Herbie joins the herd!

November Blog 

As with most event riders, November is a bit of a quiet month. Herbie had a really busy season combining his eventing duties with his dancing (dressage) duties so was ready for a proper rest.

We started off turning him out in the paddock but he refused to settle and it didn’t seem as though he was getting the chill out time he needed so in the end we took the plunge to turn him out in the big dales with the foal and her companion. Having spent the last 7 months mesmerised by the foal over the fence we were worried his obsession would take a dramatic turn and one or other of them would end up hurt but given he was in danger of hurting himself on his own anyway we decided to bite the bullet!

We boxed him up and drove him down there, led him out, let him go and closed our eyes. He cantered over to the foal, had a good old sniff and put his head down to eat and this is exactly what he has done for the past month! This has taught me a valuable lesson, horses are herd animals and are happy as Larry in a bigger group with plenty of space just doing their own thing.

Now that he has had some proper chill out time we are starting to think about next year’s campaign. He is having his ballet shoes put on next week and will then start the fittening work which is required to get him up and running ready for the dressage regional finals next February. I like starting the year off with dressage as it gets the horse supple and strong before you introduce the jumping, it also reminds them of a bit of discipline which is never a bad thing after two months in the field! No doubt Herbie will be full of beans to be back out and about but frankly…so will I!

Until then, enjoy the lead up to Christmas….it’s without doubt my favourite time of the year!

Lucie

Burghley disappointment but Badminton Grass Roots qualification assured for 2016.

After what has been my busiest but best season yet things have started to quieten down a little now so it's great to be able to catch up!

The last couple of months have been exceptionally busy.  September kicked off at Burghley, although it was a fabulous day out, we didn't get the dream result we would have liked.  Farah was a very good girl but after a minor injury on the Monday it looked unlikely she would go but thankfully her owners quick thinking meant we managed to get her there.  She was a bit hot because she hadn't done any preparation work that week to gain the dressage mark we would have liked.  However, she jumped her heart out on  the biggest course she has seen and definitely the most difficult, but she rose to the challenge and jumped an immaculate clear round, one of few that day.  It was quite nice to have time to walk the course, something I have never done, it was enormous! And of course there was lots of shopping!

After Burghley, it was all stations go with the showjumpers for 3 days at Bury Farm.  Ebolensky, Zaronda, Carlensky and Scylla D'Ouilly all were exceptional and all finished in the prizes in the Grand Prix.  Carlensky finished second and Scylla D'Ouilly won making it 3 wins in 3 classes in 3 days.  Scylla then went on to show how awesome and versatile she is after only two days at home we took her to Frickley park to the BE.  It was a very tough class but she excelled and won again after a brilliant dressage score of 26 and a fabulous double clear jumping.

Jumping for me then went on stand by, with nationals less than a week away it was time to focus on dressage with Dayton. I had such a good time and learnt so much in this period.  The BD nationals was a fabulous experience and I was a little disappointed not to make the top 10, particularly as Dayton was brilliant.  We both gave it 100% and I came away happy feeling that neither of us could have done any more.  The experience has definitely made me determined that I want to qualify again and work towards winning a prize next time.

The following week I was thrilled to get the jumping saddle out for the last jumping championships this season.  Ebolensky was fabulous finishing 7th in the Foxhunter Grand Prix and Zaronda gave me a top 15 finish in the 130 Grand Prix against some of the top names in the business.  I really could not have asked for better results at the end of what has been a packed season.  What is really nice is that all the horses are still running with a smile on their face and they are feeling great.

With one event left to go before my holiday I really had to keep focused, even packing for my holiday went on hold until after the event. Bishop Burton were running our final chance to qualify for Badminton Grass Roots finals.  For Dayton to qualify this final it would mean a lot to everyone involved and I didn't want to let anyone down.  After not seeing a fence for 3 months it's fair to say that he was rather excited and after have break failure on our schooling session his owner was a touch worried!  When he heard the loud speaker he was ecstatic! Luckily he held his excitement in for the dressage and posted one of our best ever scores of 23.  He jumped a scorching double clear but to keep us biting our nails we manged to collect a cross country time penalty - not because I was in my usual slow form, this time our penalty was for going to fast!! Luck was in our side though and with his dressage score being so good we finished 2nd so we are now Badminton bound in the spring! 

Scylla D'Ouilly also put in a top performance in her first BE100 run.  She finished 4th, it was definitely sack the jockey day though as I only went and forgot my dressage test, I was mortified! She is such a great jumper and flew double clear, pulling us up the order.  She has taken so well to eventing and is so reliable - I'm looking forward to campaigning her next season. 

