A BITTER SWEET GOODBYE FOR BOBBYS SWOP

December 2014

Bobbys Swop

This month our focus has been on achieving a couple of double clears that we needed for next summer’s BS regionals.  We've also had a few BD outings for the young horses and lots of training for me.

My very busy summer meant putting some of my clinics on hold so I've spent much of the month catching up with those.  All the horses have settled into our new yard and are really enjoying their down time. This month I said bitter sweet goodbye to Bobby's Swop.  I have thoroughly enjoyed having him in my yard and it was sad to see him go.  I will miss him enormously but I am thrilled that he has been talent spotted by Olympic event rider Aoiffe Clark as an up and coming star for next season, so I'm looking forward to following their progress.

I'm looking forward to the Christmas break and spending some time with friends and family before focusing on the BD regionals at the beginning of February. I will be training very hard and hope to go one better than my last attempt!

We’re heading for another big year in 2015 but for now I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Sam 

LUCIE ROUNDS OFF HER 2014 BLOG WITH A RECAP OF THE YEAR

December Blog

 

It’s nearly Christmas! I absolutely love this time of year, everyone is happy and we all get a bit of a break to recharge the batteries and reflect on the year.

I think it’s important to look back on the year to work out what went well, what didn’t and how you want to approach things in the year ahead. It has been an interesting year for us on the horsey front, my initial plans were to settle Alfie at Novice level with the view to attempting our first 1* and for Herbie to consolidate at BE100 and to qualify for the BE100 Badminton Grassroots Championships.

Whilst Alfie did actually secure his qualification for CIC1*, I just felt it was at the top of his range and after much heartache we decided to part with him. Even though it was hard at the time and also meant my dreams of my first 1* were put on hold for a little while, I know now it was the right decision. He is very happy in his new home and I am getting used to a yard without the little Skewbald pocket rocket!

Herbie has gone from strength to strength this year and has achieved 5 top 6 places out of a total of 9 runs. One of the reasons for selling Alfie was to enable me to spend more time on Herbie and this really paid off at the end of the year with our 2^nd place in the regional final and our qualification for Badminton.

Herbie is now back in work and if yesterday is anything to go by he is very much full of beans! I took him for a hack and he seemed to enjoy himself a little bit more than I did although it did a great job of blowing away the cobwebs.

Our broodmare, Umber is moving ever closer to the end of her pregnancy and is due in March. We are aiming to put her back in foal afterwards so Mum and I are going to the British Stallion Event at Hartpury in January to have a look at potential stallions for her.

I can’t wait for Christmas but I’m also excited for the New Year as we have lots to look forward. For now though I’d like to thank Fulmart Feeds for their support this year which has made a real difference and to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

See you in 2015!

Lucie

A QUIETER NOVEMBER AND A MOVE TO PASTURES NEW.

November 2014

We had lots of people read the October blog with all the gory details of my collision with a tree.  I am pleased to report no bleeding and broken noses this month and it's all healed nicely.  

November is a slow month on the competing side; although we managed to pick up another Blue Chip finals ticket.  I did my last big competition of this year with Dayton at the Petplans finishing 5th in the warm up and 6th in the championship.

The rest of the month has given everyone, human and horse, a little break with some extra TLC from the physio to make sure all the horses can come back well rested and ready for action. 

November's news is that we've moved bases, although we are still in the early stages of getting settled and making sure everyone is happy.

There's some big news to come very soon but we will be keeping you in suspense for a little while yet!  Watch this space.......................

Sam

A REST FROM RIDING AND THE START OF TRUCK DRIVING!

November 2014 

After a very busy season and a full on 2014 in general (what with getting married!) I am now enjoying a lovely break from riding for a few weeks. Herbie has had a very busy season of eventing and is still only 6 so we are keen to make sure he doesn’t do too much. A full time job and horrible dark nights are also an excellent excuse for a bit of ‘feet up’ time!

This said, Herbie hasn't had it as easy as me. Mum also rides Herbie and needed just one more point to qualify him for the Winter Dressage Regional Finals so he still had to do that before he got his holiday! Luckily, Mum and him are a great team and didn’t find it too difficult so that’s all sorted and in the bag. They just needed one more score of 65% or more to secure the qualification and managed to get two scores of 66% so a big well done to them!

Herbie is now having a proper rest before a big year next year with Winter Dressage regionals and Badminton Grassroots Championships both on the horizon.

