Friday, 22 March 2013
Stafford Snowed Off
http://twitter.com/karla_parsons/status/315017187771424768/photo/1
Click this to see a photo from Stafford today, looks like Lapland!!
11 am and now BE have tweeted Gatcombe tomorrow is off too. Icon now doesn't run until Kelsall.
He is going to be very cross, he loves to be out jumping XC fences.
Good job this week I have joined and learnt to use twitter.Tweets from riders and BE were out at 5 am announcing Stafford abandoned today, BE texts and website announcements came up to an hour and a half later. Assume snow slowed it all down.
Twitter is fab! Stella Baylis @stellaeventing. There is going to be a little bird on my web site soon so you can click and go direct to my tweets, hope to tweet from events on useful stuff like fences, ground, news etc.
Now have 2 gleaming white coloured horses with no party to go to. :(
So far this year Amazingmika has been balloted twice and cancelled twice.
Just realised Somerford, Swalcliffe and Stafford all cancelled...... Mabe I won't enter events starting with an S next time............
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
XC Schooling at Swalcliffe
William and Mika went along to this, using the free schooling vouchers Swalcliffe kindly sent me after I withdrew from their Hunter Trials.
Mika schooled clear and easily round the 90, it seemed straight forward but quite a decent sized 90 for early season or maybe my eye is not in yet.
William schooled round the 80, he went round clear and even jumped some of the 90 fences. The 80 was a fairly technical track. It had a downhill half coffin, jumping a carved Caterpiller log before a good size ditch, a log before the water with a skinny on a turn after the water, a double of walls on a curving line, a double of tables, a house positioned on a downhill slope, an inviting trakener and a skinny carved duck. All the combinations were kind to young horses, with lots of room to sort yourself out in between.
Mika schooled clear and easily round the 90, it seemed straight forward but quite a decent sized 90 for early season or maybe my eye is not in yet.
William schooled round the 80, he went round clear and even jumped some of the 90 fences. The 80 was a fairly technical track. It had a downhill half coffin, jumping a carved Caterpiller log before a good size ditch, a log before the water with a skinny on a turn after the water, a double of walls on a curving line, a double of tables, a house positioned on a downhill slope, an inviting trakener and a skinny carved duck. All the combinations were kind to young horses, with lots of room to sort yourself out in between.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Swalcliffe Cancelled and Kings Arena Eventing
Saturday early morning
Just getting up to get ready to leave for Swalclifffe, it's 5.30 am when a text from BE arrived to say abandoned due to heavy overnight rain.
Well done to those who got up early to check for us, saved us many £ in diesel and I can stay in bed.
Swalcliffe have been amazing to me this week in fitting in Hartpury Take it 2 the Top on their waiting list, we eventually withdrew him as I am still not happy with the bruise to his leg, the secretary has been so helpful and understanding.
Very sad they have had to cancel. I walked the XC online last night and it looked lovely, it is still tipping down with rain here, we are about 50 miles from the event, as the crow flies, but as I am not a crow about 2 hours!
Saturday Evening
Kings Equestrian Bromyard kindly gave me a late entry for their Arena Eventing today, I arrived to find it was a very testing course, fabulous experience. Doubles of skinnies and corners and roll top skinnies. I went in on William with his eyes popping out on stalks, the judge asked if I would like to do do 2 practise fences I replied "2 fences??? I may need 2 hours!!!!" He eventually got his head around the spectator gallery , the mirrors, and all the other stuff to jump brilliantly and came 6th in the 80.
Taking William out to shows is a bit like taking Harry Styles along with me, far too many admirers!
(for him not me of course)
Just getting up to get ready to leave for Swalclifffe, it's 5.30 am when a text from BE arrived to say abandoned due to heavy overnight rain.
Well done to those who got up early to check for us, saved us many £ in diesel and I can stay in bed.
Swalcliffe have been amazing to me this week in fitting in Hartpury Take it 2 the Top on their waiting list, we eventually withdrew him as I am still not happy with the bruise to his leg, the secretary has been so helpful and understanding.