The following morning it was such a treat to be boarding the plane and heading off with Charlie and Neil to Cyprus for 10 days of sunshine. We had a the most amazing time and loved every single minute.  It's been none stop since Charlie arrived, so it was nice to sit back and relax.  While I was away all the horses had a break and enjoyed some much deserved field time. Now Im back and ready for our winter adventures.   All the horses clipped, shod and  back in full work and my main aim over the winter is to improve my dressage.  I really would like to qualify for the regionals on some of my younger up and coming horses and then if my fairytale comes true I would love another chance at a BD nationals!! I have a couple that I think could be good enough but time will tell, if nothing else the training will help us next season and be good preparation.

Sam x

Herbie finishes in the top 10 at Aske in his first competition under international rules

Last time I wrote we were trying to get the last bit of harvesting done and I wasn’t allowed to put the heating on until we were done. Well, I’m pleased to say we got finished and I’ve now got the heating whacked up on full blast and I’m happily cooking away!

In my last blog I talked about the build up to our penultimate event of the season, the novice at Allerton Park and our final event of the season, the CIC1* at Aske. I’m pleased to say that both went pretty well!

Having moved Herbie up to novice earlier in the season, he took a couple of events to establish himself but he really came into his own towards the end. He was second at Richmond and then followed that up with a 6^th at Allerton Park. This proved great preparation for the 1* and we headed up to Aske knowing we’d done all we could. It was my first event under international rules and was a mixture of being both exciting and daunting! We decided to stable up at Aske so as to take off the pressure and give Herbie a nice easy night without having to travel back and forth. We did our dressage on the Friday and it was truly fabulous to ride in a long arena in my tailcoat! We did a good test, I managed all of the sitting trot and Herbie really stayed with me. I loved riding up the centre line in all my gear and breathing it all in. My aim was to post a score in the 40’s so a 48.4 to leave us in 10^th place was great.

Mum and I then made Herbie comfy for the night, grabbed some tea and bedded down for the night, knowing we had a busy day ahead of us! Saturday started with showjumping and the tricky course on undulating ground was causing plenty of problems. Herbie jumped his little socks off but unfortunately managed to lower two poles (one of them being the last fence which I’m taking full responsibility for!), this said, it was a tough course and 2 down round our first track of that size was a good result. Then for the cross country!

I’d walked the course with my long time trainer (and general mentor!), Zoe Rymer. She had given me a clear idea of what I needed to do although I do admit to a quick dash to her lorry for some last minute advice when I heard the course was causing so many problems! Fences 4 and 17 were proving particularly influential so it was nice to leave the start box knowing exactly what I needed to do. Herbie was brilliant! He flew round, listening to me when he needed to and giving me lots of confidence that he knew the job. He found the increase in height, technicality and distance well within his capabilities and I’m not ashamed to say I had a lump in my throat when we crossed the finish line!

This solid performance meant we squeezed into the top 10 (in 10^th place!). A top 10 finish in our first competition under international rules gave me a great end to a great season.

We then quickly slotted in a visit to a dressage competition to secure our qualification for the winter regionals (not till Feb 2016) before he had his shoes taken off. He is now enjoying time in the field, telling our little foal, Ginny Rumber all about his eventing adventures….I hope she’s listening carefully!

Thank you to Nick Gill for the photographs.

Lucie 

Herbie qualifies for Corinthian Cup at Gatcombe in 2016

As I sit here writing we are just about to head out and finish our last bit of harvesting, it’s been a tough Summer on that front and seems strange to still have corn in the field this late on in September, especially when I’m not allowed to put the heating on until harvest is over!!

Herbie suited and booted

Since my last blog Herbie and I competed in the Novice at Richmond Horse Trials, I’ve had a trip to Burghley (spectating and shopping!) and a trip to Ireland to Goresbridge Horse Sales.

I headed to Richmond off the back of a good run at Somerford Park and I really felt Herbie had benefited from the trip. At Richmond he posted a great dressage of 25.5 to put us about 3 marks ahead of the rest of the field. His dressage has been consistently strong recently so I knew the work was to do over the coloured poles. He jumped really well and just rolled one pole leaving us right up there which was great. He then stormed round the cross country with just 3 time faults to end up second. I was absolutely chuffed to bits and this also means we have qualified for the Corinthian Cup at Gatcombe next year!

Richmond Presentation

We head off to Allerton Park this weekend and then straight up to Aske the following weekend for our first CIC1*. I’m super excited to be tackling our first event under international rules and will be sure to update on how we get on.

Our trip to Goresbridge Horse Sales was a real eye opener and something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. We spent two days looking at over 300 horses and if I’m totally honest it was quite daunting! They were all 3 year olds so they loose jumped, were trotted up and then went in the sale ring. Unfortunately we didn’t end up coming back with anything, we picked one out on the second day but it showed up a small issue during the vetting so unfortunately we came home empty handed. This said, it was fantastic to look at that many horses and it really improves your ability to spot things and weigh up what you do and don’t like in a potential horse, definitely something I’d recommend!

