New Arrivals

We have 2 new arrivals (full profiles coming soon to "Horses" section)

Liberal Lady (Millie) a 10yr old bay Intermediate mare belonging to Mark Milligan. Millie is getting fit currently and will be out towards the end of the season-a very exciting addition to Lucie.

Boston a 5yr old Brown Dressage horse belonging to Jane and David Hamilton. Boston is here to gain experience at Affiliated British Dressage classes before being sold. He is a stunning mover and has a fabulous, trainable brain. It is lovely to have some great movers in the yard, it makes dressage so much more fun!!

Purston Manor

Today we travelled to Purston Manor taking Kington to step back a level to boost confidence having stepped up to novice successfully, and Wally (Wanadoo Too). Kington started with a good test, still with plenty to improve but scored a respectable 33.5, showjumped clear and went xc like a pro finishing well inside the optimum time. WE WON!!!! It was a tough enough course with faults collected everywhere but Kington is beginning to be quite an established horse xc now and proved that he is definitely ready to continue running at novice now. He is a star in the making.

Wally was producing a lovely test but sadly couldn't hold his enthusiasm for the entire test and threw in some beautiful bucks for good measure (he was still 7th after this phase)!! He shows huge amounts of talent on the flat but needs to learn to concentrate for the time he is in the ring. Showjumping he rolled 2 poles but managed to avoid any "wobble" moments. I can forgive him for these as we know he has masses of scope, he just needs to focus a little more at times. Cross country was different. We stopped for some reason between fence 1 and 2 waited a few moments whilst Wally's brain reshuffled back onto planet Earth and then continued as though nothing had happened, jumping fantastically the whole way. He finished clear but had acquired 60.4 time faults!!! I have never had this happen to me before and hopefully won't again!! I won the battle and now I think (hope) he knows who's in charge!!

Photos courtesy of John Britter

Salperton Novice

Last Saturday Rosie went to Salperton to compete in the novice. She did a settled test scoring 35.5 not bad considering she was being attacked from all angles by horse flies. Showjumping she was not her usual careful self seeming a little distracted by flies again unfortunately just touching 2 rails. Cross country she was awesome, the flies obviously couldn't keep up with her. She flew round and is trying to tell me that she is ready for the next step up-Intermediate!!

West Wilts

West Wilts was all-in-all a successful event.

Day 1.

Wally (Wanadoo Too) was having his first BE100 outing. He produced some lovely work in his dressage to score 28, lots to improve with him being a little too enthusiastic in some movements but generally a very good start. Showjumping he just had one down but oozes scope, cross country he was green at the start and then got going and gave me a lovely ride. I took him steady so he could look at the fences and learn what it's all about without rushing. He finished with 5.6 time faults, I am thrilled with him and he is a great addition to my string. Definitely one for the future.

Day 2.

Rosie (Pencarder Silver Storm) did what I thought was her best test to date although the judge disagreed. The section was marking fairly highly but I was disappointed with a 43. Showjumping she was unlucky to have just one pole. Cross country she was her usual bold, enthusiastic self, she really is reliable in the jumping phases. She picked up just 2.4 time faults.

Stanley (Kington) did a sweet test scoring 35.5, a great start for him at this next step on the ladder. Showjumping he sadly had 2 poles down but he jumped very well, he now needs to learn to wait a little more for his fences, but he is very springy. Cross country I was thrilled, we went all the straight routes albeit steadily picking up 18 time faults but another clear xc on his record.

Next stop salperton with Rosie then Purston with Wally and Stanley.

Photo's Coutesy of David Betteridge

Cross Country Schooling

Wally has been xc schooling at Boomerang! The ground was surprisingly good, Russ has worked hard with the take offs and landings which is hugely appreciated. Wally jumped boldly over most things just finding steps needed launching off so after some patience and simple explanations Lucinda Green style (in walk) he picked up that pretending to be a helicopter was not necessary!! All-in-all I now feel completely prepared for out outing on Tuesday and fingers crossed it will be a good start to our relationship!

Wally's 2nd Outing

Tuesday (7th June) saw Wally's second trip down the road to West Wilts Equestrian Centre for unaffiliated evening dressage. Wally came out and performed beautifully, he was more relaxed than his previous outing and the marks reflected this-79.6% (20.4 in eventing terms) Wally won by 8% which I was thrilled about. Next Tues sees us head back to WWEC to compete in the PN so fingers crossed our good dressage marks continue!!

Wally's First Outing

Wally and I made our debut outing at West Wilts Equestrian Centre a good one with a massive 78% (22 in eventing terms) dressage and a fabulous clear round showjumping, leaving us 1st!! He is such a lovely horse, with huge paces that make the arena feel very small. The dressage was out on the grass which is great practice for when we go to our first event. He warmed up well and went in and performed a lovely test. There is still room for improvement so watch this space. Jumping was in the newly resurfaced indoor arena; he is beginning to understand my ways of jumping and came back to me very well. He is a very exciting prospect. West Wilts is only 15mins from home so it is handy to pop down there when they have little shows on like this, soon they will have a huge new outdoor jumping arena too which will make it even better. I am lucky having such a fantastic facility just down the road.