Archie in the dressage phase at Albury HT - our first 2*! I borrowed Megan Jones’ Beijing tails for this test in
the hope that they would give me magical dressage powers like Megan has!
Photo credit to Jenelle Christopher
In the last month, Archie and I have successfully completed our first ever 2* starts - two of them! The first one was at Albury Horse Trials at the start of April, where we finished 18th of 32, with a dressage score of 52%, adding a little bit of time on cross country and three rails in the show jumping! He ate up the more challenging questions on cross country, making it feel easy! It was a real blast, riding my test in tails and a double bridle and competing against all of those professional riders. It has been a long time coming, and I’m very proud of both Archie and I!
Archie approaching the water jump at Albury HT
Awkward stirrup-less jump from me but Archie copes well with the height in the 2* at Albury!
Photo thanks to Jenelle Christopher
The second one was at the Camperdown horse Trials. We improved on our dressage score from Albury (by a little bit) and again went clear cross country with just a little bit of time and had a few rails. Even though we’re not yet competitive at this level, I was thrilled to have completed my first 2* starts both with 3* qualifiers! When you’ve been riding and competing for many years and have always looked up to and admired the top riders galloping around in the higher grades, the buzz that goes with finally joining them at that level and not just joining them, but getting the job done, is indescribable!
I moved Archie along through the 1* because he found the jumping too easy and he is also SO much more ride-able in the double bridle. But now at 2* level, I feel great about setting in to really establish ourselves, learn to ride an excellent dressage test and show jump clear so that we can not only get the job done, but be competitive at this level. He’s a great horse and I know he has it in him and we both have lots to learn! So right now, I’m aiming for the 2* at Melbourne 3DE and Adelaide International this year, and from there, who knows!
I had a very important lesson in learning over the two weeks separating Albury and Camperdown. I learnt the importance of having the little details right …
The week before Albury, I purchased a new pair of riding gloves, slightly thicker than the old ones, because my old thin ones didn't seem to last more than a few months when you’re riding 5 or 6 horses a day. What I neglected to realise at the time, is that through these thicker gloves, my feeling was HUGELY compromised! Archie is tricky enough on the flat as it is and in particular likes to lock on my right rein. After Albury, he seemed to be getting increasingly worse, and I couldn't put ‘my fingers’ on why that might be happening. When I rode in these gloves, I also noticed that they were becoming really slippery, so I had to hold on really tight to stop the reins from slipping through my fingers, particularly in the double. The long story short was, two days out from Camperdown, in the last 10 minutes of my flat lesson, I decided to ditch the gloves and rode bare handed for the last few minutes of my lesson. Instantly, Archie was a happier horse and on the Friday morning, when I rode in my thin competition gloves, he was a different horse all together! This resulted in his mouth not feeling very great at Camperdown, but we’ve gone back to the drawing board since the event and I’m working on picking up the pieces. I would never have thought something like a little pair of gloves would make THAT much difference to my riding results and ability! Check your gloves! The yucky thick pair that I bought have been reserved now only for lunging and handling babies. They certainly aren’t getting back on a horse again!
In other news, Nemo had another successful weekend at Camperdown, placing fifth in the Prelim class. I’ve only got him for another 5 weeks before he’ll be having a holiday then starting back with Cat in July! I’m excited for her that she’ll be riding again soon, though I am going to miss riding Nemo, he is good fun!
Nemo on Cross Country at Camperdown, he improves every time he goes out!
Photo thanks to Chris Esh
Our new property is going beautifully. I love having these amazing facilities to train on and all the ponies are settled and happy! We have a small number of clients horses and can take a handful of agistees as well, we’re looking forward to seeing it grow and a little community establish itself here of other great riders! I am looking for a house mate though because in the middle of June I’m moving into the main house on the property which is a 3 bedroom place. I’m keen to share the house with someone, so if anyone is interested they should get in touch!
As easy as it is to complain about the cold weather, I am enjoying the cooler part of the year, cozying up inside with a book in the evenings, having the ponies in in the stables and drinking lots of hot tea is wonderful, though I know in a few months time I’ll be craving sunlight again!
I’ll keep it short and sweet, off to clip a fluffy pony this afternoon!
Hope your riding is going well, and I’ll speak to you soon!
Best Riding,
Nicole