I’ve got a busy couple of weeks before we hibernate for the winter so I hope Herbie is ready to turn up the heat and perform his little socks off before a well-deserved holiday!

Best wishes to everyone else who is coming to the end of their season.

Lucie

A little pocket rocket with a huge jump.

Hi Everyone

It’s about time we all had a good catch up, I'm sorry I haven't been updating much recently; things have been pretty crazy for me over the past few months.  I've been having an awesome time enjoying some new experiences within the sport and pushing myself up to a whole new level!

Last time I blogged I’d  had a really lovely time at Bramham which was my first major result since having baby Charlie since then the show has been full steam ahead... 

We went to Buckminster with the gorgeous grey man Dayton for his first BE100 the step up didn't faze him at all and he flew home to finish 8th, he did a fab dressage but an annoying pole really dropped us down but it was a huge learning curve for him. He gave me our best cross country ride ever which was pleasing and we were looking forwards to our next one.  Unfortunately Frickley wasn't our event, as usual his dressage was brill but he struggled in the show jumping with the undulating ground.  We just needed him to be a little wiser which will come in time so we decided to run him slowly cross country and finish on a good note of a fabulous clear as some of the fences we pretty tricky with him being new at this level.  We were pleased with him and knew we had plenty to work on as he has found everything so easy.  It's actually quite nice to know now where the major improvements need to be made. 

With the eventing done early for me at Frickley it was all stations go as we took five of our showjumpers to contest the jumping.  Despite the rain they all jumped double clears and won prizes but Zoronda was the star of the day winning the big class of the weekend the 130m open.  It was our first big win together so we all left feeling thrilled just a bit soggy. 

The previous weekend saw us venture to Durham for the Waterford Equestrian Show.  We were using this as a warm up for my first 140m with Zoronda and Ebolensky was preparing to jump her first 125m. The weather was glorious and the horses were fresh, they jumped their socks off again to give us the great warm up we needed.   Jumping in the big class at Driffield Show was just awesome!! I loved it! We had a mistake in the combination of the 140 which left us out of the prizes and then in the speed class Ebolensky showed her class with a steady round in her first ever big class and Zoronda flew round for 4th place. It was well worth getting up at silly o'clock for, the experience was invaluable! 

Another weekend away the following week at Netley Hall where Dipinahoe picked herself another ticket to the national championships.  Unfortunately Cornets Steal had a scare the previous weekend so although she pulled herself together an uncharacteristic 4 faults meant she didn't collect her ticket.  Ebolensky had her first foxhunter win and Zoronda won me another 130m being the pocket rocket she is! 

My favourite show of the year had to be Bakewell though, another crazy early morning and all for one class but it was just fantastic.  The ring was beautiful and the experience of jumping a brilliant double clear to finish 2nd was one of my highlights this year so far.  As always Zoronda was brilliant, she flew round from first to go in a hot jump off to lead most of the way.  The course was tough and only one other could beat us and it was only by .2 of a second;  to say I was thrilled is an understatement.  The most memorable class for me has to be the big class at Royal Lancs, it was huge!! I have never walked a track of 150m before and believe me when you can't see over the top rail it's pretty daunting, what's even more daunting is knowing the mighty midget Zoronda is only 15.3 so she can't see over either! I had considered going to try and find her a springboard! It was the most thrilling round I think I have ever jumped - she didn't need a springboard, bless her, she was elastic and made light work of the huge fences.  My inexperience at that level cost us the last fence, I tried to add a stride that wasn't there, she tried so hard bless her but it was impossible so we rolled it but what a buzz!! All I wanted to do was go back in and have another go!

The following day required me to keep four feet on the floor and have a slightly different focus; the British dressage regionals.   We didn't have the best start; Dayton came out a bit boisterous on the first day and after trying too hard in the test we both basically made a mess! He forgot how to do the moves and I forgot the test, what a useless pair we appeared to be! I was furious with myself for letting Dayton down but luckily the first day we had only planned on having a look round, so I went home, got a firm grip of myself and pulled myself together. Good job really as our regional was stiff but we both focused and we qualified!! We finished 2nd, what an improvement on the previous day.  The funniest thing was D's owner Josie and I had been joking prior to the class that my new goal was to win a BD novice regional but after the previous day's performance it seemed a long way away so to finish 2nd was awesome.   I now have the higher goal of... I want to win the national title; at home everyone else thinks I'm mad!!

 After his brilliant performance that weekend and the fact that qualifying the Nationals is such a big achievement we decided up withdraw him from his BE events at Shelford and Richmond as the ground has been so hard we didn't want to risk anything.  It's just been practise, practise, and practise for the big guys and me and with the Nationals looming now it's all getting very exciting!!

