Woady Yaloak is an event I have been really looking forward to since Wandin. We have been training really hard and consistently with our team manager at MET, Dave Prior and we’re starting to see results.
I had a session prior to the event with Nicole Stewart and let her know I wanted to know about studs and about planning. I made lists. I made four lists and a time line and plans. My first list was a packing list. One for me, one for BSP one for equipment. My first plan was for dressage. I worked backwards from the time of my test to the time I got up and I did the same for my show jumping and cross country. The cross country was my main focus for this weekend. I wanted to absolutely nail the cross country and obtain better results in my dressage.
Originally I was scheduled to ride my dressage on Saturday at 8:34. When I worked out the time I would have to leave from home I nearly died. So I contacted the organisers and asked if it would be possible to have a later time. Liz was extremely accommodating and moved me to the last Training Grade 4 rider at 11:39.
I decided to head up on Friday and took the day off work. I packed in the morning and ensured I had everything I needed, then I loaded up the car and drove to BSP’s house where I transferred all my gear, collected his gear and made up feeds. Finally, it was time to catch him. BSP must have sensed what I had in store for him this weekend and despite a bag of carrots, took off at great speed and ran around me in circles for about five minutes before I was able to loop the lead rope around his neck and secure the halter. What a clown!
Once we were loaded up, we headed off. The drive to Smyesthdale was a pleasant one and we arrived around 3:15pm. I found a place to park and unloaded BSP and popped him into his yard with some hay and water. He settled in quickly and happily. Shortly afterwards, my team mate Kat arrived and we had a chat and then tacked up and went for a ride.
I worked on loose rein walk, trot and canter and transitions. BSP was amazing and did everything I asked and felt lovely. He was a bit spooky near the cross country fences that I rode around just to get a bit of a feel of what I was in store for. As I looked at the first few fences, I saw that the number colours were a bit different to those I had always had in HRCAV events. I looked at a ski jump, which was fence two and walked over towards it. BSP decided it was very scary and snorted and backed up and so I persisted and made him walk to it and place his nose on it. The last thing I wanted tomorrow was a refusal on fence two! To the right of the ski jump was a small log, which I assumed was a grade five fence, and I then continued on my way and worked BSP on the grass in our own space as there were a lot of riders already out in the same area. I found an unmarked grass arena up the top end that no one was using and we had the entire area to ourselves, which was lovely. I rode my test three times in the arena and was happy.
Once it was starting to get dark, I headed back to the yards and made BSP comfortable and gave him his dinner. My other team mate, Mel, had parked next to me so I spent some time catching up with her and Kat again. The office announced that they were open for registration so I headed over and checked in. It was at that point, when I was handed my blue cross country map, I realised that I had thought the white numbered ski jump was MY fence on the cross country when it was actually Intro. I’m tipping I am pretty much ready to have a crack at grade 3 here now! I laughed so hard at myself over that. What a great indication of how far I’ve come! Thank you Megan Jones!!
The rest of the night was spent chatting with Mel and having dinner and then I climbed in to the back of the Prado and went to sleep. Of course, I didn’t sleep very well as I was hot then cold, then hot, then stiff. The next morning I got up at 6:30, fed BSP and began following my list and timetable. I prepared everything I needed outside the float and at 8:00am I tied BSP up to it and began plaiting. I put in the studs and then plaited his tail. I walked the show jumping course and caught up with my mentor Lizzie Hughes. I went through my test over and over again in my head, visualising it and realised I had thought I had to canter between C & M when it was actually between H & C - so I was glad I was going over it again. As I was heading back after tacking up and yet another bathroom visit, to mount up, I ran into an old friend who noted my jacket. Jodie is an extremely successful showie and was horrified that my jacket was too long and slightly too big and that I hadn’t unpicked the back flap … she then proceeded to bite the thread loose with her teeth as we didn’t have any scissors handy!
