The last time I blogged the event season had finally started and although I had been balloted from the first few events I had entered both ponies managed a run at Launceston and Bracken had also had a run at Dauntsey.

Our next event was the BE80 at Moreton with Smartie. It was a swelteringly hot day and our times were in the afternoon during the heat of the day! I much prefer morning times as I like to get up and get going! Anyway, Smartie did a much improved dressage test to score 27 (I think he felt it was just too hot to throw in any extra moves!!), a lovely clear show-jumping round and then he flew round the cross-country although we did pick up a few time penalties for going too fast (whoops!!) to finish in 7th place. He felt so happy and confident at this level that we decided he was now ready to step up and do a 90.

 

My next event was at West Wilts with both ponies this time. Bracken was doing the Open U18 BE90 and Smartie was doing his first 90. The weather could not have been more different from Moreton, it was wet, windy and cold!! Bracken was one of the first to go in the U18 section and she did a good dressage test, followed by clear rounds in the show-jumping and cross-country. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the awful weather and made the XC feel easy, confirming our thoughts that she was ready to step up to 100 level. By the time Smartie came to do his dressage test the weather had got worse (if that was possible!?) and the ground had become quite muddy and slippery. He did a good dressage test, a clear round in the show-jumping and then flew round a very muddy cross-country course to finish clear and inside the time despite losing a shoe, to finish 9th! I was so happy with him for his first attempt at 90 level and in such difficult conditions.

So then it was back to Launceston again for mine and Brackens first go at BE100!! I was quite nervous but knew that Bracks was ready for it. We didn’t do the best dressage test, but my focus was on the jumping! The show-jumping course was big and quite spooky and Bracks went a bit green at the start so I really had to pick her up and ride her. She responded well and ended up jumping a lovely clear round. Then it was onto the XC which looked huge, and the ground had got quite deep and muddy in places causing a fair few problems. I was really nervous but once we were out of the start box and over the first few fences I knew that Bracks was up for it and I started to really enjoy it. I was so pleased to go clear with just some time faults, Bracks had given me such a fantastic ride round a course which was the biggest and toughest either of us had ever done!

Next up was our local event at Pontispool. Smartie was doing the 90 and Bracks in the 100. Both ponies performed well with Bracken doing a double clear and Smartie just had a pole in the show-jumping, but both finished in the top 20 in their sections. Smartie then had 2 more runs at Bricky and Bovington before the end of the season. He has been growing in confidence with every event and at Bricky he did a lovely dressage test for 28 and despite having a pole down in the show-jumping he flew round a long and tricky cross-country to finish clear and inside the time for 5th place! We then went to Bovington the following weekend where he ended the season with a fab double clear and another top 10 placing!!

Bracken was due to have her last run of the season at Calmsden but she picked up a slight injury after Pontispool so we decided not to run her again as she had done 2 great runs at her first 100 events. I am so excited for next season with Bracken when hopefully we will step up to Novice level and do some Pony Trials. We will be working hard on our dressage over the winter months as that is our weakest phase – Bracks won’t be too pleased to hear that, dressage isn’t her favourite phase!

Smartie finished the season off with a couple of days intensive training at a Pony Trials camp. It was a very wet few days but I really enjoyed it and we had some great instruction as well as making some new friends. It was a great learning experience for Smartie too and he was a super boy throughout.

So now the ponies are on a break from work. They all get turned out for 3 or 4 weeks which means I have a break from mucking-out and it’s an opportunity to re-paint the stables and give the yard a good clean and tidy, but I do miss riding them!

Although it hasn’t been a normal event season I am so grateful that I did get the opportunity to do some competitions and I couldn’t be happier with the ponies. Both of them stepped up a level and performed really well giving me great confidence for next season. They have looked and felt fantastic thanks to their Dengie diets and I am so grateful to Dengie Horse Feeds for all their support. Roll on next season (hopefully coronavirus free!!)!!

 

What a blast the British Dressage Young Horse Championships were, if slightly soggy from all the rain! I’m so proud of Iggy to have qualified and this was only his tenth time out, he travelled well and we arrived in plenty of time as I wasn’t in until 7:30pm.