Very sad they have had to cancel. I walked the XC online last night and it looked lovely, it is still tipping down with rain here, we are about 50 miles from the event, as the crow flies, but as I am not a crow about 2 hours!
Saturday Evening
Kings Equestrian Bromyard kindly gave me a late entry for their Arena Eventing today, I arrived to find it was a very testing course, fabulous experience. Doubles of skinnies and corners and roll top skinnies. I went in on William with his eyes popping out on stalks, the judge asked if I would like to do do 2 practise fences I replied "2 fences??? I may need 2 hours!!!!" He eventually got his head around the spectator gallery , the mirrors, and all the other stuff to jump brilliantly and came 6th in the 80.
Taking William out to shows is a bit like taking Harry Styles along with me, far too many admirers!
(for him not me of course)
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Somerford Abandoned
Rubbish news the text arrived just after 8 am when we were within an hour of the event, I was driving and Ant was asleep (very early alarm call) meaning it was another 40 mins before we could look at the phone. I just wonder why an earlier text couldn't have been sent to say there was a slight doubt or something on the website last night warning us to check phones regularly and I would have woken Ant up, I thought it was a good luck message texting through.
We are home now, Sweep the lorry dog has refused to get out of the lorry as we are not where she thought we should be going!
Sweet William and Hartpury Twilight went to Hartpury yesterday, a dressage show. William was 3rd with 65% in good company and Twilight was on his best behaviour to wobble greenly through his test for 63%.
We are home now, Sweep the lorry dog has refused to get out of the lorry as we are not where she thought we should be going!
Friday, 8 March 2013
Withdrawn Already :(
Hartpury Take It 2 The Top is out of his next few events, he has sustained a graze to his front leg that caused his leg to blow up like a balloon, he got caught in his Premier Equine rug straps on Sunday. As he is is so narrow these very deep rugs hang a bit low on him. He will be back in work early next week, we are hoping to run him in a couple of weeks, but it means he is WD from Somerford and Gatcombe.
Sweet William went to Moores Farm this week www.mooresfarmequestrian.co.uk . Here they have a clear round day every Tuesday you pay £10 per horse and jump as many times as you like, the height goes up 10 cm every hour. He jumped clear round the 90 cm although I was glad of a school around the 80 cm first. Twilight also went along and did the same in the 70 cm and the 80 cm. they both behaved perfectly, I was very pleased with my boys.
Dangerous stirrup breaks, see picture, a rider I teach was trotting when it snapped, thankfully she was on an arena when it happened and not on the road or out XC. They are only a couple of years old and still looked brand new, but as you can see they had rusted inside the rubber covers.
Sweet William went to Moores Farm this week www.mooresfarmequestrian.co.uk . Here they have a clear round day every Tuesday you pay £10 per horse and jump as many times as you like, the height goes up 10 cm every hour. He jumped clear round the 90 cm although I was glad of a school around the 80 cm first. Twilight also went along and did the same in the 70 cm and the 80 cm. they both behaved perfectly, I was very pleased with my boys.
Dangerous stirrup breaks, see picture, a rider I teach was trotting when it snapped, thankfully she was on an arena when it happened and not on the road or out XC. They are only a couple of years old and still looked brand new, but as you can see they had rusted inside the rubber covers.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Aston Le Walls first event 2013
It was very exciting to be out eventing, the event had banned lunging to save the ground so I led Take It 2 The Top around the lorry park for a while to settle him. He was as good as gold in the dressage scoring a fab 31, putting him inline for a good place, especially when he show jumped clear too, the show jumping seemed very little and caused very few problems. The XC looked lovely, I was worried how spooky he would be at fence 5 The Water, it was a decent house jump just before the dew pond, need not have worried he popped in easy. Although he gave me a pretty green ride XC he jumped all the difficult fences easy peasy, he went green as we galloped past people walking the course and as we passed by fences not being jumped. I expected him to be spooky and had a bit in his mouth that is far too strong for him normally, so I had him over anchored giving us 5 time faults, but a double clear is more important than a rosette. Next run he will be back in his snaffle as hopefully his spooks will be out of his system, although I doubt it, so watch this space for my 20 pens at a flower jump!!!!!!
