The Welsh Champs- Muddy Chepstow

Hartpury Take It 2 The Top took part in the Welsh Championships at Chepstow today. The organisers did a super job trying to keep the event afloat, the show jumps were moved numerous times but the boggy slippy going still proved very difficult for many. We qualified at Monmouth last year, the Champs are an Intermediate Novice, which means a higher level dressage with 1.20 SJ then a 1.10 XC . Monty did a fab test to put him well in contention 30, his best score at this level so far. However the ground in the SJ was not taking the torrential rain showers very well, as u can see from the top photo I jumped in the worst of the weather. We had just 2 rails, sadly in my efforts to stay on better ground we also gained 6 time faults. With very little chance of a top place I decided to not run XC and save him for another day. The other photos below are of other competitors just to show how the SJ looked once the sun came out. Muddy!!!

 

 

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A Famous New Livery

I am very excited as a new horse has arrived on the yard today, a lovely big bay gelding called Rupert. He has a famous owner Australia's Olympic Team vet Graham Potts from Three Counties Equine Clinic. The long term aim is for Graham to try his hand at Grassroots Eventing with Rupert, I will be training them both with this goal in mind. First we will be sticking to tiny targets, maybe a walk and trot dressage test plus mini jumping.
Rupert is a very laid back, kind and gentle horse, he has settled in very quickly and looks very much at home happily munching on his hay.

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Rif Raf Wins at West Wilts ODE

Rif Raf was a star again today.

 

As always she tried ever so hard in the dressage to score an outstanding 26, next she put her knees up very carefully under her chin to clear all the show jumps.

 

The XC time was quite tight, but Rif Raf's lovely rhythm and natural stride to a fence ensured she was easily inside the time. She was lovely XC and hasn't even been XC schooling since her last run in April, yet she still did very grown up things like cantering thorough the water, Rif Raf loves her jumping.

We left before the results had been totalled as we are busy hay making at home, but I have just had a text from Tom Searle Equestrian who kindly agreed to collect for me to say Rif Raf won and her prize is a lovely new rug and a BE day ticket worth £42. I am feeling very proud and extremely pleased with my homebred little girl :-)

It was a RC Area Qualifier and my class was the non team class. I pointed out to Ant that I was probably in a harder section too as all the pros were probably in it as they couldn't go in the RC area classes. Ant replied " No you are in an easy section as it's all the RC people not good enough for the team" Ha ha that took the wind out of my sails!!

Yesterday I took George to his first ever show. I chose a dressage event at Malvern's Hill View Arena, this is a lovely friendly venue which is excellent for inexperienced or young horses. He coped really well in the warm up ring. At first he was a little worried by horses coming up in canter behind him, but he soon settled. He went in the very posh main competition arena and performed his walk and trot test like a pro scoring 69.5% to be awarded 2nd place.

I had also entered him for Prelim 7 but this test is more advanced and requires canter! George's canter is so green that 2 days before I wondered if we would even manage one stride of canter. But he learns fast and despite our canter being many metres away from the arena corners he maintained good rhythm and balance scoring 69% this time for 5th place, in a large class of over 25.

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Rif Raf Wins at West Wilts ODE

Rif Raf was a star again today.

 

As always she tried ever so hard in the dressage to score an outstanding 26, next she put her knees up very carefully under her chin to clear all the show jumps.

 

The XC time was quite tight, but Rif Raf's lovely rhythm and natural stride to a fence ensured she was easily inside the time. She was lovely XC and hasn't even been XC schooling since her last run in April, yet she still did very grown up things like cantering thorough the water, Rif Raf loves her jumping.

We left before the results had been totalled as we are busy hay making at home, but I have just had a text from Tom Searle Equestrian who kindly agreed to collect for me to say Rif Raf won and her prize is a lovely new rug and a BE day ticket worth £42. I am feeling very proud and extremely pleased with my homebred little girl :-)

It was a RC Area Qualifier and my class was the non team class. I pointed out to Ant that I was probably in a harder section too as all the pros were probably in it as they couldn't go in the RC area classes. Ant replied " No you are in an easy section as it's all the RC people not good enough for the team" Ha ha that took the wind out of my sails!!

 

 

Yesterday I took George to his first ever show. I chose a dressage event at Malvern's Hill View Arena, this is a lovely friendly venue which is excellent for inexperienced or young horses. George coped really well in the warm up ring. At first he was a little worried by horses coming up in canter behind him, but he soon settled. He went in the very posh main competition arena and performed his walk and trot test like a pro scoring 69.5% to be awarded 2nd place.

