Ben has come back into work like an absolute dream, which for a veteran ex racer who spent all winter out of work, I couldn't be more pleased with his attitude to work. I decided I wanted to focus in his flatwork this year, with it being so inconsistent in the year he has been off the track, the idea of throwing him straight into eventing seemed unfair, but I didn't really want the cost of affiliated, so trying to qualify for the Trailblazers dressage championships seemed the next best thing to keep me focused and with a purpose (otherwise we really wouldn't bother!) we only needed 2 x 3rd places, and at our last 2 dressage tests we got a second and first, qualifying us with ease!
I am very excited to be heading to a big venue like Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. Getting to stay away will be the closest thing to a holiday we are going to get this year, and with July only being 2 months away, there is less time to prepare than I think, so lots of arena hire for us, and a couple more competitions at bigger venues to set us up for the busier environment and hopefully we don't do too badly! Normally I am super competitive, but with the strange 18 months we have all had, I am just grateful to be back out!
Django is also going to be attending Equifest this year in the World Breed class, but fortunately for him, they are not holding qualifier's this year, due to the tight time frame and covid restrictions affecting qualifiers, so we get the treat of going whether he is rubbish or not!
Come on Travis.... just you to qualify for BD champs now!
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.