It has been a great couple of weeks.
Skippy (Abakala Flagmount) gave me my first win of 2014 by winning his BE100 section at Mount Ballan, finishing on his awesome dressage score of 22, after doing a beautiful double clear. This was only his 2nd BE100 and 3rd BE event so I was thrilled.
We so nearly made it a double win as Archie (Arise Cavalier) came close to winning his BE100 section too on his dressage score of 23.5. He ended up in 2nd, which was fantastic as he is only a 5-year-old and as you will have read in my previous blogs, has been a bit of handful at times. He has come a very long way in a short time. I am really excited about both of them and they are so much fun to ride.
Daffy (So Amazing) had her first BE100 run at Mount Ballan and also did a beautiful double clear. She will just take a bit of time on the flat as she is so big moving and finds it quite tight in the arena.
On to Houghton
We then headed off to Houghton Hall last week with Myrtle (In Vogue II) doing her first ever 3-day event in the CCI* and Kitkat (Another Breakfast) having a run in the CIC3*, which incorporated the Nations Cup competition.
Myrtle (right) was fantastic all week and considering we had a less than perfect preparation due to a minor ailment, I was thrilled with how she went. There were a few mistakes in her test, which stopped us from getting a really good mark but she lay equal 19th (out of 98 starters!) on a score of 47.9 after dressage.
The 1-star track was a good course and caused its fair share of problems, with a tricky last combination coming out of the quarry, but she flew round making everything feel very easy, coming home 1sec inside the time (above). This moved us up to 14th overnight.
You never really know how horses will come out on the final day of their first 3-day, but she couldn’t have felt better and didn’t feel like she had galloped for 8min round a cross-country track the day before. Sadly, we had the back rail of the oxer down into the last combination, the treble, which was thoroughly undeserved as she was jumping her socks off. I was still thrilled with how she went and she ended up in 20th, so out of 98 starters it really was a very good result. She will step up to intermediate level next at Nunney.
Kitkat was having a run round the CIC3* track. He did an OK test, with a couple of rather expensive mistakes that prevented us getting a mark in the 40s, but I was pleased with his overall way of going and he is definitely improving all the time.
It was horrible weather on Saturday and by the time I came to showjumping the ground was getting a little deep and dead, but he tried really hard, just having a couple of unlucky rails. He cruised round the cross-country for a lovely clear (left).
Archie, Skippy and Daffy are all competing at the weekend, doing the BE100 at Ascott Under Wychwood.
Rosie
Reports from Mount Ballan and Houghton in H&H out today, 29 May.
