February 2010 Archives

I made it onto the boat, just, because it's quite a walk from check in to get on the boat I asked if I could get in the assistant bus, I was sitting waiting for a while when someone asked was I a passenger, apparently the assistant bus wasn't coming back so I had to get in the luggage van, I was then sat in that for what felt like ages & was worrying the boat would leave without me, I got on though, mum & Shayne wondering where I was. I found them & we went & settled in to our cabin. The plan was for Angela to pick us up at Heysham, she was flying to Blackpool where she'd left her car a few days earlier, but when were close to dock I got a call from Angela saying her car wouldn't start, uh-oh!! Luckily the RAC came to the rescue & it was just a flat battery so she was with us in no time & we made our journey down to Leicestershire to settle at our favourite B&B.

After a good nights sleep & a big bowl of porridge it was time for a lesson with Ian Woodhead. We'd decided I'd ride George in the talent spotting as I knew him better than Fernie. Ian gave me a great lesson & lots to think about. I had another lesson later with Julie, who gave me even more to think about. Julie was going away for a few days so she'd arranged for me to have a lesson with Andrew Fletcher, I'm really enjoying learning from all these different people, everyone has different things to add & I feel I'm really getting a lot out of it!

Saturday was competition day, I wasn't on until 4.55 but went up to Vale View early to help a new friend out. Lara competes at Grade 4 & has  lovely horse calle Polly who she's kindly letting me have a ride on. She has the most amazing walk big long strides & nice expressive paces, and she has a lovely nature. Lara did her bit & then left for her long drive home, so we went back to the B&B to put our feet up for a little while, before returning for my turn in the arena. George warmed up really well & I tried my best to keep him trotting forward, I didn't want to look boring, I wanted to make the judges sit up & watch. My test felt like it went well, just a few accuracy issues, I even managed a medium trot. I then had a 20 minute training session with one of the judges, we had a nice chat & she gave me exercises to do. I then eagerly awaited my score, I was gobsmacked, I was in the lead & only one more rider to go, it was the longest wait ever, eventually the last riders score came out & it was official, I'd won. I got a lovely big trophy & Angela got a prize too for being my trainer. Now it was time for the journey home, three hrs driving & four hrs on the boat, then when we got home (at 6am) we were met by the white stuff, we had a good old 4 x 4 to get us home though, to say I was ready for my bed on Sunday night is an understatement, I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!!! The back of clou 9 & back to work.

Today I had a lesson with Clive on Bernie, he hasn't done much for a while so we didn't ask a lot of him, just long and low & keeping him (and me) relaxed, my next trip away is in March for the winter championships, back to Vale View, lets hope I keep up the good results, I've got a taste for it now!!

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/news/show/710-new-faces-shine-at-2010-para-talent-spotting-day

It was nice to have a few days off work last week, catch up with my George & go for a few good hacks, I had a lesson with Janet on Tuesday, I wasn't sure how it'd go as I hadn't been on Bernie for a while, but he was pretty good, more good bits than bad. He could be a bit more in front of my leg, but at least he wasn't going against my hand as muh as usual, I was told to get my A into G before the talent spotting, I wasn't sure what that meant, but it was made clear to me, I like a bit of straight talking! Angela gave me a lesson on Buzz on Thursday, to practice medium trot, I didn't quite get medium but I did manage to show a difference, a bit more work needed there!! I took B to his first outing in ages on Saturday, my first test was a bit of a nightmare, he wasn't supple at all to the right & was totally ignoring my right leg, which makes it a hundred times more diffiult for me because that's my weaker side, we got 59% & in our second test I felt he went a lot better, I'd got him more supple by doing a few turns on the forehand & trying to get him more forward off my leg, it was a different judge in the second class & we got 57% but I was happy because I felt the difference in him, even though our perentage didn't reflect it. We decided B must've had a bit of a muscle strain as he was so unwilling to bend right & mum thought he didn't feel 100% the day before out hacking, he seems better now as he was full of himself today out riding.

Angela is away this week so no lesson today, it's up to me to get Bernie ready for the competition on saturday, just an unaffiliated Dressage comp, I'm taking George too for a go in the intro, see if I can get a better leg yield down the centre line than last time. I'm going to try & keep him calm, all though that could prove difficult as he's been quite fizzy out riding over the last week, we went out on Sunday, four of us, & he decided he didn't want to be at the back, so bounced his way past everyone else & then thought he' walk like a tortoise, so we endded up at the back again much to his discust, so on the railway line, he bounced past again, in canter this time, but I was just happy he cantered on his right leg, then he proceeded to walk like a slug but with his grouch face on so the others didn't dare go past, I think maybe he's getting a taste of the spring grass, or his magnetic rug is making him feel super duper.

I'm on the boat Wednesday morning, I've booked a cabin so I can just lie down if it's a bit breezy, I'll have a bit of luggage I reckon, all my competition gear & I'm also thinking of taking my saddle with me to see if it'll fit George & Fernie, as it has a block under the flap on the right side to keep my leg a bit more stable. I'm looking forward to a couple more lessons with Ian Woodhead too, he'll get my A into G, as Janet says :o)