We have also decided to sell our lorry and buy something slightly bigger with a living area so I am starting the process of taking my HVG lorry test. My husband, Jim, passed his some time ago so is offering plenty of words of wisdom (and also piling on the pressure as he passed first time!). I have passed my medical – probably the easiest bit! – and have now applied for my provisional licence so the next step is to complete the theory test and start learning. More updates on ‘Trucker Lucie’ to follow!!

Our broodmare, Umber, is getting fatter by the day and I’m so looking forward to meeting our little bundle of joy (fingers crossed of course). She is due in March so once we get into 2015 I’m sure it will all come around very quickly indeed. I spend many an hour thinking up potential names for him/her!

For now, I’m going to enjoy the remainder of my little rest before I crack on with some hardcode training for next year!

I hope everyone is keeping well wrapped up in this chilly Winter weather and starting to get in the Festive Spirit!

Best wishes,

Lucie

A MEMORABLE EVENTING SEASON FINISHES WITH A PAINFUL BROKEN NOSE!

October 2014

Not sure where the last month has gone, so my October blog is a little late.

The first week in October ended the event season for me.  We went to Osberton for the 5y/o final with Penhill Promising Vision.  We had a fab day even if I did come home with a broken nose and covered in blood after an altercation with a tree at the gallop!! I managed to finish the course which I was pleased about and learnt a valuable lesson, don't argue with trees they win!! 

We also did the BE event at Bishop Burton with Dayton as his last outing of the season.  We jumped double clear and finished 10th, although it was nice to come home in the same condition that I left in!

With the end of eventing we've been concentrating on showjumping, dressage and training.  We have had a good run with lots of wins and places already in dressage and jumping so we have qualified for everything we have aimed at so far including the BD regionals and the Blue chip championships. 

I have a couple of new rides this month in Kate and Tim Betteridge's Bonus and Paula Milburn's Bobby's Swop and of course we have a whole new bunch of youngsters raring to go!! 

(Bonus wearing our very smart Fulmart Feeds saddle pad!)

Looks like a busy and fun filled winter!!

Sam x

HERBIE QUALIFIES FOR BADMINTON GRASSROOTS 2014

October 2014

It’s always a risk waiting to write my blog until after an event but on this occasion it was the right decision!!

Having sold Alfie in September there has been increased pressure on Herbie to perform as I was feeling as though all my eggs were in one basket! Having had a good start to the season on Herbie we had 3 shots at the BE100 Badminton Grassroots Regional Finals. Our first two attempts didn’t quite come together with just one fence down being the difference between qualifying and not at our first attempt back in August. In the run up to our last regional final mum and I agreed to put lots of work into him and with the invaluable help from my trainer, Zoe Rymer, he has come on significantly. Our regional final was Norton Disney, an event I haven’t been to before. The weather was glorious and the going was great and Herbie rose to the occasion! He performed a beautiful dressage test, had one unlucky fence down in the showjumping – but jumped really nicely - and was clear cross country inside the time. It turned out his dressage test was so nice that the one fence down made no difference at all and left us in second place and with that all important ticket to the Championships at Badminton next May.

Herbie’s only 6 years old and is still maturing so I wasn’t sure if this was a year too early for him but having a goal like a regional final is great to focus your mind and put the hours in and means you can achieve real progress.

Having competed in the Championships at Badminton in the BE90 on Alfie in 2013 not only do I have a good idea of what is required from us but I also know what an exciting experience the whole thing will be and it’s lovely to be taking another home produced horse.

Now that the season is officially over it’s time to light the fire, put on the woolly socks and hibernate for a couple of months! Herbie will also get a very well-earned rest ready for us to come out fighting fit next year!

Lucie

FAREWELL TO MY STABLE STAR

September 2014

A lot has happened since my last Fulmart Feeds blog, most notably, we have sold Alfie. I still can’t believe it. I have spent the past 4 years saying ‘we will never sell him’ and referring to him as ‘Alfie the Wonder Horse’! It was such a heart breaking decision and one that mum and I did not take lightly. We bought him as a very green 4 year old and in that time have progressed through BE90s, BE100s and up to Novice level with some fabulous results along the way. These include winning the BE 90 Regional Final and ending up 11^th at the Badminton Grassroots Championships and numerous other wins and placings. He really is a true amateur’s fun horse so we made the decision to let him go and have lots of fun being a super star for someone else! A friend said to me that sometimes in life the right decisions aren’t necessarily the easy ones and I think they were right!