I had also entered him for Prelim 7 but this test is more advanced and requires canter! George's canter is so green that 2 days before I wondered if we would even manage one stride of canter. But he learns fast and despite our canter being many metres away from the arena corners he maintained good rhythm and balance scoring 69% this time for 5th place, in a large class of over 25.

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Catton Park Intermediate

My first time at this lovely event in Derbyshire, it was really easy to get to and a super venue, so will definitely be back next year. The XC featured some wooded parts and is also very hilly, there were 2 waters, lots of skinnies, angles and some really good galloping fences. Thank you to my good freinds Bernice and Louise White my photographers and support team for the day, standing in for Ant who was at the 3 Counties showing his chickens.

At 9.30 am the entire event was halted to hold a minute silence in memory of Ben Winter and Jordan McDonald who were tragically killed riding XC yesterday. Very sad.
Hartpury Take It 2 The Top did a super test for a 34, really pleased with him, 3 down SJ although I felt he jumped really well.
XC he was awesome, he is getting bolder at this level now and is galloping to the bigger gallopy fences with more balance than he was a few months ago. However I made a huge mistake at the water, a large hanging log in with a big drop, as he jumped in I slipped my reins, he seemed to jolt slightly on landed and suddenly I had no reins at all I had just let go completely! The B element was far off over to my right and Monty had locked onto a fence right in front of him, it was a large upright rail used for Catton Parks carriage driving trials!!!!! I was very surprised at his rather unnerving honesty as I grabbed my reins back to steer him round the unflagged fence. Sadly I didn't think quick enough and turned left to get back to the B element, when actually I would have had plenty of room to turn right to it. So I earnt an annoying 20 for crossing my tracks, feel bad for Monty as he will jump anything I point him at so long as I do actually point him!!!!!

Photo below is the fence where my error happened (taken at last years event) you can see the rails straight ahead and the B element where we should have headed far to the right. The B element this year was a big square skinny box with a very wide spread, it caused a fair few run outs but we managed to fault in a more interesting way!!!

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George arrives

I have a new horse on the yard he has passed the vetting with flying colours.

George is a beautiful Dark Dun complete with a few dapples, he has super conformation and moves really nicely too. He is 16.2 rising 5 years and is 3/4 TB 1/4 welsh. He is by Primitive Proposal who is by Primitive Rising out of a full sister to Anthother Hoarwithy. I bought him off the breeder which always feels more genuine as he hasn't been passed round too many homes.

His Dam was Woadhill Starspotter out of a TB mare by the Welsh Stallion Bryn-Y-Mor Comet. George's Dam won at BE Novice and Intermediate Novice and has the enviable record of never faulting XC, she also won BD and 1.20 BSJA. She was only 15.2 yet an outstanding mare also winning the Open individual PC Championships at Sansaw.

So George has lots to live up to. He has settled in very well, I am so excited about getting him ready to go to a few shows. He will be a lovely summer project for me and will be sold in the Autumn as once Jeremy my 3 year old is back in work I won't have time to do of them this winter.

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XC Schooling

Middleton went XC schooling to Manor Farm last week. I took along one of my pupils Tracy Haines and her lovely TB endurance mare Fine Girl.  Fine Girl is in 49th place in the UK endurance rankings and Tracey is head veterinary nurse at 3 Counties Equine Hospital, one of the top (in my opinion the top) equine hospitals in the UK. Tracey is a big believer that the key to keeping her endurance horses mentally and physically sound is helped by giving them a varied training regime, which includes one day eventing, show jumping and dressage all of which I help her with.
We had a fab day both horses loved it, Manor Farm has 2 waters and a super set of steps as well as many smaller fences to encourage young horses. Both horses finished the day by boldly jumping down a step into the bigger of the 2 waters.
Tracey had bought along her equine heart monitor so she could test their hearts when we had finished. Super fit Fine Girl was an impressive 39. Surprisingly Middleton was a 46, very good for a Warmblood X especially as he's only a baby and no where near fit yet, I shouldn't have any trouble getting him fit for eventing. I found Tracey's tales about the vet checks in endurance really fascinating, its a real art getting the endurance horse prepared physically and mentally to pass the vet checks.

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