Southview and a first attempt at Foxhunter

Well today I achieved a lifelong ambition of jumping a Foxhunter. We took Pete to Southview and did the Newcomers in which he has a lazy fence down, he was feeling keen and it was quite quiet so I decided today would be a good day to enter the Foxhunter.

I was quite nervous as I have never believed I would have the ability or a horse with enough jump to attempt this level. However I know Pete is my best chance at jumping this height as he has the ability, its just whether he has the brain to carry me around!!

Well we jumped it, it was not pretty in parts but I was super pleased with Pete as for the first time I really felt him try for me and got me out of a couple of sticky situations, which would of upset him in the past. We had a couple of fences down but he made it feel fairly easy on the whole and has boosted my confidence for trying a few more 1.20 classes in 2012

Bold Heath Blue Chip Star Qualifier

Today we took Pete to Bold Heath for our second attempt at qualifying for the Blue Chip Championships. We arrived just in time to jump the 1.10 A4 warm up, which unfortunately resulted in us parting company in the double due to a communication error - the less said about that the better!
Well I pulled myself together and went into the qualifier, Pete just had the fence down coming out of the double down but jumped the rest of the course well to finish on 4 faults. So again no qualification for us, but one more attempt to go before the Christmas break.

First Blue Chip Qualifer

Today we went to Aintree to jump the Blue Chip Power Qualifier.

I decided to jump the 1.05 as a warm up and Pete jumped clear in the first round although he was a little bit idle, then in the jump off i decided to try and test his against the clock. Unfortunately he lost his jump and became careless and had 2 fences down on a related distance.

I then went in the Power qualifer, which was quite a full up 1.10. Unfortunately I made a mistake at fence 3 and added a stride and put him a bit deep into the oxer so he had it down. Was cross with myself because it was totally my fault. Ah well never mind we have another couple of chances to qualify yet.

Pete's on Fire!!

Today we took Pete to Southview our local venue to jump the Newcomers in preparation for the Blue Chip qualifiers starting. Pete and I haven't jumped for 3 weeks due to Mums holiday and me suffering from a bout of Sinusitis.

We arrived just in time as the Discovery was finishing. I stupidly thought it was going to be quite quiet as I was only the 24th entry at this time. However, by the time I had gone to declare it had got much busier, and I put my name to jump 17th, giving me enough time to warm Pete up as Mum had got him ready for me whilst I walked the course (super groom!).

The course was straightforward and the only fence I was a little worried about was a rustic square oxer as I thought he was most likely to have it down. This is because of the way horses see colour, it is much easier for them to distinguish black and white, other colours merge and are not clear for them to see. This type of fence or any pole that doesnt have 'bands' of colour, i.e blue and white, red and white etc need to be treated with a little more care so the horse can see what he is jumoing better..

Anyway, Pete warmed up really well and was pinging his fences. We went in the ring and he was jumping great and I gave him an extra squeeze over the rustic, and as he is so sensitive he did a cheeky little kick back and had a little argument with me on the corner! He is so cheeky. He got a little bit buzzy down the last line of fences but he held his concentration to jump CLEAR! I was so pleased he is really getting consistant at 1.10m level now.

After hours of waiting for the jump off (the entries had reached 60 by this point!) Pete and I were drawn 9th of the 17 clears to jump off. I decided to gamble on a steady clear as there had not been many clears before me. Pete jumped his little socks off over the 1.20 course for a double clear!!! I was made up with him. He went into 2nd at that point but I had a lot of pro riders to follow us. In the end we finished 7th, there was 8 double clears and 10 prizes so we won £17 and we were about the only amatuers in the line up!

Kelsall Hill BE90

Today Pete and I completed our second BE90 event, at Kelsall Hill. Today has been a day of mixed fortunes, but on the whole I am very pleased with the improvement Pete has made in such a short time in the croos country.

We had a very early start as we were the second to go in our section, with our dressage being at 8.06am. Pete was a little uptight warming up and unfortunately it didnt get much better in the test! Despite usually being very un-spooky usually, he took a dislike to the judges car and for the first half of the test he was very tense. He improved as the test went on to score 37.5 and gaining the comment 'a varied test' from the judge!

