Alice Oppenheimer

No rest for the wicked

Things were quieter for us in August as we were doing much less competing. However, this didn’t mean that we weren’t kept busy!
On Sunday 14th, we took Bracks (Headmore Boadicia) to The College EC, Keysoe for her final regional final at Advanced Medium. We were given a very civilized time in the afternoon so it meant that we didn’t have to rush to get ourselves organised and up there in time. We had had a bit of a scare with her in the week as she had managed to slice her nose open! Luckily, after a few stitches her nose was fine, so we were all good to go. Mum got her ready in the morning as I had a few horses to ride before we went. She looked beautiful and we arrived with plenty of time despite getting a little caught in traffic on the way.

Bracks warmed up fairly well, she was quite hot as we were out at a party but as I took her into the ring she felt super! Unfortunately, we were the last combination to go before the break, which held a prize giving, so there were a lot of people watching and quite a buzz in the arena, making any noises from outside amplified. Thankfully she coped well, especially considering she hadn’t been in a situation like that before. We just had a few mistakes where she is still very green at the level and it was a new situation for her, but all in all both Mum and I were very pleased with how she went and how she had coped with the arena. We were so pleased with how she had gone that we said that we didn’t mind what mark she got as we were thrilled! Luckily, it wasn’t dire at 64.9% and 11th which we felt for a green test with loads of mistakes wasn’t bad at all! I think if we had done a clean test we would have qualified for the Nationals, not bad for a 7 year old! We were also awarded a wildcard for the Nationals at Medium open, so Bracks will be joining the boys at Stoneleigh Park again this year!

We then had a visit from Dengie on Tuesday 16th and it was a very enjoyable day. Andrea, the area manager for my area and Lisa Wilson, the Marketing manager, brought along the Dengie portable weighbridge so we could weigh all of the horses (and Stitch the dog), which was not only very helpful and interesting but good fun as well. Wiz (Wurlizer) was the heaviest at 657kg, which wasn’t surprising as he is the biggest, oldest and most established out of all of them. Both Andrea and Lisa were pleased with the condition of the horses, giving them a body condition score of 3, so overall everyone was very pleased with the day’s work!

The following week we had a trip to Sparsholt in the hope of being efficient. I have been trying to organise myself to get qualified for the Winter Regionals fairly early on in the qualifying season so I can spend the majority of the winter training. First thing in the morning, I took Roxy (Headmore Roxanne) to do a couple of prelims with Gayle, who is actually a show jumper by trade! As I can’t ride at the lower levels, we have managed to persuade Gayle to don a stock and drop her stirrups a few holes and take out the younger horses! Unfortunately, this meant a much earlier start for me as the prelims are always early, and I could be heard commenting that I hadn’t had to get up that early to compete for years! It was only Roxy’s second outing so we weren’t expecting much, but she warmed up beautifully! I just had to remind Gayle that she was riding a dressage horse a couple of times! In the first test Roxy was very spooky as she hasn’t seen many different arenas. This led to a lot of mistakes and very funny shaped circles, but Gayle did a fantastic job of riding it, especially as Roxy thought that the markers and judges’ box were going to eat her! However, they still managed to finish 5th so it wasn’t too dreadful! In the second test, Roxy was much more settled and there were just a few minor spooks, and they finished 2nd by one mark, a dramatic improvement on the first test. Roxy now just needs a few more miles on the clock and the wins will start coming!

We then took Bracks back to Sparsholt in the afternoon to do a Medium and an Advanced Medium. She warmed up quite well for the test and I was fairly confident going into the medium. Bracks was simply awesome, she was so rideable and just exactly where I wanted her so that I could just sit and steer, she made it easy for me! There were still a few places where there could have been improvements but I was using the test as a schooling round before the nationals and overall I was very pleased. We scored 68.38% to finish a close 2nd. We then did the Advanced Medium and she was simply phenomenal! She gave me the nicest ride I have ever had around Advanced Medium 98, when we came out of the ring I gave her a massive hug and kiss and told everyone how amazing she is and how much I love her!!!!! Bracks is what I would call a good mare, she would jump over the moon for me if I asked her to and she always gives her all when I am working her, she is just so delightful! There was one fairly massive mistake in the test, but it was completely jockey error! We still scored 70.79% to finish 2nd by one mark, but if I hadn’t been a moron at the end of the test we would have won! Overall, it was a very worthwhile day at Sparsholt and Bracks is now qualified for the Advanced Medium Winter Regional, we are definitely getting there in our aim!

Although I didn’t compete for the rest of the month, I was still kept fairly busy doing various other things! Roxy went out a couple more times with Gayle. After her rather over the top first outing at Sparsholt the week before, we thought it would be best if we took her out again ASAP. Therefore, we took her to Fair Oak Grange on Friday 26th August for another prelim qualifier. Roxy was much more confident than at Sparsholt as she was starting to get the hang of going to parties a bit more! She looked super in the warm up and the test was much better, the transitions were super and it was very rhythmical. She scored just shy of 69%, which was good enough to win and half qualify her for the winters. Gayle then decided that she wanted to pick some blackberries before we left, but unfortunately for her the electric fence was on, so she got a couple of zaps!

We then took Roxy to Crofton on Tuesday 30th August for a prelim and her first novice. Crofton is a good venue for young horses to gain experience at as it is very spooky and most horses are a bit ‘looky’ first time they go. Roxy was no exception! She warmed up well but was spooky in both tests, which was a shame as the good bits were really good! This unfortunately kept her score down but it was good experience for her nonetheless.

In between Roxy’s two outings, we had a very busy three days! Charlotte (Dujardin) came down to hold a clinic on the Saturday and Sunday, fresh from her and Team GB’s success at the European Championships. As you can imagine her clinic was jam packed, and Amy (my best friend) and I had organised a surprise party for her on the Saturday night, everyone had clubbed together to buy her a present. I had been panicking all week about whether or not we would be able to keep it a secret and whether or not Charlotte would like the party and her present! Thankfully, it went better than Amy and I had thought that it could; Charlotte had no idea, she loved her present and everyone had a fantastic time, job well done I think!

Following this busy weekend, on Monday 29th August, it was my local pony club’s 80th anniversary celebration, and I had been asked to do a dressage demo. I took Wiz (Wurlizer) as I thought I would then be able to show everyone all of the movements a Grand Prix dressage horse would have to do. I was very nervous as I had to talk and ride at the same time, two things that I can do in abundance when I do them separately, but two things I had never really had to do seriously together! However, the demo went well, everyone enjoyed it and all of the kids came up to stroke Wiz, which he absolutely loved! I also really enjoyed it and it was nice to be able to give back to The Pony Club as Wiz and I started together in the pony club all those years ago! Andrea was also able to go and offer feed advice to anyone who wanted it, which, I’m sure you can imagine, was very helpful.

So, although we hadn’t had masses of competing in August, there is clearly no rest for the wicked!

August has also been a very exciting month for British Dressage. Firstly, what an amazing achievement for Woodlander Farouche and Michael Eilberg winning the 5 year old World Championship for young horses. Many congratulations to everyone involved and it certainly looks like British Dressage is on the way up... hopefully it won’t be long before British bred horses make it onto the senior teams!

Also, what another amazing achievement for dressage in Britain, team gold, two individual silvers and an individual bronze. It really has been an amazing year for British Dressage, and long may it continue. Huge congrats to everyone involved with Team GB!

Alice