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.

West Wilts Equestrian Centre

Wally had his first outing with me, we took him just 15mins down the road to West Wilts for the Clear round which they run every Monday morning. Wally jumped 3 lovely clears and behaved very well. He has a huge amount of scope and he is exceptionally careful-he hit his studguard tucking his toes up so high. He won't be jumping anything without one of these on. It was a very successful first outing. He is now entered at West Wilts' BE event on the 14th May doing his first BE100.

Pontispool



Photo's coutesy of Jayphotos.co.uk

Saturday saw me take Kington to Pontispool BE100. Having got stuck in copious amounts of Bank holiday caravan chaos we were pleased to arrive albeit 2hrs late. The organisers were very understanding and let me run late for all phases. Stanley performed what felt like his best test to date but unfortunately only scored 35.5 which left us about 12th. He jumped clear in the showjumping giving the fences plenty of air! Xc I decided to run him very slowly as the ground was very hard and rutted in some places, he has proven he can get the time and I rate him for the future so I looked after him and came back clear with 10 time faults. This left us 14th, but had he run fast he'd have been 4th. He has jumped 3 out of 3 double clears this year and his next event will be at the next level up-Novice!



New Arrival

Today I picked up a shiny new horse. He is a 7yo dark brown gelding owned by Mr and Mrs Hall. I have never sat on something with so much power and suspension-that is saying something considering I rode some of Pammy's super dooper dressage schoolmasters over the winter months! Hopefully we will make a bond quickly and he will produce some fabulous results. I am very excited about his future. He has settled into his new stable and has met some of the others over the fence in the fields. Fingers crossed he will be out and about soon.