Huntercombe Camp

I had my annual mega holiday a couple of weeks ago and so am back feeling refreshed and recharged which is good as we have a busy few weeks coming up. We've been cracking on with our training and Buddy has been going really well. Jane at Springwood Grange has been working minor miracles and keeping us on track with our aims of moving up the dressage ranks and I am thoroughly enjoying the whole process. Buddy seems to be thriving on the harder work and it's keeping his brain engaged although he throws in far more tricks and evasions every time to keep me and Jane on our toes! It's definitely not easy but its working wonders for my riding and adding new tools for me to use in the future.

Lovely large stables

Then, this weekend we went off to The Unicorn Equestrian Trust and Lyneham Heath Equestrian for Huntercombe Horses camp. I was so excited to test out whether the focus on our flatwork had helped the jumping as he was so much more polite on the Thursday before we went at Janes. I had booked in for a flatwork lesson with Matt Jenkins on Friday evening to kick start the weekend. I'd not had a session with Matt before and I always find it nervewracking to ride in front of new people but we did not let ourselves down and Matt quickly got the measure of us both and Buddy's sneaky tricks. We focused on activating the hindleg and getting him moving quicker and sharper. To do this we focused on slowing down the trot and really thinking about getting the backend moving through. I had to focus on keeping my reins shorter and more forward to allow B to use his neck and it was actually much easier for me to manage his shoulders as I could correct the neck or use counterflexion much faster to keep him on track. Next we worked on the canter and keeping that truly through, using 10m circles and a bit of on and back. Right canter was great but we had a bit of yee ha into left canter and as soon as he saw the long side (all 66m of it) he wanted to just go so we worked on keeping him back, doing 10m circles to keep the impulsion but also not pushing it as he found the exercise tough.

Stretching our legs

Next Matt used the lunge line behind B to really getting him pushing. I was a bit apprehensive about how he would react but it really worked! The gentle swishing on the floor got him sitting down and up. The trot and leg yield work afterwards was of much better quality. At the end of the session Matt gave us some really lovely feedback, he liked B and thought he had the potential to go far which obviously gave me a huge grin for the rest of the weekend.

Warming up over poles

Saturday was jumping day, we were booked into two sessions and I was nervous but excited. First session was pure SJ and Giles quickly had us jumping scary stuff! We put a new plan into place and so I had to keeping my hands forward and legs supporting but no squeezing, nudging or kicking allowed. The reason being that B will jump but he often is a bit panicky and so we want to change that process for him and by letting him figure it out himself it removes all the panic. For the first time ever we had relaxed jumping that wasn't strong or silly. It was also so much nicer for me to ride, instead of being left behind or in front of the movement we were together all the time. It felt brilliant. This continued into the XC style jumping in the afternoon and we just let B take his time, assess the situation and make the judgement. It's pretty unnerving coming into fences with zero leg but it worked so we went with it!! We had no stops and he ballooned in confidence over the two sessions and I couldn't wait to take him XC the next day.

Popped sweetly first time - I need to trust more!

I knew that the XC would be a big test for us both and probably more me than him. I have to learn to trust the new way of going and accept that he's going to go. We warmed up over a few fences and the new theory was working.. I really should trust Giles a bit more! As the questions got a bit more tricky I had to use a bit more leg but for the first time this just encouraged him forward in a positive way and the relaxation remained throughout. Its a completely new method for me and so I didn't get it right every time but when I did the feeling was amazing, he was taking me forward and felt really happy. He wasn't at all strong or trying to bog off and he was a delight to ride - I had a huge smile on my face whilst jumping. 

This is not going to be an overnight fix and I am planning on spending as long as it takes to get him happy, relaxed and comfortable. He has all the talent but I want him to enjoy the work we do and not stress about it so we have made the decision to hold off eventing for a while as once we've got this bit sorted the only limit will be how brave I am ;o)

This weekend has proved that I have an amazingly talented but rather tricky horse who I just know is going to fulfill my wildest dreams and make me a much better rider. Thank you so much to all the people who are helping make it a reality as I could not do this on my own! 

