Ronnie has come to me for a couple of months whilst his owner Angela has wisely chosen to find some sun in Portugal after such a harsh winter. Since being in training Ronnie was first turned away and has since done nothing but hacking so the whole notion of schooling and jumping in an arena is completely alien to him.

A happy, bouncy character he loves to be ridden and has taken to it all really well  and he has lovely paces and presence, although his inquisitive nature means that gaining his attention when other things are going on is a bit of a challenge. In the photos below he was mesmerised by horses jumping in the adjoining arena!

Initially he found the jumps in the arena a great source of fun for spooking but once we put down some trot poles he was very happy to oblige in trot and canter.

Next we introduced a crosspole with a trot placing pole before and another one after and we a few attempts he managed to co-ordinate himself to produce a lovely jump.

Next progressed to a small upright again with the placing poles to help him get the right take off spot and again after a couple of attempts he clicked and started to give the fence some air.

So all in all a very successful introduction to coloured poles. We left it at that as he was beginning to tire and will now give him a couple of days to digest it all before giving him another jump and progressing things further.

Introducing Sadie (Steeler's Singalong) who is my own homebred mare 4 years in May and the last few days she has really made me smile through what have been exceptionally tiring and hectic days. She is out of my 'horse of a lifetime' mare who went clear at CCI*** by Up with the Lark (one of his first crop of foals) and we nearly lost her to septisemia when she was 2 days old. Coupled by the fact that both her younger sisters were lost through tragic circumstances, she is very special and means the world to me. I backed last summer and just hacked her a bit and she then had the winter off before coming back into work a few weeks ago. However as I have 11 other horses to ride for owners it is hard to find the time to fit her in and she is ridden 3-4 times a week and lives out.

I have however just managed to ride her a few times in the arena and started some trot and canter poles/cross poles and I haven't stopped smiling since. Understandably she tires after 20 minutes but as such enthusiasm for it all and whilst she may look a bit plain just standing comes alive when she is moving. I put the back protector on just in case, but really she feels safe as houses just quite bouncy.

On to trot poles and initially she found it the best thing ever to bound through them jumping each one!

I did however calm her down and make her trot through properly



On to jumping. She has never loose jumped as I just don't have the right facilities and I was so unsure how she would react. She is such a laid character I could imagine her just ploughing through them but how wrong could I be, she can get that huge stomach off the ground and be co-ordinated when she wants to!





Understandably did tire quite quickly so we kept the session short, but have since gone back in and jumped a small double plus a filler which she didn't really notice at all.

Choccies all round to those who have got this far. I am just so pleased she is enjoying herself and it is like having her mum back again (hence the awful grim I seem to have in most of the photos!). Also so nice to get on a baby who feels safe! Plans for the year are not fixed as I will be taking it slowly, but a 4 year old class later is not out of the question building upto badminton in 5-6 years time!!!!

Millie and Archie sporting some of the rossettes

I have decided show jumpers have it easy; you just load up a lorry load of horses with minimul preparation and then 10 minutes warming up each one before jumping round; all quite different to the endless preparation for the 3 phases of an event. We took Millie, Ben and 'big' Archie to Hand EC yesterday and jumping them each in two classes was still back by 2pm. However as the classes weren't that large it did mean very quick horse changes and warm ups in order to fit them all in and I couldn't have done it without the help of Dee and Fiona who were fabulous. One thing I have to admire the show jumpers for is remembering all the different courses as once I have memorised one course my brain really finds it diffucult to adapt to a new one over the same set of jumps!

Anyway despite these lapses which were fueled partly by tiredness and me forgetting to eat or drink anything all morning, it ended up a very successful day and it was very refreshing to actually get enough prize money to nearly pay for the day! In the British Novice I ended up 1st (Ben), 3rd (Millie) and 4th (Archie) and then in the Discovery was 1st on Millie and 3rd on Archie having one pole down on Ben as well as jockey forgeting the course, oops! Videos are available here. 

Millie was sporting a hackamore which she really likes and is much more focused and bold jumping in than with a bit that she tends to lean on. When I decided to up the pace going last in the jump off of the discovery she responded brilliantly and really attacked the fences so i think we will continue with it. Archie, who belongs to Ben's owner Anita, is just with me for a week for some fun and felt fabulous, very quickly getting back into jumping and really enjoying himself giving the fences feet in the warm up just for fun. Considering he is a well built 16.3hh he was remarkably balanced and easy to steer around the relatively tight courses and very light on his feet. Finally Ben was very well behaved and was also trying a different bit, the nathe tamden combination, as when out competing in the nathe snaffle even that can cut his very soft mouth if he gets strong. This bit acts also on the nose and the plus side was his mouth didn't get at all sore, but unfortunately he did back off it a bit too much at times and didn't like me putting any pressure on the ren as the day progressed. I think this might be a great bit for the cross country, but for just one round show jumping when eventing the snaffle may be better, but it is definitely a useful option to have for 'Mr Sensitive'.

