Week late post about Pukahu

I don't know why I have been so slack about updating this but I sure have been. Anyway, We got to Hastings and it was pretty nice, a little overcast but warm for the Friday afternoon and the Saturday. The first class I rode was on Fido in the 90cm class (picture above). It was nice to have a small round to just have a start before going out into the bigger classes, because I could remember my breathing and the like. The courses where universally awful in ring 4, with the most ridiculous lines especially for the young horses but there you go. Nothing like a slog through a blog with a tight roll back up a hill to the double. Ahh lovely. Anyway, I had a rail in the jump-off on Fido. He really is a nice boy, despite the fact I don't ride him particularly well.

Connie was in the young rider/amateur 1.10m class and it was you know. Big. A very full sized 1.10m which I guess is to be expected haha! Anyway, I was very nervous and that but all weekend I got into the ring and completed my rounds so thats a huge improvement on last season when I was having those panic attacks. Anyway, she started quite well and jumped really well. I had a good miss into the double and had to jump in huge which meant she was a little sticky with combinations after that. And I sort of lost my organization. I felt like a was chasing my spots and not really getting to the fences. What it partly was, was that Connie stopped paying attention and mooned around and wasn't locking onto the fences really. That and I was collapsing a bit in the last three strides in my upper body. So we had one rail and I landed all disorganised and so I circled and sorted my life out and finished well over the final oxer.

The next day I had the 1m on Fido and had three rails which were purely me riding like a little pony club eventer and chasing my spots. I really need to learn to wait because I get worried the spot isn't going to be there and move up and so I lose it. I need to cool my jets a bit. Anyway, it was a really crappy day and it was really raining in the morning but had mostly cleared by about 11. In the first 1.10m Connie seemed more focused but I stuffed up because I went to move up and lost my spot so I just circled away and did it properly and would have had a clear round if I hadn't made that mistake. Still She was a bit sticky into the double and I still felt like I wasn't quite getting it done. I guess what it was was that it just wasn't flowing.

Anyway, in the Amateur class (which was really small thank goodness) which is 1.10m-1.15m I had a much shorter warm up and was a lot tougher on her. She didn't really lock on to fence one and I should have been a bit tougher before hand about making her focused and she took that rail. She was slow off of the ground for fence 2 as well, but sort of got going a bit more after that. I gave her a few whacks before the double and she actually jumped in boldly and confidently for the first time.



She jumped really well though and I felt good because I was pro-active rather tha reactive. Anyway, after fence 8 which was a big spooky oxer, I was like yay this is fun! Had the last rail because I was a bit casual about it- should have used more leg on take-off. Never mind though I was rapt because it felt really good.



So I need to learn to wait more to the fence, but ride more positively and stay more upright in my body in the last strides before the fence to help her stay balanced and off the base of the fences. Bad news though because she is now lame. I' not sure if she just has some bruising on her sole or an abscess brewing but I do say boo hiss to that. Not cool seeing as I had just started the season. Fingers crossed she is better soon. Still Kate is now sound, Rascal will be soon and even Bill is nearly sound again. Now if only it would stop raining so that I could actually ride them that would be nice. It's even too windy to travel them out to other locations. Feilding in a week. I doubt Connie will be there for her indoor debut, but Kate has two classes on the Sunday on the outdoor surface and her first show of the season.