DRESSAGE
Well he warmed up really well, and very sensible (until another horse lost it across the front of him)...then he got a bit silly, but did come somewhat better. However when we went to our arena all he seemed concerned about was where his girlfriend was at the yards.
He didnt ACTUALLY do anything awful in his test, and held it together just getting a bit silly on the first canter (R lead), but then after the transition back to the Left canter he did some nice work, and then just a little tense in the final trot work. His second lengthening in the early parts of his test was super - really pleased with it.
However, it would seem the judge either missed a lot of our nice left lead canter, or got lost, or something giving us initially 4 x 3's in a row...later crossing out the last two and changing them to '6''s. However, he still had his LOVELY left canter transition left as a 3, leaving us with the grand score of 46% - not even a qualifying score, and although it wasnt a great test, an undeserved mark.
SHOW JUMPING
Managed to jump the cross rail once before he started getting silly, tried to do upright but it was a mess, and he was getting worse, so I left it, and just stood waiting until we went in.Although not an overly big course, it was tight for a big horse, and wet slippery ground. He jumped superbly, really trying, and was really ride-able. I didnt find him strong, yet he was nicely forward.
Yay - a nice clear round.
CROSS COUNTRY
Definitely not a course that suited him. Until the last few jumps there was not a single jump on the course that was not preceded and followed by a turn. He did a huge jump at number 7 a white rampy table thing, and I had to slip right to the buckle of the reins.
He was great through the combination 8a and b, but turning back to the curved oxer, we overshot our line and he was nowhere near straight. I thought about circling away and re-presenting, then just thought that I would keep going. He momentarily thought about ducking out, but jumped, probably at the higher part of the jump, but he made a real effort, jolting my back in the process, at which I considered carrying on, but thought it probably wouldnt do my back any favours. Sampson wasnt really enjoying the twisting and turning and just wanted to get into his stride and run and jump, so I retired him. Only to find that he had also ripped his shoe off at that jump, so thankfully we also avoided doing any further damage to his foot.
Hopefully Taupo next weekend will be a course that suits him better (and not one that scares me senseless!)
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