Onto the showjumping, and although it was much smaller than we are used to jumping, I was worried that Pete would not try and knock some down! He got a bit stressed in the warm up today and decided to run sideways then backwards until I could calm him down. Im not sure what upset him but he is very sensitive so the best way of dealing with it is to give him time and walk him round to allow him to settle then I took him in the ring. He jumped well although Hhe did give two fences a tap but luckily the poles stayed in place to give us a clear round.to the

Onto the cross country, which was a beautifully built course. I had decided to go the direct routes at the trackhener and corner if all was going well. After a little paddy in the start box when Pete again decided to run backwards, we set off.

He felt much more confident over the first part of the course, and flew the trackhener which I was pleased about. He was fantastic through the water this time, had barely a hesitation, and was straight as a dye over the corner. As we headed toward home he jumped the large hedge really well and onto the last question on the course, a hanging log down a dip and over an open ditch. I steadied up to jump the log to give him time to see the ditch so it didnt take him by surprise. Despite my best effort, he saw the ditch 3 strides out and dived to the left giving us 20 penalties right at the end of the course :( he jumped it on the second attempt and finished confidently. I was a little disappointed although he was much, much more confident than our first cross country at Bold in August.

So all in all, a good day. That was the last event of the season so next year hopefully we can built on our experience and become more competitive!

WE ARE OFF TO THE NATIONAL AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS!!

Today I achieved an ambition by qualifying for the Amateur Championships at Aintree in November.

We went to Maelor to jump our 2nd round today. Pete and I were last to go, and I must admit this is not one of my favourite venues as it is quite a narrow arena and I find it difficult to get into a nice rythmn round the course.

The first round was a tricky course with unusual turns, set at 1.05m. Pete tried hard in the first round and went clear to join 15 others. This meant that with 12 to qualify for the final, 4 horses would miss out. Fortunately we were last to go in the jump off so I had chance to see how the others were going.

There was not too many clears so I decided to gamble on a steady clear as I knew this would be enough for us to take a qualifying place. Luckily, Pete tried hard again and left all the fences up. We finished 6th to easily go through to the final. I was over the moon with him!!

As an added bonus we won 2 lovely rossetes and £15 prize money. The most important thing is the ticket to the final which is held at the end of November at one of my favourite venues, Aintree Equestrian Centre. This gives us a real focus with points to work on before the final. I'm hoping to afford some lessons to improve our jump off turns in the next few weeks as the Finals get very competitive! This means we do not need to attend the other second round qualifier at Bold Heath at the end of October.

Next week we look forward to our next Event together at Kelsall Hill BE 90, so this week its back to focusing on dressage to improve his scores!

MIDWEEK SHOW AT AINTREE

This week I have a weeks holiday from work, so I decided to make the most of it and go to Aintree to jump the Newcomers on Wednesday.

It was a lot busier than I expected, and there was 60+ in the class. The majority of the riders were professionals bringing out their young horses. I really appreciate the opportunities to ride against these people as I learn a lot from watching them and competing against them.

Pete was fabulous and jumped a clear in the first round to join 17 others into the jump off. After a long wait Pete and I went into the ring to face the 1.20m course. Pete jumped fantastically for just 4 faults at the water tray. I was thrilled with him over one of the biggest courses we have done to date.

Pete will now have a 3 week rest before tackling his 1m Amateur second rounds.

OUR FIRST EVENT!

BOLD HEATH BE 90

Today Pete and I completed our first BE 90 together at Bold Heath.

Dressage

Pete warmed up well for the dressage, but unfortunately as I went in to do my test he went lazy on me and he performed a lacklustre test. I was a little disappointed but not surprised to hear we scored 39.5. I know Pete can do much, much better than this and next time I will wear a pair of spurs to back up my leg when he goes lazy. I have to be careful not to use too much leg as he has a tendency to put in a cheeky buck as he doesnt like to be rushed!

Show Jumping

For some reason, I felt very nervous for the jumping, especially considering at 90cm, it was actually a step down in level for us. Pete unfortunately had fence 2 down, which to be fair was my fault as I added a stride and he got a little deep into it. He jumped the rest well though to finish on 4 faults.

