Petplan Equine
Sponsored Rider - Juliette

July and August Update

After a great start to the season, July proved to be a very busy month for both of the horses. My first outing of the month was with Jess at Eridge Horse Trials in East Sussex. Another run at BE100- this was my first visit to this lovely venue, although I am glad I had been warned about the hills! This cross country course really was a test of stamina for Jess, who is really better suited to flatter courses. What a view for the spectators though, an excellent course for viewing as you can see across the valley including most of the fences, from the cross country start at the top of the hill.

We had a fabulous day and finished in 5th place with a 31 dressage score and then double clear. Her show jumping this year has been more consistent than ever before- unbelievable really but we are still improving together even at this stage and at her age! The dressage was interesting, we were fly- bucking in our free walk as Jess was attacked by the dreadful flies! At least the judges were understanding and didn’t penalise us too harshly! Eight Foundation Points from this result combined with our previous double clears from earlier in the season gave us qualification to enter the Equilibrium Products 100 Eventer Challenge in September, held at Blenheim Palace alongside their international 3* competitions. I entered this event in 2013 and thoroughly enjoyed it! We had eight faults that year so I’m looking forward to the chance to try and go clear!

The same weekend I took Boodles out for a practice session. We jumped an unaffiliated show jumping round at Keysoe in the 80cm, followed by cross country schooling afterwards; he was much bolder and we successfully tackled several 90/100 cross country fences!

At the end of July, Boodles headed to West Sussex for another BE80T at Borde Hill. All our recent schooling paid off and we somehow managed a 23.8 dressage! The best score I’ve ever managed on any horse, ever! This was despite rider injury- I had managed to rub my leg raw during canter sessions that week and had to compete with my leg strapped up in ‘Vetwrap’! The show jumping was a little disappointing with two poles down, he is just still very green and definitely needs more practice here! We went clear cross-country after a close call at the water- a roll top before the water- always Boodles’ least favourite fence! He thought about stopping but decided against it at the last minute and climbed over in a very awkward fashion. Amazingly we finished 4th place! I was very impressed with him so onwards and upwards to our first BE90.

Little Downham BE90 followed just a week later. We couldn’t quite replicate the previous week’s dressage test but managed a decent score of 28.8- he was just lacking some attentiveness. The show jumping was quite a test as he has plenty of scope but still lacks confidence and managed to roll a few poles, including both parts of the final double which was pretty spooky and caught many others out too. In the cross country I struggled to get him to concentrate coming out of the start box and we arrived at the second fence whilst he was still concentrating on the other horses in warm up behind us. He unfortunately stopped as I couldn’t get him to focus on what was coming! He jumped it well at our second attempt. At fence seven we overshot the turn into a combination so circled between elements to avoid presenting badly at part B, thus incurring another 20 penalties, but actually he hadn’t stopped so that one wasn’t his fault! We went on to jump through the step and ditch combinations beautifully, but he looked very carefully at the white roll top into water (yes- another one). He took off, but hit his knee quite hard on the fence. He finished the course well after that including powering through the second water (no roll-tops here), but he was a bit sore when we pulled up- thankfully no damage was done, he was just a bit bruised.

Boodles had a show jumping lesson a week later and another unaffiliated show jumping session. After suggestions during my lesson, I removed his hind fetlock boots- Wow! What a difference! His tendency to rush the last stride and to throw his hindquarters up over the fence vanished- am I riding better, or was it the boots? Whichever it is I hope it continues.

Jess and I had our next event at Aston Le Walls; our second attempt at Novice (The first was in 2013). We had our earliest start of the season so far- and luckily a very dedicated groom for the day who I persuaded to meet me at the yard in time for a 4.30am set off. It was a dark, wet day; we were eventing in a cloud! Jess is not at her best in hot weather or with flies though, so really ideal conditions for us. She produced a lovely dressage test to score 34- I was very pleased with that. We had three poles down show jumping; disappointing as she was jumping superbly- but she found the distances quite long on the day and we managed to take the top rail off each fence in a line of three. Cross country she felt amazing; despite being only 14.3hh she made most of them feel quite small. We did have a run out at the ‘c’ element of fence seven as it was a tricky combinations and very skinny and I felt she hadn’t quite ‘locked on’ when we reached the bottom of the steps. A hairy moment also came at fence ten where she left a leg and I lost a stirrup. I just about managed to regain my composure and stay on! She finished feeling fabulous- the last fence was also the intermediate last fence and she flew the very inviting hedge in fine style, very exhilarating! That is the adrenaline rush that makes the sport worthwhile! But I also finished feeling with a slight sense of disappointment with our 20 penalties. I know we are capable of a clear Novice cross country so the plans for another attempt began! I hope to fit in another Novice in October, we will have another run at BE100 in the meantime to make sure she doesn’t lose any confidence!

A final engagement in Jess’ summer diary came mid-August with a trip to Charlotte Edwards’ amazing yard in Hampshire for a Petplan Equine photo shoot- Jess and I felt like celebrities for the day with cameras everywhere! We may well be appearing in future Petplan Equine articles and advertising campaigns. It was a fun day out for both of us and a nice chance to meet some more of the Petplan Equine staff and other sponsored riders Charlotte and Lili with their lovely horses.

After a hectic few weeks for all of us, it is time for a rest. Both of the horses will get a two week summer holiday to rest and re-charge their batteries ready for a full schedule in September and October- I also need a rest! They will get a longer break at the end of the eventing season, but they have both worked hard for the last five months so I think a short break helps them stay mentally and physically fresh.