Diamond Dressage
Diamond Dressage
Where the horses really do come first
Diamond Blog
Diamond Blog
25 December
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!
Lovely presents were given to myself and the girls from our liveries, we have been very spoilt and are very grateful.
13 & 14 December
Fabulous 2 days spent training at Ferdi Eilbergs with my friend Ben Martin and his gorgeous horse, Gio. A long, long drive up the M40 following Ben (who had no indicators) wasn't much fun, but worth it when we got there!!!
Charlston felt amazing throughout our lessons and Ferdi actually knows his sire, Charming who is an International GP horse (below, taken as a 4 yo) and trains his rider! Downside is, that I have now found out that Charlston has a full sister out there........ so I'm now tryng to find her!!!!!!
We had a hilarious time and learnt much over the 2 days, can't wait for our next sessions in February.
2 December
Christmas Party time!!! A great turnout and a very long table!!! A great night was had by all, we laughed from start to finish.... Great to have such fabulous liveries and staff!
27 November
Patchetts again for Louis' music debut..... with Dougal, Thistle and Sue (yay).
We had run through the floorplan once at Sandie's last week (two attempts were out of the question as it started raining and we could hear the pub calling us). I had watched the video of the run through last night and tweaked it a bit.... last minute changes are the BEST!!!!!!
After yesterday, I decided to warm him up for an hour........ He was VERY aware of the other horses in the warm up - first time he had warmed up indoors and it was all a bit tight for him...... 45 minutes into that hour he finally started to settle......
Apart from the halts (when he decided to swing his quarters just in case I dared to ask for reinback....) and the fact that the arena rode MUCH faster than Sandie's and so I ended up in a different place for my walk so had to pick him up out of free walk in the worse possible place for him, he was SUPERB!!!!!!!
We were 2nd on a fabulous score of 70.55%, beaten by 1 mark!!! This means he has qualified for the Regional Championships on his first attempt at music.
SO SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!
The downside is I now have 2 qualified for the Winter Regional Championships and have to keep them both going right the way through the winter!!!!!!!!! Yes I know, my glass is always half empty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26 November
Patchetts with Louis today - with Dougal and Thistle. Sue had other commitments.... how VERY rude!!!!
Well, NOT, as it turned out, as rude as Louis. He was unrideable, couldn't put my leg on, couldn't touch his mouth. He totally fixated on a pigeon in the warm up and wouldn't take his eyes off of it (regardless of what direction we were going in......) until someone led a horse round the warmup in a cream rug. OMG, his world ended. I actually had to leave the warmup and walk him round the car park to calm him down. It wasn't looking good....
It was actually REALLY bad.... the rein back was particularly interesting and we ended up stone last on 60% lol. Oh well tomorrow is another day.....!!!!!
24 November
Had a great weekend at the British Dressage National Convention at Hartpury College with my friend Sandie Gibbs. Carl was on great form and gave a great 2 days training. The downside was our hotel....... A 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' was being held there on the Saturday night...... let's face it, a wedding's not a wedding without a fight........ My room was on the third floor..... it sounded like they were outside my window..... Earplugs and a pillow curled round my head didn't provide enough soundproofing unfortunately.
Nice shower to refresh me in the morning..... NOT. No hot water........ a temper tantrum a five year old would have been proud of promptly followed.......
22 November
Nice write up in the Horse & Hound today on Louis' recent win at Patchetts. They also mentioned his mum and dad which is nice!!
11 November
Managed to get a VERY late entry for Louis into Patchetts today (thank you Antonia) so Sue, Dougal, Thistle and I set off in glorious sunshine to contest 2 novices. Louis had been feeling great all week and when my weekend away was cancelled, I decided it was a good opportunity to get him out again.
Louis warmed up brilliantly for both tests and felt much more secure and confident in the tests. However, I managed to go wrong TWICE, yes TWICE in the first test and ONCE in the second test. What is WRONG with me..........
He was third in the first test on 66.78% and won the qualifier on 69.03%. I really need to get my act together........ He now has a week off while I go visit my friend Kate in Scotland for our Spa break!!!
9 November
Chunky Monkey goes above and beyond the realms of NAUGHTINESS today......... dragging me from the hose straight into the tea room because he didn't want his feet washed off. He then knocked two cups off of the draining board with his cute little bottom (not) as he turned round ready to make his big break for freedom back out of the door.