Welcome to Zecora Photography!

I'm starting the blog with some really exciting news as I have been chosen as a supported rider for Zecora Photography. They are based in Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire (but will cover the UK) and they create the most beautiful pictures that capture the bond between horse and rider. I cannot wait to start working with them and create beautiful memories.

Check out www.zecoraphotography.co.uk and Facebook

After our last blog I was worried about how Buddy would react to his second flu & tet jab but with the addition of Protexin Gut Balancer I am delighted to report he's been completely fine since. Phew. Since then I've been planning my season.. a bit late but it's got to be done! We have just had a gorgeous new arrival into the BUBDs and have another on the way so we have made a decision to not do Team Quest this year as we really want to stay as a team and we don't want any pressure on any of us to compete. We will be back next season with a bang! As a result I have decided to give My Quest a go as it means I can get practise at Novice (and maybe Elementary) without the points. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get out enough to build up the points to qualify for regionals but I'll give it a shot!

Bit of ride and lead R&R

Over Easter weekend went on a last minute trip to Tweseldown to get our first XC session under our belts and I was delighted with how Buddy performed. Considering our first SJ session was interesting (!) I wasn't entirely confident with how he would react but he surprised me. Giles did a fab job of calming my nerves and helping me just crack on. Buddy was defintely bolder than last season but I still need to commit and ride every single stride. I did come a cropper when G told me to jump a step down with a right angle to a table. The table had a pink sticker on (which signifies a BE100 fence) and that messed with my head a bit - I thought it was 'too big' for my first XC session. G told me to stop being silly but I wasn't commited, had a stop and fell off. Doh. Totally my fault and it gave me a swift kick up the backside to sit up and commit! Other than that he was bolder off drops, over ditches and all the fences I rode properly to so I was really chuffed with our first session. We had planned a couple of days at Huntercombe but Storm Katie and some local cases of stragles stopped all those plans unfortunately. 

Ready for action at Tweseldown

Our next scheduled outing was to The Croft who were running a test riding clinic. After the improvement in my lessons recently we decided that it was time to leave Prelim behind for good and focus on solidfying our Novice work with the view to stepping up to Elementary shortly. I had chosen to ride Novice 28 and was looking forward to getting some feedback from a judge's point of view. I did not have the best start after a work client had a massive issue which led to me being on the phone whilst in the lorry en route, a far shorter warm up and a rather stressed Krista!! B was very good being hauled into and out of the lorry, having his tack thrown on and a rather brief 10 minute warm up.

Rocking matchy matchy

The indoor arena is rather spooky and I always find B to be on the distracted side when there but once we were in the arena and going round the boards he felt fab, forward and off my leg so I was feeling hopeful for my test. Each session was 30mins so I was told to enter when I was ready so after a few transitions we started our centre line. The minute we started he backed off completely and felt tense (I'll take some blame for that too) and so we got hammered for our suppleness (or lack of it) on the serpentines and then our left canter struck off on the wrong leg and I struggled to get the trot back to correct it so threw marks away there too. The 15m loops on both reins broke a stride before the marker but overall it was an OK test considering the circumstances. 

Nice square halt - 8! And looking rather chunky.

The feedback from the judge was that he was lacking suppleness on the left rein in the serpentines and I should have used a bit of leg yield in this to help. She also shared how I was throwing marks away across multiple movements - especially breaking back into trot in the 15m loops as this meant that I messed up the canter move but I was already trotting when I should have been making the transition so lost that mark too. Feedback on the medium trots were good (no medium canter in this test) as I kept them balanced and rythmical which was great to hear although I lost marks towards the end of the movement as he backed off going towards the boards which dropped me from a 7/8 to a 6.5/7. 

