LOOKING FORWARD TO A VERY BUSY 2014

5th December 2013

It’s been a couple of months since my last blog and both horses have had a well-earned rest. Alfie was in especially good books after his performance at Bishop Burton so he had a nice relaxing time in the field throughout October and the start of November. This said, with the fixture list out for 2014 and my aim of entering the CIC1* at Chatsworth in May seeming (at the moment) quite realistic I was keen to get him back up and into work. The aim is to have him at a level of fitness where I can compete him lightly in dressage and showjumping in order to work on these two disciplines and then add in the more rigorous fitness work in spring. It also means that if the weather turns nasty then at least I have had the opportunity for some schooling and his fitness levels won’t diminish to nothing.

I decided he was fit enough to do a dressage test last Sunday and I underestimated just how much I would enjoy being back out and about. The break seemed to have done Alfie the world of good as he produced a lovely test to win the Novice - I sometimes forget what a wonderful little horse he is! I am now trying to keep him up and running as best possible so that I can really hit the ground running next year. My plan is to complete a couple of novices throughout March and April before Chatsworth in May (there is then an enforced break due to the wedding!!)

Herbie had a little break at the end of the season before mum took over the reins and has been working on his dressage since the end of October. She has done a truly great job and has had 2 wins and a third throughout November; she has now affiliated him which is very exciting (although I am getting a bit worried about stealing the ride back in spring!). The aim is for Mum to continue with him throughout winter although I will take advantage of his fitness and have some jumping sessions in order to sharpen him up ready for the start of the eventing season.

All in all I would have to say that the winter months have not brought with them a slow in pace. The wedding is creeping ever closer as is the 2014 season so it’s full steam ahead to ensure both of these are a success!

I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year!

Best wishes,

‘Team Cawood’

LUCINDA REVIEWS THE 2013 SEASON IN HER END OF YEAR BLOG

November Blog

Last time I wrote we had just 2 events to go and I am pleased to say that both horses have completed the season safe and sound. Our performance for the year is important although at the top of my list of priorities is having fit and healthy horses.

Following Allerton Park in September, both horses were entered at Bishop Burton (BB), Herbie to do another BE 100 and Alfie to do his third Novice. I wouldn't say it was particularly Herbie’s day, he was quite naughty in the dressage (not helped by me learning the wrong test!), he then had 2 silly poles down in the showjumping but redeemed himself by going clear cross country. Not a bad day but not the best! 

In terms of Alfie, he did an average dressage (I had focused a lot on his jumping in the lead up to BB) but then went on to jump a foot perfect clear round the showjumping. The course was quite strong and I felt Alfie tried his little heart out for me. Prior to BB, Alfie had done 2 novices but this was by far the biggest and most demanding cross country track I had seen. I walked it on the Friday afternoon which was a bit of a mistake as I had all night to think about all of the challenges on the course, especially the giant carrot box at fence 7! Alfie totally excelled himself though and stormed round clear, I felt such a difference in his confidence levels and he seemed to show that he is more than ready to take on such tracks. To get a double clear in a strong Novice at the end of the season was lovely (I have to admit to a few tears at the end of the cross country as I was just so proud of him!)

Whilst Alfie was now firmly on his (well deserved) holidays, Herbie still had Askham Bryan Horse Trials to contend before he could have a rest. During the week in between Bishop Burton and Askham Bryan, I had really gone back to basics on the dressage and was determined to finish on a good note in this phase as he is just so capable - I was therefore thrilled to score 27 and be lying 2nd going into the showjumping. I’m never one for making excuses but the showjumping was proving tough with wet conditions on undulating ground so I wasn't too disappointed with 2 fences down. He then went on to jump clear cross country inside the time leaving him in 6th place. This was his second top 10 finish of the season and I was more than happy with him. Overall he needs to strengthen up a lot and needs work on his showjumping but I feel all of the ingredients are there and I’m certainly excited about next year!