 The show jumping Nationals was a bit disappointing for us this year.  I had a severe case of 4 fault disease, all 3 mares went brilliant but we're all just unlucky to roll a pole - it was very frustrating but I suppose you can't win everything. 

After missing eventing on Dayton it was fab to be given the ride on Rachael Evison’s Scylla D'Ouilley for her first BE at Richmond this weekend.  We weren't sure what she would think to it all, having only previously been show jumping, and with my hectic schedule we hadn’t had much time to train her but she took in the whole day and all 3 phases in her stride to finish 2^nd.  We need to improve our dressage score, she was perfectly on the marker but I needed to dare her more for the higher marks.  That said the jumping was just brill and now we are aiming her for Frickley in September and then she will step up a class a Bishop Burton in October. 

After the chaos that has been summer 2015 we are looking forwards to our family holiday in October, it will be Charlie's first one and we can't wait. Charlie has loved his summer socialising at all the big events and meeting lots of new people.  Even though he is just six months old it's been amazing to see him grow and watch his confidence with others mature as he enjoys life on the road with us.  He loves his busy days out and is exhausted when he gets in. I took him for a day’s teaching at Thornthorpe last week.  I think everyone valued his opinion as he giggled through the day, I'm sure he will take over my job soon! 

Things are quietening down a little now, the main focus this month is the Burghley final in the BYEH 5y/o with Farah and obviously the BD Nationals and our preparation for those. So not quite time to put my feet up and relax yet! We aim to do a couple more BEs if the weather stays on our side and then we will be starting our new bunch of exciting babies ready to do it all again next season. 

I will try not to leave our catch up as long next time, hope you have enjoyed my update!

See you soon

Sam x

Somerford Park event is a helpful test for Herbie

We’ve just landed back from a few days away at Somerford Park so I’m catching up on Bake Off and reflecting on a pleasing week!

Since my last blog Herbie has been joining the dancing horses with mum as they prepared for their dressage regional final earlier this month. They put a lot of work in and ended up a very creditable 8^th out of 40. The marks were incredibly tight across the top 10 so she did a great job and continues to improve.

After a bit of a rest for Herbie it was back to his eventing (where I could take advantage of mum’s hard work on the flat!) as we prepared for our trip to Somerford Park. I am keen to tackle our first 1* later in the season so had chosen to take him to Somerford Park as I knew the novice there would be at the top end in terms of height and technicality…..I was not disappointed! As we were staying there for 2 nights I had the opportunity to walk the course twice which was really useful as I had found it quite daunting on my first walk. It’s a beautiful course which is very well built but provided question after question with every fence full up to height.

On the day, Herbie produced a really nice dressage test (27.5), a much improved round of showjumping in terms of general way of going but unfortunately still rolled 3 poles (it was a big atmosphere with a technical up to height course so I wasn’t too disappointed) and then flew round the cross country. After jumping the first few fences I realised I’d been worrying for nothing and he just ate up every fence on the course. I’m very lucky to have a horse that seems to be taking these bigger courses in his stride and in turn is offering me such great experience and confidence. We now head off to Richmond and then Allerton Park so fingers crossed we continue in the same vein.

Mum and I also took our foal Ginny Rumber to the Futurity grading at Richmond Equestrian Centre, it’s our first attempt at anything like that and we had a fab day! Little Ginny was a really good girl and scored a very creditable First Premium. It’s the first foal we’ve bred so we were chuffed to bits. It was great experience for Ginny and we continue to learn a lot about this ‘breeding lark’ !!

I’m now up to date with Bake Off so am heading out with a flask of tea for my husband who is busy combining…..long may this sunshine continue!!

Lucie 

CIC1* qualification for Herbie

July 2015

It’s been another busy month both on and off the horses!

I really love early summer as harvest hasn’t quite kicked in yet so I can enjoy the plethora of great agricultural shows with my husband before he gets too busy! This year we’ve managed the Yorkshire Show, Driffield Show and Bishop Wilton Show (although my Victoria Sponge wasn’t worthy of entry into the WI tent at Bishop Wilton – I think I need to channel my inner Mary Berry!).

On the horsey front, Herbie has had a few outings since my last blog, completing Skipton and Buckminster horse trials, both in the Novice, and has proven he is certainly up for the challenge. At both events he performed a lovely dressage test and fantastic clears cross country – we just need a bit more work on the showjumping! He’s quite rangey and expressive in his movement which is really helpful in both the dressage and cross country phases but this makes the showjumping poles slightly more difficult to leave up!. This said, he is coming on well in training and I am still confident he will make the improvements we need. We now have our CIC1* qualification so I’m aiming on two more novice runs before hopefully heading to Aske for the CIC1* in September….fingers crossed!