For now this means I can concentrate on Herbie who I believe has lots of potential and hasn't always had the training he needs as I have been splitting my time between both horses whilst also juggling my job.  Herbie’s first outing since Alfie’s departure was last weekend where he did the BE100+ at Frickley Hall. This means novice level dressage, novice level showjumping and BE100 level cross country. It’s a good opportunity for horses to be stretched in the first two phases but then have an easier cross country round before moving up to Novice properly. Herbie performed really well with a fab dressage of 29.5, 2 down showjumping and clear cross country inside the time. Although he had 2 fences down in the showjumping I was pleased with him as he is still developing in this phase and with the fences considerably bigger than BE100 I felt he coped really well.   

Next stop is my last regional final on Herbie (at Aske) and then probably one more event before finishing the season. I also have a cross country lesson with Nicola Wilson on Monday at Allerton Park which I’m really looking forward to and will give me the chance to test Herbie out over a bigger track.

Finally, our brood mare was at the Stud this week for her final scan before Winter which all went well, we were told her foal is currently the size of a cat which makes me very excited indeed!!

Best wishes,

Lucie

BURGHLEY YOUNG EVENT HORSE COMPETITION LEAVES SAM SPEECHLESS

September 2014

What a month!

We had our first stay out in the lorry at the British showjumping Scope Festival. The week didn't start as planned, Cornets Steal was shell shocked in the huge arena in the first qualifier and then the next day it was rained off.  Luckily it was '3rd time lucky' and we won a 3rd prize in the second qualifier which qualified us for the championship.   Cornet's Steal jumped a super round and although no prizes finished in the top 20 4y/o in the country.

Richmond was next and my first ever BE Novice on Carol Elton's Penhill Promising Vision, it was also his first attempt.  We were definitely respectable but lots to work to do for next season after having 2 poles down showjumping and a clear XC but a few time penalties.  Dayton, on the other hand was not such a good boy; after a perfect dressage and XC a stupid spook showjumping resulted in a pole down leaving us in 5th!

Burghley came next and what an awesome day!  It was my first ever ride in this final riding against very strong competition.  I am never speechless but this was a first - it was overwhelming to win and the biggest win of my career so far.  Rachael Evison's Ebolensky was just a superstar, even though she showed her exuberance in the lorry park before the class! My own Cornets Steal was great again in the 4y/o section just missing the top 10 by half a mark and to complete the day one of my former horses Fullham, owned by Sharon Bayston and ridden by Rosalind Canter won the 4y/o.  Our celebrations lasted all weekend! 

I've had a few days away from the yard this month.  The first was a visit to my first ever Futurity grading with Kate Betteridge and her lovely foal Jorvik Star.  "Joey" as he's known at home was awarded elite status and went on to be the highest placed foal in the country.

Like most people with horses, weekends away are far and few between but we did manage to grab a weekend in London sight seeing with a little bit of shopping, but just had to finish the day off watching at Global Champions Tour. 

The next few weeks I will be spending time breaking some of our babies for next year.  Two are coming along well but my favorite is fast becoming my nightmare, she just doesn't seem to like me as much once I'm in the saddle!

That's it for this month.

Sam

NO BADMINTON GRASS ROOTS TICKET FOR US THIS YEAR.................

AUGUST 2014

(Pictures courtesy of Nick Gill Photography)

It’s been a busy few weeks with the horses and with a further 5 entries already in, we’re having a big push in the lead up to the end of the season.

Following a nice run at Frickley Park back in July, Alfie headed off to Skipton with a move back up to novice level and Herbie headed to Bold Heath for his first attempt at a BE100 regional final.

Alfie performed really well at Skipton, he did a lovely dressage test to score 31.5 (which included a buck in the middle…very out of character!), he then had a fence down in the showjumping and jumped a lovely clear cross country. We had quite a lot of time faults as I wanted to make sure we had plenty left in the tank near the end but I was really delighted with him.

Herbie’s regional final at Bold Heath was a bit of a mixed day. I thought he did a reasonable dressage test, had one down showjumping and a steady clear cross country but the reality was, he did a pretty good dressage test, one down showjumping and clear cross country inside the time. This left him 14^th with the one fence down costing us over 10 places and ultimately that very precious qualification ticket! Badminton Grassroots Championships is a fabulous event and it wouldn’t be so special if it was easy to qualify. Sport is full of ‘what ifs’ and it doesn’t do you any good to dwell on them so it’s onwards and upwards in an attempt to go one better in our next regional final!

Herbie is also going to Prestwold to do the BE100 so we will be busy next weekend and I’m hopeful they will both perform well.