I’m quite critical of our performance each year and like to analyse whether we have achieved our goals or not - on the whole I think we have. Alfie performed really well in the Badminton Grassroots Championships back in May (finishing 11th), he has then gone on to have 5 top 10 finishes throughout the season and to accumulate 2 BE points. He has also qualified for CIC1* and has gone some way towards his CCI1* qualification. I am therefore aiming to take him to Chatsworth in May next year which would be really exciting.

Herbie has come on a lot when I think back to this time last year when he was a gangly 4 year old who had never seen dressage markers let alone a cross country course! He has had 2 top ten finishes and has qualified for the Badminton Grassroots Championship Regional Finals in the BE100 section. Not a bad first season!

It’s now time to batten down the hatches for a few months and get my head around planning an event packed season as well as a wedding mid way through!  

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Fulmart Feeds for their very kind support throughout 2013; it really has made a true difference.

For updates throughout winter please follow us on Twitter (@lucindacawood)

In the meantime, have a lovely Christmas and New Year.

Best wishes,

 ‘Team Cawood’ 

THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF EVENTING

24 September 2013

Harvest is over, the heating is on and there’s less than 100 days until Christmas.....this must mean that the Eventing Season is drawing to a close for another year! We have just two more events (Bishop Burton and Askham Bryan) before ‘The Boys’ get a well earned rest.

 

We have not had a bad season by any stretch but it has been one of a few ups and downs, Richmond Horse Trials (at the end of August) was no exception. Herbie was doing his first BE100 and Alfie was stepping up to Novice for the second time. Herbie’s strongest phase is usually the dressage but on this occasion he was thoroughly distracted throughout his entire test by a very naughty Alfie whinnying from the lorry! He then had 2 show jumps down and a run out cross country at an offset double of skinnies (he’s a big horse with a big stride and ended up running past the second part) – all in all not Herbie’s day!

Alfie on the other hand did a beautiful dressage to leave him 3^rd going in to the show jumping, he then jumped a beautiful clear round so I went in to the cross country phase with it all to play for. Fence 6 was a ditch combination and from nowhere he put in a really cheeky stop, he came back round and jumped it fine the second time but this left us with 20 penalties so well out of contention. Whilst I was really disappointed, Alfie is a super horse and all horses have blips and do things to test us so I knew it was just a case of going home, digging a couple of ditches and restoring his confidence which I believe we have done now.

Events like Richmond are frustrating but they give you a lot to work on and make you even more determined next time out...so Allerton Park couldn’t come soon enough. It’s a beautiful event with classes right up to advanced so the level of competition is often high but both boys really did rise to the occasion. Alfie reminded me why I love him so much, posting a foot perfect double clear to end up 4^th and Herbie really shone and showed that all the hard work was worth it by posting a double clear to end up 3^rd. It was a great weekend and Mum and I came away feeling very lucky to have the horses we have and with the confirmation that hard work and attention to detail is what is needed.

Unfortunately it turns out that due to the BE point we got for our 6^th place in the Novice at Draycott earlier in the year, Alfie is now ineligible for the Badminton Grassroots Championships Regional Finals. Whilst this is disappointing, we had a wonderful time there this year and it means we can push on and hopefully consolidate at Novice level before considering a 1* competition next year. Herbie has also qualified for the regional finals next year so the picture is looking rosey!

For now my priority is Bishop Burton in 2 weeks time where Herbie will contest his third BE100 and Alfie his third Novice......watch this space!

Best wishes,

 ‘Team Cawood’

STUBBLE FIELD FROLICS AND A TRIP TO SKIPTON WITH PLEASING RESULTS

21 August 2013

 

It’s harvest time at last!! For anyone who is a farmer’s daughter, son, girlfriend, boyfriend, wife husband etc etc etc you will know how stressful August can be, especially after the unpredictable weather we have had recently. Being a farmer’s fiancé is certainly no different so I breathed a sigh of relief when Jim text me yesterday to say that the combine was revved up and things were in full swing. It was also a lovely sight to see the combine making its way up and down dad’s fields when I arrived there to ride last night (mainly as I know it heralds the start of the stubble fields and the chance to get the horses out for a good hoof around!), I wasted no time and hit the stubbles last night with Alfie!