BSP gets a well deserved hug
I mounted BSP and we walked over to the dressage arenas, which were out the back near the start of cross country. I warmed BSP up in our usual method, had a chat with some other competitors and then finally, we presented to the judge and off we went. I was pretty pleased with the test, but as it was only my second open event and the judging is a lot harder than HRCAV I wasn’t too hopeful of a good score. We saluted and I gave BSP a huge pat and hug and then we headed out the ring. The organisers had brought forward the grade 4 show jumping and they were constantly on the PA asking us to hurry up and present to the show jumping area. I trotted BSP back to the float, removed the studs and Mel very kindly put on his martingale and helped me get his boots on. I re-mounted feeling very flustered and trotted back to the show jumping where everyone was standing around! So I did a short warm up and then popped BSP over the two warm up fences, thinking about my plan. Quality canter and straight lines. I focused on this and then the steward was calling for riders. No one was making a move so I said I would go in.
We presented to the judge and the buzzer sounded, giving me a fright and off we went. The course was wonderful and challenging with a tight line between fence five and six and we were clear over the course and through the flags. BSP received another big pat and cuddle and we were done for the day and sitting in 15th place. When I collected my dressage test, I was amazed to see that we had three 7’s! What an improvement! The old habit of BSP opening his mouth was noted by the judge but I’m not sure that a horse of 20 can change this habit. Perhaps it’s time to put the flash noseband back on! I like riding without it though as it takes the pressure off his teeth as Megan suggested quite a while ago and he doesn’t reef me out of the saddle anymore. It’s a hard call sometimes just for a few extra marks!
The rest of the afternoon was spent with BSP, giving him carrots and cuddles and then I found Lizzie and walked the cross country course with her. She’s such an amazing person, really lovely and got me thinking about the things I needed to focus on. My plan for cross country was line and pace and duck bum! Once we’d walked the course, Lizzie and I used the Cross Country app. It’s the first time I have used it and I was pretty impressed. I only missed entering one fence but I knew where it was and the minute markers were really helpful. I’ve never used them before, but again this was all part of my plan. I then walked the course again as Lizzie walked hers and I was happy. My only concern was whether to use studs or not. I really didn’t know. The ground appeared really hard and I asked four different riders of differing levels and all said they weren’t using studs to I opted not to as well. I found Nicole and asked her about setting my watch to the right time so that I had 10 seconds spare on the course when it went off and then went back to the car and placed my minute markers on my map. I was riding at 8:30am on cross country in the morning so I had an early night.
The next morning I was up at 5am and fed BSP and then again prepared my gear. I had breakfast and then went over the course in my head and visualised going clear and on time. I wrote my minute markers on the back of my hand and then asked again about studs and decided that the ground was still fine and elected not to put them in. I would end up regretting this decision.
I set my watch and proudly mounted up for the first time in our MET team gear. I felt amazing! We headed over to the warm up area, which was really busy and I focused on riding straight lines and getting BSP forward and having a gallop and then bringing him back. I then popped him over the grade 3 warm up jump and then did it again. Nic was helping one of her students warm up and mentioned to me that I was jamming my hands down over the fence. I was grateful that she’d pointed this out to me as I had done this a few times at my last clinic with Megan and it’s a new thing I’ve started to do. I think it’s nervousness. So I took it on board and we sailed over the fence again and I was very conscious of it and the jump felt so much better.
BSP is famous!
A funny thing happened as we were warming up. A rider trotted past and said, “Hey! That’s Billy Sparklepants!” I didn’t know who she was but she knew BSP! He’s famous and getting quite a fan club! I am actually thinking of getting Team BSP bling tee shirts made up for people who’d like one! Send me an email and let me know.
Finally, the stewards were calling for riders so I said I was ready and we were in the start box. Billy stood quietly as we were counted down from ten and when asked, he sprang off into a lovely, forward canter and we were on our way. Over the first fence, lined up for the second, knowing this could be tricky and legs on, left rein as he began to drift right and over we went! Yahoo! Line and pace, duck bum, check and on to fence three. Billy was a little nervous going through the trees to fence four so I sat up a little and said to him, ”I’ve got you baby! You’re okay!” and then we were approaching fence four. The line was perfect! I hear “GO JEN!” from Nicole as we gallop up the hill on time, to fence five A and B.
