Tanya Buckingham

A busy start to the season

Well the Eventing season has started and its been an interesting few weeks! We began the season at Oasby with Bud and Jack in the Open Novice. Both were tense and excited in their tests and Bud thought the boy collecting the dressage sheets was very scary when he appeared from the woods just as he was doing medium trot! Jack was clever and went double clear with a steady XC so wasn't placed and bud was amazing in the XC but had two down!
The following weekend I was holding a XC clinic at Foxberry where I had 3 groups of riders of different levels, its was a fun day despite it chucking it down all day and getting thoroughly soaked! No-one fell off and everyone seemed to have fun and jumped most of the course. The next day I was at Lincoln with Jack and Bud, but sadly Jack couldn't run as he had developed an allergic reaction to something and came out in spots! Bud did go however and we arrived to find a lovely muddy event! He did a lovely test in the Open Intermediate and then had the first two show jumps down in the boggy ground- once over these I gave him a kick and we hunted the rest and he jumped brilliantly! His XC was amazing and back on form picking up just a few time faults and finished just outside the top ten!
Both horses were meant to be doing the advanced at Witton, Jacks spots had almost gone when we found out it was cancelled! So in my weekend off I managed to sell Mickey which was good news but also very sad to see him go. Luckily he has gone to a lovely home just five minutes away to a girl wanting to do working hunters on him.

Wednesday was a busy day packing the lorry and getting the horses ready to travel down to Burnham market for the CIC three star - I even managed to fit in two dressage lessons before we left! We arrived at 11pm after a 6hour drive to a muddy show field again!However overnight Bud developed a mud fever type rash on his leg and decided he was too sore to trot up! Of course the next day when I had withdrawn him he was fighting fit and very angry not to be Eventing!
Jack did a lovely test and I was disappointed with his mark but then he did follow Oliver townend, Ruth Edge and Nicola Wilson! We had a day off on Friday so walked the XC and rode the wild ponies out. Today I had Show Jumping and XC and the ground was very holding in the Show Jumping and Jack had an unusual two down but actually jumped very well. The XC was a nice galloping track with quite a few questions early on..he set off brilliantly jumping the big table brush table combination at 4 really well and the offset treble brush combination at 7 and the two left handed corners at 10 and 11 like an old pro- and for once I was actually moving and was up to time. Just as I was thinking kick on through the woods I realised I had missed out fence 13 and it was too late to go back! what an idiot!!! so I had to pull him up and had a long walk back to the stables!

Let's hope that's all the problems and dilemmas out the way this last few weeks so the rest of the season runs more smoothly!!! I now have a long drive home to think about what a plonker I was missing the fence out when he was going so well!!

Tanya