Top of the Morning to you all. June has been a busy month for me with lots of outings, the hot weather is not to my liking although the old girl loves the sun on her back. In order to keep me cool I have been clipped a couple of times which makes me look very smart and reduces the amount I sweat. The old girl is always shovelling electrolytes into me and provides plenty of water as she is paranoid about dehydration. One of the many great things about Fibre-Beet is the way it can be fed very sloppy providing a good source of fluid.
Bramham was a fantastic outing for us all in the Pony Club team show jumping competition. The young master was in seriously good form and the turf felt brilliant under my feet. We cruised round the course posting a clear for the York & Ainsty South team, one of only eight of the day, which helped our team to finish in third place.
The following weekend saw us head to Willow Banks in Lincolnshire for the British Novice Second rounds. The heatwave that hit the country sadly took its toll on me and I had a bout of four faultitis. I had a third and sixth place in a couple of the supporting classes but I just didn’t manage a clear round when it really mattered. Onwards and upwards is the family motto so we didn’t dwell on it and thoughts turned to the forthcoming Pony Club Area show jumping competition at the end of the month.
The weather went from one extreme to another with downpours of heavy rain which made our training difficult as the arena kept flooding. The young master and I had several refreshing hacks which reminded me of my homeland, the Emerald Isle, where it rains virtually every day!
The Legend joined me at Bishop Burton for the Pony Club jumping. He was taking another young rider for her first taste of team competitions in the junior section. It was a very long day for both of us with much excitement along the way.
The York & Ainsty South were the first team to jump in the intermediate competition. Our pathfinder went clear, and I followed on with another clear to much cheering from the sidelines. Our next member had 8 faults, showing the course was actually quite tricky. The anchor man had 4 faults leaving us on a total of 4 faults. The second round saw my fortunes change as the Young Master was overcome slightly by nerves. A miscommunication at the second fence resulted in a pole down and we gathered speed round the course unfortunately rolling the last fence too. Our other team members fared better with two clears so we finished the two rounds on a total of 12 faults. Now it was a waiting game, and as other teams fell by the wayside it became apparent we would have to jump off for first place with another team on the same score. Tension mounted as our pathfinder had four faults at a wide oxer. The girl from the opposing team went clear so I knew I really had to dig deep and find reserves of energy to keep our team in with a chance. The young master got a grip of his nerves and we pulled it out of the bag producing a well needed clear. The boy from the other team had two down so we were back in the hunt. Things then sadly didn’t go to plan when our next member retired and the opposition went clear. Our anchor man really felt the pressure and the elusive clear just didn’t happen. Second place in the team competition and the turnout was a good result but meant we didn’t qualify for the Championships.
The Legend, living up to his name, cruised round in the junior competition picking up a double clear rosette into the bargain. So now my attention has been turned to the forthcoming Pony club dressage competition at Rillington Manor. Tune in next month to see if the young master and I can remember the test.
Billy x