Cross Country

Pete set off well on the cross country but was quite spooky and unsure so I took the long route at fence 4, the corner. He hesitated at the 1st water jump but went in and jumped out well over the pallisade. We came to the next fence, a wall with a small drop behind and unfortunately he spooked at the wall and ran past it, incurring 20 penalties. He jumped fairly well round the rest of the course but was a little bit spooky and still unsure so more practice is required for our Kelsall event! All in all this was not too bad for a debut.

CROSS COUNTRY PRACTICE

Today we took Pete to Somerford and hired the cross country schooling area to practice before we do the Bold Heath Horse Trial in 2 weeks time. Somerford is an excellent facility with lots of different types and sizes of fences to train over. I would love to use this facility more often but unfortunately finances wont allow me!!

I just tried the simple fences to build up Petes confidence over the solid fences as he is not the bravest horse.

I was very pleased with him as he learnt a lot and finished up jumping ditches, banks and even a small fence into the water. I feel he is now ready to tackle his first British Eventing competition with me.

A Quiet Month

Pete and I have had a quiet July competing wise, we have been concentrating on Dressage practice and also had our first try at Cross Country in preparation for our first One Day Event, Bold BE 90, in August

Pete the Dressage Diva!

Pete and I went to our local Riding Clubs Dressage Competition. We did a prelim test, and we came 2nd with 69% which was a nice surprise! All good practice for those Events!!

A Personal Goal Achieved!!

Cheshire County Show 2011

When I first got Pete on loan, I had secretly hoped to aim him at the Newcomers at this years Cheshire Show. Because we have been jumping 1.10m courses much sooner than I had expected, I decided to enter him this year. I booked the day off work and we headed to Tabley where the show is held, which is luckily only a 20 minute journey for us.

We arrived to find grey skies and drizzle, and with it being the second day of the show, they going was quite muddy in places. I was quite glad about this, as I will not jump Pete on hard ground, his legs are too precious.

I walked the course and as I expected, it was big and bold with a full 12 fences. It was quite a spooky arena, with trade stands on one side and a ferris wheel on the other. I didn't think this would bother Pete too much, as he quite experienced. It was however, fun watching horses scuttling everywhere in the warm up when the ferris wheel was turned on!!

I decided to warm Pete up in a quiet area of the car park rather than in the boggy warm up arena to give him the best of the going. I only went into the warm up at the last minute to jump a couple of fences. I was pleased with how he coped with the ground as I was expecting him to be a wimp having to jump out of mud!!

It was soon our turn to jump, and I got quite nervous as a crowd had started to gather at the ringside. I started off determined and really rode him forward all the way round.

He had a spook and a wobble to fence 4 by the crowd so I gave him a quick reminder with my whip on his shoulder and he picked up and jumped it. Unfortunately he had fence 6, an upright, down for no real reason, and then also hit the last fence, the oxer over the water tray. So we finished on 8 faults, which on paper isn't great but I was really pleased with him, and also with myself for riding positively and really regaining my confidence at this height again.

MY FAVOURITE SHOW OF THE YEAR!!

BOLESWORTH 2011!!

Well we are back from Bolesworth after having without doubt the best weekend of my life. I enjoyed every single moment of this weekend it was absolutely fantastic.

We set off on the Thursday evening after packing everything but the kitchen sink into Sue's lorry (MASSIVE thanks to Sue for very kindly letting us borrow it or else Mum and I would have ended up in a tent!).

We arrived on sight at around 7pm and the showground was still buzzing with people as the jumping was still going on. We found our stable. I was so pleased to see it was outward facing towards the lorries so I could see Pete from where we were parked. He settled in great. Dad went home and Mum and I went to explore the surroundings. Pete got his hay and tea and looked happy as larry in his temporary home. We went to bed but unfortunately my nerves had well and truly kicked in. I hardly got a wink of sleep!!



Friday

Friday morning dawned: we fed Pete and got him mucked out. I was jumping the Newcomers as the final class of the day in the second ring so Mum rode Pete around the fields to stretch his legs. We spent the morning shopping, tasting cheeses and watching the jumping....heaven! Dad arrived and at around 6pm it was time for my class. We got Pete studded up and ready to go, there was 80 odd horses in the class so I declared before going to walk the course.

