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Nevada's First competition was a dressage day on the 16th January. I did two unofficial tests, Prep 2 and Prelim 1A, and one official test, Prelim 1B. In the Prep we got 57%, in the 1A we got 45% and in the official 1B we got 50%. I was so pleased with her, especially since she was nice and calm the whole day, and didn't panic when I did! Unfortunately I'm not very good at competitions, and because it was the first one with a new horse I was worse! Photos are here!
We were then supposed to go to another dressage day at the local RDA, but unfortunately couldn't make it due to transport problems. |
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| The weekend of 26th/27th of February I was supposed to be travelling to Narellan (near Sydney) for Nevada's very first one day event, however the truck supposed to take her changed their plans at the last minute! She was supposed to be picked up Friday morning, however the truck was going to a sale, and found out on Tuesday that they had to be there Thursday night. I rang on Thursday to confirm the pickup time, and the woman's reply was "Oh S*** I forgot we were taking you!" The only thing they could do was pick her up in two hours, take her to the TB stables, feed and water her Thursday night, then take her to the ODE when the sale was finished (about 4pm) on Friday, where I would meet them. This being totally unacceptable to me, Nevada being a young horse and all, I decided to stay home. While I was certainly angry, as I was all hyped up about going, I felt that it was too much hassle to put Nevada through her first time out. |
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| The next competition was a dressage day on 5th March. We did 2 unofficial tests, Prelim 1A and 1B. The 1B was first and wasn't so good, we got 49.6%. The 1A was really good and we got 56.3%! I was so thrilled about that, as it was only her second time out. The first test was basically not very forward, which leads to resistance. The second test was lovely and forward, and she was very soft most of the time, although she was rushing a little on the canter circles. Overall, I was pleased with her, as once again she was cool and calm on the day. Sorry, no photos this time. |
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On Sunday 12th March we went to another dressage day, and did the Prelim tests 1C and 1E. Scores were 50.8 and 50.74. I thought the 1C test deserved a lot more, as she was going really nicely the whole time, but who knows what the judge was thinking! I think the judges mark Prelim horses far too harshly, but that's just my opinion. The 1E is quite a hard test, and she started off really well, but towards the end she got a bit tired I think, and she began to lose impulsion and resist. Overall, though, I thought it was a good day.
Saturday 18th March saw her first showjumping competition. We did the cross bar, 50 and 70cm classes. The first two were clear rounds, which was really good, as there were all sorts of scary things to worry about, like a pair of wings covered in pot plants, and two "telephone boxes" with a brick wall as the jump. We had a rail down and a refusal in the 70cm class. The rail down was because what had been a vertical for the last two rounds had suddenly becoma a Swedish oxer and she had a bit of a look at it. The refusal was the second element of a double, where a board had suddenly appeared! I probably could have got over but I wasn't quick enough to bring her back to the left. The turn onto it wasn't fantastic either, so this certainly wouldn't have helped, either.
On Monday 20th we have our first ODE. Hopefully it doesn't rain as it is currently storming outside!
Bad News - it did rain! It absolutely poured the night before and into Monday. I think someone is trying to tell me I'm not meant to event! |
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Here are two pictures of Cathrerine Dufour's horse, Abbey. Cat writes :
"This is my mare Abbey. She is a 6 years old, 17hh American Warmblood (TB x Percheron). I bought her in August 1999. She had been neglected a whole lot as a baby and for the last year had been sitting in a field doing nothing. So I had a lot of work on my hands but she is worth it all! I intend to event with her, her dressage is improving every ride and she is a natural at jumping. She is the sweetest mare I've ever met. She neighs when she sees me and she loves to cuddle and be scratched. I've developed a bond with her that I never thought would be possible. This bond between a horse and its rider is truly an amazing and beautiful thing..."
To visit Cat's homepage, click on either of the photos! Thanks for your contribution Cat, and good luck with Abbey! Keep me posted how she's going. |
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Some great news! On Sunday, June 18, I took Nevada to another unofficial dressage day, and did the 1B and 1C tests. We did 1C first and came third, then did 1B and came fourth! I was absolutely stoked! I even beat my coach, Di, in the 1B! These are the first two places she has won in anything so I am thrilled! Her next outing is on 9th July, another unofficial dressage day, then on the 16th July we have our Canberra Lakes Pony Club dressage day, where we will attempt our first Novice test. That will be scary!
Here are the results from CLPC! In the Prelim test (1C) we got a fantastic score of 61.2%, her best score yet. In the novice (2D) which was way too hard for her anyway, we got a vary creditable score of 48.8%. One of my students, Katherine, also did well. I'm not sure of the actual scores she got but I know she was really happy with them! (This was her first proper dressage day and only about her third or fourth test!) |
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