I took all of this feedback and started the second test. I knew I did not quite have him supple enough on the left - it is both of our weaker side and I need to make sure I'm relaxed to help Buddy be the best he can but it was much improved from the first test. I was thinking 'more' in the trot and although at times it felt a bit manic the marks improved and looked ok in the footage. Canter is so much better in a test now but we changed twice (grr) so I need to really keep focused on my position as the slightest change leads to quarters swinging, flying changes or breaking and I need to do more work on cantering towards boards as although he is happy to do the loops at home where we have a fence I think I need to practise with boards so I'll be hiring a local school for some practise. 

Test sheet - lots to work on but a good start!

Feedback was much better and there was an improvement in the marks so that proves the point! It was a really useful exercise and I'm on the lookout for more test riding clinics as I really need to improve my test riding and that environment is more like a proper competition so it's much better practise. The best bit was that we didn't disgrace ourselves and I will be heading out with my head held high to get my AF sheets and my first ever BD points! It also means waving goodbye to Prelim. I've got my last entries to get my last sheets and from then on it's Novice and above. Eeek. 

The impact of outside influences

A few weeks ago I noticed a definite shift in Buddy's capability over stones... For the worse. I racked my brain wondering what it could have been that changed as B has been pretty consistent over the last three years and he has had the odd day of increased sensitivity if he's out too long but nothing that stuck around for a while. I started to worry a bit as I couldn't think of anything that had changed... Exercise had remained stable with a gradual increase (and B always gets better with more exercise), diet hadn't changed in the last 12 months, forage remains the same. I was stumped.

Ears pricked while we explore

We'd had some frosty mornings which would have explained an odd day or two but we were approaching week two and whilst he was improving I had no idea where the sensitivity was coming from. I started thinking further back and remember he'd had his vaccination three weeks before but initially dismissed it as he has never reacted before and hadn't been affected by the shedloads of sedation and antibiotics he had in January. I then realised my critical error... I usually give him a fix of Protexin when he's given any form of chemical into his body as a 'just in case' measure but I hadn't this time around.

Springtime photo call

That one small thing had kept me guessing why he had lost capability but has reminded me how important the gut is and how influential it can be over feet. Annoyingly I missed my jab date by 4 days so have had to re-start my course. B is pretty much back to normal now, almost 5 weeks after injection date, but he has his second jab on Weds so I have ordered my Protexin in readiness and will hopefully miss out the horrible side effects this time round.

First comp of the year

In a fit of insanity I entered our first BD of the year and first competition since TQ regionals in October. I've been getting really bogged down with some stuff in my personal life, plus work is incredibly busy and so, whilst on the train en route to a meeting, I decided the best thing to do would be to just get out there and do it. Totally insane. Plus I added the extra difficulty of entering the novice.. just for a laugh. Ha de ha ha.

Looking handsome in the sunshine

My preparation was thorough... I had one lesson and hardly rode the week prior but B was feeling very well and jolly and, as we hadn't been out since October I had no expectations. I'd entered the new 'bronze' section as I only wanted a qualifying sheet for Area Festivals and wasn't expecting a 66%+ score on our first run. In the days leading up to the show (and I hadn't managed to ride) I decided to withdraw from the Novice as I just didn't need the pressure so I planned to hack there and have nice relaxing warm up for the prelim.

Enjoying his tea with The Herbal Horse keeping him looking fab

I had a lovely time so plaited and cleaned tack in the morning before. It did take me almost an hour to plait though as I was trying to make them neat whilst being ever so aware that I was hideously out of practice... I seem to nail my routine around late August / September just in time for the end of the season! I was feeling very relaxed, hopped on board and off we went with my hi viz donned. For some reason B was on high alert as soon as we got on the road. This was helped (!) by the cars squeezing past us with centimetres to spare at around 50MPH. So we arrived at the venue after our tense journey with me wishing I'd just gone in the bloody lorry!

Comparison Winter '15 vs Winter'16 - delighted with how he's looking

Our warm up followed the same theme... Loss of ability to bend anywhere in his body but his neck became a plank of wood which made his trot attractively choppy and short. I spent my entire 15 minutes on a circle trying to get him to soften and he was much better by the time we were ready to go but when the steward says to you "never mind, sometimes you just have to write days off" it's never a good sign!!

