented before and finishing with a double clear in the BE100 at Munstead.
Another winter of hunting and dressage and he started 2012 with five top ten finishes at BE90 but still his dressage just wasn't quite good enough for the top 10%. Sadly, disaster then struck when he tweaked his tendon getting caught in some fencing in the field and our quest to Badminton was over for another year.
2013 soon came around and it became apparent that months of walking in straight lines had finally banished the giraffe and I had a cracking little dressage horse on my hands. He started the season with a bang by leading Tweseldown BE90 from start to finish, winning on his dressage score of 29. However, 2013 was soon to became the most frustrating year yet as we battled with a mysterious foot lameness. We thought we had it sorted for July's Tweseldown BE90 when he stormed round to win on his amazing dressage score of 24.5 but he wasn't right again the next day.
Thanks to Liphook Equine Hospital's amazing remedial farrier we finally got him back on track just in time to make it to the BE90 Regionals at BCA on 1st October. Our dressage test wasn't up to his new found potential but this time his trademark double clear brought us home to 6th place, the final qualifying spot for the Badminton Grassroots Championships. We had only gone and done it! I couldn't hold back the tears - me and my little orange horse have come on an incredible journey with setbacks a plenty but I always knew he had it in him to take me to Badminton and I can't wait to get him there and show everyone what a superstar he is.
We set about a winter of hunting, showjumping and a mission to turn the giraffe into a presentable dressage horse. Then I decided I fancied a crack at eventing. We started at Tweseldown 80cm in April 2011 where he jumped double clear, bagged a rosette and eventing suddenly became my new purpose in life. I discovered the challenges of juggling work as a full time small animal vet with keeping three horses on DIY livery and all the training that goes into producing a successful event horse. We competed in a BE90 Regional Final at BCA but the giraffe wasn't fully tamed leaving us last after the dressage. Even his trademark double clear couldn't rescue us from that situation! 2011 was an awesome year though, starting in April having never evented before and finishing with a double clear in the BE100 at Munstead.
Another winter of hunting and dressage and he started 2012 with five top ten finishes at BE90 but still his dressage just wasn't quite good enough for the top 10%. Sadly, disaster then struck when he tweaked his tendon getting caught in some fencing in the field and our quest to Badminton was over for another year.
2013 soon came around and it became apparent that months of walking in straight lines had finally banished the giraffe and I had a cracking little dressage horse on my hands. He started the season with a bang by leading Tweseldown BE90 from start to finish, winning on his dressage score of 29. However, 2013 was soon to became the most frustrating year yet as we battled with a mysterious foot lameness. We thought we had it sorted for July's Tweseldown BE90 when he stormed round to win on his amazing dressage score of 24.5 but he wasn't right again the next day.
Thanks to Liphook Equine Hospital's amazing remedial farrier we finally got him back on track just in time to make it to the BE90 Regionals at BCA on 1st October. Our dressage test wasn't up to his new found potential but this time his trademark double clear brought us home to 6th place, the final qualifying spot for the Badminton Grassroots Championships. We had only gone and done it! I couldn't hold back the tears - me and my little orange horse have come on an incredible journey with setbacks a plenty but I always knew he had it in him to take me to Badminton and I can't wait to get him there and show everyone what a superstar he is.
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