Since my last blog, Herbie has had a couple of weeks rest as he’s only 5 and has had a busy season thus far, for Alfie though it was up to Skipton for one of my favourite events of the season. We had the pleasure of Jim (my fiancé), my dad and my brother all there to support which was lovely. Alfie had had a silly stop cross country at Breckenbrough the week before so I was over the moon with his performance at Skipton. He did a lovely dressage test, leaving him 3^rd in a very competitive section, he then went on to post a foot perfect double clear inside the time to leave us 2^nd. He felt on flying form and is now entered to do his second novice at Richmond at the end of the month.

 

Herbie has now finished his holidays and is back in work, we have had some really productive sessions with him especially over fences with him negotiating some especially complicated grids. It’s a really nice feeling for a young horse to make a couple of mistakes and then come back and learn from them. He is showing the right attitude and intelligence at this stage which is lovely. Herbie is also heading up to Richmond to do his first BE100 so it will be a busy old weekend for us but I’m very excited to see how both horses cope with the more demanding questions.

Both boys are as cheeky as ever, Herbie is such an attention seeker and has taken to picking up anything he can get his teeth into, last week he managed to lean over his stable door and pick up the wheel barrow, unfortunately he didn’t fancy doing the mucking out whilst he was at it!

I’m very much looking forward to a big finish to the season with Herbie stepping up a class and Alfie contesting his regional finals for Badminton; let’s hope they’re both on top form!!

Best wishes,

 ‘Team Cawood’

A BUSY JULY FOR TEAM CAWOOD

Fulmart Feeds Blog – 31.07.13

 

 

Well that’s July done for another year and it’s been a busy old month.

As anyone who goes eventing will know, you’re on a hiding to nothing if you can’t nail the dressage so I decided to put some real work into this over the last couple of months. My background is more in showjumping so I’ve tended to find this the more straight forward phase and have had to learn a lot when it comes to the dressage. I now have two totally different horses (Alfie and Herbie) which means I have to adapt my way of riding from one to the other, the up side of this though is that my riding has improved a lot as I can learn from them both.

 Since my last blog Herbie has done two events and is improving all the time, he went clear cross country in both of these and in my latest event (Thornton Watlass @ Breckenbrough) we led after the dressage by a margin of 4.5 marks. I was absolutely thrilled with this as he showed some real class. Unfortunately we had 3 down showjumping before completing a beautiful clear across country leaving us 9^th. A good workman never blames his tools but since Breckenbrough we have changed his saddle and it has made an immediate improvement to his jumping. Yesterday I took him to Ryedale Show for the Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier where we had to do a dressage test, followed by a round of showjumping and then a trot up to be judged on conformation etc (by Chris Bartle!). I was absolutely thrilled with him; we scored the highest mark of the day (out of 50 competitors) in the dressage and just had 2 poles down in the showjumping, it was by far the biggest track he has ever jumped so I was over the moon with him. We didn’t qualify but the standard in these classes is very high so I think he did really well to hold his own.

It seems Herbie is not the only one showing class in the dressage phase, Alfie also went to Breckenbrough last weekend and scored a fabulous 28 in his dressage, clear showjumping and then a very silly rider error at a coffin meant 20 penalties in the xc phase dropping us out of contention. All in all Breckenbrough was a frustrating weekend as we were set up after dressage for a win on Herbie and a second on Alfie but it just shows the importance of each of the 3 phases!

Herbie is having a well earned rest for the next couple of weeks before hopefully making the step up to BE100 at Richmond and I am taking Alfie xc schooling this evening (more of a refresher for me than for the horse!) before going to Skipton this weekend. Alfie also has 3 qualifications for the BE100 Regional Finals so I am working hard on qualifying him for the Badminton Grassroots Championships next year. The experience this year was amazing so to qualify at the next level up would be great, the qualifiers start in September so I will keep you posted!

