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!

Bury Farm Area Festivals

The last week has been focused on sorting my brain out a bit and preparing for our very first area festivals... and plaiting... lots of plaiting practice! My YO has told me that my plaits are crap (in the nicest possible way) and I've never learnt to do them with anything other than bands so after B looked so gorgeous at ALW I decided it was time to bite the bullet and start sewing my plaits. I was pretty crap but after another quick de brief I got the hang of it and then spent the next three nights practising. They are not Burghley worthy (yet) but I was pretty pleased and they looked so much better than my banding attempts so sewing is the way forward from now on.

Chilling in his stable between tests

I had a lesson with J the day before to run through my tests and work on sharpening him up as he can become a bit of a lazy toad and get behind my leg. Lots and lots and lots of transitions really helped and I was pleased with our run through. Points to note: don't stop riding, don't let him get long and enjoy it!

I'd booked a stable at Bury Farm and had always planned to stay over on the Friday night but I changed my mind and made the decision to drive up first thing on Saturday morning, do the arena walk and give B a couple of hours to chill before our warm up test. So I ended up leaving the yard at 5:30am to get there on time.. My little lorry sat nav took me on the most random journey past Whipsnade Wildlife Park and at one point I thought I was going to be driving through the park and had a little bit of a panic - I'm not sure B would have liked the monkeys climbing on the roof and would the lions have thought their lucks was in with meals on wheels (?!) - but luckily there was an option to continue on the 'normal' road.. crisis averted.

Big pats in the final halt

Due to our little diversion I had 5 minutes left of the arena walk so chucked the tack on and in we went. B was quite tense but nothing terrible and I was glad to have done it. He then had some time to relax in his lovely stable and I plaited him up and got myself ready. We had a warm up test (P15) first in the international indoor and after finally finding my way into the warm up I was really pleased with how he went and he focused on me immediately. It was soon time to go in and B tensed up as we went through the horse walk and into the huge arena which was decorated with flags, banners and flowers. I made sure I used lots of transitions to soften him up and make him more reactive to my leg and then they rang the bell. Our first centre line was a bit wobbly, our first 20m circle a fraction small and B was anticipating my leg a bit which made him tense but I was really pleased with the test and thought it was a fab warm up for our AF test.

P15

At this stage it was starting to get rather warm and I was worried B would doze off before our AF test (P19). We had over an hour in between and so I watched a few tests and had a wander round before tacking B up and starting our warm up. We were outside for the AF and there was a lot going on so B was rather tense in the warm up. I spent the majority of this time trying to get him to soften and as soon as he did I worked on my transitions. It was soon our go and I felt rather nervous as I entered the AF arenas! The test was not our best, B was tense, I was concentrating on keeping him in the right pace rather than keeping him up together but by the time we trotted down the centre line I was delighted with him. He coped so well with the atmosphere, we did everything in the right place and I enjoyed the experience.

Too on the shoulder but check out the heel first landing!

All I wanted was to pick up my AF plaque and to not come last and that was achieved!! We finished up on 64% so our PB for that test so I can't be less than pleased, particularly in that environment. The judges disagreed slightly in their opinions with one having us in second place overall and another putting us way down the order and it was really interesting reading the viewpoints from the different judges and the points that let us down according to each one. The winners of the class were on 70% so we weren't hugely outclassed but I definitely need more ring practise as I just can't seem to manage to keep him together consistently throughout a test which is rather annoying but I will get there soon enough.

My plan was to have that as our last competition for a while but I have done a last minute entry into Fairoak for this weekend to practise my ring craft. Scores don't matter but I want to focus on my riding and work on keeping him together more before we have a break. We will then go to see G for a jump session and to try and work out this bitting situation before I go on holiday.

Average Aston le Walls

I was so excited to get to ALW I was like a kid at Christmas, waking up at 6am with those little excited butterflies in my tummy fluttering away. I'd done all my preparation and felt ready to put everything into practise and had my chimp semi under control (or at least he was quiet for the moment). We arrived with plenty of time to walk the course, have a look around and get ready. My lovely YO had plaited and quarter marked Buddy so he was looking mega smart and I was ready to show him off.

