Saturday started pre-dawn with some plaiting by headtorch-light. The day before had been manic too, with gear cleaning in the morning before work, a day which ended with one of those interminable meetings you can't get out of run by a manager who doesn't know when to shut up, just at a time when you really need to leave!! I dashed home with kids, changed into the most horse-washing-friendly clothes I could find and ran out to collar the poor equine who was grazing quite contentedly in the paddock. A quick hose and a shampoo later (though I was kicking myself I didn't do his tail after all that), and I threw him back with a feed in a show set. Which he promptly tried to roll off. Then off to a great night of burlesque circus at Empire. Great timing!
So, back to Saturday....Tux was remarkably good-natured about the whole thing and stood there chewing his hay while I plaited feverishly in the headlamp's glow, until I finally realised dawn had well and truly arrived and I didn't have to bother with it anymore. Off we zoomed at 6:15am, arriving at Equestrian Park right on time at 7am, to be met by my awesome strapper cum penciller, Jo. I would not have made it through the weekend without her, let me tell you. More on that to come.
Tux had lulled me into a false sense of security with his plaiting zen. He was a complete shit in the dressage and spent the majority of the time chomping, rearing, cantering sideways, jogging and otherwise not doing as directed. Needless to say, we were running last after that dreaded phase.
A quick return of idiot horse to the float, then off I ran with poor Jo in tow to the showjumping to give it a quick walk before I headed off to walk the cross country. It was a really nicely designed course with flowing corners and nothing too scary.
Cross country looked great and I found myself getting a bit excited at the prospect of riding around it on a cross country machine the next day. I hopped back on Tux to go showjumping and things seemed marginally better to start with. We were able to walk and trot around the warm up area without too much problem. But the moment we hit canter it all went pear-shaped again. Any touch on the reins was met with rearing and carrying on. I managed to trot over a couple of warm-ups, then cantered fairly well in control over a couple more.
The actual showjump round was not too messy. We left all the poles up which is the goal, but once again there was that tension and resistance around the course. He never just turns, he chucks his head, bounding around the corner and swinging his quarters around. His poll regularly touches my chest. But, he gets around.
After sliding off in a quivering mess and having a confidence-boosting chat with Jo and my other friend Mandy who happened to be wandering past after her dressage test, it was time to switch gears and get into 'judge' mode. With Tux parked in a yard, Jo and I picked up our test clipboard, some yummy pastries and a well-deserved (and craved) soy flat white, and headed down to our arena.
Pre-Novice is a whole, beautiful new world. Filled with really lovely horses, decent riders and politeness far and wide, Jo and I set about having a smashing afternoon judging. Jo being the dressage queen of the two of us, even she was drooling at some of the eventers. And their horses.
It was a bit hot and a bit windy, and that started to wear on us, but it was quite a fun way to spend the afternoon. Fingers crossed the riders didn't think I was an incompetent slacker. Which I wouldn't blame there for assuming given every time someone looked at me I had a coffee or a snack in-hand!
By day's end, I was hauling a well-behaved but somewhat peeved Tux home, lying 4th last and pondering my future with Tux....
Sunday dawned bloody beautifully. I got there a bit earlier than first planned so I was able to walk the course again. I absolutely love the Cross Country app, though I feel like a complete wanker walking the course using it. But it is absolute gold.
The course was a good Intro test. The jumps weren't boring (very few actual logs), the terrain is quite challenging with the rolling hills, and the water involved an actual jump. About time. Tux would eat it up.
The cross country warm up started really well. He was actually chilled out, listening, just doing the gait asked....until it was canter. Then all hell broke loose and he completely lost his shit. This rearing, head-tossing caper lasted for a few minutes until he threw in a real corker when I was a bit unbalanced from the last. I had to hang on to his mouth as I was falling and he started to fall too. I just let go of the reins and that saved both of us. But I fell off. In the warm up area. How embarassment.
I hopped back on, to the consternation of my mates, and headed out on course. He was quite good the first couple, but just wound himself up, getting stronger, faster, stronger until he was almost uncontrollable in the last third of the course. We get round clear, 3 seconds inside time. Great result. But an absolutely exhausting ride, constantly hauling on him to slow down. He would only oblige with a lot of pulling, head tossing and bounding. Not fun.
I'm now in the throes of deciding what to do. I have made the decision to give him until the AEBC clinic in December (remember - daily blogging!!) before I commit to either keeping him or selling him on. I think, in hindsight and after the benefit of a night's sleep, I have pushed him too fast in the hopes he would simply calm down with lots of consistent work. Not so much.
Lastly, I trialled the first 'notch' cutting in Tux's feet. I was really please how they came out and the effect they seemed to have on his traction. We had zero issues in that regard.
Here are some pics of the notches I filed in with the edge of a rasp:
I think I saw your stack, but was too far away to help! I was impressed how your horse just stood there and waited for you to get back up :) Hope you're ok! Look forward to hearing how you go at AEBC.
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