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Best laid plans; reflections on 2012 as a sponsored rider

12/10/2012

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2012 has been a pivotal year for me; lots of excitement, lots of changes and plenty of bumps in the road too. The year started with so much hope and lots of rigorously thought-out plans of how the year would progress, but the phrase ‘best laid plans’ springs to mind...

Having won sponsorship for the year with my fantastic trainer Sharon of Kilminster Equestrian Ltd, we both knew that there would be lots of hard work ahead, and hopefully plenty of success too. However, the first 6 months of the year were really about 1 thing alone; partnership – namely that between me and 4 legged friend Willo. We spent many sessions training, working with him, and making inroads, but it was obvious that Willo just wasn’t the schoolmaster we had hoped he was. We had some really fantastic Eureka sessions, and some brilliant results out competing, but after a year of persevering it was certainly not getting easier – and a very interesting first BE90 together ended up with a fall across country that no doubt knocked my confidence. We had some tough times after that, and after much soul searching we decided that Willo was not the horse for me. We ploughed on until he was continuing to make progress, and getting us both jumping happily again, but we were very sure that it was the right decision for both horse and rider.  

I learnt so much from Willo, had some brilliant moments winning both xc and sj in style, and our flat work was always a challenge but there were visible improvements – both seeing our marks creep up, and also from a training perspective.  I was keen to keep my eyes on the prize and keep training and competing after he went, despite the circumstances. I was lucky enough to continue having both flat and jump lessons on a friends horse, Jake the lovely warmblood, which has allowed me to continue training with Sharon at a level that Ruby is not quite capable of yet, culminating in comments like ‘I’d be very pleased to see that in a novice test’ and ‘with a bit more elevation that wouldn’t look out of place at elementary.’ As someone who always been a jumper at heart, dressage is still new to me, so to hear those kind of comments has been fantastic – a testament to Sharon’s training. Yep it’s official, I actually enjoy dressage! I’ve also been riding another friends horse Daisy, a tricky character as she can be a handful, but very honest with it and an absolute jumping machine! I’ve enjoyed helping to establish her flatwork better as well as schooling over fences, and in just a few shows we have come away with some rosettes or at worst having just 1 pole down in 3’0” classes, as well as easily jumping round the open xc course at our local uk chasers. Really pleasing results, and something that I would never have had the confidence or skills to do a year ago. Again, a testament to Sharon’s training.

Meanwhile in the background, Ruby has been just ticking over. We still have an issue in her 1 sidedness which we are currently investigating thoroughly thanks to my vets and insurance company, but she has been making steady progress in between physio. In fact, having just Ruby has been a bit of a breakthrough for us both!

Comparing her to the horse she was at the beginning of the year she’s quietly come so far and matured greatly. Her breeding has really started to shine through recently by introducing her to jumping. We took her xc schooling for the first time with Sharon, and she was just unbelievable – jumped everything asked of her with massive enthusiasm and far exceeded everyone’s expectations, even jumping a few elements from the open course! This is no doubt where her talent and heart lies, and ironically when jumping although strong, we have managed to get some really nice balanced, light canter work. Lots of hacking, hill work, and cantering whilst out has helped to develop different muscle and I’m seeing the benefit in her work.

Sharon and I have a sj session planned at home before heading to a local venue to have a play over a course of fences, so watch this space. All being well it may not be all that long before Ruby is out doing some little courses.  She has masses of scope so it’s really between the fences that we will need to work on. Sharon has some brilliant clinics coming up too that we’re planning to attend, and a great fun xmas event that will be a great introduction to a competition type environment but without the pressure.

2012 has certainly been challenging; there have been trainer injuries, rider injuries, wonky horses, and mismatched partnerships, but throughout we have kept our focus, and where there’s a will there’s a way; we made the best of what we had and kept the Kilminster Equestrian name out and about. We finish the year with some lessons learned, my confidence soaring, my knowledge broadened, and safe in the knowledge that selling Willo was absolutely the right thing to do, even if it was hard at the time.  I’ve since ridden a variety of horses, none of whom could be described as easy, but with some great results, I can work many different horses consistently in an outline, jump happily and confidently, without any of the issues we had together.  Sharon told me many times that the problems we were having were not down to me, but as a rider you always tend to think that it must be because of something you’ve done wrong, but as always she was right, and my experiences in the saddle since have evidenced that.