Approaching another area that I knew could be problematic, I sat up again in light three-point seat and closed my legs on his sides and yep, he baulked as some people became visible amongst the trees. The surrounding fences seemed huge and he was nervous, so again I spoke to him, reassuring him, encouraging him on and he relaxed and we lined up for the narrow log, which was fence 6. On to the Bow fence, number seven and down the hill. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! I’d never ever felt so good on cross country or so confident and so excited. We were absolutely eating the course up! Megan was in my head the entire time I was riding the course. Line and pace, eyes up, duck bum!
As we rounded the corner to the dog house, fence 8, Billy suddenly went down. I clutched desperately at him but as he rose again, I was thrown to the left and landed on my right knee before I rolled and lay on the ground. What the hell!?
Billy stood quietly he appeared to be OK and so I got up. I glanced at my watch. I had 2:30 left and yelled at the officials, ”Can I get back on? Quick! I need a leg up! I can’t get on without a bucket!” A lady came racing over to us waving a sheet of paper yelling, ”NO! You’re eliminated! You have to walk out.” And then the flood of disappointment and shock hit me.
I walked BSP to a clearing and bent over catching my breath as the paramedics walked to me. I felt ok, but my knee was a bit sore. They sat me in a chair and a kind man took BSP from me and began walking him out. A minute or so later, I glanced over to BSP and my concern for him was obviously more than my own and I thanked the medics and walked out. I caught up to BSP and was met by a lady and her daughter who’d been at a Megan clinic with me. She waited for me to catch up and I thanked her for taking BSP and then as I gave him a hug I was overcome and I began to cry. The lovely lady gave me a big hug and BSP nudged us with his nose. It was as if he knew I was sorry for hurting him. As I walked him back, he began to limp and my concern rose and guilt began to edge its way in.
We both hobbled back to the float where I untacked him and removed my helmet and numbers and walked him straight back to the event vet. A nice man who was spectating offered to run him for me. The vet had seen enough as he was obviously lame and examined his legs. She said he appeared to be fine and it was probably just muscle damage but to keep an eye on his legs over the next few days in case he’d done a tendon. She then gave him some Bute and told me to hose his legs down for a good ten minutes. I led him over to the wash bay and a friend of Nicole’s saw us and came over to help me. She took charge of BSP assuring me it would be OK to leave him with her and ordered me to go and see the paramedics. So, I did. The medical girls took great care of me and fortunately I just had a lot of swelling, a small muscle tear in my knee and a few cuts. We iced it for 20 minutes and they gave me some anti-inflammitories and I went and paid the vet for some extra Bute in case Lisa didn’t have any at home and finally went back to BSP who was now tied up to Leah’s float with a magnetic rug and boots on and munching away on some hay! What a spoilt pony! Leah was just amazing and reassured me he was OK and told me to pack up to go home. So, about an hour and a half later of hobbling around and after many hugs from my wonderful team mates and friends, it was time to load up and go home.
I spoke to Megan about the studs and it was a very important lesson. I didn’t realise that as the ground was so hard it could be just as bad as slippery ground because the shoes can skate over the surface. I know now that it was just an unfortunate thing that happened and I need the right type of stud to use and they are not the ones we can get here in Australia. So I have ordered some appropriate studs that Megan recommended from the UK and will be using both dressage and small conical studs each time I ride on grass or hard ground.
BSP has pulled up well and I am thankful he wasn’t hurt. Of course that’s my biggest concern and my only concern. I couldn’t bear it if he was hurt and now that he’s 20 it’s important that we take really good care of him. I’ve organised his masseuse to come out and check him over this week as Dale wanted to let him rest to ensure that any inflammation he may have had has gone before he works on him.
