Best laid plans?
18 February 2016
This is the not the story I hoped to write for my blog this month but…
We had a great time in Genemuiden, Netherlands. The journey there was uneventful despite arriving in a snow storm - longer than I expected but once there the organisers were wonderfully hospitable and we quickly got Rhapsody comfy and warm in his stable - with temperatures of minus 7 it was sooo cold! . We had a riding time of 8:30 the next morning with the trot up in the afternoon. Raps felt great as we warmed up in before having our time in the competition arena. By chance I had the place to myself which allowed me to really focus on Rhapsody and run through some of the test movements although unlike some people I don’t like to ride the whole test very often. The para tests have not changed for a number of years now and Raps is such a smart arse he anticipates the moves so its best to keep him fresh and listening to me so we mix it up a little. I was really pleased with how he felt - very energetic and athletic… a little cheeky too but having that energy makes him easier to ride.
As Rhaps was going to have a fairly intensive few weeks training as well as the travelling, I started to include Eclipse Recovery, along with his normal FlexiBalance, in his diet before he went to Andrew J Murphy for his training session at the beginning of January and continued building it up to full strength before we departed to cross the Channel. In the run up to these big 3* competitions I also change the ratio between LucieNuts and Red Bag Grass Pellets to ensure he has plenty of energy and to keep his performance levels where I want them. Being able to target feed before our test at a competition is also a great benefit, the only downside being - warning: keep away from the slobbery green muzzle in your white breeches!!
We did not get the scores we were hoping for in Holland despite two solid tests that I thought were among the best that we had done as far as quality of work, thoroughness, forwardness and accuracy. We did make a mistake on the first day with Rhaps insisting on halting at X despite my best efforts to keep him forward to G. Something we will be working on at some local competitions this month! The championship test on the second day I felt was really good - we nailed the walk pirouettes and all 4 simple changes, went for it in the medium and extended trot and canter and produced what I thought was a positive and secure performance. Marking was generally on the low side but I was gutted when my scores were read out that we hadn’t gotten the mark we needed to get the precious extra 2 rankings points - by 0.16%!! I was further stunned when I got my score sheets and saw a massive 34 mark difference between the judges which undoubtedly was responsible for not getting my required score. Sickening!!
To add insult to injury we did not qualify for the freestyle on the final day so we decided to head for home a day earlier than planned. As we waited at the front of the queue in Calais we were horrified to see hundreds of people storm the ferry we were about to board! Water canons and riot police were called in to try and get the situation and the people under control and secure the ferry. It seemed to take forever but after 5 long hours during which time Rhaps had as much hay as he could eat together with his Simple System supper and unlimited water we were loaded onto another ferry. We were so glad to get home! Poor Rhapsody had been on the lorry for 16 hours in total!! He is a star traveller but by the end even he was getting a bit fed up - although we only had one bang from him… mostly he was chucking his buckets and hay around!
Thankfully Rhapsody suffered no ill effects following his ordeal and after a couple days off in the field was bucking his way round the school on the lunge as if nothing had happened - testament no doubt to his Simple System Horse Feeds diet!
So the end result is our name will be in the hat for the wild card. It is actually not a lucky dip but will have to present my case to the FEI and IPC for consideration. And then a month of waiting to hear. In the meantime I am determined to stay positive as we still have lots to look forward to regardless of what happens with Rio!! The FEI have given us a grant for 2016… specifically for our competition and training costs in preparation for Rio. It is a huge honour to receive this support from the FEI and means I will be able to continue doing what I love and proceed with our plans for international competitions this year - first off will be Belgium in April for another great competition organised by Quadrille!