Coco and Ju were eventing at Dalston Green on Saturday. I am still get to know Ju so our dressage wasn't the best, but she jumped well, just having 1 show jump down and going clear xc, just adding a few time faults which we could have avoided! Coco posted a good dressage, 2 down sj and great xc, again clocking to time, we could have avoided some but I was pleased with her! Coco is next out at Belsay in a couple of weeks then her and Ju are going to Kirkley both to do a BE 100
Louise here, it seems to have been a while since my last blog, ooppss. All the ponies are well. Connie and Boo had another flat work lesson with Anne Millar after Warwick Hall. They are both coming on very nicely with dressage scores improving. On Saturday as well as trying to watch Badminton Cross Country I had 5 to ride, 4 to get cleaned and plaited for a competition on Sunday and a lesson to teach. I did get to see quite a bit of Badminton but it also got taped so I was able to watch it back again.
On the Sunday we took 4 to the Duke of Buccleuch Hunt Show. Coco and Connie did a dressage test each, being placed 3rd and 4 in their class. Boo did dressage and the Novice Working Hunter, both of which she won the little super star!! Mum did a dressage test on Ju and was 3rd behind Boo and Ju was 6th in the Novice Work Hunter with me having jumped a nice clear. The last week seems to have been quite busy. Snowy had his 2nd week with me to get him going for his owner, he was showing some lovely work and really coming on nicely. Connie had a flat lesson on Tuesday, unfortunately I didn’t have time to take 2 as I then had Coco at another Riding Club Dressage Demo, Les saw a good difference in her in the 2 weeks since he had last seen her which was nice to hear. On Thursday Mum and I went to steward the CIC dressage at Floors which is one of my local events, just 5miles down the road! It was a lovely morning and I was able to watch some great dressage and have a brief catch up with some of the riders and grooms! Then it was home to ride 3 before teaching. Saturday was a relaxed day with just Boo in the BE90, she has started to get excited at events so our dressage wasn’t as good as it could be, but we will now work on ways to relax to her and get her concentrating. She started the show jumping well but then went a bit green - slid into the 4th fence and somehow managed to pick up and only took the top pole with her and she carried on round the rest of the course clear. She was amazing xc, feeling brave and bold, unfortunately the jockey had sat nav errors and missed out the Rail, Ditch, Rail. But she is home safe and she thinks she was clear. A mistake I haven’t done for a long time and hopefully won’t do again. I also took Coco with me so I could ride her in the dressage warm up as she likes a trip away in the lorry before she competes. We were home by lunch time and Connie had a hack and Coco a jump before getting them ready to compete on the Sunday. Connie and Coco were both in the BE100, they both pulled out the stops and were superstars. Connie did a very nice test with some very helpful feedback and jumped a lovely double clear to finish 4th on her dressage score in her 2nd BE100, just 2.7 behind the leader with some top names in front of her, Caroline Taylor, Jessica McKie and Nicola Wilson. What a pony she is proving to be!! Coco did a nice test just breaking in her canter and again produced a nice double clear to finished 10th, this time only 3.7 marks behind the leader. They all spent last night in the field to walk off any stiffness. Today they are all well and we took Ju cross country schooling, this was the 1st time we had jumped a xc fence with her. She was amazing, jumped a mixture of BE90 and BE100 fences, popped through the combinations nicely, into the water without looking and the rail, ditch rail! Can’t wait to do a bit more with her. Hello. Louise here. The girls had a busy week in the build up to Warwick Hall. On Tuesday Evening Coco took part in the Riding Club Dressage Demo, where Les spoke on how to improve marks with 3 of us being Guinie-pigs. Coco loved this and was enjoying showing off, it was very helpful and has helped with a few of my movements in dressage tests, and now I know that she backs off when we go to ride a test so I need to keep riding her forward to keep her paces showing lots of expression.