I am so proud of BSP and so happy he is okay. I am also really proud of myself for the amazing change in my mental strength and determination. 12 months ago, if I’d had a fall I seriously would not have wanted to get back on. I have changed so much and I can’t thank my coaches, Megan Jones and Dave Prior, my mentor, Lizzie Hughes and my rock, Nicole Stewart enough.
Then, the Melbourne 3 Day Event! Oh my gosh I was SO excited about going to this! It was the first time I would get to see Megan ride in the flesh and I couldn’t wait. The only other hero I have had in my life that has influenced me is Sir Douglas Mawson. He is the reason I went to Antarctica and lived and worked there with the Kiwis for six months. Megan Jones is my living hero and I can’t tell you how amazing and exciting it is to be able to meet your hero in the flesh, let alone train with them!
At our last training session, Megan suggested that I buy some Supa Studs from the U.K. for BSP as the Australian ones are not that great and as he’s 20 this year and super stiff, he needs more of a pointed stud. I was on Facebook looking at the M3DE on Equestrian Australia’s site when I noticed a post that said Ride with Elegance would be there with Supa Studs in stock! Happy Dance! I emailed Jess and we spoke and she put some of the studs aside for me and on Saturday, as soon as Ikaylia and I arrived at the venue, we went and found her. Again I had an in-depth discussion with her about the studs and went with what Megan had recommended - eight dressage and eight small conical studs. I added in to that eight travel studs, a magnetic wrist band and a box to keep them all safely in. The total was $120. What!? How awesome! For once it was cheaper to buy here than overseas. I was very happy!
We headed outside to see what was happening and watched a few 1* dressage tests before we headed indoors to get a good seat for the Masterclass with Christoph Hess. Megan was riding and there was no way I was missing it. The masterclass was amazing! I really loved and understood what Christoph was saying and could see what he was talking about. Natasha Altoff-Kelley was riding first with a magnificent Friesian and her position was amazing. Christoph was asking her to perform canter transitions and we could see the improvement each time.
Next to ride was Joann Formosa, and she was very inspirational and rode her Paralympic gold medal winning dressage test from London. The connection she had with her horse was beautiful to see. It was amazing to learn that her commands came from her whip as she has limited use of her legs and her coach explained how the horse had been trained to perform upward or downward transitions or to halt by the number of times she used her whip. Horses are incredibly smart!
Finally it was time for Megan. I was so excited. Ikaylia and I were ready with our cameras as she came in. James and another assistant placed some items in the arena and set up some jumps around the outside of the arena as well. YAY! We were going to see her jump! As Megan rode around, Christoph was full of praise and you could see Megan giving the rein all the time as she rode. Her beautiful, chestnut horse, KP Impress, was balanced and free. It was beautiful to watch and I long to be as good a rider as her. She did some transitions and then some “small” jumps. There were a few rails down at the start but it was great to see how Megan changed the striding and cleared the fence the next time around and how beautifully the horse was going for her! Christoph was most impressed and was full of praise for Megan’s connection with her mount and of her riding. He said she was the “spirit of riding.” I know, it probably sounds very corny, but I was so proud!
Megan jumpng a chair
After a little while, Megan progressed to jumping a chair with a pole on it and a wheel barrow in the arena and then the chair without the pole. Christoph then turned to the crown and by some twist of fate was right in front of us and asked, “Do we have any brave people here?” I swear my hand shot up faster than the speed of sound! I was like a little kid, bouncing on my seat, thinking ‘Pick me! Pick me!’ He asked again and then said if anyone was brave to join him so I shot out of my chair and over the arena wall to stand beside him. He put his arm around me and I was joined by two other ladies. He asked all of us if we were married and then said that we were to lay over the chair and Megan was going to jump us! YAY! He asked who was the bravest so I headed off to the chair and lay down face up. James (Megan’s husband) came over and asked me to lay face down so I managed to squish myself under the arms and then “planked”. Megan said to me with a smile as she rode past, “Let’s see how strong you are.” I was glad I’ve been working so hard on my core with my personal trainer! I planked beautifully. I waited as the crowd was silent and I hear, badump, badump, badump … silence, dirt hitting me softly, badump, badump, badump and clapping and cheering! Wahooo! I’d just been show jumped by Megan Jones! I headed over to Christoph again as the other two girls were jumped and then it was James’ turn. He is hilarious. As he lay on the chair he said, ”I love you!” and everyone laughed. Of course Megan and KP Impress cleared us all.