I have also recently finished my full time job in marketing and have decided to go ‘freelance’ for a while. This is currently working out really well and meaning I can fit my riding around my work a little more easily (and fit in visits to the Yorkshire Show!!). I have also been riding some lovely 4 year olds for a local eventing yard which is not only really enjoyable but also invaluable experience at the same time.

Our cheeky little foal, Ginny Rumber is entered in the futurity grading at Richmond in August which will no doubt be fun and games, if it doesn’t get a mention in my next blog then it probably means we encountered carnage and I’d rather not talk about it – mum and I are quite inexperienced on this front so it’s a case of ‘having a go’!! The broodmare, Umber, has also scanned in foal to Up With The Lark so it’s all systems go with our little breeding venture!!

Lots to work on and lots to look forward to so I’m now going to put my lap top down in exchange for a fork and wheelbarrow and get the horses mucked out….!

Lucie

Bramham Horse Trials is definitely my "lucky" venue.

Hi Everyone

This month has definitely been a busy one!! We kicked off at Bramham, not only did we have a great time but it also proved a lucky venue! Jorden Slacks lovely black mare Farah finished 3rd in the BYEH 5y/o class to pick up her Burghley ticket, my own Cornets Steal also finished in 7th place and Moss Farm Stud's Ginacolada was just out of the top 10 in the 4y/o.  It was an amazing day, the sun shone from start to finish and the whole family came along for a day out.  We didn't have too much time to celebrate as the following day awe set off early to Church Farm with Ebolensky and Cornets Steal for the Discovery regional final. Ebolensky was her usual exuberant self and skipped round the 3 rounds without a puff but Cornets Steal was still feeling tired after her day at Bramham, but being the soldier she is she pulled it out to jump her biggest test and qualify, they finished 6th and 10th. After all the excitement it as nice to have the day shopping and watching other competitors at Bramham on Sunday.  Although it rained we still had a lovely day, spent far to much money and enjoyed the hospitality of the members enclosure.  Spending the afternoon with Neil, Charlie and friends was a great to finish off a very successful few days at Bramham.

The following weekend was about doing the boring bit, a full 2 days of British Dressage, at Parklands both Ginacolada and Dayton won all their tests with scores in the 70s.  Moving on to Bishop Burton a rider error in the first test on Gina cost me a repeat so we finished with a 3rd and a 1st on Gina. Dayton won both his tests again, earning me a nice write up in Horse and Hound magazine and both horses qualified this years regionals. Having had a successful two days I was disappointed that my entries with Cornets Steal and Dipinahoe hadn't been accepted for the British Novice second round at Willow Banks, which now means a 4 hour journey sometime in the next month as we aim to qualify and pick up our tickets.

Last weekend at Skipton Horse Trials saw Dayton step up to BE100 level comfortably.  We finished 7th, his dressage of 26 was good, although I did feel he was a little wobbly on the grass in comparison to the previous week on a surface, so we will be finding a nice field to school in for a while! He had a pole down showjumping and then as always flew cross country, luckily for Dayton his jockey didn't ride round with the handbrake on this time so we finished respectably but still with plenty to work on.

It's been all change again as well, as I have finally managed to find myself my own private yard with top class facilities and I absolutely love it.  All the horses have moved in and seem very settled.  The coming month promises to be exceptionally busy with eventing runs at Buckminster and Frickley and the British Dressage regionals to prepare for as well as a weekend away at Waterford Equestrian in Durham showjumping.

We have welcomed a new face to the yard, the gorgeous little 4y/o Grandioos aka Olly, he is a really sweet boy who I'm looking forward to training, he made his competition debut this week after only being with me two weeks.  He jumped a great clear round, and although he was slightly tense in his first dressage he went on to finish 3rd.  All came good when he pulled it all out of the bag to win the second test with a whopping 73% - he is one to watch out for!

In a sad note, I waved goodbye to Lowmore Showgirl, she has been around so long she was like a permanent fixture. She was a particularly great servant while I was pregnant and after having Charlie so I have to admit being a touch sad to see her move on.  All said, she has a brilliant new home now where she has a whole family to have fun with and I know they already love her to pieces.

Hoping the sun keeps shining now for what is definitely turning into the most enjoyable and fun season I have had.

Bye for now

Sam x

Work in progress as Herbie goes up a level at Bishop Burton and Belsay

June 2015

The end of last year and beginning of this was very much dedicated to working towards our trip to Badminton Grassroots and whilst we had a wonderful time down there it’s actually been great to get my teeth into the next challenges.

