Doing the dreaded beep test at the EA National Squad camp
2015 has been one of those years that started with ‘wow February is going to be chaos, oh well it will calm down in March’ and all of a sudden it’s nearly May and I haven’t written one blog!! And now it feels like there is so much to cover I don’t know where to start…
Last year I said I would bring you a better blog, rather than just a repeat of life, bring you things that I’ve learnt along the way to make it more engaging…so as I have missed the last few months (whoops!) I will be doing a quick recap for you:
The year started with going along to the High Performance clinic in Perth, followed by attending the National Squad clinic on foot in Sydney. Having great dressage lessons with Gareth Hughes we ran through the new dressage test which was a learning experience in itself! In Sydney I learnt that the Beep Test is not fun! And that as much as I HATE running, I probably need to do more of it – running is the one cardio that my wee little legs struggle to do for long periods! I have also discovered that doing a little bit every day is working better than doing a big hit 3 times a week.
Touchstone Felix jumping at the magnificent Yalambi Stud Farm (RedFoto.com.au)
From there we move into March, and I headed over to Yalambi Farm Stud to do 2 weeks of intensive training with Alison Rowland. She needs no introduction, and I find her the most amazing coach, she just chips away at making things better in a way that really makes you feel confident. Tempus Fugit and Touchstone Felix then ran at the Yalambi Show, pulling off a win on Saturday and a couple of placings on Sunday around the most fantastic course.
From there we headed to the first event of the year at Capel CNC with both boys in the 2 star. I learnt that showjumpers really do know their stuff on the flat, after my two weeks away; Tempus Fugit managed to pull off a personal best score in the dressage on a 46! He then stormed home for a double clear, the only horse to finish on his dressage and take out the event – a big difference to how the year started in 2014!!
Tempus Fugit winning Capel CNC** (Waylib Photos)
After Capel we moved onto the WAYER CIC – an event that didn’t go to plan! While the dressage went well, showjumping a couple of hours later meant mentally drained horses that didn’t quite have springs in their feet so my rounds weren’t quite so great. Come cross country day things were going well, and Felix was my first ride in the two star around a huge track. We were going great guns and I was really proud of how he was handling the course…until the second last fence from home when the petrol tank ran empty and I got spat out the front door…and into the back rail of the jump which left me with an impressive set of stitches!
So what did I learn from this? Competition fitness is something that can’t be overlooked. Skull caps are a must for XC, if I’d been wearing one with a peak I would most likely have a broken neck. We don’t need medical armbands after all… Our WA community is awesome especially Sonja Johnson helping out poor Mum in the cool down box. And finally trying to ride with stitches in your eyebrow is quite difficult!
So it has been a busy start to the year and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down!
My ‘cosmetic’ surgery!