We plaited and spruced him up, we gave him his Dengie tea to settle him, of Performance Fibre and a balancer; I got ready and then half-an-hour later we were off to warm-up. I’d planned to have a 55 minute warm-up, to have a walk, relax and let him take in the new surroundings. However, Iggy had other plans and wanted to get to work!

He tried so hard in the test, it’s only his second ever Advanced Medium, and understandably was a little tense due to the big show surroundings, therefore we didn’t manage to achieve the way of going we usually do at home. However, we both did our best for where we’re currently at with our training for a not-too-shabby 67% and tenth place, despite the tension, whilst also receiving some glowing comments from the judges.

We’re out later this week trying to qualify for the BD Winter Regionals at Advanced Medium, once we’ve achieved that all important qualification, we’ll focus on training over the winter months and hope to come out at PSG Premier Leagues in the spring. I’m so excited for our future together!

This isn’t the blog I expected to write, but I am sure very few of us expected 2020 to turn out as it has! I had a fantastic training day with Dengie in January at Vale View and felt really excited for the season ahead with both girls in their prime and ready for an exciting progressive season.

To date the January training day has been the horsey highlight of the year. Lockdown happened with entries in at Cirencester, Portman and Bicton and both girls primed and ready to go. They were both let down over lockdown, while my work life went mad. I work in Environmental Health which meant I was a key worker involved in policing the COVID business rules. We tackled holiday accommodation that was still operating, ensured businesses that should be shut were closed and those that were open were operating safely and to current legislation. My working days were intense and long and even to date have continued to be busy.

Although the eventing season got going again we have not been out, nor are we likely to get out this year. Based in Cornwall I haven’t been keen to travel long distances and with balloting so unpredictable it hasn’t seemed feasible to get them up and going. We had decided to start Ellie back up again as she is established at 100, but she produced a sick note and is now having an enforced holiday. Fliss meanwhile decided to have saddle issues to add to the problems and although we have found a new saddle, by the time it arrived there was little point getting her up and running for a couple of events.

We haven’t been totally idle though, to date we have based ourselves and competed solely in Cornwall. Ellie went out and won her first BS class back with a speedy round in the metre open as well as some success at dressage. Fliss has jumped some cracking Newcomers rounds for several placings and wins. We also decided to try something a bit different and have a go at dressage to music. Ellie is quite established at Elementary and with a riding club qualifier we decided to give it a go. I am not musical or a great dressage fan, but actually it was great fun – sadly Ellie wasn’t right on the day so Fliss had to step in despite the test or music not being designed for her!

She was a bit fresh on the day, but she tried hard until nearly at the end where she let rip with an enormous buck. However we were delighted that the good bits were still good enough for the win and qualification for the final at Addington in early October.

So on the Ellie front we have had some worrying news. She was swinging between fit and well and chronically lame. Typically on the two visits from the vet she was fine but eventually she was diagnosed with a bone cyst in her pedal bone. This needs surgery to insert a screw and the prognosis is hopeful, but not guaranteed. We are currently getting all the vet information together for the insurance to assess. She will need to go to B&W if the procedure is given the go ahead.

At the moment we are planning our big trip away for the year, little did I think it would be to Addington for the Dressage to Music finals! We are at least planning a few jumping days either side with some lessons with Owen Moore and hopefully some BS at Cherwell.

As you can see Fliss is looking really well and it has been great to have the flexibility in the Dengie diet to adjust to the different workloads. Ellie is now on Dengie Hi-Fi Lite with salt and her Vitamins and Minerals to make sure she has all she needs to heal and recover without piling on the pounds. Ellie lives on thin air and a period not being worked will be challenging to keep her looking trim!

I am so disappointed that I have not been able to represent Dengie as I hoped this year but hugely appreciate their help and support. Even if it is not the eventing reports there will be plenty to report later in the year!

