Blog 19: Back on the up!
Posted by Georgie Wood on
15 July 2014
Well it all seems to be improving rapidly here at Georgie Wood Eventing! It is funny how it goes with horses, that one minute nothing can go wrong, whatever you do, The next minute one thing after the other goes wrong. However that is all part of the sport and dealing with it all appropriately is what makes the good times even better.
When I left off, we were just about to head to Felbridge combined training with the two horses. We made two trips as it was local and I was doing the two classes at opposite ends of the day! Drew was up first, he is such a pleasure to take out - he is so easy to deal with! I was really pleased with his dressage as it was his first test in dressage boards and he pulled out a very respectable 33. The show jumping was decent and I was slightly apprehensive we may have bitten off more than we could chew! I needn't have worried though, as he was a total pro and just popped round keeping a lovely rhythm but was unlucky just to role the in of the double for 4 faults. It was a big, competitive section so he wasn't placed but I couldn't have asked for any more. Next up was Lily, and the aim was not to let her stop in the jumping as that is the slight trend she has got into recently. Well she absolutely stole the show! She did a 29 dressage (the next best was 33.5) then jumped the most amazing clear show jumping and felt back to the horse I had last season. We are feeding her Instant Linseed from the Simple System range and I think it has definitely helped boost her immune system and aid her recovery. Also focussing on feeding her before I ride her every time to help soothe her tummy. As a result, she managed to win, with the next best score to her 29 being 35!
Drews eventing debut was on Sunday the 13th of July and I didn't really know what to expect! He continued his Mr Perfect status, with a 30.4 dressage in his first ever test on grass, which left him in fourth place after the first phase. The show jumping course was so badly built - I have never seen anything like it, and as a result it was impossible to get into any sort of rhythm, because of this we ended up jumping some of the course from trot as it was impossible for the poor pony to keep his balance otherwise. However he came out with a clear round over a decent track. I had no idea what to expect cross country as he has never been cross country in a competition before. He was a little spooky in the warm up but as soon as he left the start box he was a total pro. He just ate up the course and kept galloping. He went straight into the water and no hesitation over the ditch. So a double clear and a good dressage left him in 4th at his first event. He is such a lovely lovely pony and I am going to be very sad to see him go at the end of the summer, but he will bring somebody an amazing amount of pleasure!
Lily is off to Smiths Lawn Novice on Tuesday 5th of August so we shall see if we have managed to put her cross country demons to bed - fingers crossed!
Georgie x