A good bit!

We got in to the arena and Buddy was much more relaxed once he was on his own. We had a good trot around and I had him going much better so as the bell rang I was feeling happier. Then a car came into the car park spitting up gravel which sent him into high alert/tense donkey mode just a few strides before my turn down the centre line and I didn't have that much time left to start so I stopped, patted him and we continued. The centre line wasn't great due to this but there wasn't much else I could do so it was a bit of damage control.

Overall I was pleased with how I got him back and what we achieved despite him being not entirely on side. It was nowhere near where he has been working at home but for a first competition back I was pleased. The video doesn't look as bad as it felt but the judges comments align and there are glimpses of the standard I would have expected. We ended up with just shy of 65% which I am delighted with. I would have been annoyed if we'd got over 66% as I'd not entered a regionals qualifying section but I got my first AF sheet which was the objective so onwards and upwards.

My plan is to focus on my dressage until June purely as work is so busy and, right now, my head is not in the right place to think about eventing. That may change but for now I'm keeping the pressure off and will focus on getting my sheets for AFs, team quest, going to camp and training.

2015 roundup

I cannot believe that I am writing my 2015 round up! It has been an absolutely brilliant year and I've been blessed with a sound, healthy and happy horse which is always the most important thing but I've also been on a huge journey over the last 12 months and added some more amazing people into my team. Looking back at my objectives for the year I didn't achieve them all but I got halfway there against my easily obtainable ones - grassroots remains elusive ;)

April vs Oct - Huge change in musculature and way of going

My highlights for 2015 are as follows:

• Being supported by two amazing companies - The Herbal Horse and Natures Way Natural Hoofcare - who have both enabled Buddy and I to be the best we can be and have given me a boost in my own self belief.
• I have taken huge steps forward in my riding and added two fantastic people into my support team who have helped me achieve it.
• I had my first BD win and averaged 65% at Prelim and 64% at Novice over the year.
• Coming through the finish line at BCA after a clear round XC.
• Team Quest. This was so much fun and I loved every moment (when we weren't competing at BCA). My team mates are amazing and we have really grown as friends over the last year and supported each other when the chips are down and celebrated together. I cannot wait to get back out with my teamies next year.

BUBDs having fun

I have learnt a lot about myself and feel like I have really grown as a rider. The nagging doubts about Buddy's soundness gets quieter and quieter as the years go by and I can honestly say I am the most relaxed about his management as I have ever been which is a good thing as work pressure has meant I've spent far less time with him as I would have liked over the last few months but he has survived. I am blessed to have a fabulous support team around me and my YO plays a huge part in that, particularly as Buddy can be a bit of a diva if he doesn't get his bottom scratches (!) and she helps me get the miles into his feet and scrapes the mud off over the winter.

Each year we complete a new milestone together and this year has been jam packed full of new experiences - TQ, BD, BE, hunting as well as area festivals and regional finals - and I want to continue to build upon that next year. I say it a lot but I know I am blessed to have Buddy fighting fit and sound, he is my rock and I do appreciate every single second I have with him.

I have decided that next year my biggest objective is to chill out, enjoy, remove the pressure and try to reduce my competitiveness! I am going to be very busy with work next year and so I need to be more realistic with my aims so that I am not spending all of my riding time preparing for a competition as it doesn't get the best out of me or Buddy. My sports psychology sessions have helped me identify my triggers and so I am planning on working on staying relaxed whilst at a competition to reduce my overthinking and allow me to just ride. I wouldn't be me without some aims though so my 2016 objectives are as follows:

1. Compete at BD Novice level and qualify for an Area Festival
2. Try an unaffiliated elementary
3. Get a double clear BE
4. Upgrade to BE100
5. Qualify for TQ and My Quest regionals

Finally I would also like to thank each of you who reads the blog. It is so lovely to hear from you all and learn about your journeys so don't ever be afraid of getting in touch, I love hearing from you and Buddy relishes his 'fans' ;o) I hope you've had a great 2015 and here's to an even better 2016.

