H&C

31
Mar
2010

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Brian and Bertie's successful first outing

Sharon schools Imp at home

"This week has been really successful - Brian and Bertie completed their first event at Munstead. Bertie came 5th and Tweedy 2nd. Brian was a star and gave me an amazing feel, just a shame he rolled the last show jump and missed out on a placing. All three have matured so much they’ll be aimed at BE 100 next. I was so happy my parents made the trip down from Bury to see our achievements. We went back on Sunday with Bambi who scored a reasonable mark for our first test, then did a double clear to finish 7th in BE 100. I am full of praise for Munstead; it is my first time there, the XC courses were both very straight forward and inviting, the ground was amazing considering the weather recently! It was a luxury to have a huge warm up area for the dressage, so on Sunday I also took the older horses to school, as after a Winter break they can be a little excited but they were all very well behaved.

An added bonus of having a local event meant on the way home I visited Kate Lucas’s yard for the second time this week to gallop Jasper. Having had my entry accepted for Badminton means he will be galloping twice a week from now on if he doesn’t have a run at a competition. Only four weeks to go….!

My visit to Littleton Manor earlier on in the week was to XC school the babies again. As there is also a SJ course available for hire, I made the most of this too. It is very educational with lots of spooky fillers. I was surprised at how brave they are becoming now considering they still haven’t seen that much and compared to the older horses who can be quite spooky! This can certainly apply to Jasper at times, at the moment he is full of the joys of spring! On the other hand Imp is really improving and growing in confidence. Littleton Manor is such a great training centre for all levels, I am so fortunate to have these facilities in my area and will be returning again soon.

Imp has also still been excelling himself in his dressage tests. At Stylebridge on Friday he won the Elementary with 69 percent and won his first Medium test with 68 percent which I was delighted with. Kenny still improves each time he goes out and came 3rd in the Medium just behind Imp. Jasper won another Medium class with 68 percent. I rode him in a double bridle which worked well as he was getting a little strong. I think I’ll use this sometimes and then the Myler snaffle others.

Charlie and Bomber are improving daily, they love riding around the forest. Bomber’s jump is really improving, which is very exciting. They are growing up quickly with all the renovations at the yard and plant machinery around. I’m excited that we are having “soft- track” surfaces put down in the indoor schools and lunge arena. It is so important to have a good surface that will stand up to daily use.

Looking forward to next week, I’m at Somerly with five on Tuesday and Wednesday and then the big boys are at Burnham Market on Saturday. Let’s hope the weather is kind to us."