In the meantime, I’m praying for good weather so Jim can get on harvesting.  Why is it June and July are so hot and August ends up being a wash out?! We needed a bit of rain to soften the ground up but we’ve had what we need now so I’m hoping for the sun to come back out.

Hopefully by the time of my next blog, all will be safely gathered in and I will have a happy husband!

Lucie xx

THREE BURGHLEY QUALIFIERS ALL IN ONE MONTH!

I’ve been frantically busy in July, which is a great month for competitions, which means I’m a bit like a kid in a sweet shop – I just don’t know which to choose!

 We kicked off with some training shows at Arena UK for BSJA and then Manor Grange for BD all the horses went exceptionally well and won prizes. 

I spent my birthday Stafford Horse Trails with the 4y/o and 5 y/o qualifiers.  Caresino won his qualifier, and Promising Vision was 2nd in the 5y/o also qualifying.  What a great birthday present!  

The best birthday present came at Field House where I picked up my first ever Burghley ticket on Promising Vision in the BYEH 5y/o. I’m so thrilled to have qualified and Burghley cannot come soon enough!

Frickley Horse Trials next. We started well with Rachael Evision’s Joker coming 2nd in his first event.  However, I took a tumble from Grace on the cross country – which was very annoying given that I was in the lead and the error occurred on a simple fence 4 from home.  That prompted the purchase of my bright pink air jacket that my lovely groom Jess kindly pointed out makes me look like a bright pink turtle!  Promise saved the day with a lovely double clear and finished 3rd in his section, so despite my bruises and dented pride all in all it was a good day out.

I had a full day eventing at Breckenbrough and my first ever BE wins courtesy of Dayton in the BE90 and Grace in the BE100 (forgiven for face planting me at Frickley) I also got my best ever dressage score of 19.5!

Huby and Sutton Show followed and then Arena UK to give the babies experience BSJA.  Then it was off to Ryedale Show for my last chance BYEH qualifiers.  I was thoroughly delighted and surprised to get two more tickets to Burghley.  I’m beginning to think the tickets are a bit like , buses, you wait a year for one then 3 come at once; Rachael Evision’s amazing 5y/o Ebolensky got 2nd in the 5y/o and my own Cornets Steal won the 4y/o with Etasja and First Caresino both getting a prize as well. 

At the beginning of August we went to Skipton.  Unfortunately Grace was under the weather so couldn't compete in the 5y/o but Penhill Promising Vision finished 4th in his section on Saturday and on Sunday First Caresino finished with another win in the 4y/o qualifier.  Joker won his section helping me get the £150 winner accumulator prize.

On Tuesday I went to my first ever BD regionals.  My owner’s Bev and Josie talked me into it, although I honestly did not think we stood even a small chance, but First Caresino pulled it out again to finish 2nd out of nearly 60 and qualify for the BD National Championships.  Dayton also finished in 10^th.  What an experience the regionals were, I don't think I have ever been to such a peaceful show but the atmosphere in the ring was electric for the horses, it was pretty amazing.

I did manage a rare day off to visit the Yorkshire Show and as well as doing some retail therapy I loved watching one of my favourite classes; The Cock of the North.  It’s on my bucket list to ride in this one day.

I'm off to Shelford next before having a short but well-earned weekend away in London.   After that I'm planning on a couple of quiet weeks training and chilling before the action of all the championships in one month kicks in.

Sam

AFTER A WEDDING BREAK ITS BACK TO BUSINESS FOR TEAM "STEPHENSON"

July 2014

A lot seems to have happened since my last blog back in June, notably, I got married!! We had such an amazing day with friends and family and my first pony who is the same age as me made a surprise guest appearance which was just fabulous! Since then I have had 2 weeks away on honeymoon but am now back and busier than ever with the horses.

Frickley Park was our first event since the break and holds a special place in my heart as this is where we won our regional final qualifying for Badminton last year. Both horses were in the BE100 as a nice run to get us back in the swing of things. Alfie was on first and never put a foot wrong all day, he did a lovely test to score 31.5 and then posted a double clear inside the time to finish 3^rd. I was really pleased with him as he jumped his socks off and now feels ready for his step back up to novice at Skipton in 2 weeks’ time.

Herbie was a good boy on the whole with a solid dressage (also scoring 31.5). He then when onto the showjumping phase where he jumped the first four fences well, he then had fence 5 down which caused him to spook and run down to the double which was on a related distance and had both parts of that down. We then regrouped and jumped the final 3 fences nicely. Unfortunately this meant 12 faults which was frustrating but he is still young and hasn’t been out eventing since Bishop Burton in May. He redeemed himself by jumping a nice clear cross country but was obviously out of the placings. We had a really good day at Frickley and the event is really lovely, definitely a place we will be visiting again.

