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Hi everyone, October’s been a bit of a mixed month really, with lots of different things going on.
To start off Oscar went to his first competition in god knows how long! We took him to a nice local dressage show just to ease him back into the event world again. He was amazing from start to finish, came out really calm and relaxed which was lovely!
He warmed really nicely and went into his first test (Novice 27) and went so well, just a few little mistakes where I’m getting used to riding him in an arena and tests again, but still producing a lovely test to win! We then did our second test (Novice 28) which he did really well in, just getting a little tired towards the end meaning he got a bit fiddly in his mouth, but still did really well to come 2nd! I honestly couldn’t have been happier with him that day as he behaved so well and tried his best to concentrate the whole time!
We’ve been taking him out SJ training quite a bit to just try and get his experience up more with jumping courses and seeing different places and jumps, and he’s been really good. He’s getting much better with being more adjustable in a course which I have to say is all thanks to the help we got from Sam Griffiths from my bursary lesson from HorseQuest. It really has made such a difference, not just with his jumping but flatwork as well. He is becoming so much stronger and upright in his frame which feels lovely, and finally starting to carry himself more as well. I just need to work on getting that same feeling in a test and not just training at home.
I have however, really been struggling with keeping up with my college work, and I think (I hope!!) I’m not the only one! By the time I’ve finished with the horses in the evening I’m finding it very tricky to find the motivation to do my work, and with only 6 months of college I just need to get through it, and I think part of the issue is I’m so invested in the horses and riding, especially as it is what I would like my career to be, that my college work suffers. So, if anyone has any tips on managing it all please let me know!!
On a more positive note, we took Oscar XC training to Boomerang last week and he was absolutely foot perfect! It was his first time back XC schooling since March and he flew so many very spooky fences (including the famous cow fence) and some very technical lines, which really filled me with confidence for getting him ready for next season, fingers crossed I get to event him next season!!
Huge thanks to HorseQuest for their help with funding to make this extra training possible. He is now having a couple days off as he has had a very intense past couple months and he started to feel a little flat, so he’s having a small break to just re-cooperate and re-energise.
Well, that’s it from me this month. Got lots planned in November (including a camp with Ros Canter and Caroline Moore!!) so looking forward to reporting back on all of that!