Happy New Year from Buddy and Krista

It's been a while..

I've had a few messages via my Facebook page as to where I've disappeared to so I'm very sorry - Buddy and I are fine, I am just unbelievably busy in my personal life. I will try and keep this more up to date as we start the run up to the season and start competing again and hopefully my work life will have a lot less travelling involved.

SJ at Moreton Morrell

In my last blog we were headed towards our run at Moreton Morrell so I guess I should start back there! We didn't have the best run and ended up eliminated for multiple refusals XC. Dressage felt good, albeit with moments of tension so I wasn't expecting a stellar score but thought it would be 34-37 depending on how the judge felt. SJ I had a new warm up routine and really focused on getting the canter spot on which I managed and had a spot on warm up. I went in to the ring and it all went to pieces - we ended up having 4 down which is a record for us and most unlike Buddy to knock so many fences. I came out feeling really annoyed as I thought I'd ridden well and didn't deserve to have those fences but hey ho. I had walked the XC and thought it would be a good question for us, definitely a top end BE90, but I was confident that we would get round. How wrong I was! I had the worst warm up ever, totally misjudged it and on our last jump with 1 minute to go Buddy slammed on the brakes as a horse was cantering in front of us and ended up climbing the fence. I got flustered and we didn't have a chance to jump anything else which was not ideal as the first fence was a pallisade with a white top that I knew he'd look at. We came out the start box thinking backwards and a quick slap down the shoulder got us over the first and I think I must have been so flabbergasted (and I got my trusty whip stuck in my neckstrap) that we stopped at the second. Urgh. We continued rather stickily onwards with a few sticky jumps until the two steps downwards - I'd debated which way to come off the bottom step and had thought straight but when I got there I hesitated and B took advantage and we stopped briefly. I don't think he stepped back but it didn't matter in the end so we continued onwards. We were definitely in the zone from there and I was feeling confident that we'd got over all the tricky questions until we came to the ditch. It didn't cross my mind that he  would stop but he said no BIG TIME and meant it and thus ended our journey at MM (although the fence judge kindly let me pop the ditch). After I'd gotten off the course I dismounted and quickly saw blood in B's mouth - he'd bitten a chunk out of his tongue which I am going to put the initial huge NO down to. Very disappointed but nothing terrible happened and we live to fight another day. 

Modelling his new rug from Natures Way and being photobombed by fellow BUBD Indy

The day's events did make me wonder what on earth I am doing when I get to a show as it all seems to be working well at home but something goes very wrong as soon as I set foot at an event! The fabulous Giles had offered to come with me before and so I asked him if he would come to my final event of the season which was going to be Littleton Manor but in the end B tweaked his back after TQ regionals and so I finished my season with MM. Very annoying but I will be grabbing G for my first event next season to see if we can figure it out, plus I've been doing some sports psychology over the winter to help me prepare. I think I have a better handle on my triggers now so just need to test out those coping mechanisms.

TQ Regionals

Next up was our season finale! Team Quest Regional Finals. I have never been so excited and nervous about a competition in my whole life. The BUBDs were all terrible for winding ourselves up - we wanted to qualify for the Nationals so badly - but in the end we all decided that we were lucky enough to get three knackered nags to the Regionals in the first place and we would be really chuffed with a rosette (top 10). The day came and the competition was tough, we were the only team with just three riders in and the pressure was really on to have mega scores. In the end we all did lovely tests but they would have all needed to be mid 70's to stand a chance of a top three finish and I am just not that consistent yet so that wasn't going to happen. As it turned out we came a very respectable 9th place and so got our plaque and rosette. We will definitely be back at it again next year and will be trying even harder to get to the National finals.

Chuffed with our test - TQ Regionals

After this Buddy managed to tweak his back so was off for a couple of weeks, I went to the US and then couldn't seem to get myself motivated so we've had an incredibly quiet few months of hacking and pretty much nothing else. I've done a couple of schooling sessions in the last two weeks and am delighted to report that the break feels like it's done him some good and he's feeling very well so it's back to lessoning in the new year and getting ready for an April/May start to the event season.