In addition to the horses I have also been dabbling in a bit of dog showing! I decided to enter my gorgeous Jack Russell, Maple, in the dog classes at Bishop Wilton Show. We had so much fun and won 3 rosettes!! Maple wasn’t so impressed with being paraded around so I can’t see her making a career out of it!

On the horse front, Alfie is now entered in the Novice at Skipton in 2 weeks’ time and Herbie has his first BE100 regional final at Bold Heath the following week so we’re all systems go on the training front.

Lucie xx

SAM JIMMISON - A NEW RECRUIT JOINS SJ HORSES AND PONIES AND WE GET SOME NEW WHEELS

Lots to write about this month.

We had a fab trip to Bramham.  All 6 of my rides went well with 2 in the top 10 of the 4y/o and Grace finishing 7th in the 5y/o.

Bramham was followed by dressage at Manor Grange, where I won the two prelims on the one to watch; First Caresino and Dayton did his first novice tests finishing 2nd in the first and he won the second.

Skipton followed with some BE; Grace finished 3rd with a double clear in her section and Dayton was 2nd in his section with a great double clear. I took 3 horses to Speetley;  Etasja, Carnroe Lady and Alexia and they all went double clear and finished in the prize money.

We did a bit of stress less dressage to start off some new babies and from a class of 7 all won a prize.  Even our new stable star, Dayton, did his first elementary and won, with a massive 74% score. 

Then it was Eland Lodge BE, Dayton was 2nd again and my new ride Penhill promising vision finished 8th.

Some good news but also a little sad, my very talented 4y/o Florina was spotted at Bramham and is now sold. We waved her off to her new home a couple of weeks ago so with money burning a hole in my pocket there will be a new 3y/o on the block very soon! 

Esmeralda a 5y/o I sold recently jumped a great triple clear to qualify for the British novice final, she is now owned by a good friend, which is great because I train both her and her new owner, so I get to play a part in her continued progress.  

On the yard side of things we have a new recruit at SJ Horses and Ponies - Jess has been friends with us for years and joins the team on a permanent basis.  We’ve grown so much over the past couple of years that we needed an extra pair of hands.  Jess has been looking for a job, so it worked out perfectly for us all.  Jess's first outing on the team couldn't have gone better, wining prizes on all three of her rides.  Jess has her own horse Vivaldo who she also competes so we are looking forward to a fun filled summer as a team.

My business partner Bev purchased a new HGV 5 horse lorry in June.  We are thrilled to have a bit of luxury to travel in for both us and the horses... and Millie the Jack Russell.

It’s been a busy and exciting few weeks and I’m sure it’s set to continue!

Sam

A RESPECTABLE 6TH AT A VERY WET BISHOP BURTON

 June 2014

 Well, this is my last blog before the wedding and my last blog as a ‘Cawood’!!

Since my last blog I have remained busy with the horses and Herbie had a run at Bishop Burton at the end of May. Unfortunately the weather was terrible and it rained pretty much constantly for the whole two days of competition. Herbie was in the BE100 which was his 3^rd event of the year. He did a very respectable dressage of 32.5 and a beautiful clear in the showjumping which was lovely as I’ve worked hard on this phase and he is continually improving. The cross country was relatively straight forward but the going was deteriorating quickly so I was thrilled that he got stuck in and went round clear. We added 6 time penalties to our dressage score as the ground was holding and he’s relatively inexperienced so I didn’t hammer him round. This left him in 6^th place meaning he has been placed in all 3 of his starts this year….not a bad record! I had decided to give Alfie that weekend off which paid dividend as he doesn’t like very wet going so no doubt I would have been in a difficult position deciding whether to withdraw him.

I will have one last run on Alfie before the wedding which will be Skipton this weekend. It’s one of my favourite events and I would like to move him back up to novice for the August Skipton fixture so it will be a nice prep run. Plus, I can’t think of a nicer way to take my mind off the stress of planning a wedding than eventing Alfie!

I had a jumping lesson with Zoe on both horses earlier this week where she really pushed us and I was thrilled to see both horse cope well with bigger tracks so hopefully this bodes well for the rest of the season.

Once I’m back from honeymoon I have my sights set on getting Herbie qualified for Badminton Grassroots and Alfie moving back up to novice level so it’s all systems go! In the meantime I’m hoping the sun will continue to shine (both for equestrian and wedding activities!)