August has been a busy time for me…Coaching Senior BD camp, to and fro to Pony Club camp over two weeks, and then Junior BD camp. Delilah and Joey did so well, 2nd in the D squad with 70% and then Molly achieved 89% with Harry in the C squad. I was so pleased, as it was their first outing together…then we were finally off to the Nationals!

It was a very different Nationals, but the organisation did superbly well. Only one person was allowed per rider, and there were no spectators allowed other than the people there competing. On the day we went we were very lucky with the weather.

You had to book a slot to exercise with only 6 at a time allowed, and as you could not do arena walks, I decided to try to get a slot in the arena next to the completion arena. So Monday night we headed down to the working in and Iggy had a complete attack of stage fright…waving his legs higher then even he thought he could go!!! Not a great confidence giver, but I was okay with the fact that he has only been out 6 times and everything was so new to him, if I could just get him round and have a good experience! We were last to go (what a draw), he was really very good and never let me down. He just kept with me, ignored the TV cameras and speakers, but sadly 2 of the judges did not like the modern music which was costly as it is times 4. We scored 72.6% coming 9th.

We had a fab response on Facebook with people loving it (as it was live coverage) so that was wonderful. We are off next in Sept to qualify for the 7yr old young horse class which is Advanced Medium – a big jump from novice music, but he is coming on so fast.

This last month has been a highly educational and successful month. We have finally got back out to some shows and put Lockdown training into practice. Dengie’s range of feeds have been essential in supporting Cici’s increased workload, meaning she has plenty of sustained, but controllable energy and sufficient hydration in the warmer weather, as she loves her Dengie Alfa-Beet added to Alfa-A Oil and a balancer.

Our first show at Pyecombe resulted in Cici feeling raring to go after the long break, consequently leading to 3rd in the 90cm.

Next, we had our first Cross Country schooling session of the year at Littleton Manor Equestrian Centre, where we were joined by a friend from the pony club on her youngster. It was a very educational session and we focused on accuracy, rhythm and balance.

A few weeks later, another visit to Pyecombe this time for the 1m, where we returned to where we left off before Covid-19, Cici felt great and finished 10th in a huge class.

On to BS, where we attended our first BS show together and Cici exceeded all my expectations with a smooth, rhythmical round to win the British Novice.

So off to practise Cross Country, this time at Petworth Cross Country schooling course. Where thanks to some timely rain the going was perfect. This Pony Club session was taught by Laura Schroter who focused on balance of paces as we trained to cope with undulating terrain.

Finally we were back out doing what we love best, Eventing! Tweseldown had done an amazing job to accommodate so many entries and I felt very lucky to finally get a run. Despite, some initial excitement in the dressage warm up, Cici settled and produced a calm and accurate test for 32.8. Off to the showjumping, where our practice paid off to produce a smooth clear, and the cross country felt equally polished, finishing with a clear inside the time for 5th place… Well done Cici!

Our last update, comes from the BS area 46 championships at Felbridge Showground, where to my amazement we pulled off another win in the British Novice in a large field.

All of Cici wonderful achievements were topped off by the amazing news that I had been fortunate enough to win an online competition with local company Xtreme Equestrian, who are a family run business based in Coolham. The products I received were an excellent fit and super quality… I will definitely be buying from them soon. How lucky am I!

In my previous blog from March, my preparations for the start of the event season were going well and I was looking forward to my first event…then Coronavirus happened and everything stopped! It was hard to know what to do with the ponies as they were all fit and ready to go, but we had no idea when things would start back up again. We decided to keep them in work, but only hacking and a bit of dressage schooling and pole work 3-4 times a week, rather than 5 or 6 days a week. We thought that turning fit ponies out into the fields may cause more problems than if we just kept them ticking over with enough work to keep them busy without getting bored. Lockdown was particularly bad timing for us as Felix was about to go to his new home and we had just advertised Chico for sale, so both had to be put on hold.

