Olly & Brook both qualified for the Regional Finals of the Dengie Showjumping.
This was also held at Sands Farm the day after the Windsor qualifier, so we stayed up over night as it was a really long journey.
Olly went from one extreme to the other, winning the previous day & napping and refusing to go the next.
Brook was good in the Novice Dengie & just had an unlucky pole. She went much better in the Open as it was a bit bigger, but just as the bell went, she had a bucking and rearing fit, then galloped off, so I didn’t have chance to settle her down before the first fence. There were a few scary moments throughout, where an extra stride or two were taken out, but I managed to hold it together until the last fence, where she just took control through a related distance and I just couldn’t hold her, so just touched it bringing it down. But overall a pleasing weekend, although we won’t be going to the Dengie SJ Finals.

Up bright and early as ever, to get to Sands Farm EC for 9am- ready for the course walk for the Top Score Riding Club Qualifier. Olly & Brook, both qualified for the 2nd rounds earlier in 2010, where you had to be in the top 5. But at the 2nd rounds, only the winner goes through to the final, which is held at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 2011.
Olly was in the Novice and did a brilliant round, leaving everyone talking throughout the day, about how amazing the round was, and no-one could believe the angles he jumped from. The poor pony, was a bit shocked when I jumped the plank and then turned right handed to another upright with only a bounce stride between the two. There was no way at all that the fences were actually meant to be jumped together, and I didn’t actually have that route as part of my plan, it just happened to be in front of me, so I took it. He finished on a score of 1300 after a few other hair raising moments where fences were jumped from a near stand still & everybody went silent, gasping for air. 2nd place was 200 points behind, which meant we had a clear win and will be going through to the finals!
Brook was up next in the Intermediate section where the Joker worth 200 points was a rather large skinny vertical at about 1.10m & I think only 2/3 people attempted it. She cleared it the maximum number of times (twice) and went on to win the class by 500 points on a score of 1100. Which meant that she also qualified and will be going to Windsor in May!
Olly then had the dressage finals where he did a lovely test and came 4th which we were really plased with.

The next outing after Pyecombe was Duckhurst, were we learnt to never go out on the 13th again! Brook jumped the Katherine James Scope Qualifier & just had an unlucky pole, but again the fastest time in the jump off. & The same in the 1.05 Scope Qualifier where she would have finished 2nd and qualified if it wasn’t for the pole in the jump off.
Luna- Owned by Shelley, jumped a nice round in the KJSQ but caught me out half way round the course & stuck in a cheeky stop. She then jumped the 1.05 SQ a bit quick and just had an unlucky pole.
Olly had a very mixed and unusual day, with two stops in the KJSQ, which is very unlike him. & then tried it on & stopped in the 1m amateur class, but went really well round the rest of the course. So before the regionals next weekend we have a lot of work to do with all of them.

Finally all dressage was out of the way after the area dressage qualifier, which mean that I could now concentrate on my show jumping after doing solid dressage for a month or more! Brook's last jumping outing was end of January, and before that was her first competition back from injury in December. With the Regional Dengie SJ Qualifier coming up in a few weeks I thought I aught to get her out and practice some jumping. So we took her to Pyecombe & jumped the British Novice which went really well and she just had an unlucky fence in the jump off but the fastest time! Then in the Discovery she had an unlucky pole in the first round, but it was a good day considering she hadn’t been out for ages & all mistakes have been learnt from, so its just a case of getting back into practice now.
Images can be found on

Apart form my birthday; I had to attend the Annual Instructor’s Conference on 2/3/11 , held @ Merrist Wood. After a very long 2 hour journey, I sat in the freezing cold for two hours! The confrence was with Yogi Briesner, GB coach which was very interesting & helpful, so well worth it.

I qualified all three horses (Brook, Olly & Murphy) for the Dengie Dressage 2nd rounds.
We had a very early start to the day getting up @ 4.30AM! We got lost on the way, which made us just over half an hour late, changing the 45 minute warm up i wanted/needed to a quick 10! Olly was up 1st in the Novice, so it was him who suffered the short warm up. After just over a 4 hour journey, he was dragged of the box, no time to walk round and loosen up, and straight onto work, which consisted of bucking, rearing and cantering round like a giraffe. Thank god, just after the 3 minute warning that I was in next, he must have heard and realised he needed to knuckle down, as it wasn’t just a little local test, & it was in fact the Regional/Area Finals! He managed to contain his explosion until after his test, & ended up 6th/22, which was quick a surprise, considering the lack of warm up. So there is hope that he can easily do better with the right warm up!
Next up was Murphy in the Novice, who didn’t do his bets test, but it was enough to pull off 2nd place/22 and qualify for the nationals.
Murphy then went again in the Open & did a much better test than previously & finished 10th/22.
Brook went next in the Open & was really good, doing one of her best tests & finished 8th!

I gained another new ride La Bella Mia- who once again I had never ridden until we got to the show! I jumped the 1m & 1.10m amateur qualifier, which went really well. I was 2nd in the 1m and qualified for the 2nd rounds, and 4th in the 1.10 also qualifying for the 2nd rounds.

I also rode Murphy and won the 1.10! & I jumped my first ever 1.15m which was 1.25 in the jump off, and came 4th, which qualified me for the 2nd rounds.