Well, it was massive, the biggest newcomers I'd ever seen, which didn't help with the nerves. Also, it was my first time jumping Pete on grass so I wasnt sure how he'd take to it. Anyway he warmed up great and soon it was my turn. My legs turned to jelly so I told myself to buck up and ride forwards. Pete was on springs and was jumping a great round until he unfortunately hit fence 7, for 4 faults. I didn't care about that though, I was thrilled with him!! Even my dad was proud, which virtually never happens!! Pete got extra carrots in his tea that night! Mum and I went to the riders party for a drink which was good before bedtime. I slept much better that night!

Saturday

Saturday came and I had entered in two classes, the Scope 1.05m qualifier in the 3rd ring at 8.30am and the Newcomers in the second ring in the evening.

Pete was a little clumsy in the 1.05m, and had 2 down, for no reason really. The fences looked tiny compared to yesterday though! We spend the rest of the day relaxing by the lorry with sausage butties and watching the jumping. I watched the big class the 1.40 which was really exciting! I also bought some new show socks as mine have holes in! Later in the afternoon,my boyfriend Andy, some friends Gill, Nigel, Sue and Ed arrived to watch and they all had some beers (I refrained as I was jumping in the evening).

It was eventually time for me to jump. I was nervous as today I had an audience! I was relieved to see the course was a little smaller than yesterday, however it was a lot more technical with the fences coming up much quicker. Pete was a bit stressed in the warm up today so I only got to jump a couple of fences with him as he was getting a bit upset. I had no idea what he was upset about but this is Pete all over he's a sensitive soul! He redeemed himself in the ring and was pinging again (I think he must like outdoor rings!). Unfortunately I got him a bit deep to the penultimate oxer and he had it down. I was really pleased with our performance. Once Pete was settled back in his stable we all went to the main arena to watch the Mini Major relay. We had some tea and then everyone else went home.

Sunday

The last day, Sunday, arrived far too quickly! I was just in the 1.05m Open in Ring 3 today and Nan and Grandad were coming over to watch. Unfortunately, the weather was shocking and it hammered it down so much I even purchased a waterproof over coat!! I was debating whether to withdraw but I knew that Nan and Grandad had travelled to see me. I decided if Pete was not confident to jump in the conditions I would pull up. The rain had caused the warm up to be a bog, so Pete only got to jump the cross pole from a trot twice as his warm up!!

He went in the ring and suprised me by jumping clear in the first round! It wasn't pretty and he was slipping a little. I felt like I was nursing him round. We got through to the jump off but I just went steady because of the conditions, he just hit one fence for 4 faults. I was so pleased with him for jumping in the mud as I know what a wimp he can be!!

Unfortunately the rain would not let up so we packed up and went home after the class.

I am absolutely over the moon with Pete this weekend he has been fantastic and exceeded all my expectations. I loved everything about the show and hope I am fortunate enough to be able to come again next year.

Bold Heath - Bolesworth Prep!

With Bolesworth only being a week away, I wanted to have a confidence building outing on Pete before we went.

We took him to Bold and we did the 1.10m A4. For some reason, Pete was a bit wild today and over keen, trying to leap in front of fences and aiming to jump the barrier between the rings(!!) Im not entirely sure what had got into him, but I struggled to contain him today and we had 4 faults coming out of the double, oh well, at least he is keen!!

Southview Amateur Show May 2011

After getting Pete back to full fitness, we took him to Southview on Saturday to see how he went.

I entered him in the 1m Amateur Grand Prix Qualifier, to allow us to compete in the 1m and 1.10m Grands Prix on the Sunday. The qualifer was a two phase and when I walked it I thought it looked rather large for 1m, but I reasoned that it was probably because neither of us has been out jumping for the best part of 2 months!

Anyway, he jumped a great round which was only marred by my mistake of adding one stride too many down a related distance, which made him too deep for the fence and he had it down. So despite rider error, Pete jumped very well and I was happy for us to take him back for the Sunday.


We returned to Southview on the Sunday to jump the 1m and the 1.10m Grands Prix. The 1m was actually more straightforward than yesterday, and Pete was jumping well until the double where he jumped in a little forward and had the second part down. He has such a big stride that I really must work on containing his canter into a double to stop him making up too much ground.

In the 1.10m, I was not riding at my best at all, I allowed Pete to get long and flat and he had the first fence down. I then unfortunately allowed my nerves to take over, stopping riding forwards and getting him in too deep at some of the fences. I decided to retire at fence 9 as I was not confident in the round. Hopefully, this is just a temporary blip and we will soon be back on track.