I won’t bore you with the details of what I got up to during lockdown, basically I rode the ponies in the morning, did my schoolwork in the afternoons and a bit of baking in-between (millionaire’s shortbread is my speciality!). Having the ponies to do meant I didn’t get bored at all and there were always jobs to do such as cleaning out the horse box, tidying the tack room and having a sort out of rugs etc, but I was very happy when restrictions were eased and things started to happen again. Felix went off to his new home as soon as it was okay to move him and I am pleased to say that he is very happy and settled. I have been able to go and see him a few times already, as he isn’t very far away. Chico has also gone to a new home where he will be produced as a dressage pony. He is also very settled and happy and enjoying his dressage!

It was great when PC rallies started again and we were allowed to start having lessons. I hadn’t been XC with Bracken on grass before so I was very excited to be able take her XC schooling and also go to a BEU18 training session and a BE Pony Training session where she was awesome! The first time I took Smartie XC schooling this year he felt like he had grown up a lot over the winter months and felt so much stronger and more confident in himself and more than ready to do his first event.

Unfortunately we got balloted from the first few events that we entered, but both ponies got accepted at Launceston; Smartie in the BE80 and Bracken in the BEU18 90 section. It was a very early start and quite a long journey, but I was so excited to finally be back out eventing again! It was my first event with Bracken and I was pretty nervous, but she was amazing! She did a nice dressage test for 30 penalties, then pinged round the showjumping clear and flew round the XC course with just an unfortunate 20 penalties for a stop at the top of the step. I think it was probably a bit of lack of experience from both of us and I now know that with steps she prefers to approach them a bit steadier to have time to see what she is jumping down onto.

Smartie was very excited to be at a competition, he thought he was at a ‘pony party’ and could hardly contain himself!! He did a very excitable dressage test for 35 penalties, had the last fence down in the showjumping, but flew round the XC clear and inside the time. He was so pleased with himself and so was I!! The next day though he was really tired and spent most of the day sleeping in his stable!

My next event was Dauntsey BE90 with just Bracken this time. It was another very early start with my alarm set for 3.30am!! My aim was to do a sub-30 dressage and a double clear and I’m pleased to say that we achieved this with the added bonus of being placed 7th!! Bracken did a lovely calm dressage test for 29.3 followed by clear show jumping and a fantastic ride XC around the biggest course that I have ridden. I was very very happy with her!! Bracken now has a couple of quiet weeks with a dressage competition and some jumping lessons before we go to West Wilts for her next BE competition. Smartie’s next event is another BE80 at Moreton before he steps up to 90 level also at West Wilts. It is so good to be back competing again and even though things are a little different due to the Coronavirus restrictions, I would much rather have it that way than no competing at all.

My plan for the rest of the eventing season is to hopefully have some good runs at 90 level with Smartie, and for Bracken to step up to 100 level and get a couple of good runs with her at that level before the end of the season.

During lockdown the ponies were all fed Hi-Fi Molasses Free, as they were only doing light work but now that they are back in full competition work I have increased the energy content of their feed. Bracken is now fed Alfa-A Original with a performance balancer and a small amount of Alfa-Beet to mix it together.

Smartie was also on the Alfa-A Original but he can be a bit fussy, so we switched him onto the Performance Fibre which he absolutely loves. He struggles to maintain his weight and can also be a bit of a worrier, however this diet seems to be providing him with plenty of energy for the work that he is doing, as well as helping him to keep his weight on. Both ponies also get some electrolytes in their feeds as well as apples and carrots.

I have enjoyed having an extended break from school and being able to play with the ponies all day but I am kind of looking forward to starting again in September and getting back to a bit of normality. I think my mum is too!

During lockdown I kept all of my horses in work with lots of hacking, schooling and simple pole and jumping exercises. I also adapted and reduced their feeds accordingly to help prevent any unnecessary weight gain and energy.

Once restrictions started to be eased our first trip out was to a dressage lesson at Becky Moody’s with Louis and Lenny. They were both very happy to be back out, especially Louis who had definitely missed his trips out. Our first show jumping lessons were with Chris Bartle at Yorkshire Riding Centre, the horses all went amazingly well in their lessons, a little surprising to say as we hadn’t been anywhere jumping yet. At this point with their workloads increasing I re-introduced Alfa-Beet back into their diets and slightly increased the quantities of Alfa-A Oil and balancer.

