Firstly I have to say, sorry it’s been a while since the last update! This is going to be an ‘extended version’ and cover my adventures during May and June. First and foremost, WE DID IT! Archie and I have completed our first of many Melbourne International Three Day Events! It was an amazing experience and I’m very proud that we made it there and also completed the event in fine form. We finished up in 41st place out of over 70 riders who started the event, a result that I’m very happy with for not only his fifth 1* start, but also my own! Archie is now enjoying a relaxing break until the end of July!
Now lets cover the journey that got us there … although the actual week of Melbourne was amazing, the build up itself was full of challenges and educational experiences!
During May, Archie and I competed in the 1* classes at both Ballarat Horse Trials and Woady Yaloak Horse Trials. At Ballarat we finished up with our best result yet at 1* level, placing 12th in the class. The week leading up to Ballarat, we tried a few new cross country bits, after the carting I had received from Archie at Heytesbury during April. Unfortunately this meant that when I arrived at the event on Friday afternoon, Archie, being the sensitive soul that he is, was very offended in the mouth and not at all obliging about taking the contact and behaving like a grown up! Fortunately by the time my dressage came around on Saturday afternoon he had come around a little and we scored a 57% in his test. The upside of that week’s activities were that we had found a new bit for cross country that felt fantastic. It’s a Stubben bit, a modified Pelham that my coach, Megan Jones has had created for her 4* horse Kirby Park Allofasudden.
We completed our first 1* track clear on time, because he was happy to come back to me when I asked and I felt confident to allow him to travel, because he wasn’t pulling, it was a super feeling! We also did our best show jumping round yet at 1* level at Ballarat, pulling only two rails.
Archie jumping into the water at Ballarat HT, the new cross country bit was feeling amazing!
Photo credit to David Kelly
Clearing the last fence on the Cross country at Ballarat HT for our first round clear on time at 1* level. Photo credit to Chris Esh
During the two weeks between Ballarat and Woady, I went along to a clinic with Megan through the Melbourne Eventing Team, and we had our first ever shot at putting Archie in a double bridle. Megan’s thoughts were that the double would help us to get him softer in the base of the neck and prevent his mouth from cutting. The first time we put it on he wasn’t all that excited about the idea, so I had some homework to do with some very long and low lunging before every ride to get Archie used to the idea of submission (not his strongest point!) As a result of the lunging we did, he felt pretty fantastic in his test at Woady Yaloak, even though it did not score as well as my previous tests. I could feel a definite improvement in his acceptance of the bridle and lightness in the contact. He ran another clear and under time round on cross country at Woady, feeling absolutely amazing and like he was taking it all in his stride. We had one final clinic scheduled for the weekend after Woady as our run up to the MI3DE … unfortunately, Archie had other plans.
When I unwrapped his legs on Monday after Woady Yaloak, they felt perfect, nice and clean and cold, unfortunately when he came in on Tuesday, his off side fore was nice and fat right from the knee down to his coronet on the inside of the leg, it was also burning up, sore to touch and he was lame on it! Needless to say that was a bit of a worry, so I got straight on board with icing it. We iced it on and off for about three hours with no improvement. The heat and inflammation didn’t isolate or change at all despite the icing, so I got on the phone to my vet, Simon Bray, who came out that afternoon and confirmed my suspicions that it was an infection via a small cut on the front of his pastern. We gave him IV bute and antibiotics and by the next morning it was back to a normal looking leg - PHEW! He had a few days of bute and almost a week of IV antibiotics (I was not his favorite person in the world at the end of administering 25mL of viscous liquid into his vein twice a day for a week) and we skipped the first two days of the clinic with Megan, opting to take him along for the Sunday dressage only. I hopped on him for the first time since Woady Yaloak on that Friday and fortunately, he was sound and happy! Damn horses.
Sunday morning’s dressage lesson, we hopped back in the double bridle for the first time in a fortnight, and the long and low lunging had done its job. Archie immediately settled into the double, feeling light, supple and accepting and we immediately found all of these gears in his gaits and lateral buttons that we didn’t know were there, purely because he is normally so resistant in front! I can honestly say that 45 minute lesson was the best ride on the flat that I’ve EVER had on him, and Megan’s conclusion at the end of the lesson was that we needed to talk about a 2** start with him so we could get him out of the snaffle. Wow, that was unexpected, and also very exciting!
Archie having his second ride in the double bridle during a lesson with Megan Jones leading up to Melbourne 3DE...he felt amazing!