Pete is out of action :-(

Unfortunately, Pete had an accident in the field 6 weeks ago, he ripped off his shoe and pierced his sole. With the expert help of our farrier he is now fully sound and back in work, ready to get back into the swing of things. I will start off steadily building his competition fitness back up before taking him the the Amateur show at Southview in a couple of weeks time.

Scope Qualifier at Southview

Yesterday we took Pete to Southview on a lovely sunny morning to jump the Adventurer Qualifier. It was very busy with around 70 people in the class. It was a 2 phase class being 1.05 in the first phase and 1.15 in the second phase. Pete jumped amazingly round the first section, was really keen and didn't bat an eyelid at the wavy planks or water tray. The jump off section was quite big, but Pete jumped his socks off for a lovely double clear to go into 5th at that stage. We watched the rest of the class and Pete and I got pushed down to 7th place, just one place off qualifying for Scope. I wasnt disappointed, however, as I was not intending on jumping at Scope anyway. I was very pleased with 7th place, and £15 prize money.

Bold Heath twice in March!!

We took Pete to Bold twice this month, we finished 2nd with a double clear in the 1m amateur first round to qualify us for the other rounds later in the year. We went back a fortnight later and finished 3rd the same class, so Pete has won £90 in two shows, good boy!

First show and 2 days at Southview

Well a few weeks back we took Pete to his first show at Bold Heath. I did the 95cm A4 speed class, which was one round against the clock. Pete jumped a lovely clear to win the class and pocket £40 prize money. What a fantastic result for our first outing!

Since I got Pete, I've had the Amateur 3 day show at Southview in my sights. I had planned to do the 90cm on the friday and the 90cm grand prix on the Sunday. As it happened, I decided to jump both the 90cm and 1m classes as I felt ready for doing the slightly bigger class.

On the friday, it was very busy and Pete jumped well but unfortunately hit a pole in each class for 4 faults. Saturday was rest day and we went back on the Sunday for the Grands Prix. After Friday, I had decided to skip the 90cm and jump in the deep end and jump the 1m and also the Ladies 1.10m, which was to be our biggest test to date.

First up was the 1m, Pete jumped a fantastic clear over a technical track to make it to the jump off. We were drawn 2nd to go in the jump off and I decided to gamble on a clear as I wasnt sure how he would go against the clock. Unfortunately, we hit the upright going into the double for 4 faults anto finish 12th, just out of the placings.

I walked the course for the 1.10 Ladies, and it was huge, I had not jumped 1.10 since I had Jess about 6 years ago. I was nervous but I decided to go in and give it my best shot. Pete jumped the first half of the course fantastically, making light work of the big combination. As we came to the double unfortunately shot forward and hit the fence going in then unsettled himself and argued with me to the next fence, so I circled him to regain our composure and finshed the course really well. I was very pleased with our first attempt at 1.10m there are things to work on but its still very early days.

Exciting News!!

Me trying Peter out at Aintree

I have been on the lookout for another loan horse as Lucy is going back to her owner in January. After a very short search, I came across Peter. He belongs to a lady called Sue and we heard about him through a friend. Peter is a 16.1, 15 year old Westphalian gelding with excellent breeding. He is by International show jumping stallion Lord Caletto, and his breeding includes Lord, Ladykiller and Cor De La Bryer lines.

Pedigree chart

LORD CALETTO GZ	LORD	LADYKILLER	SAILING LIGHT
			LONE BEECH
		VIOLA	COTTAGE SON
			RICARDA
	TERMITE	CALETTO I	COR DE LA BRYERE
			DEKA
		NORDEN	WILDFEUER
			V.77

From the moment I saw Peter, I fell in love with him. He is stunning to look at and has fantastic movement. He is a very sensitive horse but has a big springy jump, and makes everything feel easy.

I cannot describe how lucky I have been to find him as he is the horse of my dreams! I have hopes of jumping Newcomers with Peter as he has jumped these classes previously. My aim is to be jumping Newcomers classes by the summer, as this gives us time to get to know each other.

Peter came to us in November, and just had a month or so to settle in because we had constant ice and snow. This gave him chance to settle in, and in January we said goodbye to Lucy as she returned home to start her new adventure and become a Mum.