I managed to steer him in the general direction of the hose where Kathy was waiting patiently with Charlston tied up and looking bemused.............. Chunky then dragged me straight past both of them and down into the car park....... I could hear Kathy laughing as I tried to keep up with him.........
BAD CHUNKY.
1 November
Thrilled with the photograph of Louis in November's Chiltern & Thames Rider this month and a lovely write up on both my boys' recent wins!!!! See 'News' for more details.
25 October 2012
0430 - taxi picked Nicola and I up from my house to go to Standsted for the Hanoverian stallion licensing and auction in Germany. Registered Hannoverian stallions of 2.5 years are selected for licensing, go through a strict veterinary inspection and are xrayed. They are then put through their paces in front of a very strict committee of judges who award marks to each stallion. On day one are shown in hand on a triangle, on day two they are loose jumped/schooled - the marks are added up and the judges then decide whether the stallion is good enough to be awarded a license, out of the licensed stallions the elite are awarded 'Premium' status. Nicola and I were furiously scribbling notes in our catalogues as each stallion was shown, at the end of each day we went into the stables to view the horses on our short list. Then we compared notes over dinner - 2 sets of eyes are definitely better that one!!
On the morning of day three, all the stallions are lunged (3 at a time in the big indoor school) for prospective buyers to view. Our short list was getting shorter!!!!
The icing on the cake was Nicola bidding on and winning the most beautiful stallion!!!! Auctions are SO exciting, when I saw her main rival in the bidding put her phone down and shake her head at the auctioneer I knew we had won!!!!! The German auction houses ply you with champagne when you secure the winning bid and we weren't going to turn them away!!!!
What a horse!!!!!
A fabulous 4 days, laughing, eating, drinking and viewing the most gorgeous stallions. I met some great breeders from Germany, Canada and the USA and made lots of useful contacts for the future.
21 October 2012
Patchetts again, Sue and Kathy joined Louis, Dougal and Thistle this time. Louis felt amazing in the warm up and didn't put a foot wrong. We went into our first test on a high and he was absolutely foot perfect... even when Thistle kicked off outside the arena when a standard poodle dared to look at her!!!!
We took Louis back to the lorry, washed him off and put him away to eat his hay. Gary, Kathy's boyfriend had arrived and wandered off to look at the score board...... He came back and said 64.58% and 3rd.................... I honestly felt like crying. We couldn't believe that AGAIN, he had been given such a low score for such a good test... and today's felt even better than Friday's.......... I asked what it was won on and Gary didn't know, so Kathy went back with him to check........
Sue and I sat in my lorry living depressed....... bless Sue, she said "I can't believe you were on the same score as Friday......", therein lay the clue!!!!!
The phone rang, it was Gary, apologising profusely, he had been looking at Friday's scoreboard!!!
Kathy then came on the phone freaking out..... Louis had won the class, N28, overall on............75.00% OMG!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot describe how I felt, the boy had finally come GOOD!!!
That feeling was, however, relatively short lived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Due to mass celebrations in my lorry, we kind of lost track of time....... Eventually got back on 20 minutes before my second test (normally either stay on, or give him AT LEAST 45 mins warm up).... he properly caught me out in the test and was very hot and strong!!!! Still I forgave him after his herculean effort in the first class. He still managed to finish 2nd on 64.23%!!!!
We piled into the clubhouse to celebrate afterwards, while Louis scoffed his hay contently on the lorry!!!
19 October 2012
Patchetts today, again with Louis, Sue, Dougal and Thistle. Regardless of what Louis throws at me, I always look forward to riding him and always think "this could be the day we crack it" when we go to shows!!!!!
My friend and trainer, Nicola McGivern had her baby horse, Active Walero II, competing today, so would be at hand to give me some moral support!!! Louis warmed up beautifully and put in a lovely test, we were all so thrilled UNTIL we saw his score...... 64.58% for 3rd place. Dressage is subjective, yes...... would I want to be a judge, no........ however, today I found it very difficult to understand such a low mark as did Nicola (which actually made it worse, as she DEFINITELY knows what she's doing!!!). As for the judge's comments - the less said the better!!!!! Confused.com.
Anyway, he felt great in his second test, apart from a buck and a flying change for a 3 (in the same place as last time, coming across the diagonal in canter!) to finish on 67.69% and 2nd - our first qualifying score!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was absolutely thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!