On Wednesday I took Connie and Boo for a flat lesson with Anne Miller, this was very useful and has already helped to improve Boo’s way off going and Connie felt like she has been going a lot better from it already. On Sunday we took the 3 to Warwick Hall, Boo was doing her 2nd BE90, Connie her 1st BE100 and Coco did another BE100. Boo was first to do her dressage in the rain and mud, She coped with it very well, except for jumping into the arena so she didn’t have to put a foot in the muddy track round the outside, she produced some nice movements, except her final halt when I think she spotted a horse flying round the cross country over the hedge but had a 37.5 mark. I was disappointed with her show jumping, but she hasn’t jumped many rounds on grass, and that was her 1st time coping with the mud. She more than made up for it when she went cross country, she flew round and didn’t look at anything which is a lovely feeling. Connie was up next for her first BE100 test. Both Mum and I thought she had done a nice test in what I think was the worst arena for ground of the day, I felt it was active and forward but unfortunately she came out with a mark of 40. She was then on springs in the Show Jumping, just rolling the last pole I was worried with how she was going to cope with the cross country as she has never really liked the soft ground but she was flying to finish inside the time and making it feel effortless, I was so pleased with how she coped with the step up a level. Cooc was last to go, I rode her test a lot more forward to try and keep her paces active, it felt good, if a little fast in the trot at times but she finished on a score of 32.5. She went into the show jumping very spooky so I was really needing to ride forward, I had 1 down early on in the course and I slightly over rode to the last which was a Blue filler as I thought she might have a good look at it, unfortunately she got a bit flat and had that down too. She was great cross country which is where we can sometimes have problems, but I am riding her a lot more forward to make sure she carries on concentrating but still taking the short cuts like I have always done where possible, which resulted in me getting quite a few reverse time faults. I know need to keep her concentrating but not going as fast or taking some longer lines to try and hit the optimum time. They all went in the field when we got home of Sunday night and have been ridden this morning where they are all feeling well. Hello. Louise here. It's been a quieter week this week I feel. Coco, Boo and Ju all had a little jump on Wednesday and Connie had a hack before they all headed to Belsay to have a jump on the new Bond Dickinson Show Jumping Arena. Boo and Ju popped around the 90cm. Ju did a lovely clear while Boo had just the 1 down as I had let her get a bit to flat. Connie popped round the 1m very nicely and I was really impressed with how she had jumped. Coco jumped round the 1m having 1 down. We jumped round again after a wee break and she jumped nicely. The ground was lovely and all the horses jumped nicely on it. They really have done a great job with it and it was lovely to be part of it and getting to jumpalongside some top local riders!
On Friday Connie and Coco did some interval training with Ju having a canter too and Boo doing some flat work. Saturday they swapped with Boo doing some interval training and Coco and Connie both working nicely on the flat. Sunday Coco, Connie and Boo have all had a dayoff and Ju was away show jumping at ISEC which was put on by the Hunt, As well as my business sponsoring a class my sponsor The Northumbrian Tweed Company also sponsored a class. Ju jumped a lovely clear in the 85cm to finish 2nd, This class was sponsored by TheNorhtumbrian Tweed Company. She was feeling a bit flat in the 95cm and rolled a few poles. I was really pleased with how she jumped and that she didn't look at any of the scary fillers. It was very strange just having the one there today, but it did make it all very relaxed for us. Today has been quite busy, I was up early to ride Coco, muck out 2 and turn out 3 before heading off to ride out at Floors. Back home to ride one for someone followed by finishing off my yard and riding the last 2 and getting them all in and fed! We have some exciting things planned this week and I have 3 competing at Warwick Hall on Sunday! Today we have been down to Belsay to test ride the New Bond Dickinson Show Jumping Arena. We took all 4 girls. It was a lovely day with the sun shining and the ground was lovely. Ju jumped a really nice round in the 90cm making very light work of it! Boo jumped a nice confident round in the 90cm also with just having 1 down due to rider error!! Connie popped round the 1m and was very nice, jumping a nice clear and Coco jumped round the 1m also, she had 1 down in the 1st round but popped round again feeling more confident! Very pleased with all the ponies and a big Thanks to mum who had the next one tacked up for me!
Yesterday was a very long day but it was my first event of the season!! Up at 4 am to leave at 5.30 and got home around 5.30.
Coco was on early in the BE100 with an 8.30 dressage. She did a reasonable test, was clear xc, but I messed up, nearly missed a fence and by the time I turned round for it we got 4faults for a technical stop and 8time faults. She was totally mega xc producing a lovely clear with just 1 time fault for going too fast! Connie would have done the BE100 but she was downgraded after not getting a run at Eden Valley due to being abandoned, she did a good test, and annoyingly had 2down show jumping but she pinged round the xc, proving that she is now ready to step up a grade. Boo competed in the BE90, this was our 1st BE and 1st ODE. She was a star and took everything in her stride. She did a fairly good dressage, just a bit of arguing, produced a clear in the Show Jumping, she was very clever and got us out a couple of sticky spots. Then she went xc, she was great and popped round to finish inside the time adding nothing to her dressage mark and finished in 7th place! Very proud of her! She truly is special to us!!! |
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