Finally it was the week of Melbourne 3DE. We had a final show jumping tune up with Jamie Coman on Tuesday and had a last-minute change of bits. Since I’d felt him in the double I realised just how stuck he felt in the snaffle and I wanted to achieve the same feeling of lightness in the show jumping phase, so we popped him into a running gag. I was hesitant to make a change like that so close to the event, but it paid off and Archie loved the new bit. I’d been dreaming of competing at this event and galloping through that rose garden since I’d first attended the event many years ago and honestly it was all a little overwhelming that we’d finally made it. I arrived at the event and was immediately grateful for my 18 months of experience grooming for Megan, because the atmosphere at the event didn’t bother me in the slightest. I also felt at ease about the whole week running smoothly, because I had supergroom on board, Leah, who has competed up to 2* level herself and also used to turn show horses out for spending money as a teenager, as a result, Archie looked immaculate the entire week and was always prepped and ready to go on time - thanks Leah!
Archie and I before the first trot up at Melbourne 3DE
Massive thanks to my groom, Leah, Archie looked amazing all weekend!
Leah's organisational skills left me feeling very relaxed at the 3DE!
Unfortunately, after all of our hard work in the double bridle, Archie chose dressage day at Melbourne to be the one where he didn’t want to play. Megan helped me warm him up in the double bridle and before I went into the final warm up, we dropped the curb out of his mouth and did his nose band up. He felt super in the final warm up, through, relaxed and Megan was full of praise for how he was looking, I was ready to go in and nail it. Horses truly are humbling creatures aren’t they? As we rode down the centre line of the Kelly Arena at Werribee Park, I felt Archie hold his breath, tighten his back and clench his jaw. He then proceeded to spend the next five minutes looking for every possible horse-eating flower, sand granule and grass blade in the vicinity. He changed in both of his counter canters, and spent the majority of the test against me. Megan’s words to me as I came out of my test were “I can’t believe he just did that … he didn’t try at all … naughty pony!”
So, disappointing as the test was it left me with fresh resolve to get our show jumping going and look for a 2* start in the new season, we also had another learning experience on it’s way - our first swabbing experience! Archie was swabbed after the dressage phase, it was a tremendous amount of paperwork and signatures, but a first time for everything!
One of the nicer moments of our dressage test
Photo credit to Victorian Eventers
Leah and I did some serious damage in the trade village over the weekend, and also became unofficial Spooks spokes-girls!
We were literally second to last after dressage, scraping through with a qualifying score (just) of 50.29%. The fun part was on it’s way though and on Sunday morning, Archie and I got to strut our stuff in our strongest phase, the cross country! The optimum time on course was 7 minutes 49 seconds, run over four kilometers, comprising 19 fences with a total of 29 efforts. It was easily the biggest and toughest course we’d tackled together, but I was super excited and feeling entirely prepared for this part of the event. Archie did not disappoint and showed me that he really knows and loves his job! He jumped the galloping fences out of his stride without breaking rhythm, ears pricked looking for his next fence and came back to me for the combinations, completely on the job and with me the whole time. We came through the finish flags about 30 seconds under time, but hadn’t felt rushed at any stage on course so I wasn’t concerned about the speed. He pulled up with a heart rate of 66 and was back to his resting rate within 5 minutes, feeling like he could probably go again. Such a good boy! Cross country day at Melbourne added some more fuel to my fire when thinking about going 2**, now we just had to show jump...
A couple of shots from the XC phase at Melbourne
Photos credited to Fiesley Photographics
Archie and I over the big ditch and hedge at Werribee
Photo credit to Samantha Tierney Photography
On Show Jumping day, Archie put the icing on my cake and our season by really coming to the party! Jamie Coman was there to help me warm up and by the time we got into the Werribee indoor, we were ready to give it a good crack! We finished the day with three rails down, which I was absolutely stoked with! In the running gag I was able to ride Archie up to the bridle without him rushing or getting flat, he stayed light in my hand and sat up when I asked him to.
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos from our show jumping round, but the video showed me that he is getting quite neat and sharp in front, the rails he did have down were from his hind legs. He needs to get stronger so I can send him more forwards, as he had time on course at Melbourne, and Jamie also thinks we need to give open front hind boots a shot, I usually wrap his hind legs for show jumping because of an old scar on his cannon bone. The three rails and time penalties didn’t bother me because we produced a round that was relaxed, connected and harmonious, we jumped from super distances and the hind legs being a little lazy is something that is unfortunate, but certainly not crucifiable.
Archie is now putting his feet up and stuffing his face on a big fat round bale out in the paddock for the next six or so weeks and my focus turns to bringing Muz back into work. I’m really looking forward to having him back in work, he is such good fun to ride! Archie will run one more 1* start at Avenel in September and we’ll then have a shot at 2** at Reynella in South Australia during October. I certainly didn’t think that I’d be even considering a 2* start this soon after going 1*, but the cross country and dressage are certainly ready and the show jumping will be my focus after he returns from his holiday. Very exciting times! I’ll look forward to keeping you posted and updating you with the latest news during July!
Best Riding,
Nicole