Best Wishes,

Team Cawood

SAM JIMMISON GIVES HER FIRST UPDATE AS PART OF THE FULMART FEEDS TEAM

Hi Everyone

This is my first blog for my new sponsor, Fulmart Feeds.  I will be giving regular updates on what’s been happening in my yard.

We had a great trip to Badminton in May, finishing  9th in the 4y/o on Cornets Steal and 4th in a huge 5y/o on Grace VIII.   4y/o First Caresino won 4 British Dressage prelims on the trot with 74%+ scores and got a write up in Horse and Hound.  He went on to finish 2nd in the BYEH qualifier at Warren Farm, Chatsworth with my other horse,  Grace, finished 6th – so I was delighted with how well things went at Badminton.   

I did my first BE this year at Bishop Burton and finished 3rd then did and unaffiliated event at Shelford on the babies, Dayton, Florina and First Caresino, with each horse finishing respectably giving me some things to work on but pleasing start to their event careers.

We have bought 4 new horses recently and Im looking forward to getting them started, although one has been snapped up already and has gone to her new home!   I have been sent a gorgeous new 5y/o to ride, he is called Penhills promising vision and is owned by Carole Elton.

To keep up to date with what’s happening at Sam Jimmison horses and ponies – follow me on twitter or Facebook for regular updates.

Sam 

SUCCESSFUL DRESSAGE LEADS TO A 4TH PLACE AT WARWICK HALL, CUMBRIA

May 2014

Well, May is upon us and the weather looks set to improve, I’ve already cleaned the BBQ in anticipation!

Since my last blog, both horses have been out competing at a new event in Cumbria, Warwick Hall. It was a long journey up there (3 hours each way) but well worth it as the event was really well organised in lovely park land and the going was perfect. Whilst the day had ups and downs, on the whole I came away incredibly positive.

Both Herbie and Alfie did fabulous dressage tests to leave Herbie the stand out leader in his section and Alfie in second place by half a mark. The showjumping was up to height and with plenty to look at with tradestands and music around the arena. Herbie jumped really nicely and just had one fence down (rider error!) and Alfie had an uncharacteristic two fences down which was a shame. As the scores weren’t out at the time of me setting off cross country I decided to ride them both sensibly and according to their experience. Alfie flew round clear with just 0.4 of a time fault which left him 9^th (a good placing to say we had two fences down!) and Herbie gave me a super clear round with 4 time faults to add. I probably could have gone faster on him but as he’s so rangey and inexperienced I like to give him time at his fences to make sure we are accurate.

Little did I know that even with our fence down in the showjumping, Herbie was STILL in the lead going into the cross country phase. Unfortunately the time faults dropped us down to 4^th but I was so thrilled with such a stand out dressage, one silly fence down showjumping and a clear cross country.

My auntie Hayley came with us to help which meant we had a lovely fun day which was helped by both horses performing really nicely. Hopefully it wasn’t too hard work and she might just come again!

Next it’s a trip to Bishop Burton for Herbie at the end of May and then a well-earned rest for them both whilst I concentrate on getting married!

I hope everyone enjoys this much needed sunshine.

Best Wishes,

Team Cawood

A GOOD START TO THE SEASON, A STUD VISIT FOR OUR BROODMARE AND 8 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE WEDDING!

April 2014

I’m back at work after a lovely Easter break and with a lot going on over the next few weeks.

Last week we took our broodmare to the stud to be inseminated so now is a very tense time waiting to see if she is in foal. We have a used a lovely stallion called Wish Upon A Star who stands at the Graffam Stud. Mum did breed a foal some years ago but as technology has changed a lot we have found the process really interesting and insightful….I think mum has got the bug for it! I will keep everyone updated as to how things have gone but for now it is a case of crossing our fingers and toes!

Last weekend I took both boys out eventing to Breckenbrough Horse Trials, it was Herbie’s first event of the season and Alfie’s first novice of the season. Herbie was on first and was an absolute super star! He did a beautiful dressage followed by a double clear with just two time faults in the xc phase, leaving us 3^rd. It was great to see all of the hard work we've done with him over winter starting to pay off and I am very excited about the rest of the season with him! He’s a big rangey horse and still only rising 6 but I think he has all of the ingredients to make a great event horse.