Nicola's boy, Tiny, also performed well at his first competition, so all in all a good day!!!
14 October 2012
Well, we all knew today would be challenging, in more ways than one!!!!!!!! Hastingwood...... a new venue for Louis and a spooky one at that!!!!! The minute we arrived Thistle escaped across the lorry parking field in hot pursuit of a Rottweiler........ Sue in hot pursuit of Thistle..... Dougal and I looking on bemused..... Louis - very excited as we were parked in the middle of a field.......
He came off the lorry at gallop which was when I decided to get on him in the arena and not on the grass. It was windy and cold and he had just been clipped, but an exercise rug was out of the question as getting it on and off would not be easy!!!!
Once on him (everyone in the warm up stood still - not sure why - might have been something to do with him rearing and bucking, rearing and bucking..... haha), he was fine, if not wired and very strong!! I'd given myself 45 minutes to warm him up...... ooooops...... not long enough....... left the warm up and there was a horse standing on the concrete path, so I left the path to go round the horse - meaning we were now on the grass. Went back onto the concrete............ ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR NOT. FAR, FAR too scarey, that move from grass to concrete. Rear, run backwards, spin......... run backwards into photographer....... leap forwards, rear - you get the picture. He was shaking..... from head to foot, poor lad. Eventually someone came with a horse in hand and gave him a lead in..... then the fun REALLY began!!!!!
Happy down one side of the arena...... VERY unhappy down the other, we managed to create a whole new version of N22 and got docked two marks for going wrong when we suddenly ended up on the wrong side of the arena!!! We were 2nd on a score of 60.3%. Came out of the arena and decided to stay on him until the next test an hour later (mainly because he was so lit up, I didn't think I'd be able to get off!!!!!!!). Gave him loads of walk breaks, kept picking him up working him and then putting him back down again....... waste of time that was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had asked Neil to call my second test so I could 'concentrate' on staying on and not where I was going..... This time I stayed on the concrete going to the arena...... which would have worked had he not JUMPED into the arena and then galloped off....... Got through the test, some absolutely fabulous bits and some unrecognisable bits had us finishing on 2nd again on 61.5%. The judge commented what a lovely horse, how obviously talented he was and what potential he had...... and gave him a 3 for submission in both tests!!!!!! All in all, I knew Hastingwood would freak him out, but was actually quite pleased at how he coped (for him!!!!).
Rode him back to the lorry park in passage..... I was contemplating exactly how I was going to get off safetly..... while Sue had walked up to totally the wrong lorry and was trying to get into it to it to get my wash down stuff....... never a dull moment with Sue...!!
8 October 2012
Patchetts today with Louis who was a very good boy not having been indoors at Patchetts for a while - just as I am getting him used to white boards there are none!!! Well actually, there were in the short arena. He coped really well though, although a little spooky and our rhythm suffered a bit in the first test and we were 4th on 64.15%.
I was amazed at him in the second test though, as he's been in that arena twice in his life and absolutely refused to go anywhere near the top right corner..... Today, not a problem! A lovely test (apart from one buck, one flying change and a gallop across the long diagonal...) for 4th place again on 66.5%. Getting nearer to the qualifying score of 67% and some fantastic comments from the judges!!!!
30 September 2012
Caroline, Sandra, Dougal, Thistle and Charlston loaded this time to attempt to get the final 1 point needed for Winter Medium Regional qualification at Essendon & Epping Forest Dressage Group show at Woodlands.....
Not a great start to the day when I woke up with a stinking cold and was therefore doing everything in slow motion, including plaiting..... Somehow with everyone's help we managed to leave the yard on time..... thank goodness Woodlands is only 25 mins journey away and I had plenty of time to drag myself into my show gear when we got there.
Charlston always feels 'hot' in the warm up at this venue - not sure why - and today was no exception, so I gave him 50mins to settle, which he needed! He went in to the indoor arena confidently to do M63. Apart from a wobble on the centre line after his canter half pass right, he put in a solid test with not a lot of help from me, it has to be said.........
Took him back into the warm up to walk him off and decided that there was no way I could do another test, so washed him off and put him away and withdrew. Wandered over to get a cup of tea (easier said than done as the poor boy in the catering van was having a meltdown.... with a very long queue made up of hormonal, nervous women riders...... enough said).
While waiting for tea to be collected from China... went over to scoreboards to discover that Charlston had won his class by 8% on a good score of 66.89% - Winter Regionals here we come!!! PHEW.