Millie at the head of the line in her first win at BSJA

Archie as the only horse yet competing BE is definitely feeling king of the yard and was pleased as punch to be taken to Aldon for the BE100 on Friday. He has come out this year with a pretty much 'I'm invincible' attitude and as such is rather taking charge cross country. In the week I had a quick bit trial on the cross country course with both a myler combination bit and the nathe tandem bit, but neither seemed to have any effect so I opted to stick with the tomb thumb gag which had been partially successful last year. 

With his customary nupafeed syringe of calmer he felt lively but relatively controlled warming up for the dressage. Wearing tiny spurs for the first time this year I was definitely getting more engagement and energy in the warm up, but it was all a bit touch and go whether we could keep this from over boiling over in the test. Overall he behaved brilliantly just marred by myself sitting that bit too quietly in the first canter which is where he has in the past exploded. Instead he actually broke into trot which suprised us both but was quickly remedied. A smile from the judge left me hopeful, but not counting my chickens as judges often mark him quite harshly.

Straight on to the show jumping and unfortunately the light but very wet rain, that was to continue all afternoon, started. By now any calmer had all worn off and he felt strong and excited warming up, but jumping superbly. The course looked huge after Moreton BE90 and had some difficult lines and as I approached the first the judge announced my dressage score as 30 (one of his best yet) and so the pressure was on. Archie however spooked at some sand on the grass and I made the cardinal sin of putting my leg gently on to try and bring his focus back to fence 1. Well that was it, we were off with Archie relishing the freedom of a lovely big grass arena and all I could do was sit and steer which itself was made more difficult with my old gloves loosing grip on the now wet rains. Thankfully we got round all the turns and he jumped like a stag, giving the fences feet, for a great clear round although it was up a gear or two from what I would have wanted.

Finally the cross country and as the rain was getting heavier and the ground decidedly greasy bigger studs and the thumb thumb were installed and I started off with the vain hope that as Archie has never been round Aldon before the unfamiliar territory coupled with substantial well dressed fences would hopefully back him off. No such luck, he stormed round in fine style but my arms did finish a couple of inches longer trying to keep some control. No worries at all the combinations and technical fences and he jumped the tricky corner out of the water very well, it was just the straight forward ones where he couldn't resist the odd flyer followed by head down charging and as a result I did not let him go quite at full speed to pick up 4 time penalties. I think if Archie has his own way he would much prefer going around without a rider intervering at all! His owners Suzie and Kieron managed to get some cracking photos which show that his technique has improved massively from when he started eventing two years ago and is now very tidy over his fences.

Overall I great result although in a tough section the time penalties put us down to 8th place. Some more experimentation with bitting may be on the cards before our next outing at Bickenhall, although hopefully he will start to settle now as the season progresses and perhaps I should just relax a bit more and just let him get on with it. Afterall it take two to pull....

The yard is now literally over flowing with horses, although thankfully the recent gorgeous weather has made the daily task of caring for and riding 10 horses everyday a joy rather than a chore. New equine arrivals  over the last couple of weeks include Ronnie and rising 7 year old Arab ex-racehorse who has come for 2 months schooling, Ted a stunning  6year competition pony in for sale, Louis a feisty welsh cob back for a repeat of 4 weeks training he had last spring and Tilly, a gorgeous 9 year old warmblood mare who he with me to event for the season whilst her owner Sarah has a baby. Tilly is already established at Novice level and has some points and I am very excited to be eventing her. Fortunately I have also found a lovely new groom, Amy to help cope with all the new arrivals and she is settling in quickly and will soon be working full time. Her next task will be to become photographer and get some photos of all the horses as their training progresses.

In the meantime Millie and Ben competed at the unaffiliated ODE at Stockland Lovell last Saturday. Millie produced a good, accurate dressage and probably the most active one I have ever managed without a whip! It was only marred slightly with her beinga little uncomfortable in the mouth which has prompted an investigation into finding a bit she is happier in. She scored 34 which was good in her section.

Video of dressage

I then jumped her in a hackamore  and without a bit she felt wonderful, flying round giving them feet to spare.. However I chickened out taking her cross country without a bit and opted for the rubber pelham I used last year and found once I was on the course that I had no steering to the right! Coupled with her being very spooky we unfortunately had a little altercation when she refused to turn right to the small wall before the first water which gave us 20 penalties which cost us a rossette, but after that flew round.

Video of Show Jumping

Video of Cross Country

In the BE100 class Ben was very tense to warm up for the dressage, but did keep a lid on any antics in the ring to score 39.5.

Dressage Test Video

He then was beside himself with excitement to jump a lovely show jump round.

Show Jumping Video

I then made the hard, but sensible decision to not run cross country as he is not yet fully fit and had not had any cross country schooling as yet due to the course being closed. Whilst I am sure his adrenalin would have seen him flying round, it was not worth the risk with such a sharp sensitive horse.