It was almost a perfect day at Breckenbrough when Alfie also did a truly beautiful dressage test to leave him lying 2^nd and then a clear in the showjumping meant it was all to play for. Unfortunately he found the big bold cross country course a bit step up from his last couple of runs and just went a bit green on me, glancing off at the second part of a couple of the more tricky combinations. It was a real shame but it showed me that he needs more time cross country schooling and I can’t take him for granted. He went so well at the end of last season and I think he thrives on having lots of runs so I’ve got my entries in and hope his confidence will grow.

Our next trip will be to the new event, Warwick Hall in Cumbria next weekend so it’s all systems go at the moment. I have a cross country schooling session on both of them this evening which is always fun!

The wedding is 8 weeks away so excitement is mounting, Jim goes on his Stag Do in a couple of weeks and spent the Easter weekend ‘in training’ for it…..!!

Best Wishes,

Team Cawood

THINGS ON THE UP AFTER A SHAKY START TO THE SEASON

April 2014

Well apparently it’s spring but I’m not seeing too many signs of this outside!!  Following my disastrous start to the season, things have started to look up! Alfie and I trucked off to Lincoln the week after Oasby and had a far better day. He was a little full of it having been munching on the Spring grass so his dressage test wasn’t the best but with just one down in the showjumping and a clear cross country I felt we put our falls behind us which was nice. I then took him affiliated showjumping to one of our local centres the following week and we were second in a competitive Discovery class with a lovely double clear so he’s back in my good books!

 

Herbie also came showjumping with us and jumped a lovely clear round in the British Novice which was nice. Both horses are now entered for Breckenbrough Horse Trials which will be Herbie’s first affiliated event of the season and Alfie’s first Novice of the season. It will be lovely to get back out and will hopefully give us a good footing to crack on with the rest of the season.

I have been working really hard on Alfie’s dressage over the past few weeks and he is showing some fabulous progression. We have been working on shoulder in, travers, counter canter etc which is lovely as these are by far the most complicated movements I have tackled so far. Zoe (my trainer) and I have had some fab sessions working on this so I’m hoping to wow the dressage judges next time out!

In other exciting news, we now have a broodmare called Umber who we are hoping to breed a foal from next year so we are currently back and forth to the vets and frantically studying potential matches for her. I’m sure it’s a bit of a lottery but it’s very exciting watching all of the stallion videos and wondering what a foal might turn out like so we’re crossing everything that it all goes to plan.

Maple is doing OK although her recovery has been far from plain sailing but I think we are on the road to recovery now. She is desperate to get out eventing with us and says I wouldn’t have had my falls if she had been there to give me a pep talk!!

We get married in 11 weeks so I had my hen do last weekend which was fabulous! It was nice to get away for the weekend and let my hair down and has made the wedding feel very soon indeed!

I think this next few months could be very hectic indeed but it’s all good fun and keeps me out of trouble!

A POORLY DOG AND DENTED PRIDE

I have had Alfie for 4 years and have always been proud of the fact I had never fallen off him, that is until I fell off him two weekends in a row!!

At the end of Feb, with our first event of the season looming we decided to head off to Bishop Burton affiliated showjumping for a final prep. The day was set to be a disaster from the start, while I was putting Alfie on the lorry my gorgeous little Jack Russell, Maple, decided to run off chasing a rabbit round the farm and in the process ran straight out of the wood, onto the road and got hit by a car. I was absolutely devastated when the man in the car came into the yard to tell me and was so utterly relieved to find her alive, albeit with a broken leg. We got her straight to the vets to find she had a bad break but everything else was ok. The leg needed pinning but hopefully she would be ok. The whole thing was horrible and made me realise even more just how much I love her.

As Maple was OK and on cage rest for the remainder of the weekend mum and I decided to head off to Bishop Burton to help take my mind off it…I should have known this was a bad idea! I took Alfie in the 1.05m class and having jumped the first 4 fences beautifully; I dithered coming down a distance causing him to crash through the fence and fling me off against the arena boards. Fortunately Alfie and I were both OK but my pride was significantly dented with the long walk out of the arena!! In order to get our confidence back we decided to go back on the Sunday and Alfie showed what he’s made of by winning the British Novice. It was a nice sweetener for us and meant I felt better prepared for Oasby Horse Trials the following week.

One week on we headed off for Oasby feeling positive and ready. Alfie performed a lovely dressage test leaving us in provisional second place and then built on this by jumping clear in the showjumping. It was all to play for going into the cross country phase and with Alfie being so consistent in this phase I was really excited at the thought of a top 5 finish at our first event of the season. That is until I managed to get him in too deep the corner 5 from home and come off him…..again!!   It was the first time my air jacket has gone off and I wondered what the heck it was!! As we were both ok I was allowed to get back on and complete, which was nice and meant I could make sure he was OK and hadn’t dented his confidence too much.

