Kingsbury Hill with Emma
Now I know why people own event horses—all the thrill of watching your horse go, without the stress of competing. Emma did a great job in her second sanctioned go at Beginner Novice, despite the heat and humidity and a downpour during cross country. Jess and Pooh did really well at Pooh's first sanctioned, too. Really well, considering Pooh's, uh, greeness and performance at the schooling 3 phases prior to Kingsbury. It was one of those moments a horse person lives for, when their horse actually gets it and starts showing your their real potential. Jess really had her jumping pants on, heh. They had clean goes in their jumping phases, only getting some time penalties, which was well worth the cost of riding carefully.
Ok, so having given Jess and Pooh some props, back to Clover. She and Em warmed up well for dressage, after Em got Clover going softly into the bridle. I thought they had a nicely consistent test. Even though Clover got above the bridle during the canter transitions, I thought for Beginner Novice it was a good test. But, that's the risk of having a draft cross, some judges just do not like the way they go, and score accordingly. I don't care—I was pleased with the test and proud of Emma. This season, Clover is a lot more in front of the leg, or at least easier to get in front of your leg. It's a combination of training and Regumate. It's a great feeling, seeing and feeling your horse make progress year after year.
Emma had a great stadium warm up—they were going forward, with Clover's engine revving up to a good speed. The course had a few tricky spots, like a panel set on a slight downhill that came down for a lot of people, Em and Clover included. I don't know if I would have had much luck at that one, myself. There were a couple of other sticky spots during the course, and they had a refusal at the stone wall—which was also on a slight decline. It looked like Clover just kind of petered out in front of it, which made me wonder if Em was worried about that fence and didn't ride to it as much as she needed to. She regrouped and they took it just fine on the second try. Otherwise, it looked like a good round from my side of the fence.
It was still muggy for the cross country warm up. The course had changed a lot since I'd ridden it last year. I had Pooh in hand, fussing because she wanted to be near Clover, and it started to sprinkle a little. I sent one of the younger girls back to the trailer to get a saddle cover to cover up the saddle on Pooh's back, and no sooner did I get it on when it started to downpour. Poor Em was just finishing her warm up, and I watched horses without studs come up the bank complex near the start box and slip around the turn back into the main field. I wasn't worried too much about the footing, we'd put in studs before dressage, because the warm up was on grass, as well as the stadium warm up and course.
The rain let off a little as Em headed into the box. They got out and over the first and second fences at a good pace, and headed up the field to the third, stacked haybales bordered by flower stands. I could see Clover throwing herself around, getting a good look at it, but Emma got her over and on to the next fence as they galloped out of the field. From then on it was a matter of waiting until they came back into the field via the bank complex. Sure enough, they came up and over and made the turn into the field just fine. They bypassed the ditch, as it was a flagged option to pass it for the BN division. I heard from other riders that the new ditch was deep, and I had seen several horses prop and stop or look hard at the ditch before going over. Em looked like a regular event rider as she and Clover easily navigated the last two fences, including a good sized rolltop, and passed through the finish line, with no jump faults and only a handful of time penalties, which was fine considering the wet footing. Em grinned as she and Clover trotted back to us, saying they'd also jumped the Novice table that was on the BN track.
It had been a long day, hot, muggy and even rainy, but I was happy for Emma and Jess and how well they'd ridden and maintained composure throughout the day. Clover is definitely on her way to being a solid packer, and Pooh is well on her way to becoming a great event horse. Several people asked if Clover was for sale, my only answer was an emphatic No!
Ok, so having given Jess and Pooh some props, back to Clover. She and Em warmed up well for dressage, after Em got Clover going softly into the bridle. I thought they had a nicely consistent test. Even though Clover got above the bridle during the canter transitions, I thought for Beginner Novice it was a good test. But, that's the risk of having a draft cross, some judges just do not like the way they go, and score accordingly. I don't care—I was pleased with the test and proud of Emma. This season, Clover is a lot more in front of the leg, or at least easier to get in front of your leg. It's a combination of training and Regumate. It's a great feeling, seeing and feeling your horse make progress year after year.
Emma had a great stadium warm up—they were going forward, with Clover's engine revving up to a good speed. The course had a few tricky spots, like a panel set on a slight downhill that came down for a lot of people, Em and Clover included. I don't know if I would have had much luck at that one, myself. There were a couple of other sticky spots during the course, and they had a refusal at the stone wall—which was also on a slight decline. It looked like Clover just kind of petered out in front of it, which made me wonder if Em was worried about that fence and didn't ride to it as much as she needed to. She regrouped and they took it just fine on the second try. Otherwise, it looked like a good round from my side of the fence.
It was still muggy for the cross country warm up. The course had changed a lot since I'd ridden it last year. I had Pooh in hand, fussing because she wanted to be near Clover, and it started to sprinkle a little. I sent one of the younger girls back to the trailer to get a saddle cover to cover up the saddle on Pooh's back, and no sooner did I get it on when it started to downpour. Poor Em was just finishing her warm up, and I watched horses without studs come up the bank complex near the start box and slip around the turn back into the main field. I wasn't worried too much about the footing, we'd put in studs before dressage, because the warm up was on grass, as well as the stadium warm up and course.
The rain let off a little as Em headed into the box. They got out and over the first and second fences at a good pace, and headed up the field to the third, stacked haybales bordered by flower stands. I could see Clover throwing herself around, getting a good look at it, but Emma got her over and on to the next fence as they galloped out of the field. From then on it was a matter of waiting until they came back into the field via the bank complex. Sure enough, they came up and over and made the turn into the field just fine. They bypassed the ditch, as it was a flagged option to pass it for the BN division. I heard from other riders that the new ditch was deep, and I had seen several horses prop and stop or look hard at the ditch before going over. Em looked like a regular event rider as she and Clover easily navigated the last two fences, including a good sized rolltop, and passed through the finish line, with no jump faults and only a handful of time penalties, which was fine considering the wet footing. Em grinned as she and Clover trotted back to us, saying they'd also jumped the Novice table that was on the BN track.
It had been a long day, hot, muggy and even rainy, but I was happy for Emma and Jess and how well they'd ridden and maintained composure throughout the day. Clover is definitely on her way to being a solid packer, and Pooh is well on her way to becoming a great event horse. Several people asked if Clover was for sale, my only answer was an emphatic No!
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