Lgd
14th Jun 2002, 11:35 AM
Well we are back and we survived the experience.
Finished packing the wagon, plaited up and left the yard at 10.30am on Tuesday and arrived at Wellington Riding at 4.30pm. Eventually found our stable threw some tack on Peri and warmed up for the Medium freestyle at 5.30pm. As expected she was not paying much attention. The International arena at Wellington is really nice and has permanent covered stands on one long side and one short side. As we were doing one of the simple change required elements beside the stand someone opens a crisp packet and my cheeky mule tried to put her nose into the stand to ask for some - you've got to laugh really! Marks were not good at 58% (she usually gets 65%+ for this programme) but pretty well what I expected when she was so inattentive - this is usual for her when she is somewhere completely new.
Had a pleasant morning and early afternoon on Wednesday looking round the trade stands. Splashed out on three saddlecloths that attach to the D-ring rather than the girth. Rode for about 20 minutes to stretch Peri's legs and get her relaxed in the busy atmosphere. Watched some of the Intermediaire II class - some really classy horses (and riders) but it is nice to see even the top riders can have their little problems. Packed the wagon with the help of Claire (my niece) and my friend Sarah as we had to be out of our stable by 5pm and I was riding at 5pm. Tarted Peri up (twice as she lay down and covered herself in shavings!) and got myself ready, dosed both of us with Rescue Remedy.
Looks at the start list and nearly dies of fright - apart from myself and another girl who qualified at the same time as me the list reads like the 'Who's who of the dressage world'. Here's me with my dinky little 16hh TB scrap sandwiched between Paul Hayler and Adam Kemp in the order of riding. Gives myself a swift kick up the butt - we qualified so we're supposed to be there. Peri spends the first 20 minutes of the warm up going along looking very pretty and very behind the leg as all those huge horses are soooo scary! Settled a bit once the warm up area was quieter but still backing off a bit, so I followed Judy's advice and changed how I hold my reins for the test - just gets her a bit more forward.
Huge crowds watching but Peri obviously has a lot of her Dad about her because she was preening herself, batting her eyelashes and flicking her toes. Got through our programme with only two real boobs - so sharp off the leg from the first walk pirouette to extended trot that she broke to canter, fortunately there is another extended trot in the programme and that was OK so the mark at least averaged up to a 5 with two out of the three judges (other stinge gave her a 4). Mostly 6's with a few 5's and 7's here and there. Even got a 6 from one judge for the left canter pirouette which is a weak point for us, although the right pirouette was not quite as good as normal so it kind of evened out. Finished up last with just on 59% - not brilliant marks compared to some of the others but not wildly adrift either. I was really pleased with her because she tried very hard and didn't throw the towel in with the big outing atmosphere, she has only really just become competitive at this level locally so it was a big leap in standard for her. Really enjoyed ourselves and I'm pleased that we went.
Watched a cute demo by the kids from the pony club and a demo of Grand Prix freestyle requirements by Jennie Loriston-Clarke then headed for home about 8pm. Arrived back at the yard at 1am having had a very clear run with no real traffic on the roads (M25 was positively empty), settled Peri in and finally crawled into bed at 2am.
I've also discovered yesterday how really generous she is to have performed so well. Had my saddler out to check her saddle as it didn't seem quite right, thought it might need flocking adjusting but with no time before the championships (3½ weeks from qualifying to riding there!) I have just been using the Korrector pad to ameliorate the problem. Turns out it will not be possible to adjust the flocking enough to sort the fit. She has put so much muscle on over her back that the saddle is pinching at the back - aargh. At least this time it has lasted three years. Now major problem of finding one that will fit her shape - she already has an extra wide in the Raven, won't tolerate Flair or CAIR, won't tolerate treeless saddles. First stop is going to be Black Country as they will make a completely custom made saddle for her (and me) and can have it to me within 2 - 3 weeks. If that is not to our collective liking Carolyn has said she will just stick it in stock and we will have a look at another Barnsby custom-made but that will take at least 8 weeks. My lovely Raven saddle will go in part-ex - it is too wide for Tavia and at least will off-set the price of the new one.
