British Dressage 23rd February

On Monday we went out to Bury Farm to do Novice 38 and Elementary 43. It was especially lovely because my Mum and Dad there to watch and as always they were a huge help. I was also lucky to have my trainer, Ann Bostock there as she was also competing. I have never had a trainer at an event before so it was nice to have her help in the warm up and after to reflect on the tests.

 

I had been working all weekend so had to get everything ready on the Friday before and I will admit I had not spent enough time learning my tests. Knowing that my Mum would be there I had not worried too much as she could call them for me....what I had forgotten is that the wind at Bury Farm can be awful and there were points in both tests where I had no idea what she was shouting!

 

I trialled a slightly longer warm up than normal and got on 45 minutes before our first test. I thought it might drag but it flew by and I was able to practice onwards and more collected strides, shoulder in, leg yield and do lots of transitions as well as giving him a few walk breaks.

 

We went into Novice 38 feeling good and it went well, no dramas and no huge obvious mistakes. I was very surprised when I checked the scores as we got 69.5% and had won the Restricted section. We came 3rd overall, beaten by two riders in the Open section and the scores were close so I was very pleased. The comments were fair, Toy needs to be more balanced in all his paces especially in the transitions and despite some improved difference today he still needs to cover more ground in the medium steps. The lowest marks were for our downward transitions from the counter canter to trot which is understandable and will hopefully improve with practice.

 

After a short break I warmed up again for Elementary 43. The wind was strong and Toy went into the arena feeling very spooky. He had a good look at the sponsor boards and did not really settle. I could have done with another lap around the edge before I went in but I am always wary of doing this after the bell has rung and then upsetting the judge. The test was tense and I made an error when I had absolutely no idea where I was going, which obviously cost me marks. We scored 61.2% and the comments were fair. When Toy is tense he doesn't engage his hind end as much and then he isn't soft over his back and feels almost impossible to ride.

Overall, another good day out and lots to learn from so we will keep practicing :) Unfortunately the wind played havoc with the videoing of the tests but they are good to learn from and I have found some good snapshots of the best bits!

 

Next stop, back to Bury Farm for a Show Jumping clinic with Mandy McGlynn....

 

 

Charlie Unwin talk 18th February

Last Wednesday I attended a talk by sports psychologist Charlie Unwin. I have been to another talk and a workshop of his in the past but this most recent one was definitely the best so far. I am not going to spout word for word everything Charlie said, it would have little meaning in this blog and I would probably be breaching copyright! However, I did make lots of notes and I will try to share some of them and their relevance.

 

I have spent a lot of time this winter doing what I call, non riding training, attending talks, reading books, watching videos. I was not sure how beneficial this would be as people always talk about time in the saddle but Charlie emphasised the importance of thinking about what you are doing and reflecting upon it and I now feel almost justified to have spent so long thinking about my riding and how I will improve. I loved his saying "know your own approach, know your own mind".

 

Charlie also talked about changing your vague ideas into clear plans and I realised I was very vague in one of my previous blogs....

 

"Secretly in my heart of hearts I think if we can achieve the top 10 placing's at BE90 and BE100 then we have a chance of qualifying for a Badminton Grassroots Regional final but that depends on how we go and how we fair against the competition!"

 

What I should have said is that we will achieve top 3 placing's at BE100 and we will qualify and compete at a regional final. Being clearer about my goal and taking charge of my season means I have a better chance of succeeding.

 

Charlie split the talk into sections, focusing on the before, during and after phase of a competition. How you reflect on the event, what went well and what went badly was really interesting and I actually think I have spent the winter in quite an enviable position. I ended the 2014 season with my best placing yet and have (unconsciously, until now!) used this as a bench mark for the coming year, aiming to replicate that amazing feeling and that achievement again.

 

Charlie also talked about writing things down in a notebook after each training session or competition. I realised that by writing this blog I am giving myself time to reflect and time to think back and benefit again from all of the things I am learning. It is sad to think that we will not be able compete this year whilst wearing the GoPro as watching the videos of my X-Country rounds has enabled me to re-live the moment and go back over the positive emotions and store them in my memory.

 

There was an exercise that I have heard Charlie talk about before, about your bubble, keeping the things you want to achieve in the middle with all the things that you can control. Then around the edge are all the things that are out of your control and the emotions or thoughts that you might have because of them. Since the first talk I attended a year ago I have tried to think about my bubble and I am now more aware of certain people or situations that provoke negative emotions, which allows me to block them out as I know they are out of my control.

I will end this blog with, I think, one of the most thought provoking quotes of the night....

 

 

HGV training

I have said from the beginning that this blog would be warts and all, the highs and the lows, the bad and the ugly...well, here goes!

 

I have spent the past week doing my intensive HGV training or category C in modern terms. This will allow me to drive anything up to 32 tonnes that has a rigid body and therefore allow me to drive Anne's lorry and give me the freedom to take Toy out on my own if needed. I passed the theory just before Christmas and waited until now for a whole week off work so that I could have a lesson every day.

 

I have driven quite a few vehicles, a few of my own cars, Hicksy's car and a 3.5t horsebox so I was not too worried about the vehicle itself but more the other people driving around me! I went to meet my instructor and we then drove into the suburbs of London to the test centre. Being a bit of a country bumpkin the suburbs of any city scare me even in a car so navigating my way round the Hanger Lane gyratory system in an 18t lorry in rush hour was not what I call fun! A week intensive course sounds like a good idea and it gets the job done but I would not recommend it to anyone who is trying to juggle work, a horse and general day to day life.

