17th July 2010 at Brightling
was make or break day for Blarney. After long conversations about the trials and tribulations over the past couple of years, of the glimmers of hope
we had at Brightling last year and Borde Hill in June, it came down to he either does it now or Vicky starts to look for a new member of the team.
It all started well enough, apart from an uncharacteristic error by Vicky where she took a wrong turn in the dressage. Still a score of 35.0 penalities
put the pair in the running going into the show jumping. Now last year Blarney posted a double clear at Brightling and we know he loves the cross country, so
this was all about the show jumping, something he has been totally inconsistent with this year.
And early fence down was nothing much to worry about but a stop at fence 8 and another couple of fences plus time penalties meant the pair were back in cricket
score territory! It felt like we have travelled back in time to the start of last season!!
Finding it hard to hide her disappointment, Vicky finally decided that she would forego the cross country, loaded up and headed for home to look at the classified
ad sections. A quick check of the scoreboard before we went and, had Blarney gone clear in the show jumping, the pair would have been sitting in first place with 6 scores to come
in!; so near and yet so far.
Ultimately, over the past three years the Blarney has just failed to grow up, he still makes the same mistakes he did then and now it is time
for someone else to get the best out of him; cause when he does it, it's very good, when he doesn't, it's soul destroying!.
26th June 2010 at Rackham
ultimately ended in disappointment for Vicky, Blarney and the team. In comparison to recent weeks the team started off relatively late (7.30am!) but with
a good positive feeling, Rackham is a good event and last year Vicky scored her best dressage of the year there.
Unlike last week, it was a fantastic sunny day and Blarney worked in well for his dressage. The round looked good with some nice points but the judging
was not generous with a mark of 38.0 penalities (his test was better than that!).
With the interval between disciplines quite tight, the pair were straight off to do the show jumping. Again, unlike last week, there was plenty of room
to warm up and Blarney was looking good. His round was going well until half way round when he clipped as top rail. Sadly that seemed to put him off
his stride and it was two fences later before Vicky was back in full control, not before he had clipped both fences though.
So with 12 penalties in the show jumping added to the 38.0 from the dressage, a score of 50.0 was not going to give the combination a top ten finish. As
such, because the ground was a little too hard for Blarney, Vicky decided to call it a day and the team headed home. Some show jumping practice is required
before Brightling and a kinder dressage judge would be good!
19th June 2010 at Stratford Hills
turned out to be a bad day for Vicky and Blarney, but was it down to the weather? It was another early start for the team and a long trek up the A12 but a
variable forecast meant a sense of intrepidation had crept in before the day had started.
To sum it all up, we got there in the rain, by the time Vicky had been booked in the sun was out. When Vicky started her dressage test it had rained, been sunny and
rained again; quite simply it couldn't make it's mind up! Either way, Vicky felt Blarney was as 'up for it' as he has been in recent weeks.
End result was a solid dressage test posting a disappointing score of 39.0 penalties, there then followed the show jumping, recently much improved. A stop
at fence 3 was just the start of a round that saw a total of 30 penalties, including two very uncharacteristic stops!.
And so it was really all over going into the cross country but Vicky was out to enjoy the 'best bit'. And as if to prove that fact he wasn't really in the
mood, Blarney had a stop at fence 7! Vicky reported that he finally "got it" half way round the cross country course. For the record, final score was 99.4 penalties,
final placing 28th.
So was it the variable weather or something else? It's Rackham next week so we don't have long to wait before we find out!
30th May 2010 at Borde Hill
started very, very early for Team Silverhill (4.30am for rider, 5.00am for team!) but ended with a quite remarkable turn round in results.
After a few more sessions with Sam Jennings, Vicky had some tips for handling the show jumping but, as always, the dressage comes first. The test was better than last week and that was reflected in the score, a
fine 32.5 penalties putting Vicky and Blarney into 4th place in Section C going into the show jumping.
Making full use of all the 'tips' and taking control of the situation right from the start, the combination managed a marvellous clear round!
So into the bit Vicky (and Blarney) love best, the cross country. Although the round started a little sticky the pair got round clear, so things were looking
very good indeed! And then the weird bit, on checking the scores it appeared Vicky had picked up 7.4 time penalties (18 secs over the time!). This meant the
pair finished on a score of 39.7 which put them in 15th place, 3 places lower than the week before when they had 3 fences down in the show jumping!
Without the time penalties the pair would have finished 2nd (in fact, even with the penalties, in Section D they would have
finished 3rd!). Just one of those days
when there is a very competitive Section and, quite unusually, the pair pick up time
penalties. Rackham is next up and with, a similar showing and a close eye
on the cross country time, success must be round the corner.
23rd May 2010 at Mattingley
started with the prospect of the years hottest day and a 4hr gap between dressage and show jumping, but it was Vicky and Blarneys first BE event of
the year!