As we stood together and thanked Megan and the crowd applauded her, Barry presented us each with a pair of Megan’s new MJET socks! I was going to buy a pair at the event but now I was given a pair and I tell you I could NOT wipe that smile off my face for the entire weekend!
Out on the course with Amanda Ross
We then headed out for a course walk with Amanda Ross, which was brilliant. I was really keen to hear her talk about the 2* fences and see the lines she was planning to take and asked her how to tell when you needed to use studs and what size which really helped me. I was even more excited when I was looking at a line of two house fences and picking the line I would take and she stood in front of me and said this was where she would jump. Thanks Megan! You’ve trained me to get my eye in on that type of fence! I felt pretty chuffed.
Looking at two off-set fences
The 3* dressage was on in the afternoon so we had some lunch and then headed back indoors and watched the riders, waiting for Megan. I was surprised at the differing types of positions and how the horses were going for their riders after Christoph’s comments during the Masterclass. It was very interesting. Some beautiful riding was displayed. Several riders had unfortunate errors, but it is comforting to know it happens to the best too! The main error seemed to be the rein back and the lady next to me actually called out “rein back!” much to my horror! Seriously?
Megan came in on Zac (Flowervale Maserati). I am in love with that little black horse. He’s so beautiful and so talented. I crouched down by the wall so I could video the test but I was so excited my hands were shaking. It was like being at the Olympics! Megan rode a wonderful test and we all cheered as she left the arena. It was so beautiful to watch the connection between the riders and horses and when they rode a wonderful test you could just see it was almost perfect.
Every time I ride a test, I pretend BSP and I are Grand Prix competitors. I know he’s 20 and he’s super stiff and we’re in Grade 4 but hey, it makes me feel good and proud to be presenting him to the world. A dream has to start somewhere.
We spent the whole day in the Rose Garden
Ikaylia and I headed home and talked non stop about our day. At 7am Sunday morning I picked her up and we headed back to Werribee. When we’d walked the course with Amanda the previous day, we’d decided that we wanted to see a technical fence ridden rather than the water jump or anything similar that would be easy to do and probably more spectacular. So we decided to go to the rose garden where we would see ALL the 1*, 2* and 3* riders! We had the perfect spot. We were there ALL day from 8am to the close of cross country and we saw every rider go through the three different levels and types of fences.
Nicole looked good through the Rose Garden
I was waiting for Nicole Stewart to come through on Archie and she looked very professional and as if they were eating the course up. As soon as they’d cleared the fence I yelled, “Go Nicole!” as she galloped past. At that stage we were the only spectators there.
The riders began to flow through and we loved watching their pace and lines and you could see when they were going to have trouble. The 1* riders had the most difficulty at their combinations. There was a long delay as one of the 1* riders had had a fall and been knocked unconscious. We were pleased to hear later that she and her horse were alright.
Amanda stuck to the line she spoke about on her course walk
The 2* was really fascinating. I was really keen to see the lines they were going to take from the roll top to the arrowhead brush and most of them got it right. Amanda of course, nailed it. She really did ride to the line she’d spoken of in the course walk and it was perfect.
There was another break and finally the 3* riders were on course. I found my spot where I could see the entire 3* combination and waited and waited and waited. Finally, I heard over the loud speaker, “Now we have Megan Jones and Flowervale Maserati on course,” and I swear a little squeal of excitement escaped. I couldn’t wait to see them! I strained to hear the updates on the loudspeakers as they progressed around the course and finally I knew they were approaching. I’d been practicing videoing with one hand and taking photos on my phone with the other and got it right most of the time. Megan arrived and absolutely nailed the combinations and as they galloped off I cheered so loudly and the crowd joined in and clapped. WOW! WOW! WOW! It was quite an emotional moment for me!
