I can honestly say I have had a fabulous month with the
horses, slowly everything is getting back up to speed and my confidence is
growing again. I have been trying to focus more on training and homework which has paid off when we've taken the horses out to competitions. All have jumped
clear or scored well in the dressage arena putting everyone in the prizes!
Last time I wrote we were just heading off Parklands for
dressage. My pony Fleur T was a superstar, with the work we had put in her
scores went up a massive 6% and she finished 2nd in both her tests and gained
two qualifying scores. Overwater Emi made her first British dressage appearance
and gained two 4th places. This little horse is growing in
confidence and is going to burst onto the event scene pretty soon. My next
outing was with my gorgeous new ride Billionaire Z thanks to Moss Farm Stud. I
was apprehensive at riding him at first having never competed a stallion before
but he has been a true pleasure. He is a real credit to his breeders and his
owners and all I can say about his performance in the ring is.... outstanding!
At his first ever BD competition at Epworth he won a class and was 2nd in the
other with a fabulous 75%. Less than two weeks later on an outing to Manor Grange he scored 75% and then went on to score my
highest ever score in a registered competition with 78%. To say I adore him is
an understatement and I am so excited for the regionals with him, he has his
Prelim points now so we will be stepping him up on our next outing.
This month also saw me start the event season ahead of
Badminton on Dayton. The week running up to Breckenbrough kept us all on our
toes as my leg started to play up . A trip to the hospital showed that it's
not quite right so with D's owner on crutches after a skiing accident and me limping along things weren't looking good. After
plenty of painkillers and some merriment the night before (at D's
owners 50th birthday) we made it to Breckenbrough and... won!!! He went superbly well to win his section by a clear 8 points after
finishing his dressage on a score of 22. Even with the
owner and jockey each on one leg plus a blow out on the M62 on the way home
our spirits were high! We were supposed to be heading off to Eland Lodge
for our last run before Badminton but true to form the British weather put
the brakes on that and the event was cancelled. So now our next stop will be
Badminton. We plan to do plenty of training and dressage before then as he also
needs to gather his points for the BD regionals, its quite daunting to think
that next time I write it will all be over!
Showjumping has been on the back burner with most of the
jumpers doing fitness work but I have made my first appearance with Zaronda
this month. She jumped a great double clear and felt great. Gott You J made his
first registered appearance a winning one, I didn't take the reins on this
occasion as I didn't feel it was fair with his inexperience to only have
me with one balanced leg so my good friend James Askew took the ride and did a
fabulous job. My stable star Ebolensky is coming back in this week to start her
fitness program so I'm looking forward to getting her back in action and I'm sure
she will be feeling very refreshed after her break, and like me ready to be back
on the road.
I have also had my first ride on my new young ones; Henley
and Houdini who have been broken in and are very exciting prospects. I'm not
sure on my plans for them yet - it's been a
little tricky to make decisions where to go with this pair as I have been told that I need more work done on my ankle. I am booked in for another
operation in the near future although no definite date has been set yet. Thankfully my
surgeon has told me that its not a major task and I'm hoping it won't keep me
out of the saddle for to long.
April is a very special month as we celebrated Charlie's
first birthday, I cannot believe that a year has gone so fast. He's now
started nursery and is loving everything and anything he can get his
hands on. I have to admit to the yard is very quiet when he's not around
although I do get twice as much work done!
It's also been good to see all the people I coach doing so
well, they have all been out in their chosen spheres winning prizes and having
a good time. I love getting updates, pictures and videos from them all
keeping me up to speed on how they are progressing. All being well next month
promises to be very interesting, there are lots of nice shows to look forward
to and I feel that I have the best bunch of horses to ride I have ever had. Despite some setbacks I'm feeling as ready as ever now to get
going.
Watch this space...
Sam
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