But to make matters even worse, the M25 was closed on the trip there so the team of Vicky, Steve and Arti didn't arrive until just before the scheduled
dressage time! Still a chat with the secretary and Vicky had her time put back by over an hour. So with time to relax and prepare properly, the pair
had a solid dressage test finishing with a respectable 35.5 penalities.
Next up was the show jumping, although there was still a gap of well over 2 hours from the dressage. After some advice from 'next door', Vicky decided to
go and see if she could go early; she could. It didn't start well but the commentator summed it up brilliantly "a great clear round if it
wasn't for the first three fences!". Another 12 penalities to add going into the cross country.
And it's cross country that makes eventing and the bit Vicky loves most. Blarney raced out of the start box and the pair didn't look back. A great clear
round within the time meant a final score of 47.5 penalities and 12th place overall.
Onto Borde Hill next weekend, let's hope they glue the first three show jumps in place!
17th April 2010 at Tweseldown
nearly started with disaster when the three Jack Russell’s (Foxy, Buster and Buzz) conspired to take the handbrake off the lorry whilst Vicky was getting Blarney ready for his day out. Thanks to some quick thinking on the yard the lorry was brought to a stop and the yard survived without some major damage!
And so it was that Vicky set out with the boys in tow for what was Blarney’s first real eventing test of the year. As it was, the day started brightly enough with a score of 35.0 in the dressage, generous thought Vicky but a great start.
Next was the show jumping, Blarney’s nemesis from last year, this time round he had 3 down and one time penalty which in comparison to last year was quite a good start and it was his first outing of the season.
The day finished with an excellent clear cross county albeit for a few time penalties. Final score for the day was 59.0, not enough for the rosettes but enough to make Vicky want to sign up for a full years eventing with BE.
So the question now is, is there still time to enter for Nurstead or have the have the entries already closed?
11th April 2010 at Wallingham
was the first Hunter Trial Vicky had done for some time, but Blarney needed to get out and Jemima needed a pairs partner.
As so it was that the crew turned up to the event, run by Wallignham & District Riding Club, witht he sun shining and the prospect of a good day out
although time was short, a busy day was planned. First up almost immediately was the pairs. We all watched Jemima on her run in the mini class and
then Vicky joined her for the pairs, Vicky almost coming off at the second fence (no brakes, no control!).
Vicky was also entered into the Novice, so it was disappointing that they announced a one hour lunch break between the pairs and the Novice runs. Still
everyone was in place for the re-start at 1.30pm, that was everyone except for the organisers (what had they been doing for an hour!). As is was they
finally got things underway 15 mins late and then held Vicky up at the start box whilst the timing people had a disagreement!
It was almost enough to make you want to go home, which of course we did; without any results! Still good prep for Tweseldown next weekend.
27th February 2010 at Oldencraig
was another opportunity for Vicky and Percy to do more Medium tests on the way to the next step up. Only problem was it was at Oldencraig!
Oldencriag might be the best dressage centre in the south of England but sadly it also employs someone a dressage judge who has a personal grudge
against Vicky which sadly means that it doesn't matter how well Vicky does, she and Percy always get marked down. As it was, fortunately, this was
only going to effect Vicky's second test which meant the first test should be a fair reflection of Percy's performance.
Up for Medium Test 61 as her first test, the only problem seemed to be that it was in the indoor arena, something Percy doesn't do very often. The
test itself would have gained some good marks had it not been for the bucks in medium canter and the fact that Steve, who was calling, missed
calling out a 10m circle at C! Still the pair finished 3rd overall with a mark of 60.0%, not bad considering the errors.
Next up was Medium Test 73, in the outdoor arena but with 'that' judge. The test in comparison to the first went well, only the one buck
in the first medium canter and Steve made no mistakes. What you might call a solid performance from the pair. However, and let's face it, only to be
expected, the marks were lower at 59.41%, pushing the combination out of the rosettes.
Question is, what can you do when a dressage judge holds a personal grudge and you know you'll get marked down, don't compete?
14th February 2010 at Cobham Manor
saw the start to a new season for Vicky and the boys. First out this year was Percy, the beginning of the year when we all hope he will
achieve great things and get to Advanced.
Brushing aside the temptation to go for a warm up at Elementary level, Vicky had entered Percy straight into a couple of hard Medium tests, first
up was test 71 and then 73. On a bitterly cold day, Percy worked in very well during the warm up and completed a solid test (albeit apart from one
small error). The marking though was hard and the pair finished with 60.32%, good enough for a Restricted 1st and 2nd overall.
However, going into Test 73 the class was significantly bigger and full of people warming up for Advanced Medium and Advanced tests later in the
day. With Steve calling, Percy once again looked good apart from another small error, final score was 60.59%, higher than the first but only good
enough for a Restricted 5th this time round, 7th overall.
Still, with 13 qualifying points towards the Dressage Masters at Hickstead later in the season, things are already shaping up for a good dressage
season.
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