We then waited for Shane Rose to come as Ikaylia had done work experience with him. He arrived and presented at the fence but his horse appeared to hit it but somehow got over it. As they landed it, looked like they were both going to fall and our hearts were in our mouths, but somehow, Mr Stickability was still there as they regained their balance. Shane represented to the sunken road but you could just see the absolute disappointment on his face as they galloped past. So we yelled out encouragement to him as he headed for home and we did the same.
The next day, I had my cross country lesson with my MET Team Manager and another rider and it was fantastic! My knee was great and now only has a small haematoma under it where the cut was. I was very nervous to start with as the ground was very slippy, but I had my Supa Studs in and was ready to go. I was really tentative for most of the lesson. I wasn’t so much worried about the jumps, but more about the turns and to be honest it was a real challenge mentally for me. I could feel Billy slipping at times, but we stayed upright to my relief.
Dave had us progress from warming up over grade 4 and 3 oxers to the mound combination. We rode up the hill over a log, down the hill and over the brush fence that Megan had done with me last time. I struggled to go forward down the hill, but soon, with Dave’s encouragement we were really trotting forward down it and cantering over the brush. I was extremely conscious of riding straight lines after the fences too.
Then Dave turned to me and said, “Okay now let’s do the grade 3 brush from the top of the hill.” Cool. I was happy with that and rode better and better as we did it. It was when he said, “Now ride both grade 3 brush fences” that my nerves kicked in again. The turn from brush one to two was about two strides but I was actually scared that we might fall again. HELLO CONFIDENCE? WHERE ARE YOU? It took me quite some time not to allow Billy to duck out to the left (which of course was ALL my doing!!) and ride the turn correctly. I didn’t manage to jump both the fences, but I did get the line correct, which Dave was happy with. Then Dave sent us off on a little course and we jumped the stockyard, Grade 3 palisade fence and the A frame. I loved that bit! We finished at the water, where I had to take a step back and not over ride (confident there!) and let BSP do his thing! Two extremes today!
It’s quite amazing to recognise how much my nerves affect my riding. When I am nervous I don’t allow BSP to go forward and we lose impulsion and jump messily. When I am confident, we nail it. I am grateful that our fall at Woady wasn’t at a fence as I think I would have lost all of my confidence. My plan now is to get out there and ride, ride, ride and trust myself and work with BSP to help him with his balance and stiffness.
Dave was quick to remind me that it’s normal to lose a bit of confidence after a fall and not to be too hard on myself. He also said that when he sent me off on the small course he could see my confidence returning. It was a good reminder that it’s just a little setback.
I love my lessons with Megan
This Saturday just gone I had a team lesson with Megan at Highfield in Greenvale. I was really excited about riding and arrived in plenty of time to warm up. My warm up was walk and trot on a long rein and lots of transitions as well as some nose to fence work and some leg yielding and straight lines. Finally, we were ready to start our lesson. Megan noticed my new blue MJET socks too. I love them! We worked on three poles set out as per my lovely illustration (below) and Megan explained to us the importance of the line and pace. I loved it as it’s a continuation of the work we have been doing in cross country! It all ties in together.
It was tricky with BSP being so stiff but we worked really hard and he really tried for us and we got some lovely work. He tends to slow down when he’s working “through” as he finds it so hard but he still gives me 100%. We then moved to a second set of poles riding in an S configuration and riding on both reins. Then Megan had us riding individually on the inside and outside of the poles and it was there that BSP did some of his best work. I had the hugest smile on my face at the end of our lesson. I was so proud of BSP and I had learned so much in an hour and a half. I am so blessed to be living my dream.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend training on Sunday much to my utter disappointment as I had CFA volunteer study commitments and I had to get my assessments done as I am studying on 2 scholarships. Sometimes, I don’t know how I fit everything in, including a head cold, but I always seem to do it!
Until next time, stay upright, smile and live your dream too!
Jenna and BSP xoxo