As the week passed by I had no major problems, no crashes, no stalling, didn't even hit the kerb but I had not at any point felt particularly confident. A few comments from my instructor about being a girl and lacking the physical strength made my blood boil and I wished I could see him handle half a ton of horse.

Well, today was test day. I later discovered whilst sat in the morning rush hour traffic that both my examiners daughters had horses so he was resigned to the equestrian way of life....I'm not sure if this endeared me to him or not!

To cut a long story short - I failed, purely for driving too slowly. The comment was that I drove "like I had a horse in the back" which is kind of ironic! The relief that this week is over is huge, I hadn't quite realised how stressful it had been and I am not too bothered about having to re-do the test, just glad that my week of driving and constantly thinking about driving is over!

Jump Lesson 10th February

On Tuesday I had a jump lesson with my trainer, David Britnell. I had not jumped Toy for a few weeks because of the weather and lack of time so I was not quite sure what would happen!

 

David set out a number of jumps around the arena, keeping them small to start with just linking them together into a course, they included a few uprights with cones and barrels as filler, a plank and a bounce. I was pleasantly surprised with Toy, he was keen and forward going and had not forgotten what to do! I had also clearly benefited from the break as I had no nerves and was able to sit up, keep my leg on and wait for the fence to come to me.

 

Please excuse my awful drawing below but it gives you a rough idea of the courses we were making up, jumping off which ever stride, encouraging Toy to think for himself and taking the pressure off me so I didn't get anxious if we got to close or he chipped in a small stride at the last moment.

 

 

 

I have had in the past a few bad habits, especially show jumping, which have all stemmed from my nerves. I have an awful habit of trying to take off before Toy, ending up with my weight on his shoulders and making his life incredibly difficult. My other habit is to drop the contact in the last stride before the fence, leaving him wondering what on earth is happening. Fingers crossed I am on my way to kicking those nerves and hopefully I will be able to enjoy the show jumping this year, rather than wishing it was all over.

 

Unfortunately there are no videos or photos from the lesson - I will try and ask an unsuspecting passer by next time!

International Eventing Forum 2nd February

The past week has been a bit of a write off with lots going on at work and a broken car I have not had much time for Toy and I am feeling very guilty! He has had an impromptu week off which I am sure has done him no harm but with my obsessive planning I like to be productive and am at my most relaxed when things have gone to plan.

 

Luckily for me, my enthusiasm for the looming event season was reignited today when I attended the International Eventing Forum at Hartpury College. Sitting in the arena surrounded by other enthusiasts and a few equestrian celebrities reminded me that even when the chips are down ultimately I love riding and especially the sport of eventing.

 

The morning sessions were with Christoph Hess, an FEI judge and renowned "international expert". I found the guinea pig rider, Sam Griffiths and his horse the most interesting as the horse was obviously tense and not swinging over his back, which is often my biggest fault with Toy. Christoph encouraged Sam to open the horses neck, encouraging the horse to seek the contact forwards and not drop back behind the vertical. Christoph asked Sam to ride shoulder in, giving the inside rein to encourage the contact from the inside leg to the outside hand. He then rode 15m circles in the corners, started the long side with shoulder in, then asked for medium canter, back to shoulder in and then another 15m circle in the next corner. The horse needs to be in front of the leg and the medium steps should be lengthened strides without excess speed. Sam rode some of the canter in a light seat. allowing the horse to stretch forward and round over his back. My take home message from the session was that flat work is not just about dressage but about gymnastic movements which are necessary for all three disciplines. Christoph clearly loves what he does and he was very encouraging.

 

Next there was a shorter session with vet Hugh Suttern and National Hunt trainer Charlie Logsdon, discussing the fitness needed for event horses. It was interesting to hear Charlie say that the modern event horse tends to stay consistently fit all year and competes more regularly. This was reassuring for me as I never really let Toy completely down in his fitness, other wise he goes a bit crazy! Hugh and Charlie also emphasised the importance of keeping a record of everything you do with your horse, then you can look back and see how many times you  galloped the week before an event for example and if that event was good/bad, then adjusting your training plan and do things differently next time around.

 

After lunch the afternoon session was with the legendary Andrew Nicholson, he rode four horses varying from a 4 year old to an advanced horse, doing different exercises with each and I could have listened for hours. He explains everything so simply and obviously knows his horses inside out. He said he gives his horses very little warm up as there muscles are developed and as they have no injuries then they shouldn't need endless walking and trotting around before they jump. He expects them to concentrate as he gives them clear instruction and he expects them to follow with no room for misunderstanding or questioning. He also emphasised the importance of a round active canter for jumping, moving the canter forward and back but always riding the hind end.

Andrew rode a number of exercises starting with four jumps on a circle. They were only small vertical fences, one pole on each. He suggested verticals because then you could jump nearer the inside or outside wing to adjust your strides rather than using cross poles and having to jump the middle. He used some v-poles on verticals and oxers to give the horse something to focus on and said this was useful towards the end of a session when the horses was getting tired.

He also jumped two verticals that were only 5m from the wall of the arena, using planks instead of poles this time as he thinks they are more forgiving if the horse knocks them. He jumped these on a curved line and then jumped the plank on a shallow loop to a vertical and then onto the next plank.

 

His last more experienced horse jumped fences on a bigger circle, using a bounce, a vertical, then an oxer and another vertical.

He made the point that eventers need to jump economically to save energy over the x-country and also not learn to balloon simple fences as this will complicate teaching more complicated fences such as drops at a later date. His honest and simple approach was amazing to watch and very inspiring.

 

The key themes that I came away with are simplicity, keeping an active canter and maintaining ride-ability so that Toy is manoeuvrable, supple and ready for anything!