Well well well, what an amazing day!

We start with the Dressage, I have a new bit, it’s a nathe straight bar thing so it’s really bendy. It’s to stop him resisting the contact but I am not entirely convinced by it as it then means he is very strong and the contact is very strong and feels almost tense, even if it doesn’t look tense. However with this bit in the warm up he did the most AMAZING medium/extended trot. Best he has ever done, same rhythm and speed and fab contact but huge reach. Normally he resists having a contact in things like that.

Anyway the test, well it was alright. The seconds medium we broke and on a canter trot transition he changed legs and like whooshed off in a very strange way. So a few low marks there but mostly 7’s and some 6’s so ended up with 35.7 which I was happy with.

The Show jumping was a very nicely presented course, long, fairly up to height and with some challenging lines. I was terrified!! However I needn’t have been a super little clear. One dodgy moment where I was very naughty at 4 and went for a very long one! But apart from the last treble he didn’t touch anything.

I hate going Cross Country when I have done a clear SJ as I am sooo much more nervous! But I was also excited as new xc colours and a new breastplate! He flew 1, 2, 3. 4ab was a skinny house to a very large drop on a steep hill, popped that brilliantly and zoomed onto the water. Good in over the log and down the step at 5ab, trotted through the water and up the bounce steps at 6ab and very clever pony over the brush with drop at 6c. Galloped onto a very big rail/ditch/drop fence thing to a skinny brush which he flew through, then up a hill and over a brush at 10, down the hill and very tight turn to a brush, 3 strides to a step and then bounce over a skinny brush. He did the first brush well, got the three strides well, took off over the step and stumbled so we were slightly untidy over the bounce hedge. Galloped up the hill then over a roll top, zoomed through the wood and flew out over a drop log, galloped up another hill, over a straightforward fence at 14, and onto the wagon to skinny. Perfect over the wagon and nice three over the skinny. Flew 16 and galloped to a brush, two strides on a turn to a skinny brush at 17. Brilliant through that and then galloped over a big table at 18 and onto the second last. Two big corners on a tight curving line. Good stride to the first, then he came back, turned and popped the 2nd. A bit close to the last but through the finish three seconds inside the time! FINISHED ON DRESSAGE SCORE!!!!!!

When walking back to the lorry we stopped to do something and I noticed him pick up his right front leg, so I asked mum to take his boot off as I was worried about his tendons etc but she said it was just a fly. We got back to the box and I noticed a cut just above his overreach boot. Then I noticed that it was a deep cut, then I noticed that it was a big cut (3cm) and then I noticed that it was a huge flap of skin and quite a lot of blood. And then I started to panic a bit. Mum had a look and said it was just a skin injury and it looked worse that it was. But I thought it needed stitches so went over to the secretary’s to see if they had an onsite vet. They did, he came poked around and said it was just skin, no tissue or joint damage and stitched it up.  So unless it blows up and he becomes very lame, the bandage comes off tomorrow, and he has a week without being ridden, in 10 days he has the stitches off and then he should hopefully be fine to continue riding/competing. But it means that I won't be able to go XC at Gatcombe CIC* as it would be to risky that it would re-open and cause more problems, so I will just do Dressage and hopefully the Show Jumping.

HORSES!! You can never have a good day without some incident! Poor little mooch!

Anyway, the really exciting news, out of 40 starters I finished on my dressage of 35.7 and WON!!!!!! I was also the only person to finish on my dressage score!

Soooooo pleased! First win BE! Well actually one of my first placings even! But 6 points, which brings belv’s total to 15 and our total together to 10!! Very disappointed with prizes though, a cap and 67 pounds. That’s not even my entry fee...

But yeah, very very very very very pleased, but a bit upset about my ponies paw!