Charlie Pickman

Winter 2006/07

The successes of 2006 where compounded by two excellent outings to finish the season.  I took Captain to do his first Intermediate at Tweseldown, where he produced some relaxed and balanced work in the more demanding dressage test to finish on 36.2.  The show jumping course was up to height and caused some problems, including two fences down for us, but Captain flew round the cross country course with only 0.4 time penalties.  He finished in 4th place, which was a great first outing for him at Intermediate level.

The final event of the season for me was at Aldon, where I entered Meg in the Intermediate and Captain in the Novice 2-day.  The ever consistent Meg did her usual double clear, but produced her best ever performance in the dressage arena to earn an unbelievable score of 29.5!  She finished the day in 3rd place, which was a very nice ending to the season for her owner, Claire.

Not to be outdone, Captain earned a great dressage score of 28.1, and followed suit with a double clear.  For a while it looked like he might win, but unfortunately we were pipped at the post and came 2nd overall.  His excellent form this season has sadly meant that he was sold very soon afterwards, but he was a fun horse to ride and I am sure he will give his new owner a lot of fun.

November and December have been quiet on the competition front as the horses enjoy a well earned rest.  I have used this time to go back to the Dentistry school in America to keep up to date with the Equine Dentistry profession.  As well as being informative, it was also a very sociable trip as I caught up with fellow dentists, who I have not seen since last year.

With the 2007 season only two months away, I am now planning my competition programme in earnest.  It should be an exciting time for Meg, as we plan to do a CCI** and a CIC*** in the first half of the year, and continue the Advanced 1-day classes.  If we have a successful run at this level, she will be qualified for a CCI***, and I would love to be able take her to Blenheim in September.

Rachel, my girlfriend and I are now based at Tim and Toni Warren's yard near Bristol and have taken on full responsibility for Tim's young competition horses for sale.  I have been concentrating on my show jumping this winter and have been having some invaluable help from Tim.  Now that I have a base to work from, where I can ride the horses every day, my aim for the season is to take on a few more competition liveries and build my eventing experience to the highest level!

William and Pippa - watch out!

Regards

Charlie Pickman.