Petplan Equine
Sponsored Rider - Jack

March and April Update

The past few weeks have been very busy with the event season now well under way. It has been great fun being one of Petplan Equine's Sponsored Riders and it has provided lots of new opportunities including publicity shoots, magazine and local newspaper coverage, and promotions on Petplan Equine’s website and social media pages.

'Landsman' or Scooby as he is known to his friends, is an eight year old Holstein x Thoroughbred, who I have ridden since he was a four year old. He belongs to my mentor, Kathryn Harris and is well known for having a cheeky streak! Scooby has been on great form so far this season, jumping double clear at our first event at Swacliffe Park in the BE100. Despite not being a huge dressage fan, Scooby pulled a 33.8 out of the bag (0.2 in front of Kathryn, not that we're competitive). The cross country looked quite technical but we headed to the start box, which Scooby promptly left at such speed that I nearly stayed in it! Scooby stormed around the course and we finished just outside the prizes in 12th.

On the Easter bank holiday, we headed to a very wet Howick Horse Trials. Scooby was pure class and we jumped clear in the cross country and scored 28.5 in the dressage to finish in 2nd place.

Onto Ascott-under-Wychwood; not only did I have the normal competition pressures to deal with, Petplan Equine had organised Ultimate Images to follow me around for the day. So I had to ride well and look good, the two don’t normally go hand in hand. Trying to block the clicking of cameras out, we rode a 35.5 dressage test, which I was slightly disappointed with but it turned out to be very good in the section. I guess I will never understand this business of dressage judging. We jumped clear in the show jumping despite having sat-nav issues and went onto jump clear and within the time for the cross country to finish in 4th place.

The last weekend of April, I rode Scooby at Bicton in the BE100. The event did not quite go to plan as he was a bit tense in his dressage and far too bright in the show jumping! The cross country was our biggest and toughest to date together. He stopped and I fell off at the first warm up fence, also the smallest, but then we went onto have a super cross country ride which was clear and inside the time! Fingers crossed his top form continues!

I've been busy schooling the younger horses too; Pro-Dante (Danny) and Rebel Dude (Buzz). Danny, who has just turned five, is by dressage stallion Pro-Set. Danny had been doing some very consistent dressage tests and jumped three super clears show jumping. Buzz is a very beautiful grey ex racehorse who I have recently bought as a summer project. He’s lovely moving and is very bold to jump. He is coming on really well and will be heading out competing in the next few weeks. They have both been cross country schooling, proving to be bold and brave.

Scooby now has a quiet May planned, he'll only be running at Mount Ballan, and then it will be full steam ahead for a busy June and July. Danny and Buzz will be having a busier few weeks, with lots of trips cross country schooling, show jumping and to dressage.