The wedding planning is in full swing at the moment so any spare weekends are being spent wedding dress shopping, meeting with caterers etc, it’s all great fun although Dad can’t decide which is worse, constant conversations about weddings or constant conversations about horses!!

As always I will Tweeting regular updates (@LucindaCawood) but for now it’s ‘over and out’.

‘Team Cawood’

LUCINDA SETS HER SIGHTS ON QUALIFYING FOR BURGHLEY YOUNG EVENT HORSE

Fulmart Feeds Blog – 25.06.13

Another month has passed since my last blog and it’s been as busy as ever.

My Best friend got married last weekend and myself and my other best friend were her Maids of Honour so it has been very hectic with all the build up and excitement. It was a wonderful day and great to see so many old friends, it also marked a year until we get married so the planning has started in earnest!

I have made time to fit in Alfie and Herbie and they are both going really well. Following Bishop Burton I had entered Alfie in his (and my) first novice at Draycott Horse Trials, this would be a big step up for both of us and a real test of Alfie’s ability. On the day it was a bit humid and the bugs were out in force so Alfie’s dressage test wasn’t as good as it could have been (he gets a mid moody and awkward in these conditions!) but he still scored a very respectable 34.5 so I was really pleased with him. The show jumping was fairly nice although on undulating ground so took some careful riding, there were also quite a lot of faults flying around so I was really pleased to just have one fence down for 4 faults. The final phase was the cross country which I thought was particularly touch and challenging. There were very few ‘let up’ fences and the questions came thick and fast. Having walked it I decided the only way it could be ridden was very forward with a lot of positive thinking. Alfie really did jump out of his skin and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him, he jumped a beautiful clear round with just 8 time faults meaning we ended up 6^th. This was way beyond what I expected from my first novice so I was thrilled to bits and he really proved he has the ability to jump the bigger fences. He is now entered at Eland Lodge in the BE100 Open (because we have that elusive first BE point!!) as I want consolidate what he achieved at Draycott and give him a confident round, he will then go to Buckminster to do another Novice.

Whilst Alfie has been excelling himself, Herbie has also been working really nicely and mum has had some great results on him in the dressage. His jumping is coming on in leaps and bounds (quite literally!) so he is entered to do his second BE90 this weekend at Eland Lodge. I took him cross country schooling last night and he was fab, he jumped quite a few of the more complicated fences and showed real maturity. I’ve also entered him for the 5 year old Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier at Ryedale show in late July; I’ve never done one of these before so I’m really excited to give it a go with him.

Things are really busy at the moment but it’s so worthwhile when both horses are going so well...long may it continue!

 ‘Team Cawood’

A GREAT RESULT FOR LUCINDA'S FIRST TRIP TO BADMINTON HORSE TRIALS

10 May 2013

 Wow, what a week we had at Badminton. Just to recap, Alfie and I qualified last September for the Badminton Grassroots Championships which took place last week. We had done so much in the way of preparation (and Mum seemed to have devoted the last 3 months to our quest for Badminton success!!) so I felt really keyed up and ready to get out and compete. The atmosphere was fab down there and Alfie really seemed to rise to the occasion.

We started out on the first day with our dressage, this is the phase we had focused on the most in terms of training so I was absolutely thrilled with how it all came together on the day. He was totally submissive and I rode a really accurate test, this left us in 11^th place overnight and not far at all off the leading score.

 

After a good night’s sleep (I was remarkable chilled and content with my first day of competition), we went in to the showjumping phase, this is usually Alfie’s strongest phase but I always feel that adds to the pressure as we are expected to go clear. Unfortunately he just had the triple bar down which I have to say was totally rider error – I need to be more decisive!!! This was disappointing as it dropped us down quite a few places but I knew the cross country was proving tough so it was still all to play for.