23 September 2012
Kathy, Dougal, Thistle and Louis loaded and on the road back to Keysoe!!!!! Tacking up on the lorry proved to be 'fun' as Louis was extremely wired...........
We were able to warm up indoors and I thought I'd give that a go....... 40 mins later, on a very hot and sharp horse, I trotted up the centre line..... with his ears literally up my nose.....
I managed (just) to contain him throughout the test, which we won on 65.9% even though I had done the whole test in 2nd gear! I then got Kathy to move me up the order for the 2nd test as I wanted to carry on working him in an attempt to get him to listen to me.........40 mins later, on an EXTREMELY hot and sharp horse, I trotted up the centre line........ All was good until the medium trot..... as usual!!!! He was then extremely naughty throughout the canter, bucking and leaping.... much to the amusement of everyone else, I might add. We ended up 5th in the open section on 57.3%..... and effectively LAST.
Soooooooooooooo, back into the warm up we went....... 45 minutes later, I was having the ride of my life. Supple, soft, forward, on my aids............ Dressage is a learning curve and from this experience I have learnt that I need to warm up for at least 2 hours.............. yeah right.... now researching calmers.... sigh...............
Such fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16 September 2012
GO ALFIE WHEELER!!!! Off to the Chiltern & Thames Championships with Alfie and Joey today. We left the yard at 0730 and arrived in good time to walk the course for the first class!!!! Alfie and Joey were on fine form and jumped clear in the first round. A hideously long wait to the jump off..... CLEAR and 5th place!!!!
Unfortunately, this pair had the LAST fence down in the first round of their next class, which was very disappointing, so we entered them for the Puissance!!!!!
OMG, I cannot begin to tell you how nerve wracking it was...... never again. Alfie's mum Jo and I were praying for him to have the bloody fence down, it went up too much for our nerves to stand. Alfie and Joey came 3rd, jumping clear over 3'6"...... NEVER again!!!!
Another of my pupils was also competing in the showing classes at this show, Rebecca Grayson on her lovely little mare Heidi.
I have known Becca since a baby, I used to teach her mum Anna when she had horses. When Anna got in touch 6 weeks ago and ask if I would teach Becca I was thrilled!!! This combination have come on brilliantly in the time I have been teaching them and under my guidance are now heading off to BYRDS camp!!!!
12 September
Well, it's all go for Louis!!! Off to Keysoe today with Kathy, Dougal and Thistle. Louis' first time at Keysoe which is a very spooky venue, with lots going on not to mention the enormous hanging baskets at the A end of the arenas and the planters of flowers all around the arenas!!!! To top it all it was very windy!!! Warm up was outside, which gave him plenty of time to get used to his surroundings.....
He trotted up the centre line like a little pro, and apart from some slight tension when the arena flowers moved and a bit of naughtiness coming out of our free walk (for a mark of 2) he put in a solid performance to win on 72.7%. Comments from the judge, Sue Howard "WOW, what a horse!!" - how nice is that!!!
Then for the Novice. Again warmed up well, apart from, it would appear, that NO ONE in the arena was following any sort of left to left, don't walk on the track etc. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE......
Trotted up the centre line, to the same judge, for a 7, first three movements 8,7,7...... Then came the medium trots........ soooooooooooo exciting................. things went downhill from there!!!!! Hot, hot, hot, sharp and now accutely aware of EVERYTHING going on within a 2 mile radius (it seemed)!!!!! Ended up 2nd on 61.4% which all things considered was pretty good.
Louis gained lots of admirers today, including the judge. We will get there, he is such a talented boy who just needs time...... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz He is a horse who enjoys life and likes nothing better than playing with Kathy!!!
10 September 2012
Patchetts again with Sue, Dougal, Thistle and Charlston to do AM85. Not our finest hour by a long chalk, we ended up 2nd on 60% (first 3 were all on 60%.....). So disappointed, can't even talk about it!!!
9 September 2012
After a very busy week training with the boys, I bit the bullet and registered Louis with BD.
So Nikki, Sue, Dougal, Thistle and I set off for Patchetts for his debut. Today was the first day he would be 'attempting' two tests on the same day....... The journey started with a fight in the middle of the road of a nearby village, resulting in us having to weave our way through abandoned cars in the lorry and then calling the police......!!! We still arrived at Patchetts in good time, which was handy as I had forgotton my spurs and had to go and buy another set.... doh.....
