Today's outing was planned as a bit of fun, as it was the first time I would have ridden Rocky since I had been back from University. We had an enjoyable, if not successful, day and it was nice to be back riding again (shame my legs were aching afterwards!). Unfortunately, my new saddle is still very stiff, particularly the girth straps, and we had difficulty getting my girth tight enough and as a result my saddle was slipping quite a lot throughout the test. This, along with our lack of practise resulted us getting a very disappointing score of 48.52%! However, despite this Rocky did obtain some good marks for particular movements throughout the test and I do feel his dressage is steadily improving - today's test is not a representative of his ability!
Judge's comment - "A very nice horse, well presented test, but needs to work on accuracy to improve marks in the future. Well Done."
After the test we had 10-15mins with the judge (it was a dressage training show) and she agreed that my saddle had been slipping badly and affecting his way of going in several of the movements. We then worked on our half 10m circles and centre line and ensuring that we got good turns.
26.09.04
- Prelim 4 & 7
Rocky worked superbly today and really tried. He's now got his winter coat
and as today was so muggy (apparently 22degrees!) he was absolutely
sweltering. By the time we entered the arena for our first test he was
already sweaty and thus he wasn't quite as forward as I'd have liked.
However, he really was trying his heart out and he did a good accurate test
to earn us 60.45% which was good enough for 2nd place!
Judge's comment - "Well tried & well ridden!!! He needs now to move off your
leg a little more. This will improve paces and impulsion. Well done."
We had about 15mins in between tests so I dismounted and walked Rocky round
to try and cool him off. It seemed to work as he was slightly more forward
in the next test and this was reflected by our improve score: 63% which was
again good enough for 2nd place!
Judge's comment - "Well ridden - you showed some very promising work. Now
aim to push the horse more forward into a contact. A pleasing test. Well
done"
Overall a very successful outing and a great end to our show season before I
leave for University on the 5th October!
This was Rocky's first competition since injuring his off-hind hock, and unfortunately the lowest class in the show was the Novice23 test, which is held in the long arena, whereas I wish we could have done a prelim first. Rocky warmed up quite well but was sluggish in the actual test and although in most of the work he had a "pretty" outline, he wasn't really working forward with much impulsion, which also resulted in us getting a late canter transition. We ended up with 54.62% which was good enough for 2nd (only 3 in the class though!) and the following comment which I completely agree with:
Judge's comment - "Fairly accurately ridden test. Need to get horse moving forwards into bridle to gain more impulsion. Well Done!"
Since his injury, he has seemed quite sluggish and I am not sure whether it is really the muggy weather (especially when the test is indoors!) or whether he actually needs a different hard feed. I'll be talking to my instructor about this next Friday and will be thinking about what we can do to keep his energy levels higher. Rocky will also be going on holiday for 2weeks from Sat 17th June, which will hopefully give him time to relax and unwind.
Today's competition involved mixed fortunes. Rocky finished fourth in both of his classes, however his percentages were extremely disappointing and the prelim result was approximately 10% below what I believe he should have got. This judge was clearly down-marking everyone, which was particularly interesting as this particular judge normally gives Rocky good marks! In the Prelim 18 we got 128/240 (53.33%) and in the Novice 29, we achieved 163/310 (51.94%) with the following two comments respectively:
Judge's comment - "Needs suppleness over back to maintain straightness and become more engaged. Good effort."
Judge's comment - "A good try. Encourage him to take contact down in free walk to stretch topline"
So, I was generally disappointed with the percentages as I genuinely feel Rocky was going better than this time last year when he was achieving those percentages! Hopefully, they don't truly reflect his way of going and by the time of our next competition in June he will have lost some of the muscle under his neck and gained more topline and muscle on his back.
08.02.04 - Prelim 18 & Novice 24
Despite the
gales I still decided to compete in this dressage competition even though it
was outdoors! In our first class, Prelim 18, Rocky performed well but kept
spooking at the hedge because it was blowing in the wind. Still we earned
60.00% (144/240) which I was pleased with, but was not good enough to be
placed.
Judge's comment - "Active, could have more bend through the body especially
to the left and keep straight on straight lines."
We then took part in our first ever Novice test and Rocky was very good
apart from spooking in his canter due to the wind. Unfortunately, I didn't
notice he was on the wrong leg in one of his canters so we lost a couple of
marks. However, we still obtained 55.93% (151/270) which is pleasing for our
first Novice attempt and considering the weather conditions.
Judge's comment - "Lacking Lightness and self carriage. Try to know when on
wrong lead to avoid lost marks. Good try."
