"Having got back from my weekend away, it was straight away back in the saddle as we had a couple of competitions coming up, both with Headmore Boadicia (Bracks) and Headmore Downtopia (Dante).

Youth and enthusiasm

On Wednesday we took them both to Quob stables for an elementary qualifier. Dante was on first and he warmed up quite well but was a bit tense and very excitable as the warm up at Quob is quite spooky and it was cold and windy. He settled down in the test though and almost went a little too relaxed in the indoor arena. We had a few little wobbles but I was pleased with him as, instead of getting hotter as the test went on, he actually relaxed more. He scored just under 67% and ended up second. It was then Bracks’ turn and she was also a bit cheeky in the warm up and, as a result, she got a little bit over the top and started to throw her front legs everywhere! She loves doing this but isn’t yet strong enough behind to maintain it so when she throws her front legs about she looks like a cartoon character! Her over enthusiasm led to some losses of balance in the test which led to an uncharacteristically low score of just under 65% for her, putting her into third place. However, when I thought about it I realised that neither horse had been to that venue before so that would explain why they were both a little over the top!

Riding in the rays

It was my Mum’s birthday on 3 February and she had a lovely day. The best part for her was hacking out Headmore Delegate (Del) with me on Wurlizer (Wizard) in the sunshine. She hadn’t ridden for months and was so pleased to be riding ‘her baby boy’ again! She had some lovely presents and also got given two cakes, so everyone on the yard was happy! We then had a lovely meal with Mum’s best friend, Anne.

Another outing

We then took both the horses to Sparsholt College on Saturday. Dante was on first doing two elementaries. He warmed up quite well for the first test but was very, very spooky in the test. Our first four marks were two fours a five and a six! When he finally settled he got consistent sevens but the damage had been done at the start and he finished on a score of 63.1% - still finishing second! When he came out to warm up for the second test, he warmed up absolutely fantastically and he kept that in the test. I think it was one of the best tests he had ever done as he was relaxed and I was able to ride him forward, and the rein back was better, although still a bit green. He scored just under 70% and finished third.

It was then onto Bracks for two medium tests. She was much more settled than at Quob and warmed up very well. She then did a lovely test which I thought was one of the best tests she had done in ages. However, I was very disappointed with the score of 63.1%, but it was still good enough to win so we thought that the judge was marking particularly low. We then did the qualifier and her way of going was fantastic but she got a little overenthusiastic in the wind which led to a few mistakes. This kept her score down at just under 66%, but still won the class.

No winter champs

We have made the tough decision to give the winter championships a miss this year as I am concentrating on the more advanced horses and we are very busy at home."