Charlie Pickman

Fantastic end to the season

What a fantastic end to the 2009 season we have had with both of the horses going brilliantly, and making all of our hard work worthwhile.

Viking went to Gatcombe for (supposedly) a quiet run before Weston Park and won again - making it two Intermediate wins within a week! He lead convincingly after the dressage with 4 marks in hand which meant having an uncharacteristic show jump down wasn’t influential. He then made nothing of the cross country, cruising at his own speed to finish with 8.8 time penalties. This left us full of confidence going to Weston Park for his first 3-Day, where again he excelled. Unfortunately his dressage mark was a little disappointing (I was pleased with his test), but with hindsight I think I was probably a bit cautious and needed to ask for more energy and show more in the movements. He scored 57.2 and was 18th after this phase. He then jumped a lovely double clear making it all feel easy, and finished well inside the time on the cross country. I just took a pull at the last fence as we were coming in rather fast and I did not want to take a flyer there! He moved up to 8th overall which was very creditable as it’s the biggest challenge he has had so far.

Billy has been gaining confidence and improving rapidly in all the phases. He is showing lots of potential for the future. He went exceptionally well at Monmouth where he won, finishing on his dressage score of 26. We then decided to move him up to Novice at Dauntsey. There we had a few bitting and control issues, and had 3 show jumps down, which was disappointing. He made up for it by flying round the cross country, which was quite sizeable for his first Novice, but he made it all feel easy. As I kept him going steadily he had 9 time penalties which meant he finished just out of the placings. We then went to Tweseldown where he led by nearly 6 marks after the dressage. He had 2 down show jumping, but he was listening to me and was responding better, particularly as the course was big and technical. Then he flew round the cross country, sometimes flying a little more than I intended, with limited brakes at times! This speed meant he won by 6 marks and so achieved his first BE points! We went to Aldon with high expectations but his lack of maturity caused a couple of little blips and we just missed first place. He was a little distracted during the dressage but he still scored 32.5 which put him into 3rd place. He then had one down show jumping, but again flew round the cross country. His performance cross country was very pleasing as there was a big drop into the water which he jumped confidently. Water had worried him before and he has needed lots of encouragement and schooling to overcome his fears. We finished second overall so a great end to the season for him.

Viking now has 75 points and has qualified for the Intermediate Championship at Gatcombe next August, and should be ready to do an Advanced early in the spring. The main aim for him will be the 8/9 year old CIC*** at Blenheim in September. Billy finished with 11 points and has qualified for two Novice Regional Finals for next year, so hopefully he will qualify for the Novice Championship at Gatcombe in August too. We will aim for him to do some Intermediates in the middle of the year and a 2** if he is ready in the autumn.

I can now reflect on a brilliant season and am fortunate to have two scopey horses which could have very exciting futures ahead of them. All the horses have felt and looked great all year round with help from Dengie feeds to ensure a balanced healthy diet. So many thanks to Dengie for their continued support of me and the horses. Roll on 2010!

Charlie

10th November 2009