Blinged Up Bullet Dodgers Team Photo modelling sponsor rugs from Natures Way

R & R and RRR

We've had a quiet few weeks since area festivals but have kept busy with plenty of training and exciting news. Qualification for Team Quest regional finals ended on 31st August and I was delighted to see that we had qualified so we are off to Wellington on 4th October and will be praying to the dressage Gods that we get a bit of luck o the day and manage to grab one of three qualifying spots for Nationals. It will be extremely tough but we will give it the best shot!

Whilst I was sunning myself I had J ride Buddy for me to ensure that we keep moving forward to Regionals. She did a fabulous job (as I knew she would) and Buddy was feeling very well when I rode him out when I got back.. So well that I'd thought he'd had a few days off but no he'd been ridden the day before!! I am loving this change as it means we have finally succeeding in keeping Buddy looking and feeling well at this time of year. It's only taken me five years and I'm sure B will throw an additional  question in at some point but for now it appears that adding omega rice in early (I started it again in August in anticipation) and the supplements from The Herbal Horse are keeping him in tip top condition and feeling well.

Upon my return I was asked if I'd like to go cubbing (or Autumn hunting as it's now known) and as I would like to take B hunting this winter I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get him used to the hounds and settle any excitement with a smaller field. I am a true hunting novice so I was being very kindly babysat by a teenager from the yard who did a very good job of making sure I didn't do anything too silly. Initially B was rather on his toes but soon settled and was a super star. It was a perfect introduction as there was lots of hanging around, plenty of hounds around his feet and a busy enough field of excited ponies who knew exactly what was going on! I was also given an incredibly warm welcome and we will definitely be going back again soon.

It was then time for RRR15. I was in London with work in the morning so I arrived rather late on Friday evening but the lovely J stayed so I can still have a bit of my lesson anyway. We focused on keeping him forward and supple and he is feeling so good. I need to remember to keep him forward in the lateral work as he finds sideways far too easy but struggles to move forwards at the same time. It causes brain ache for the pair of us! It was lovely to hear from fellow rehabbers that B was looking better than ever and looks far more handsome in real life which made me chuckle.

We had a jam packed Saturday with SJ and XC lessons running all day. I was feeling rather apprehensive about jumping in front of so many people. It is still a huge challenge for me to get over so it was good practise to have so many people watching but G did tell me that I needed to breathe on a couple of occasions! Our SJ session was great, he was rather forward to start with so we tweaked the bitting again as he was sucking back into it rather than going forward and after that B felt the most balanced and controlled that he ever has. My position is improving and B is far more confident, he didn't even look at the fillers which would have been unheard of a couple of months ago. Later on we moved out to the XC course and G had us jumping lots of tricky combinations. We took the bitting back to its stronger version as I had nothing over the first few jumps and then we got back to a much more polite pony. He is still incredibly keen but it is positive energy rather than craziness and he just wants to get the job done. I need to make sure that I keep him focused on his job but he is becoming better and better everytime we go out.

RRR is such a great event and although we had some of my favourite people (and ponies) missing there were new faces to spend time with and share that journey with again. I come away each time filled with pride at how far all these horses and owners have come and despite the challenges their horses throw at them the network rallies round and helps each other through again. I watched several combinations bloom with confidence over the weekend and it was so nice for everyone to be cheered on along the way. No other group could empathise more with the journey we are all on and understand the impact that small steps forward have. The feeling of trepidation never goes away and even three years down the line despite being far easier, it is always at the back of my mind and my first panic if something doesn't feel quite right and it is in those moments that you need that support network of people to either tell you to just get on with it or to bounce ideas around with.

Next stop is Moreton Morrell for the BE90 and I am using all of my runs as educational pieces so I can try and get a system sorted! It will be the first time over an XC course in the new bit so hopefully we won't have a repeat of ALW but if we do then we will find a new way around it!