Herbie at Bishop Burton

Towards the end of last year I felt Herbie was ready to move up to novice level but decided to wait until after Badminton before we did this. Bishop Burton was 3 weeks after Badminton and only 5 minutes down the road so we chose this as our first run at the higher level. It may have been local and a lovely event but it certainly wasn’t a straight forward course! On the day Herbie did an average dressage to score 33 – he was a bit naughty and used the wet conditions as an excuse not to listen! He then had two fences down in the showjumping before we were ready to set about the cross country. I felt it was a tough track for a first novice having been ‘beefed up’ following the Junior Europeans which were held there last summer. Herbie coped really well with just one refusal early on course which I’m putting down to rider error! It was at fence 4, a log one stride to a decent drop, I was busy slowing him down and should have been kicking! To his credit though he picked up and flew after that tackling some particularly tough combinations with great maturity. Whilst the final result wasn’t that impressive I felt he showed plenty of ability at this higher level which is all I really wanted from our first novice run.

Prize Giving at Belsay

Following Bishop Burton we trucked up to Belsay near Newcastle on a very windy day for Herbie’s second novice. The conditions were testing but we managed to pull a 25 dressage out the bag to lead the field by nearly 5 marks! The showjumping had a big atmosphere, was up to height and technical (I’m getting my excuses in early!) so he had 3 poles down, whilst I was disappointed with this I actually felt he jumped ok. The cross country course was in a lovely setting, skirting around the edge of Belsay Castle with plenty of questions and a difficult water towards the end. Herbie was great and flew round clear with just 5 time faults so I was thrilled to bits with him. It turned out the showjumping had been very influential so with a strong dressage and cross country showing we ended up in 7^th place and with Herbie’s first proper BE point.

His showjumping still needs more work and he’s getting used to jumping these bigger courses but I really believe it will come and I’m very excited to establish him at novice level and work towards our first 1*.

Mum and I also managed a weekend off to head over to Bramham Horse Trials, the weather wasn’t great but it didn’t hamper what was a lovely weekend of top quality eventing. It was also great to see the girls out there in force with Nicola Wilson winning the CIC*** and Flora Harris winning the CCI***. There was also only one man in the top 6 across both the CIC and CCI competition – usually unheard of!!

Next up is Skipton Horse Trials in 2 weeks’ time for another novice so I’m hoping the sun will start to shine!

Best wishes

Lucie

Looking foward to Bramham, one of my favourite events of the year.

Well its definitely back to all stations go on the yard right now. This month started off slightly slower than planned when our first event of the season at Richmond was cancelled because of the awful weather. A quick change of plan and we went showjumping. All the horses have been on fine form and have been jumping lots of double clears and bringing home plenty prizes.

We did our first Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier at Chatsworth.  It was a relatively slow day for us with only taking Cornets Steal and Ginacolada so it was nice to wonder round and enjoy the show from the spectator angle and also catch up with friends.  Neither of the mares were in the placings this time but they were both fabulous especially Gina who was having her first real show who she ended up finishing 12th.  It was a really nice day out, Charlie enjoyed seeing everyone and Millie always loves a day at a show bathing in the sunshine.  After this event Cornets Steal will have a short break.  I think it's important to recognise when you have a nice baby and nurture them through the levels.

 Last weekend we had our first Event of the year at Bishop Burton.  Dayton was brilliant scoring 31 dressage and jumping double clear but my eye for speed is definitely out as we collected 6 time faults which left us in 10th, not a bad result and a kick on for me to practice going faster! It was then off to Shelford to give new ride Scylla and Ginacolada their first ever event runs.  The girls were great but green xc errors left them out of the placings, however, they gave us plenty to look forward to this season. I also welcomed back Jack Jones aka Bobbys Swop, finishing with a superb 4th place on our first outing.  He is such a lovely horse and for a 6y/o he is something pretty special.  

We have just returned home from a very busy weekend at Waterford Equestrian.  Dipinahoe picked up her ticket to the Discovery final with a fabulous triple clear and 3rd place in the regional.  She did exceptionally well considering there was only 9 clears from over 50 starters! Cornets Steal and Ebolensky were unlucky to role a pole but there is always another one and they both jumped smashing!  Ebolensky jumped her first ever foxhunter and was double clear and the new girl on the block Carlensky showed us exactly why we find her so exciting jumping and awesome double clear in her class. It was nice to hear news from home that Tracey Clarkson and Eleta had a good show at Bishop Burton, jumping double clear in the British novice and in their first Discovery, winning a prize in both -  it must be my training skills! My old faithful Grace and her new owner Sally Granger have been competing in dressage and coming home with a rosette every time and it was great to see Sally had polished up her jumping boots.

I am going to have a couple of days chilling now, I have bought myself a nice little project to work on for the summer and I will introduce her in my next blog post.  It's an interesting venture for me that I've wanted to do for a while now. This month promises to be an interesting one, planning for Bramham is the main priority right now.  I'm taking Cornets Steal and Ginacolada and there may be a catch ride as well.  Bramham is one of my favourite shows so we will be making a weekend of it and I hope to get a few moments to enjoy doing the spectator and family thing as well.  If the sun shines, even better!

