First Scope Qualifer of the season!

Today we went to Bold again this time outdoors which I was pleased about as he is a bit easier to ride in a larger arena.

I jumped the Newcomers first and I have really been working hard on concentrating on keeping a steady and consistant rhythmn, and he was jumping a fabulous round until he came past the entrance gate and unfortunately a gust of wind blew over the declarations board causing a loud bang and startling Pete.  He hesitated on the takeoff of the nest fence and had it down then shot forward.  I managed to regain the rythmn the best I couod but he also had another fence down to finish on 8 faults.  It was a real shame but these things happen!!

Then we jumped the 1.15m Members Cup Scope qualifier.  This was only the 2nd 1.15 class we have jumped and Pete jumped a brilliant round lovely and calm but just breathed on a pole coming out of the double for 4 faults.  It was a really undeserved fence to have own and I was very pleased with the way he jumped.

Hooray we are off to Hartpury!!

Well today I acheived a major goal for the year on our 4th and final attempt at qualifying for the Blue Chip Championships.  Due to the bad weather we have had recently and several fixtures being cancelled, one of our local venues Bold Heath hosted an extra BC Power qualifier.

Unfortunatly we arrived late and were only just in time to jump the warm up class the 1m Amatuer championship qualifier.  Pete jumped a super double clear and came 6th despite a rushed warm up so I was very happy with that.

Onto the qualifer, Bold is quite a small arena so always a challenge on Pete who tends to get buzzy and go sideways on the corners which can make life a bit tricky in a tight space.   However today I managed to keep him in a slower rythmn and it paid off as he jumped a clear in the first round.  He joined  8 others into the jump off to decide who qualified for the final.  Only 8 horses qualify so the pressure was on as one of us would have to miss out.  All the other riders in the jump off were all professionals so I realised that perhaps it would be Pete and I that would not qualify.  I knew all I could do was my best and keep him quiet and calm.  We were drawn 6th to go out of the 9 and when I went in for my turn there had been just 3 clears so I knew a clear would take a qualifying place.  Well Pete was fantastic he did not let me down and jumped his 3rd clear of the day over the 1.20 track.  I was ecstatic as I knew the lowest I could finish is 7th, securing us a ticket to the final.  In the end our round was good enough to take 5th place, and standing in the lap of honour alongside all the professional riders I felt very proud of my little horse.

Winter Novice qualifier at Aintree

Today we set off bright and early to head to Aintree to jump our second Royal International Winter Novice qualifier.  I had entered the 1.05m open beforehand as a warm up, and Pete jumped a great round in that but unfortunately had the last fence down, but would of been placed 5th without that!!

Onto the Winter Novice, like Southview a week ago it was a big course with some tricky lines and a treble combination.  Pete was not quite on form unfortunately he spooked at fence 4 the rustic planks and hit that quite badly, which unsettled him.  He then got a bit strong and i lost a bit of control from the related distance to he upright so had to circle and come round again, and again at the last fence the control was lacking and unfortunately we parted company!! Luckily neither of us were hurt and we live to fight another day.

South View Development Classic 2012

Saturday 21st January


Last week I took Pete to the Development Classic Show at South View. Mum was away in London so I got dropped off at the show by our lovely livery, Rebecca. Andy also came along as cheif groom and cameraman!

It was a very busy show and I was jumping the 1.10 warm up followed by the Winter Novice Qualifier, where the first two horses qualify for the final at the Royal International Horse Show. This class was a tall order for Pete and I as we have only been out once in 8 weeks and the fences start at 1.1o and finish up at 1.20, and we have not had lots of experience at this level yet.

We were 36th to go in the 1.10, and Pete jumped a fantastic double clear which I was so happy with as he had his fan club of Rebecca and her daughter and Andy watching him!! I just took an economical route in the jump off as I wanted the double clear. We went into 8th place and that stage but dropped to about 12th by the end of the class, unfortunately just a few places out of the money.

I was drawn 60th to jump in the Winter Novice, so I put Pete away whilst we waited for our turn. I walked the course and I was quite big in the second half and very long, it had 13 fences including a double and treble combination at 1.20m. I had never jumped a treble at that height before so it looked a bit daunting!

I warmed Pete up and soon it was our turn. Unfortunately about 2 people before me my contact lense from my bad eye fell out so I was momentarily blinded, luckily supergroom Andy had a spare so I managed to put it in just in time for our round.

Well Pete jumped super but we made 3 mistakes around the course, I put my leg on too strongly down the related distance at fences 3-4 and he kicked out 4, then I let him run on a little to fence 5 so he had the front bar of that down. He also had the planks down as I struggled to regain control for the turn. But on the whole he jumped great and made it feel fairly easy. In the end there was only 20 clears from 80 starters, which proves the course took some jumping.

We have another Royal International qualifier at Aintree on Andy's birthday which is 5th February.

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.