What a month! Woady and Melbourne, boat trips, driving very large horse floats through the centre of Melbourne, borrowing various said floats, returning them again, navigating by myself with stupid iPhone with floats... Oh my gosh I am so keen to get home to my own bed and sleep until the next Melbourne rolls around ....
We left Tasmania on the 19th of May thanks to the incredible Tasmanian Horse Transport. Sizzle was all tucked up in their beautiful truck and I drove dad’s Ute onto the boat ready to go to Woady Yallock Horse Trials for a Melbourne 3 Day warm up. Thanks to the combined efforts of amazing people... Emma Price for picking me up for Woady and the use of your float for Melbourne and Michelle Nichols for the lend of your float to pick Sizzle up as well as letting me intrude on your family for the week after Woady... I was able to compete
Sizzle at Woady Photo: Gone Riding Media
Woady was an essential test run in the end. We did a good test to put us in 6th in the 1*, then one rail show jumping in the frost! We had a informative XC (with me learning that Sizzle doesn't like narrow fences namely) but it was a fantastic wake-up call and we jumped around all other jumps with ease so I knew what I was working at in the week before the 3 Day. So thanks to Sam Christian's drums and the XC course out at Kyneton we had that situation under control by the time we rolled into Werribee - whew!
I got there on the Tuesday because I had I minor panic attack regarding the new white judge’s boxes as last time we attempted to go near them at FOW 2014 we cantered sideways down the arena... but me being me, it couldn't all go to plan. Thanks to all that helped me in the MI3DE office and Equestrian Victoria for being so amazing in the debacle with Sizzle's papers... I have never been so stressed in all my life. But all was well in the end.
We then trotted up on Thursday in the sideways rain... thanks Werribee weather gods... I think they heard I was wearing a white dress in Werribee's red mud. We didn't win the lovely Dubarry boots but there is always next year, right?
Checking out those scary judge's boxes Photo: Juliette Sherrard
Dressage day for us was looking very promising as Sizzle was feeling incredible! However when in the ring he felt unusually tight and that swing, extension and forward-ness that is his trademark was severely lacking... I was quite concerned until we got two steps out of the ring and he stretched out for the biggest wee ever... seriously. He caused a brand new river in the Werribee mud and after that he felt quite spritely and tried to canter home! Sigh... I think weeing on command lessons are in order. So as a result we placed way down at 47th out of 70... disappointing. But there wasn't a whole lot in it and the scoring was very close so I knew it would come down to time on the cross country and rails in the show jumping!
On cross country at Melbourne Photos: Victorian Eventers (above) and Juliette Sherrard (below)
The XC looked fair and big with lots and lots of narrows (*cue stressed face and rapidly beating heart!*) I was very nervous but he warmed up superbly and as soon as I jumped the first fence I knew he was 'in the zone'! We galloped (and I mean GALLOPED! About 30seconds under! Oops!!!! Considering we haven't made time XC all year...) around in a beautiful rhythm and he made the tricky jumps seem like child's play! Not bad considering how green he is still. I was absolutely stoked to see that 00 and 0.0 next to his name. He recovered really well and was as sound as a bell the whole time, no doubt thanks to Kelato Swell Down, muscle guard, voltage and a sneaky few Equissage's thanks to Katie Classon! We passed trot up with flying colours and then it was time to show jump
Photo: Juliette Sherrard
He warmed up incredibly, jumping better than ever before and in the ring he handled the atmosphere like a seasoned pro. The course was causing carnage (say that sentence five times quickly...haha!) and I knew going in that I would be happy to just have a good round. Sizzle being the over achiever, jumped like a freak and just rolled one coming out from under a tree! I just don't think he saw it. I was so happy I teared up and my breath caught in my throat - I have never been so proud of the little man who I faced at his first ever jump and now we’ve successfully completed our first Three Day! We ended up 26th from 70 or so riders, rising 21 places from dressage. It may seem like a small thing to the professional rider but it is a first for me and the greatest feeling in the world
I am currently typing this out on the Spirit of Tasmania as I head in to the big seas in Bass Strait (no really, even the captain sounded nervous!) but lucky Sizzle gets to go home tomorrow with THT, hopefully the weather will have calmed by the time he sets off! Wish him (and me) luck - pray to those weather gods for our sake!!!!
So until next time,
(A very green) Alice 