The cross country course was beautiful, it weaved in and out of the 4* course and passed right in front of Badminton House. Fence 6 was the water where we jumped straight into the Badminton Lake in front of all the marquees which was such a thrill. My ‘support group’ (made up of my brother, my dad and my fiancé) were at the water jump cheering which was lovely. The atmosphere on the course was great with at least 20 people at each fence. Alfie was on top form and jumped round clear with no sticky moments at all, he really showed his maturity. We ended up clawing our way back up to 11^th in the end which I was over the moon with, there were 65 starters and my aim was to finish top 20 so 11^th was great. I think Mum and I were ready to sleep for a week afterwards!

Alfie is now entered for this first Novice at Draycot at the beginning of June which is very exciting so it’s fingers crossed that he will be up for the challenge.

 

I am now trying to focus more time on Herbie (our 5 year old) which is proving fruitful, I took him showjumping training this week and he was fab, he seems to improve every time out. Fingers crossed he will do his first event in June – it doesn’t look like things are going to quieten down!!!

For now though, it’s my best friend’s Hen Weekend so I having a week away from horses to enjoy seeing all my old friends and giving her the send off into married life that she deserves....!

Love Lucinda (and Team!) xx

"YOU FOLLOW THIS LADY ON THE COLOURED HORSE"

Fulmart Feeds Blog – 17.04.13

The first big bit of news is....we’ve been out eventing! We finally managed to get a run out at Breckenbrough Horse Trials (near Thirsk) where we were in the BE100. I was so relieved to get in as I was starting to worry that we wouldn’t get a run before Badminton.

It was a very windy day but Alfie performed really well for his first event of the season, just before we went in to do our dressage the steward called over to Nicola Wilson (Olympic Silver Medallist!) and shouted ‘You follow this lady on the coloured horse’, talk about pressure! Amazingly though, we ended up scoring the exact same dressage score and both went on to produce a double clear inside the time. Nicola ended up beating me as she was closer to the optimum time across country than I was....but I’ll take that!

We ended up 7^th in a very competitive section and I was thrilled that Alfie had come out as keen as he was at the end of last season. It was a great prep run for Badminton and has definitely put my mind at ease.

Herbie (our 5yo) is going really well, Mum has been doing some dressage on him and I have taken him cross country schooling a couple of times. He has really taken to this and seems happy tackling ditches, banks, drops and water. I just need to nail the show jumping and we’ll be away!

We have finally managed to put a new surface down in our arena which is really exciting, we took the old one up a year ago as it was past the point of repair and we were just waiting for a dry week or so to put the new one down...this took over a year! The new surface is now down, thanks to my very supportive dad who has done the whole lot himself so mum and I are both very grateful!!

Finally, I had a phone call from the Yorkshire Post asking if they could do an interview (this was actually through Fulmart Feeds giving them a ‘heads up’ on what we’re doing, so I’m very grateful for that!) The piece was great and we even had a photographer round to take photos of the horses and me. Alfie loved it; he’s such a poser and loved the attention!

It’s just 1 week until we go to Badminton so I’m starting to get really excited now, preparation is going well so I just want to go down, try my best and ultimately enjoy the whole experience!

Best Wishes,

Lucinda (and team!!)

THE WEATHER MAKES LIFE DIFFICULT FOR TEAM CAWOOD

Fulmart Feeds Blog – 27.03.13

 Well, the idea of this blog was to let everyone know how our first event of the year went but unfortunately I’m not able to do this! We were meant to be heading to Stafford Horse Trials last weekend but it was cancelled due to the terrible weather we have all been experiencing. I really feel for the organisers in this situation as so much work goes into the event right up until the day before so to have all of that work with no reward on the day is somewhat soul destroying (especially after all the cancellations last year).

I know it’s the same for everyone but it really is just so depressing and I’m starting to panic a little bit that we won’t get a run before Badminton. Luckily Alfie is pretty laid back and not the sort of horse who needs a lot of outings so it may just be a case of ‘winging it’!!

On a more positive note, he is going really well in training and I even managed to fit in a cross country schooling session on Monday evening which reminded me just how brilliant he is. He was fresh as a daisy and loved every minute of, jumping up and down banks, over ditches etc (we didn’t do any water jump training but I think he’s seen enough water over the past 12 months!)

