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.

Kelsall Hill BE90

We set off for Kelsall Hill for the second time this season, after finishing 11th at the April event. I was hopeful to improve on that position, having worked hard on our flatwork.

We arrived on a lovely bright day and went to work in for the dressage. I gave Lucy her usual 50 mins to get settled and start working properly. Lucy went in and did a nice test and I was hopeful for a low 30 score. Onto the show jumping and Lucy jumped clear which was a relief. I had heard that our dressage was 34, which was our second best score of the season and I was very pleased with this.

I went to the cross country realising that a good round here could put us within grasp of a placing. It was nerve wracking to be in this position but exciting to think all our hard work could pay off. Lucy flew round the course, really taking it on to finish clear within the time. We cooled her off and put her away before waiting for the results.

I was over the moon to see we finished 5th! A huge high to the end of the season, but unfortunately the result was tinged with sadness as I knew this was our last event together . The decision has been made for Lucy to go back to her owner to be put in foal next spring, which is sad news for me bit also exciting at the prospect of becoming a Mum!