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’
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