Instead on Monday he did the cross country clinic with Jeanette Brakewell when I tried out a new bit called the nathe Tamden which is a combination of a nathe straight bar and hackamore. Ben has a very sensitive mouth which splits easily when he becomes onward bound jumping, but doesn't need a very strong bit as such as he is horse that goes better when he thinks he is in charge! He started the clinic on his best behaviour and was so happy to be jumping cross country again, just desperate to jump as many fences as possible and not backing off anything! As the clinic went on he did unfortunately get rather wound up with the stopping and starting which prompted a couple of bronco displays, one of which was captured by the photographer; Click Here for the evidence! Luckily I did stay on and despite these antics I was pleased with his jumping and boldness and he seemed to like the bit. Click Here and here and here and here and here for more!

Yeah, finally after a cold and wet winter we have finally had a dry week and the eventing has started. Due to weather, holidays and injury only Archie was ready to go and needed to outing to calm him down a bit! A very short cross country school on Friday was a scary experience as I could hardly hold him just cantering around the field and the only way to get him to lift his head and stop broncing was to face him to a fence, although this only work for about 10 fences hence it being a very short school! However new he would settle a bit more on a course when all the dressing an atmosphere makes him focus more.

Back to Moreton. Up at 4am to muckout 8 before leaving and arrived with time to spare only to find out there was a one hour delay due to frozen ground. Archie was behaving remarkably well and I opted for a rather dull but atleast obedient test as if I had put on any pressure to engage like he can at home I would have been told where to go! Just spoiled at the end when he stumbled turning on to the centre line and shot off on his head in reponse meaning we rather over shot it. Score of 38 which I thought was quite harsh, but understandable as he wasn't really through and engaged.

Show jumping next and a 3 fence warm up was perfect as he seemed not yet to have clicked as to what was next. The course seemed tiny and he calmly popped the first 3 and then jumped so relaxed over 4 that I had to put my leg on gently to get the 4 strides to the next. Utterly disgusted with such an action some broncing followed and the last few fences were taken in a higher gear, but clear.

On to cross country and as expected in the warm up he was pulling with his head on his knees and paying no attention to these boring fences. So I was towed over a couple and straight down to the startbox and luckily he did then focus and listen to me over the first few up the hill jumping beautifully. Slight disagreement on what speed we should go down the hill to the drop, i had visions of him rolling all the way down if I didn't interfere a bit, but then jumped great until going back down the hill towards the finish. Serious brakes were applied before the two logs on a curve, but on jumping the first he went into overdrive determined to get as few as strides as possible in between them. So i just sat back and braced as I did over the last two brush fences where he gave a finish any grand national horse would have been proud of; standing off them both and giving them feet to spare....

Unsurprisingly no time faults (Archie would never let that happen!) and he finished 9th on his dressage. So all in all good day and he has had his first adrenaline fix which will hopefully settle him a little for BE100 at Aldon in two weeks. Photos below and for professional photos click here.

Dressage warm up

First jump in the arena when he was still half asleep; trying to tell me he can do this size with his eyes closed!

At the XC start with ears pricked and raring to go

I rode Archie and Millie in the Prelim class at the Affiliated dressage for more practise. Ben should have done a test as well and went beautifully the day before, but unfortunately aggrivated a tiny sore on his mouth so I decided it was not worth making it any worse so he got of lightly. Archie first warmed up calmly while everything was nice and quiet. In the arena he produced a similar test to the week before when he won apart from two bad mistakes breaking in the walk and getting the wrong canter lead which were both caused by complete lack of concentration when he became mesmerised by a new horse in the warm up!

Millie on the other hand came out rather argumentative, but with plenty of energy which was very welcome. I decided to really ride every movement and she felt great throughout the trot work with much improved stride length and rhythm; being able to carry a whip makes a huge difference for her. She did lose a bit of her engagement in the canter work which she does find harder, but I was generally pleased. Sorry, nobody was around to take her photo this time.

I wasn't really sure which horse would get the better score, but Millie came out on top coming 2nd with 64%. Acheiving straight 7's for her trot work and 6's for everything else I was very pleased as the judge has marked quite harshly. Archie was understandably punished for his mistakes and scored just over 60% with the judge also commentating that he did occassionally come to low in his frame which is an ongoing battle with him. I text Fiona who was at work and she was ectastic that Millie had managed a rossette and prize money at her first attempt at affiliated and she told me it left her smiling all day!

Monty the ex-racehorse has now been here 3 weeks for his re-training and is being a star. He has settled down really well and is now not bothered working with horses in the arena next to him. He has fantastic potential on the flat but does like to lean on the left rein and slip out through his shoulder so I have spent a lot of time teaching him to turn his shoulders from my outside leg. Jumping wise we have been doing a lot of work over poles and from trot, progressing to a grid with 3 fences on a one stride distance. He has proved to be totally unfazed by fillers and is quickly learning to work out how to just pop the fence rather than launch at it with a huge leap! Photo's below courtesy of Dee, Monty's owner who was a little unsure with my camera!