Hope to see everyone there!!

Sam

Badminton is an excellent training ground for Eventers International

May has been an exciting month what with Badminton to enjoy which had all of us on the edge of our seats during the show jumping.   On the Saturday as no one was competing we had 9 people watching the red button, mostly people training with me so it was an ideal time to show how it should be done and discuss each person’s weakness.   A valuable days training.

The following week found us at Aston Le Walls for the unaffiliated ODE and for myself my first competition for over a year.   Both Paddy and Mr Sneezy aquitted themselves well and I was very happy with their performance.   Sadly Marina hit the dirt as Dino took exception to the tyres at fence 3.   Marina re-mounted and finished somewhat annoyed.   So the next week was spent working on this and their round at Keysoe was right to the point and they will now go up to Intro next time at Mattingley.

Paddy and Mr Sneezy did the 100 at Keysoe and finished 3^rd and 5^th respectively, so I’m glad to say I am getting my eye back in.

This month also saw a new addition to the year in the shape of Lorna Collins with 2 horses.   Lorna, due to an accident, has not competed for 15 years so this is an exciting challenge, but one that I am enjoying very much.   Next month sees the return of Meghan Healy who at this very moment is at Tattersalls 3DE in Ireland.   Good luck Meghan and more of this next month.

Tiny

Challenging conditions on and off the course at Badminton Grassroots

May 2015

Well another month has flown by but any hint of summer weather seems to have vanished!

At the beginning of May we headed off with Herbie (Coniston Nadal) to the Badminton Grassroots Championships. The week started off with gale force winds and heavy rain which unfortunately stuck around for the entirety of the competition. On dressage day the winds were blowing but Herbie was really mature and managed to perform a beautiful dressage test and go into the lead. We led overnight which meant the pressure was on. That, combined with heavy wind and rain meant I didn’t get the best night’s sleep! The second day saw us tackle the showjumping and cross country elements of the competition. I have put a lot of work into Herbie’s showjumping and had managed to jump two double clears so far this season so I was hopeful he would go well but unfortunately the weather got to him and he just wouldn't concentrate meaning we had 3 down and added 12 faults to our dressage score - this was really disappointing but you have to pick yourself back up and crack on! The cross country was causing a lot of problems with eventually less than half of the field managing a clear round. I was therefore really pleased that we were one of them. I took him fairly steadily as by the time we set off the weather conditions had deteriorated further and we had to deal with driving rain and poor visibility! The course was challenging with lots of technical questions and the need for accuracy as well plenty of stamina.

Overall it is disappointing after such a strong position after dressage to move down the leader board due to poles down in the showjumping and cross country time faults but overall I’m pleased with Herbie as he did a lovely dressage test and a clear round a challenging cross country course. That said it did take me a couple of days to forgive him!

Mum and I stayed down at Badminton for the rest of the week and enjoyed some fantastic eventing (and also the opportunity to exercise Herbie in front of Badminton House each morning!). It was also a good opportunity to see the ups and downs of the sport at top level and to realise we all have our own areas to work, whatever level you’re competing at.

Herbie is entered in his first novice this weekend at Bishop Burton so I’m looking forward to seeing how he handles the step up in class.

  Our beautiful foal, Ginny Rumba, is not so little anymore and has developed some real attitude! As I write our broodmare is being scanned to see whether she is in foal to Up With The Lark so fingers crossed Ginny will have a little brother or sister on the way!

Here’s hoping the weather improves and we can all get the sunglasses and shorts out soon!

Best wishes,

Lucie 

A win for Eventers International in Ireland

Sneezy

April has been a very busy month what with horses changing stables and others going out show jumping and xc schooling.

In The Zone (Ronan) is now with my sister in law Annabelle to carry on competing and getting Annabelle back into the swing of things.

Bay Gabrielle (Tractor) is now going to be ridden by Will Furlong who needs little introduction.   Eventers International is very excited about this as we have produced him up to this point.   Firstly by the late Tom Gadsby and latterly James Avery, both did a great job.   I have little doubt that Will can further his career with the professionalism that we have become accustomed to at Eventers International.   Here is a picture of Will and Tractor in their first training session together.

I am also glad to report that attached to Eventers International and going well with a notable win from Meghan Healy and Treliver Desdemona in Ireland Last week and Greta Mason having her first trip round novice at Weston with one little blip across country, but to come out last weekend to be second in an unaffiliated novice.   Keep up the good work girls.

First Date (Daley) Mr Sneezy and Fire Power continue their education with a few outings at all three disciplines and continue to improve, so now they will put all three phases together and do an unaffiliated one day event, more of that next month.   I hope everyone is enjoying the better weather and we wish Fulmart rider Lucie and Herbie all the best for Badminton Grassroots next week.

