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
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