Herbie is also going well although I haven’t been able to do as much with him as I would have liked to (due to the weather!), my aim is for his first affiliated event to be Bishop Burton at the end of May so I really need to get cracking. We have a packed Easter weekend planned with dressage and showjumping competitions so let’s hope both boys are on their best behaviour!

Little Maple isn’t quite so little anymore (well, as far as Jack Russells go!) but is as cute as ever! She still thinks Alfie is a giant play mate for her and we have some heart stopping moments when she runs underneath him or tries to nibble his hooves but she’s got to learn somehow!

It’s scary to think that my next blog will be just before the big trip down to Badminton but very exciting at the same time, for now it’s a big HAPPY EASTER from everyone at ‘Team Cawood’!

 

LUCINDA CAWOOD - INTRODUCING TEAM CAWOOD

Fulmart Feeds – March Blog

Hi all, my name is Lucinda Cawood and I am thrilled to now be sponsored by Fulmart Feeds, I will be blogging regularly over the next few months to give people an idea of the life of a busy amateur event rider juggling full time work with the highs and lows of the fabulous sport of eventing.

First I will start by introducing ‘Team Cawood’......

 ‘Team Cawood’

My name is Lucinda Cawood, I am a 25 years old amateur event rider from East Yorkshire and with my mum we own Alfie, a 7 year old event horse and Herbie, a 5 year old (potential!) event horse. I have ridden all my life and having progressed through the Middleton Pony Club I went off to uni before deciding to focus on eventing. I work full time in marketing as a product manager and with my mum we own 2 horses, Alfie and Herbie.

Alfie really is the love of my life, having bought him as a just broken 4 year old nearly 3 years ago he really has exceeded all expectations. We have achieved numerous top 5 placings at BE90 and BE100 classes and at the end of 2012 we won the BE90 regional final meaning we are now ‘Badminton Bound’ for the 2013 Grassroots Championships at the beginning of May. We also ended 2012 by buying a lovely 4 year old horse called Herbie whom I aim to event this year.

Next I should definitely introduce my mum, Sharon, who is the glue pulling this all together. As I work full time, Mum is the one who hacks the horses out, meets me at training venues after work, mucks out and does all of the other jobs which mean we can go off and compete all Summer! She is also Herbie’s main rider and does most of the flat work training which she is fab at!

Last but not least is Maple, my 5 month old Jack Russell puppy, I got her just before Christmas and am hoping to take her along to events this Summer providing she can behave herself!! She’s a little bundle of energy and is just so adorable (well I think so anyway!)

Fulmart Feed’s part in ‘Team Cawood’

I have fed Fulmart feeds to my horses for some time now as I tend to need a non-heating product which will build my horses’ condition and offer the stamina needed to compete at affiliated eventing. It has proved perfect for this, especially as Alfie is far too clever for his own good and can become like a hyper teenager on Red Bull if I feed him anything with a cereal grain base!

I am incredibly proud and excited to be associated with Fulmart Feeds going forward and will be blogging regularly to update on my build up to Badminton with Alfie and my progress towards Herbie’s first affiliated event.

It is all systems go in the countdown to Badminton with lots of sessions with Zoe Rymer (my fantastic trainer), Alfie feels fab and I can’t wait to get out to our first event which is Staffordshire Horse Trials on the 23^rd March. Everything feels pretty hectic at the moment especially as I got engaged last week to my lovely boyfriend (or should I say Fiance), Jim!

I’m going to say ‘over and out’ until next time and wish everyone starting their season the best of luck, hopefully we’ll see people out and about over the sunny Summer months!

LUCINDA CAWOOD JOINS THE FULMART TEAM

We are delighted to welcome @lucindacawood to the Fulmart team as our guest blogger.

Lucinda will be writing a blog for us as she prepares for the Badminton Grass Roots Championship in May this year.

Keep up to date with her progress right here on the Fulmart blog.