In the middle of June we had a yard visit from Faith at Equine Physio Services, where all the horses had treatment to ensure that they were feeling at their best for the start of the season.

We then continued their training with a jumping lesson with Caroline Moore at Vale View. Lenny and Louis were working at 2*/ Intermediate level and Speedy at 90/100 level. At the end of June I took all three of the boys for fitness training to Sun Hill Gallops and the water treadmill at Bedale. Although at home we have excellent hacking, I started using the water treadmill last year and found a beneficial impact to their fitness levels and stamina for when working towards the higher levels. At the start of July we all went cross country schooling to Somerford Park, it was really good to have them schooling on grass ready for the eventing season to kick off.

Our first event of the season was at Aske Hall Horse Trials with Speedy in the BE90, where he finished 4th with a 26 dressage followed by a double clear! Not bad for his first event back.

Louis and Lenny’s first event was at Warwick Hall Horse Trials where they were both in the Novice. Louis took the win in his section finishing on his dressage score of 24.8! Lenny finished 5th in his section with a 27.8 dressage, a pole down show jumping, but a super clear cross country. Not bad for their first event back either!

The following weekend we went to our local event at Frickley Park Horse Trials where all three boys jumped super double clears. I was very pleased with them all. Louis finished 2nd in his novice section, while Speedy and Lenny just missed out on a top 10 placing, however they all preformed amazingly especially when we were competing against all the pros!

Speedy then had a run at Chomondeley Castle Horse Trials in the BE90 where he finished 3rd, another great confidence run for him. We then had another busy weekend at Norton Disney Horse Trials with both boys in the Novice. Louis finished 2nd again in his section, while Lenny was a bit spooky having two hiccups on the cross county, but I guess it is all part of the sport which has highs and lows. The next day we went to Skipton Horse Trials where Speedy had his first win in the BE90 which I was very pleased about, soon he will be ready to set up to BE100.

I have also started coaching at home again and at my local Pony Club branch alongside training and competing which I thoroughly enjoy. We will next be heading to Burgham International Horse Trials where Lenny and Louis with be competing in the 2* with the aim to step up to Intermediate if everything goes to plan.

Phew! What an extra-ordinary experience Lockdown has been. As I shared in my last blog it has given us time to catch up on lots of jobs around the yard. We’ve had time to work on the horses without the pressure of being away at shows in between times, and with the exception of those expected outings and some canter work our training has continued at home with eager anticipation of return to competition.

Last weekend marked the first BE event of the season for Sober Up and the second for Vision d’auteuil and Justdunnit.  All 3 did very respectable tests, a couple of rails in the jumping kept them off the leaderboard, but fabulous XC rounds helped me remember why we do this crazy sport! Such a buzz!

The horses are lucky enough to be on very consistent high-fibre diets thanks to Dengie, so importantly we have had to make little or no alterations to their feed program through the ups and downs of 2020. Dengie Alfa-A Original and a balancer have provided everything they need to return to competition looking a million dollars and I can’t wait for our next busy weekend at Dauntsey on the 1st August.

 

This last month has been filled with lots of hard work and fun. CiCi’s flatwork has improved greatly and we have even managed to have a few journeys to other facilities for lessons when restrictions were eased.

In our flatwork lessons, CiCi and I have greatly improved and her canter has developed a lot. She has begun to sit more and her canter has therefore become more uphill.

We’ve spent quite a considerable amount of time during lockdown doing small accuracy and gymnastic jumping exercises. We did these to help CiCi become quicker off the floor and to focus on straightness. We tried jumping across jumps to make sure she locks on to the next fence in preparation for Eventing. We went on a little trip to Kings Hill Equestrian and had a jump round their lovely course. CiCi was very excited to be jumping properly again and was flying. After that we went on our first cross country outing since February. We went to Hickstead and hired out their all weather arena which was great. The weather was quite hot and CiCi really enjoyed splash around in the water. She flew all the jumps and clearly had lots of fun! Before loading her up on the lorry she had some Dengie Alfa A Oil and Dengie Alfa-Beet, this is because she isn’t very good at drinking and Dengie Alfa-Beet is amazing for getting fluid into horses as it is delicious and encourages them to take in some water therefore maintaining hydration levels.

