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It never rains but it pours

09 April 2018

We’ve been mad busy since I last wrote. Our final XC school before we got going was at Tweseldown. The carpark was absolutely rammed with the world and his aunt all having the same idea. Seems like ages ago now. Millie was still testing whether Martin was up to the job but generally was starting to look quite classy over the brown sticks. Ehren has been to her first competitions since October in preparation for the Winter Championships. Lots of new venues; Wix, Brendon Stud, Petley Wood and Essendon and Epping Forest Dressage Group. We’ve had a mixture of sunshine and the most digusting wet days I have ridden in for a very long time. She has moved seamlessly from anxious and fragile to hormonal and spooky. I have wondered if BD would consider moving the date of the Champs to June for next year?! We have lost a few clinics which has seriously dented my bank balance. The final Four Elms clinic was abandoned due to the snow, and a couple of XC days including my big Bonfleur day due to the wet. We have continued to plug away at home though. We must be mad but winter is for training and train we do! Millie made her affiliated dressage debut at Hadlow BD, and boy she showed the home team exactly how it should be done scoring two unbelievable scores of 78%. Wowee!!! We also lost the Munstead Combined Training on grass so it was straight to Poplar Park BE90 where there were still piles of snow out on the XC course. Millie was a star. Running on a little too much in the dressage just losing her balance a bit but scored a very respectable 32.3. Amazingly she jumped a clear SJ round, by far the best round that she has jumped to date. Long may that continue! Then a super clear XC with a few time penalties to finish 8th. What a fantastic start to the season. Clever Millipede. She then went to Munstead for another BE90. This time she was rather excited to be there and was very bright in the dressage for an expensive 38.5. The SJ warmup and arena was very wet; conditions that she has never jumped in before and she went rather green but kept going rolling one pole. The XC going was super and she jumped a lovely clear with a few time faults. Very much a learning day for the young girl. We have been so very lucky to have had two runs with so much cancelled so far. The Bomber has been back to the vets for a check up. After six months off, including four months restricted to her bedroom she is now allowed out. Hurrah! Hopefully she will relocate soon for some proper R&R mooching about outdoors and come home in September. The theory being that young Rodney will come home in May for some light work for a few months through the summer and he will go back out for the winter. He’s too big for much this year. Poor Lily does not seem to be happy. My gut feeling is that this has been bubbling away for 18 months or so now and despite our best efforts has reached a point where she can’t do it anymore. I don’t have a crystal ball though so we will see what the vet says in a few weeks and hope I am wrong. Millie is all entered for HorseHeath BE90 next but has spent the week in her bedroom with a big hot fat bandaged front leg. It never rains eh…… I have a busy Easter holiday with Pony Club assessing, training and coach training. We then have a mini break in Gloucestershire with Ehren. The first Carmen Court SJ clinic of the year is on the horizon…..I have a couple of Wobbleberries at Horseheath, and hopefully Millie will have Chilham BE90. Everything crossed that she is basically OK or I will have to Google ideas for what normal people do at the weekend….

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