Looking smart in his 'The Herbal Horse' kit

He warmed up well for dressage, he had a few tense moments when horses came cantering towards him but he just went tense rather than doing a 180 like he used to. He was reactive and off my leg so I was pleased with him. I also felt rather relaxed which was unusual! As we went over to our arena Buddy tensed up and so I used the time around the arena to get him to relax again but as we came down the centre line he went a bit giraffe like but I got him back once we'd turned the corner. It was turning out to be a pretty sweet test until after our first canter when my mind went blank and I completely forgot whether I was supposed to be going across the diagonal or doing a circle! I stopped for a second and went for the circle option which was thankfully the right one. I was a bit disappointed to get a 34 as I thought it was a 32 test but I got a 0 for the stopped moment (!) and a 2 for my free walk as he jogged which I thought was a bit harsh but that's dressage and it was a mistake so I need to take it and work on it for next time.

Dressage: https://youtu.be/3Z3MG720-WE

Off to show jumping and B was feeling rather sharp as I walked down to the warm up. I hate SJ warm ups and so I know I get tense and B was really playing on it so I started jumping quite quickly after going in. He was feeling bright over the cross pole and I had it my head 'shimmy, fanny, leg' after my lesson with G but I really struggle to let go when B charges the last stride and with the stress of competition I held instead of shimmied and he was just crashing through all the poles. He respected the oxer I popped so I went in hoping that the fillers would back him off a bit in the ring.

SJ round: https://youtu.be/Xq-VN3Yfv70

We ended up having two poles as he was just fighting me. They were my poles as I just didn't ride well enough.. I was defensive into the first (no idea why as he was so onward bound), he charged to the second, we had a nice jump over 3 and 4 (as I actually rode) then got close to 5 and took the pole with his front legs. Watching the video I let my reins get far too long, I should have shortened them several times round the course but I didn't and so they got long, he got long and that's why we had the last. Annoying as they are my poles but I think I might also need to have a look at the bitting again.

Galloping towards the last

Quick change for me and onto the XC. I had a feeling he was going to be rather exuberant and I wasn't wrong. We warmed up well, he was super sharp off my leg and stormed out of the start and locked on to the first fence. He then took the bridle and we were off! Flew over the second, got a bit close to three as he wasn't really listening to me, over the house at four, didn't blink at five then spooked at the water (!) so came back to trot and we picked up canter on the other side and I kicked on to 6. 7ab was a step up, drop down and he had a hesitation at the top but a kick and we were off again to 8 which was a lovely wide oxer which he ballooned but was getting pretty strong at this point. Twisty turny round to 9ab which was drop to skinny and I couldn't get him back to the bouncy canter I needed to pop off the drop and get to the skinny and so he flew off the drop without leaving us the space to get to the b element and we glanced off it. Popped it fine when he realised he had to jump it and then kicked on to the corner. People had asked me if I was going direct here and it hadn't even crossed my mind to do the alternative - he'd been fine at BCA and he flew this one too! I kicked him on and we had a gallop to 11 and took this out of our stride, onto the max dimension (110cm) brush which was the only thing that backed him off and we had a much more controlled jump over 13. My arms and core had started to ache by this point after all the setting up and trying to balance him into the fences and I relaxed going into 14ab and ended up having 2 glance offs this fence too where I just couldn't hold him together and then we galloped home and over the last.

I wasn't especially happy with my performance as I knew I could have ridden better and we wouldn't have had the run outs at 14ab but I couldn't have done anything about the first one. I know I still don't ride as well at a competition so that will come with time but I also need to have a look at the bitting again as I think I need to either put two reins on the Pelham or find something else and as I struggle with one set of reins (!) I think I'll really struggle with two right now. I am delighted though that he is really starting to look for his fences (usually from the next class up) and is thoroughly enjoying his XC now so that's my positive from the day. Realistically I think he finds this all a bit too small and too easy and he is probably ready to step up but I'm not completely comfortable taking that next step as I will need to be totally positive, help him out a bit more and as I haven't ridden competitively at 100 level for 15 years it feels like a big step for me and where things become a bit more serious.

Buddy's just read his upcoming schedule!

We've got area festivals this weekend and then no competing for a few weeks as I'm going on holiday and he's got a busy time coming up after that with RRR, Moreton Morell which is our next BE, Regional Finals for Team Quest then Littleton and Broadway BE to finish the season.