Finished packing the wagon, plaited up and left the yard at 10.30am on Tuesday and arrived at Wellington Riding at 4.30pm. Eventually found our stable threw some tack on Peri and warmed up for the Medium freestyle at 5.30pm. As expected she was not paying much attention. The International arena at Wellington is really nice and has permanent covered stands on one long side and one short side. As we were doing one of the simple change required elements beside the stand someone opens a crisp packet and my cheeky mule tried to put her nose into the stand to ask for some - you've got to laugh really! Marks were not good at 58% (she usually gets 65%+ for this programme) but pretty well what I expected when she was so inattentive - this is usual for her when she is somewhere completely new.
Had a pleasant morning and early afternoon on Wednesday looking round the trade stands. Splashed out on three saddlecloths that attach to the D-ring rather than the girth. Rode for about 20 minutes to stretch Peri's legs and get her relaxed in the busy atmosphere. Watched some of the Intermediaire II class - some really classy horses (and riders) but it is nice to see even the top riders can have their little problems. Packed the wagon with the help of Claire (my niece) and my friend Sarah as we had to be out of our stable by 5pm and I was riding at 5pm. Tarted Peri up (twice as she lay down and covered herself in shavings!) and got myself ready, dosed both of us with Rescue Remedy.
Looks at the start list and nearly dies of fright - apart from myself and another girl who qualified at the same time as me the list reads like the 'Who's who of the dressage world'. Here's me with my dinky little 16hh TB scrap sandwiched between Paul Hayler and Adam Kemp in the order of riding. Gives myself a swift kick up the butt - we qualified so we're supposed to be there. Peri spends the first 20 minutes of the warm up going along looking very pretty and very behind the leg as all those huge horses are soooo scary! Settled a bit once the warm up area was quieter but still backing off a bit, so I followed Judy's advice and changed how I hold my reins for the test - just gets her a bit more forward.
Huge crowds watching but Peri obviously has a lot of her Dad about her because she was preening herself, batting her eyelashes and flicking her toes. Got through our programme with only two real boobs - so sharp off the leg from the first walk pirouette to extended trot that she broke to canter, fortunately there is another extended trot in the programme and that was OK so the mark at least averaged up to a 5 with two out of the three judges (other stinge gave her a 4). Mostly 6's with a few 5's and 7's here and there. Even got a 6 from one judge for the left canter pirouette which is a weak point for us, although the right pirouette was not quite as good as normal so it kind of evened out. Finished up last with just on 59% - not brilliant marks compared to some of the others but not wildly adrift either. I was really pleased with her because she tried very hard and didn't throw the towel in with the big outing atmosphere, she has only really just become competitive at this level locally so it was a big leap in standard for her. Really enjoyed ourselves and I'm pleased that we went.
Watched a cute demo by the kids from the pony club and a demo of Grand Prix freestyle requirements by Jennie Loriston-Clarke then headed for home about 8pm. Arrived back at the yard at 1am having had a very clear run with no real traffic on the roads (M25 was positively empty), settled Peri in and finally crawled into bed at 2am.
I've also discovered yesterday how really generous she is to have performed so well. Had my saddler out to check her saddle as it didn't seem quite right, thought it might need flocking adjusting but with no time before the championships (3½ weeks from qualifying to riding there!) I have just been using the Korrector pad to ameliorate the problem. Turns out it will not be possible to adjust the flocking enough to sort the fit. She has put so much muscle on over her back that the saddle is pinching at the back - aargh. At least this time it has lasted three years. Now major problem of finding one that will fit her shape - she already has an extra wide in the Raven, won't tolerate Flair or CAIR, won't tolerate treeless saddles. First stop is going to be Black Country as they will make a completely custom made saddle for her (and me) and can have it to me within 2 - 3 weeks. If that is not to our collective liking Carolyn has said she will just stick it in stock and we will have a look at another Barnsby custom-made but that will take at least 8 weeks. My lovely Raven saddle will go in part-ex - it is too wide for Tavia and at least will off-set the price of the new one.