Tiny

Askham Bryan College Grooms Academy Update

Since January, the Askham Bryan College Grooms Academy and the Development Academy have been working hard preparing for competitions whilst keeping on top of the all the assignments and college work.

  

We have been to Port Royal a couple of times, which has been largely successful, winning rosettes in both dressage and show jumping.  

Our 2 main academy horses chosen by riders are 6 years old, Jester who's 13.2hh ridden by Niamh Bocock and Bertha 16.2hh ridden by Hazel McArthur. We have been having lessons with show jump trainer Tracy Newman, which has given both riders, horses and grooms a new experience resulting in huge improvements at shows.

Now we look forward to putting all the practise into action by tackling more shows in the near future.

Amy

  

Grooms Academy; Amy Clarke,  Emma Metha, Chloe Booth and Development riders; Hazel McArthur and Niamh Bocock.

Amy

The Dark Duchess proves to be the perfect pupil

April 2015

 

 

 

I've had a brilliant time this month, really enjoying combining being busy with the horses and being a mum.  It's great not only being back in the saddle but also back out competing and catching up with everyone, the horses are feeling fabulous after their little rest and performing brilliantly.  Cornets Steal has managed to jump her last discovery double clears just before the cut off date despite becoming very exuberant and us parting company in the collecting ring at Bishop Burton.

 

It was great to catch up with Florina a lovely 5y/o who I sourced as a 3y/o on one of my outings.  She is looking stunning and appears to be all set for the coming event season. Eleta and Tracey have been in the line up a few more times this month as well, even picking up a prize at the big area show.  It's great not only that she is one I produced but also that I still train this pair and seeing them progress so well is just awesome.  I love teaching and helping people and it's so rewarding when achieve their goals. It was exciting to see one of my regular clients young horses go on to win recently at the Bedale Point to Point. The Dark Duchess owned by the Brader family came regularly to my clinics last year to begin her jumping education with her rider Charlotte Lawson. The mare won on her debut at the Bedale Point to Point winning the Maiden race impressively with substitute jockey Emma Todd on board whilst regular rider Jack Teal watched from the side-lines after a recent injury.

 

It's all stations go now with the season getting well underway, Cornets Steal is getting set for Chatsworth and Bramham BYEH and also the young horse British Dressage qualifiers along with a new ride for this season Moss Farm Studs lovely 4y/o Ginacolada. Dayton will have his first BE run at Richmond in a couple of weeks and Ebolensky and Dipinahoe are getting set to gain some experience at some of the smaller county shows in showjumping classes as well as contesting in BS regional finals.

 

As I'm sure everyone can imagine fitting in all this and being a mum is quite exciting at times, luckily Charlie seems to have enjoyed coming to shows with us and Im enjoying being a Mum as well as being back out and busy again.

 Sam x

Final preparations for Badminton start with a visit to Tiny Clapham

March 2015

 

 

Well, I said in my March blog that things were set to get busy and I was absolutely right! In short, in the last month we have:

1.      Been to Cambridgeshire for intensive training with Tiny Clapham

2.      Bought a new lorry

3.      Welcomed our first home-bred foal into the world

4.      Won our second event on the trot

Back in March I was lucky enough to head down to fellow Fulmart Feeds rider, Tiny Clapham for some intense training to help our preparation for the Badminton Grassroots Championships. We had a fantastic time down there and learned so much! We had a flatwork session where Tiny helped us no end, giving me some new exercises to work on at home. On the second day we had a jumping session where she put us under more pressure and created some tricky exercises. Herbie didn’t find them easy but by the end was really getting the hang of them and I could feel his brain working quicker which was one of the key objectives. All in all I felt we improved a lot over a short space of time and would like to thank Tiny for the time she spent with us.

 

While we were at Tiny’s our broodmare, Umber, was getting closer and closer to foaling but in the end made us wait a whole 10 days after her due date before giving birth to the gorgeous Ginny Rumba! Although I am very biased I think Ginny is totally beautiful and have spent hours watching her in the field and taking countless photos and videos!! We are now ready to put Umber back in foal so the long 11 month waiting game starts all over again! Follow me on Twitter @lmstepho if you want lots of cute foal pictures!!

 

Following my training with Tiny and also lots of sessions with my regular trainer, Zoe Rymer, we headed off to our second event of the season at Norton Disney. Herbie showed that his win at Askham Bryan was not a fluke by performing a lovely dressage test (for a score of 23) followed by a double clear to win our section. Whilst I know Badminton will be a real challenge and the standard of competition will be high, it’s nice to be heading there with two great results under our belt. We head to Badminton in 2 weeks so it’s very much ‘all systems go!’

 

Our next blog will include the low down on Badminton so let’s hope it’s a positive one, for now I’ve got a lot of training still to do and then a mammoth lorry packing session before the adventure begins!

Best wishes,

Lucie (and Herbie!)