My highlight of this month has been coming 2nd individually and a team win in a Pony Club Online Dressage Competition. We achieved 70.83% and our team won by a considerable amount due to the fact my other team mates also came 1st and 2nd in their respective sections.

 

 

Well, lockdown has been something of an experience for each and every one of us. Something no one could have expected or prepared for. My existing levels of admiration for the NHS, and frontline workers has been sent into over drive. Their courage and resilience an inspiration to us all. My reliance on communication with my family and the Eventing family has been modernised into the zoom world, and I’m relieved I’m not sitting anything more challenging than 2-3 year-old classes in home schooling.

From a work perspective we have had to adapt fast with pre-trainers understandably returning to their trainers almost instantly and not being replaced, leaving several empty boxes. We were lucky enough to have an owner needing our retraining services and four new TBs fresh from racing arrived at the beginning of lockdown to seek their fortunes away from the track. This is one of my favourite challenges and as you can see from the pictures it’s a hugely rewarding experience.

This fellow is 8-year-old Chesterman who with a month of lungeing, long reining, hacking, flat work, pole work and jumping has progressed rapidly. He is now ready to jump into water and over some logs, ditches and banks and as soon as we’re given the go ahead will now be for sale to pursue his new career.

As with all our horses during lockdown a simple high fibre diet of Dengie Alfa-A Original, balancer, haylage and turnout suited him down to the ground. His coat, muscle tone and condition score have all benefited hugely.

With our eventers we chose to give two of the novices a 6 week holiday as they’d been in fairly heavy work and with no competing on the horizon we felt they were ready for a break. They continued to have a handful of balancer each, twice a day for essential vits and mins. They’ll return to work on Monday and we’ll start to introduce some Alfa-A Original back into to their diet.

The other eventers continued in “January” levels of work. We’ve been doing variety of lunging, hacking, flat work and pole work 4-5 days a week with plenty of turnout.

At the start of lockdown I felt a little lost without the structure of the usual hectic competition schedule to adhere to. Most eventers will know what I mean when we refer to ‘Aston and Chatsworth week’ but none of us would have a clue which date of which month that was in! As time has gone on I’ve really got into the swing of it. We were lucky enough to be in our snazzy new facilities here at BQES so there have been masses of jobs that we needed an enforced rest to have time to complete…grass seeding, jump painting, mat washing, board re writing, cupboard labelling etc. We have had time to move house onto the yard which is a huge advantage for security, safety and our sanity! It’s a breathtakingly beautiful place to be and we as a family are LOVING it here. We have had time to just enjoy riding our lovely horses, improving their way of going, learning new movements and strengthening up. It sounds crazy given that it is my job, but more time to do it in has given me a new perspective.

All in all we have endeavoured to use the negative that is the horrors of a global pandemic as an enforced wake up call, a “reset” to appreciate the positives in our lives. One can’t begin to comprehend what the front line has been through, or how differently we may feel if we didn’t live in the country that we do. That said, the time to enjoy our surroundings, our precious animals, our loyal and hardworking teams of “lads” helping with our horses hasn’t been lost on us. We are so incredibly fortunate in so many ways, I can see that now more clearly than ever.

As we look forward to the chance of returning to cross country, jumping and dressage shows and going to Eventing again, we’ll be increasing the canter work, their diets will remain largely unchanged and I hope we can remember and retain the lessons we’ve learnt during “the extraordinary season of 2020”. I’ll sign off wishing everyone lots of luck during “re-entry” and just remember we are all well practiced and being resourceful, resilient and optimistic. If we weren’t we wouldn’t be involved with horses. So as fresh challenges emerge in the coming months use those characteristics to your best advantage and enjoy every moment with your families and horses reunited!