Mixed Results at the Regionals
It’s the end of a long and busy week. Molly is home from Pony Club Camp, where she and Joey set the standard by winning the competitions for dressage, showjumping, and handy pony – ‘your turn now, Mummy!’ Plus, we had training with Carl Hester and the Regionals.
I’m delighted to report that Lenny and I qualified for the Medium Open championships! We decided not to take him training with Carl as we wanted to keep him fresh in mind and body, ready for Regionals. He worked in very well and I was very pleased with him in the test. However, I’m a little disappointed as I did a flying change in my counter canter. It was a total rider error, but no mistakes can be made at a Regionals because it is just too costly. We held the lead for a long while with 70.25% but were then beaten with 71% – if only we hadn’t had that mistake! It was then a very long wait to see if I remained in the top three and luckily we finished third and qualified.
Potter was a gentleman at the show but unfortunately my week’s training and management proved a little too much for my Duracell Pony and his muscles were tired in both tests. He normally always wants to ‘go’ but this time he had no petrol left in the tank. We still achieved 66% in the Medium, finishing 11th, and 67% in the Elementary to finish 10th, but I was disappointed I could not show him off to his best.
The fact that we had Potter, a stallion, meant we got the lovely, large, permanent stables – particularly good for the large Lenny. It had a relaxing atmosphere with a little mini pony in residence, who Delilah named Precious.
I’m looking forward to going on holiday on Thursday, which will be a lovely break.
Photos courtsey of Jump For It Equine Photography (Darren Bond)