A really good day, perfect ground, fab event, good organisers, friendly secretary and brilliant XC commentary.
I almost forgot both William and Twilight went to Allens Hill Friday to do long arena tests, they went really well and both won their class. William is due to have a go at a BE training 80 class soon.
A really good day, perfect ground, fab event, good organisers, friendly secretary and brilliant XC commentary.
I almost forgot both William and Twilight went to Allens Hill Friday to do long arena tests, they went really well and both won their class. William is due to have a go at a BE training 80 class soon.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
XC Schooling At Somerford
After the very frozen ground at Swalcliffe which resulted in so many withdrawals at the weekend I rang the secretary at Somerford to check the conditions before we left.
It very busy, it was like arriving at opening meet just after they had moved off. Over 70 horses were booked to school at Somerford yesterday, good job they have masses of room.
Mark and Tania Kyle, Oliver Townend and I think also Ruth Edge were some of the riders there schooling.
Icon loved it and bounced round excitedly, there is every kind of XC jump imaginable at Somerford, it's an amazing place. Take It 2 The Top agreed with me, he too thought he had arrived at opening meet, except unlike Icon he has not hunted.
He hacked the half mile to the course very chilled, however when his feet hit grass and he spotted the 20 or more other horses flying about XC he lost it..........completely!
He began by throwing some of his larger bucks and they were pretty unseating so I kept him moving forward, by this time Ant had arrived and I shouted "what shall I do?" He replied "keep going, he will be ok in a bit"
It was then he took off out of control, I shouted out to the people riding near by to walk, I kept him in some sort of control by staying on a circle of about 50 metres. Round and round he went, a guy on a grey horse came over to help by standing on my circle, every time I whizzed by I tried to use him as a friend to stop by, after about 5 or 10 minutes (Ant said it seemed like forever) I managed to pull up, I leapt off quick, as he was still very lit up. My arms and legs were like jelly from trying to control him. I then lunged him for a good 20 minutes before getting back on, this time with a stronger bit, he was settled and off we went XC, he was amazing and jumped very boldly over some decent fences.
I was thrilled to bits with his attitude, he jumped his first owl holes and we got very brave jumping doubles and drops into the water.
Next time I lunge him first!
It very busy, it was like arriving at opening meet just after they had moved off. Over 70 horses were booked to school at Somerford yesterday, good job they have masses of room.
Mark and Tania Kyle, Oliver Townend and I think also Ruth Edge were some of the riders there schooling.
Icon loved it and bounced round excitedly, there is every kind of XC jump imaginable at Somerford, it's an amazing place. Take It 2 The Top agreed with me, he too thought he had arrived at opening meet, except unlike Icon he has not hunted.
He hacked the half mile to the course very chilled, however when his feet hit grass and he spotted the 20 or more other horses flying about XC he lost it..........completely!
He began by throwing some of his larger bucks and they were pretty unseating so I kept him moving forward, by this time Ant had arrived and I shouted "what shall I do?" He replied "keep going, he will be ok in a bit"
It was then he took off out of control, I shouted out to the people riding near by to walk, I kept him in some sort of control by staying on a circle of about 50 metres. Round and round he went, a guy on a grey horse came over to help by standing on my circle, every time I whizzed by I tried to use him as a friend to stop by, after about 5 or 10 minutes (Ant said it seemed like forever) I managed to pull up, I leapt off quick, as he was still very lit up. My arms and legs were like jelly from trying to control him. I then lunged him for a good 20 minutes before getting back on, this time with a stronger bit, he was settled and off we went XC, he was amazing and jumped very boldly over some decent fences.
I was thrilled to bits with his attitude, he jumped his first owl holes and we got very brave jumping doubles and drops into the water.
Next time I lunge him first!
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