It’s been a while since my last blog - And mostly because it’s been quiet on the horse front!
Eucla, the halfway stop on Day 2 and crossing the border to SA
We made it home from Melbourne without too many dramas, and I was happy to be coming home with a ribbon! I had decided to take my young horse over for the CCI*, with no expectations for him to even finish. I just wanted him to be exposed to the atmosphere and had no idea how he would handle travelling the Nullarbor and I didn’t want to put any pressure on him. And boy did he exceed and excel!
Touchstone Felix at MI3DE doing his first trot up
After putting in a reliable dressage test, with a few glitches in the warm up, and a rider error, he scored a 55 to be mid field. I thought the CCI* course was tough, compared to what we had seen in WA, there were certainly a few more skinnies out there! But he flew home double clear and show jumped well, just touching the first fence – but with lots of rails falling it meant that he moved up the placings to finish 7th!! I was very, very happy with him and glad he had made the trip across.
Giving Touchstone Felix kisses after a super showjumping round, and 7th place overall
Murph also made the trip to Melbourne but after putting a good test, to score low fifties, it wasn’t our event to shine. Over rotating into the first water appeared to be the cause of an injury, which meant he just wasn’t feeling right for the rest of the course and caused me to pull up at fence 13. After many trips to the vet, trying to figure out if he was saying ‘ouch’ or not it appears he did come home with a few minor injuries. So it turns out Murph’s toughness is the undoing of him and I keep telling him its ok to say ‘ouch’.
The boys sharing a drink at Eucla on the big trip
Since Melbourne things have been quiet, just starting to get busy again now as we prepare for the Wooroloo Three Day event at the end of August. I made the trip to Margaret River to see super coach Rory Hovell while he was home in Australia for a short time – coming away with brain overload and very sore legs after doing lots of no stirrups riding!
We just got home from the Gidgegannup CNC event, where the weather was trying its best to see if we were tough eventers or soft eventers. With dressage resembling a swimming pool, and breaststroke taking over collected canter, it was an interesting day. Those riding early copped the worst of it, but by Sunday the weather had cleared a bit! Felix did his first 2 star, with a solid test, just lacking some flair, to score 46 and take the lead. Jumping clear cross country and a rider error show jumping, meant a solid finish in 4th.
Next up is a few show jumping days, including the local Dryandra Showjumping Championships, which is always a great show, before the Wooroloo Three Day Event which is shaping up to be better than ever this year!
Tegan
