They might be small but I can tell you it hurts when one of these ends up in your leg!
Like I’ve heard many great eventers say "You can be on top one weekend - and on the ground the next" and I suppose that is the beauty of our sport; such a leveler!
The last month or so has flown by, hence the delay in my blog. Following on from the last one I didn't end up making it to Quirindi CNC as I was bedridden with a horrible virus! Stuck on the couch at the Tinney's with an endless supply of chocolate and several trips to the DVD store. It wasn't much fun, however I did manage to make it to the Equestriad CIC event at Camden CIC the following weekend. Camden was one of those 'despite what the scoreboard might say’ type of events for me. Trumpet and I attempted our first 3* and I was over the moon with how things went! We had green errors in all the phases but I was so happy to complete the event. Daisy completed the pre novice course and without the time she received she would've placed 3rd!
Trumpet and I tackle our first CIC3* at Equestriad
Daisy flies over on of the pre novice fences at Equestriad
For the next week I was battling a boot rub and mud fever on poor Trumpet which we believe was part of the cause to his 'less than to be desired for' showjumping round at Camden. At the time I was feeling like 'if it's not me that’s sick or injured it's my horse!'
The following weekend instead of taking Daisy to Berrima we went down to the local jump club for some training rounds with both horses. The weather was horrible and the reports I saw of the Berrima event on Sunday night proved that it was quite wet to say the least! Back to jump club where Trumpet jumped around his 1.20's a few times trying to be quite careful and under the guidance of Stuart we managed to sort a few things out. Daisy jumped around her rounds clear and was a lot of fun.
From then it was onwards and upwards towards Melbourne 3 Day Event. The Monday prior to Melbourne saw Belinda Isbister (WA rider) and I do our final fitness preparation for the event. I also had to pack up the gooseneck - with not only my event things but also all my gear from the last three months of my life on the east coast! Now that was a big job in itself! Mum flew in to help drive down to Victoria (although she spent the whole time in the passenger seat) but it was good to have some company and someone to be the 'DJ'. At about midday Tuesday we loaded up Trumpet and Daisy and said our goodbyes to Sydney (Grand Elevation) who we sold to the Tinney’s for Stuart to compete on – it will be pretty exciting to see how they go and then we were off on the road again!
Tuesday night was spent in the coldest part of Australia - Tarcutta (do I sound convincing enough?). We woke on Wednesday morning to ice on the windscreen! Mum took the horses for a pick on the grass while I packed the last of the goosey up and they couldn't even eat the grass because it was ice! Brrr. We arrived in Werribee at about 1pm that day and got things organised and Trumpet ridden.
I had a super run at Melbourne in the CCI 2* - Trumpet finished around 12th after dressage, was amazing around the cross country going clear jumping and clear time and had eight faults in the tough show jumping round to finish sixth overall. I couldn't be happier with our performance! With Melbourne over I said my goodbyes to everyone from the East (hopefully I’ll see them at Adelaide in November) and prepared for the long journey back across the Nullabor and home.
Trumpet jumps into the water at Melbourne
In reflection of my time away from home I am happy with what I achieved and the things I was fortunate enough to experience. It was such a learning curve and I’m happy to publicly thank Stuart and Karen for passing on their knowledge and for their hospitality. Also thanks to the amazing people I was lucky enough to meet; they know who they are! And of course my Mum and Dad for supporting me and helping make this opportunity possible.
We had an uneventful drive home, which was really nice after our last hectic trip across from West to East and we arrived home at 2am Friday morning. It was a very nice feeling to sleep in my own bed and I think the horses really enjoyed their stables! They had a few days off before a Jamie Coman showjumping clinic where they both jumped really well. I was prepping them for one last run back in the West before their well-deserved break!
That run was at Wooroloo CIC and CNC and I was very much so looking forward to the weekend. My two horses felt very well and despite being a little hairy and a little on the 'thin' side from the big travels I saw no reason not to run them in the event as I had planned. Dressage on Saturday went quite well. Daisy who was competing in her first 1* did a good test and just got a bit green in the counter canters. I had Trumpet in the CNC 3* and he was well behaved to score a 54 penalty. The work seemed better than Camden I just need to keep working on the timing with my flying changes! It was certainly nice to be back in the West and to see all the friendly faces that I hadn't seen for a while! Sunday started with a cold 3 degrees, which was quite funny because I had been saying that I had come home to get away from temperatures like that! It felt colder than even Melbourne. My first ride of the day was Daisy in the CIC 1* XC and she was just fantastic. She is still quite green and aside from one little error at the first combination - it was nearly a foot perfect round! She finished the course with clear jumping penalties and just a lump of time considering i had not pushed her. My next ride was the 3* cross country and I was looking forward to getting out on the course however...'the ups and downs of eventing'...I didn't manage to make it around the course, actually I didn't make it to the second jump! It was probably mainly rider error … I went for a nice long spot and Trumpet decided to add one in resulting in us ending up on the other side not on our feet! He happily galloped off (probably unsure of quite which jump to jump next) and I was left sitting on the ground with a nice stud hole in my thigh. Off to hospital and several stitches later here I am. A hole in the leg and two horses out on a break! Not the best result I could have hoped for but that’s eventing!
So the next month for me will be spent working and coaching. I should be back in the saddle after about three weeks to get a few horses ready for Gidgegannup CNC at the end of July. My stitches come out in a week so fingers crossed the wound heals up nicely. Just another scar to add to my collection!
Many thanks to Tony Gray and Cobie Sheehan for providing photos for my blog