The warm-up was VERY quiet which was great for Louis and he felt fabulous, so we were holding our breath when I entered the arena for Prelim 19. Not a perfect test by any account, but good enoughto win on 65.90%!!! A good start.
We had an hour inbetween tests, which was long enough for Sue to be picked up by a transvestite who wanted to buy her a coffee and lunch and then take her for a ride in her sidecar!!!! It all goes on at Patchetts!!!!!!! Just hilarious...... but the funniest thing was when Nikki said "Sue she was so obviously a man, she had hands and feet the size of shovels and paper towels stuffed in her bra"....... Sue's response was.... wait for it...... "well there was a bit of a clue when she said "I used to ride horses when I was a BOY", but I thought she had maybe said BOY by mistake"...... at that point I thought I was going to wet myself....... It turned out there were other clues as well..... she used to be a butcher..... pmsl. Anyway, back to the competition..................
Louis warmed up well for Novice 22, which had 2 medium trots and 2 medium canters in it...... the trots were OK, but he became quite hot after the medium canters, BUT came back to me when I asked rather than bolting (which had become is forte!!!). We ended up 4th on 65.17%, which included a 2 for our final halt..... no reinback required apparently....
So Louis receives his first BD points and I am so proud of my boy, who I helped deliver into this world and who put my vet on the floor after 3 hours of taking is first breath..... Always a handful, always tricky and impatient with a vile temper, but FINALLY I feel that my patience and hardwork is paying off with the little sh**!!!!!!
The day ended with MUCH hilarity in the tea room with my other liveries, reliving the day with Sue providing most of the entertainment!!!!!
Back to Patchetts tomorrow with Charlston for an Advanced Medium and to support my friend Sandie who is attempting her first PSG!!!! GO SANDIE!!!!!
16 August 2012
Chunky Monkey becomes a YouTube LEGEND!!!
Just got to LOVE that pony..... even though he is BAD!!!!!
14/15 August 2012
Off to the Regional Championships at Keysoe with Dougal, Thistle and Charlston on board to compete in the Medium Restricted class. Travelled in convoy with Clare, Larraine and Molly up the A1 and arrived just after lunch.
As per usual, our build up to any major championship wasn't a smooth one when Charlston refused, with 2 days to go, to 'perform' in a double bridle. Soooo, much to my trainer's horror..... I put him in a french link!!!! I rode him on the Tuesday afternoon at Keysoe and he wasn't too bad......... if a little fragile in the contact.... grrrreat........ Gave Clare a lesson on Molly - who looked fabulous which cheered me up (slightly!!!).
My trainer, Nicola McGivern, was on hand to warm me up the following day, to be honest..... our warm up wasn't great!!! Nikki, Caroline, Sue, SJ and Kristina had all made the trip to Keysoe to support us so and I didn't want to disappoint, but wasn't holding my breath!!!
I honestly got the maximum I could of out of him on the day, didn't go wrong and didn't make any mistakes........ I had to ride him very diplomatically and didn't feel I could really pick him up to show him at his best...... and the heavens opened half way through the test!!! When I came out I was pleased that we held it together and got round.....
I was absolutely shocked and thrilled with a score of 65.95% for 10th place, with lovely comments from all 3 judges. The class was won on 67.9% so the top 10 were all within 2% of eachother - a very very close run class!!!
Clare and Molly performed well in the hot Elementary Restricted class for 24th place on just under 63%.
9 August 2012
Final day at the Olympic Dressage with Nikki, Gina and Sandra........ a day to top all days for British Dressage. We laughed, screamed, shouted, stamped our feet, cried - all at the same time. The team were absolutely fantastic, but Charlotte and Valegro were simply outstanding and took the Individual Gold Medal with ease.
We had the time of our lives and will never forget!!!!! We are now planning our trip to Rio in 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8 August 2012
Off to Keysoe today with Charlston, Dougal and Thistle for our last outing before the regionals, I rode what I thought was a good test, came out with a big smile and high expectations of a good percentage.............. how wrong was I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 60.0% and the sheet went straight in the bin.
Not, in my opinion, a reflection of the work shown, you win some, you lose some....................... moving on...... lol.
7 August 2012
Day 3 at Greenwich with Nikki for the GP Special and final team placings. OMG, the most exciting day, Carl, Laura and Charlotte were totally AMAZING and brought home the gold for GB, what a day!!!