Both of these incidents have reminded me that Alfie is not a machine and he still needs riding properly in order to get the best out of him. We are now entered at Lincoln this weekend so I am looking forward to the opportunity to put things right. Hopefully it was a one off and we will be back on track in no time!

Maple is doing well but is sick to death of having to wear the cone on her head to stop her licking her stitches. Hopefully she will be back at full strength and causing havoc soon!

Herbie is going really well, Mum has had some fabulous BD results with 4 wins out of 4 in her last two outings and he is also jumping well with me at home. Mum’s increased knowledge of what makes him tick is meaning she can really help me with him which is great. The plan is to get him out eventing in April and build towards the Grassroots Regional Finals later in the year.

For now the plan is to stay firmly in the saddle and enjoy this lovely Spring weather we are experiencing!

Best Wishes,

Lucinda (and team)

A GREAT RESULT FOR HERBIE AND FACETIME FOR MAPLE

January 2014

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I absolutely love Christmas time but I also love January, when everything reopens and I can get a firm plan in place for the year ahead. 2013 was a really good year for us so I am really hoping I can build on that in order to make 2014 even better.

My aim with Alfie is to do the CIC1* at Chatsworth in May so for this reason the plan was to give him a rest at the end of last season then have him ticking over during November and December so that come January I could build up his fitness and get him out showjumping and doing dressage. At the moment this is going to plan and I am making the use of the one spot light we have in the arena in order to ride after work. He wasn’t at all sure about the shadows to start with but he seems to have gotten used to them now! I have entered the British Eventing Jumping and Style (JAS) competition at Bishop Burton at the end of January so I’m really looking forward to that. We did this competition last year and would have won had I not missed out the last fence so I’m hoping to put this right this year!! Schedules are published for the first few months of the season and entries are about to open so I’m very excited to get cracking.

I have also booked onto an eventing prep session with Helen Bell at Breckenbrough later this month which I am hoping will help me ensure both horses are suitably fit and ready to go come March. I am conscious that stepping up to 1* needs that extra level of fitness so I want to ensure we are ready.

Mum has been going great guns with Herbie; competing in her first affiliated dressage competition she took home two second placings which is fab considering she has never competed in affiliated dressage before and Herbie is only 5 (rising 6 this year). The pressure will be on me this year to live up to Mum’s high standards with him!

I am house sitting this week for mum and dad which means Herbie is at ‘Boot Camp’ (this is the name both horses give to my trainer, Zoe Rymer’s yard!) and Alfie is being ridden by me every day - much to his annoyance! Being at mum and dad’s for the week means I really miss Maple (as she has stayed at home with Jim) so she stole Jim’s phone last night and rung me, she even managed to use Facetime (phone call when you can see each other on the screen) – OK, so she might have had some help from Jim but it was very cute and we had a lovely catch up!!

For now I am praying that the cold weather stays away and that the approach of the start of the season continues to run smoothly. Hopefully I will see people out and about over the coming months.

Best wishes,

‘Team Cawood’

TEAM CAWOOD HAVE BEEN TRYING OUR NEW EQUIBLOX. Find out what Lucinda, Herbie and Alfie think of our new compressed forage block.

Being a guest blogger for Fulmart Feeds certainly has its advantages, one of which is the opportunity to try out new products such as the Equiblox. I have two event horses who thrive on attention and the fact that I work full time means they have to occupy themselves for the best part of the day.

For Herbie this means hassling Alfie all day over the stable door or fence in the field and picking up anything he can get his teeth into (head collars, rugs, wheel barrow….the list is endless!) and for Alfie it is all about doing what he can to get rid of Herbie (as he prefers the easy life!). Equiblox have been a great addition as they can last for a whole morning so I know the boys are occupied whilst I’m at work.

As the horses have to be super fit to go eventing but also have to be calm enough to go out and perform a dressage test I am very fussy about the heating properties in the feed I give them (which is the reason they are both on Chill Out Condition Cubes). Equiblox are an ideal addition to their daily feed as they have low sugar content and no added molasses so are non-heating. There is also a High-Fibre variant which is great for horses who gain weight easily.

I would absolutely recommend the Equiblox as a way of occupying horses without giving them sugary treats and Alfie and Herbie can certainly vouch for them tasting nice!!