2 August 2012
Off to Greenwich for Day 2 with Nikki, Caroline, Martine and Lorraine. Another fantastic day, Richard and Charlotte did us proud - Team GB in first place!!
2 August 2012
Off to Greenwich for the first day of Olympic Dressage with Nikki, Kate, Kat and Ian. Kate arrived from Scotland the night before....... on time. Kat and Ian arrived from Gloucestershire that morning....... on time. Nikki who lives in the next village......... managed to lock her keys in her house so we had to go and rescue her........ not on time!!!!! Still got there with hours (literally) to spare and managed to meet up with other friends in Cafe Rouge for a champagne breakfast!!!
The atmosphere was electric and what an absolutely brilliant day we had. Carl and Laura rode their socks off!!!!
30 July 2012
Hacked Charlston first thing and then went home to cram 3 weeks of housework into 2 hours in preparation for Kathy, Nikki, Caroline and Lorraine arriving for lunch and to watch Team GB tackle the Olympic XC course in Greenwich Park.
Fantastic rides from the fab five and the day ended with the team in Silver Medal position, everything crossed for the showjumping tomorrow.
26 July 2012
Sue, Dougal, Thistle and I left for Norton Heath and the sun was shining!!!! Would this be the day I remembered the test...... who knows!!!
The first thing that went wrong was I hadn't packed the lorry properly and had no bandage wraps on board....... Tonie, the owner of Norton Heath to the rescue....... thank god for good friends, that's all I can say!!!
We warmed up well and entered the arena......... no errors of course made the experience quite refreshing, however two mistakes (angle in shoulder in left and one foggy simple change) were costly. We won the class on a score of 65.5%, so more points towards Winter Regional qualification and some very nice comments from a List 1 judge. More work to do for sure, but an encouraging result.
22 July 2012
Louis' turn!!!!! Off to Patchetts with Sue, Kathy, SJ and Dougal to contest P19.... in his new bridle!!! Such a good boy today, VERY nervous of the other horses in the warmup, but I'm hoping the more he goes out the more confident he will become.
Only one 'blip' in the test from him and one from me (resulting in a -2 again.......). We ended up 2nd on 65.5%. I was absolutely thrilled with him and he now has a 3 week holiday while I prepare Charlston in the run up to the Regionals Championships.
14 July 2012
Back to Keysoe with Nikki, SJ and Dougal for another stab at M75. The day was not uneventful unfortunately...... First off we were diverted off of the A1, to God knows where...... I phoned Keysoe to beg for directions - they hadn't a clue where I was...... SJ frantically trying to get the 'sat nav' thing on her phone to work, while the clock was ticking down to when I should be getting on my poor boy who was stuffing his face in the lorry, totally none the wiser. Called Keysoe again and managed to get a later slot....... 2 hours after my original time, but a slot.
Arrived at the venue at exactly the time I should have been getting on to work in!!! While killing time, I managed to spend quite a lot of money on a new bridle for Louis.....
Charlston warmed up well, cantered round the arena, the bell went................... brain freeze. ABSOLUTE brain freeze. Pulled up. I had absolutely NO idea which way I was meant to turn at C....... Gave it my best shot, had a 50/50 chance........... WRONG. Start again..........
Rest of the test felt OK, although when a judge and a write from another arena popped up from behind a hedge (the first time) and a judges hut (the second time) I did lose my concentration slightly.
Ended up 2nd..... with another 3 qualifying points.
11 July 2012
Off to Keysoe with Caroline and Dougal for Charlston's first pre-Regional Championship competition. We have been working really hard and he has been feeling fantastic in our sessions with my trainer, Nicola McGivern. A new feeding and turnout regime definitely helping with his stamina.
Warmup went well and he felt fabulous throughout the test. I came out with a smile on my face...... until....... my great friend Sandy informed me that I had gone wrong 3 times. The judge obviously put two of my mistakes down to 'innacuracy' so gave me low marks.. and then a -2 for what was OBVIOUSLY a mistake.............
So, not a great start to be honest, but ended 3rd...... with 3 points towards Winter Regional qualification.
8 July 2012
Finished!!!
5 July 2012
Paul has been working hard over the last week to make a nice viewing area overlooking the school. Thistle definitely thought she was 'foreman' and oversaw the whole procedure with an eagle eye!!!