I think it would be fair to say that we are both excited about Ruby’s future, and even despite having her ‘wonky’ issues she is really developing into a lovely horse with a bright future. Some real flashes of ‘wow’ moments on show lately. Sharon and I will continue to work closely together throughout 2013 and beyond, and with her extensive and sound knowledge I am sure there will be lots of exciting things to come as Ruby starts her career and who knows - maybe even a rosette or 2?! Perhaps Ruby will turn out to be the super little eventer I’ve been searching for? Watch this space. ..

Sharon; thanks for giving me such a fabulous opportunity as a sponsored rider, the benefits of which I will continue to see in years to come, being much more accomplished in the saddle. Thanks for your continued support and mentoring, friendship, knowledge, training and endless patience. It means a lot to know you have always kept faith in me throughout even when I doubted myself, and Ruby and I look forward to representing #TeamKilminster in 2013 and beyond. It’s been emotional!


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Baby Ruby goes xc!

11/20/2012

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As some of you may have already seen, on 19 November I spent a very worthwhile day off by taking my 5y/o Ruby xc schooling for the first time at Dene Farm, under the guidance of Sharon of Kilminster Equestrian.

Our plan had always been to get the flatwork right before revisiting jumping, but recently we felt that it couldn’t hurt to try something different with her that we know she loves. The vet also felt it was potentially very good for getting her to use her back and hind end more.

I had a play in the school lunging her over some poles last week which she loved, and then popped it up – I was really struck by how much her technique had improved since last time; no more baby clambering over a fence but really jumping and using her back more and looking far more coordinated. At the end when she was jumping confidently, I hopped on and she finished jumping a few with me in the saddle. She had no issue with this, and just wanted to go again!

I had a chat with Sharon and we agreed xc schooling would be a great thing for her to try. Initially we had expected to just be jumping the tiny jumps – 1’3”, 2” fences, but it soon became clear that this was not enough of a challenge for Rubes! It wasn’t long before she was jumping fences from the 2’6” course, and looked as though she’d been doing it all her life. We were all gobsmacked, she just took it in her stride and didn’t have any trouble with ditches, steps, jumping in and out of water, logs – you name it, she jumped it, and with style too. In fact the only issue we had was bringing her back afterwards as she was very keen on locking onto the next fence – a little hairy when the next fence is on the open course! NOOO Ruby, not yet! Although she did actually end up coming down the steps from the open course, as she seemed to find going up and down steps particularly easy, and in fact the log before the water jump which is part of the open course. What a pleasing introduction to xc!

She was nothing short of brilliant and I couldn’t have asked for more – just might need to review the bitting situation, as the French link snaffle was no match for Ruby when she had locked onto a fence, as my shoulders can testify! This horse has always been a typical Opposition horse in many ways, and it’s looking as though she has inherited some of that fearless jumping ability. I’ve never had such a buzz as taking her xc for the first time and feeling the potential in her. She was keen, took you to the fence, had her (rather substantial) ears pricked up the whole way, a super little technique and just knew her job. What more can you want?

She is actually due to go for scans this Friday to check whether there is a medical diagnosis for her 1-sidedness, so I’m hoping we will be in a better position to deal with the issue afterwards. The vet has warned that we may not find anything, but it gives me some peace of mind if nothing else, and I do feel that such a chronic complaint warrants investigation. Have to say thanks to KBIS for giving us the go ahead to do the scans, they have been great. If it shows nothing, great! Except that it then means it may be a ‘learnt behaviour’ and then we are really going to have find a way to get to the bottom of it, and how we can break the cycle.

I’m more determined than ever to persevere with her and see what we can do to get her flatwork sorted. I would be absolutely bursting with pride if she were able to go eventing – whether that is in 2013 or beyond. Of all the horses I’ve tried, none of them have given me the same ‘wow’ feeling as Ruby gave me yesterday.  Fingers crossed Friday is a good outcome.

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Training, dressage and bonding!

5/17/2012

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It’s been quite a while since my last update, so here goes!

With Willo we have gone back to basics; sometimes to move forward you need to take a few steps back. In terms of confidence, we were both suffering a little, so we’ve since kept things simple and built upon our successes. With jumping, Willo had become unsettled by me being defensive coming into a fence, so Sharon and I had a few sessions to help re-establish my position, using some exercises that always make me laugh (it feels like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy!) over some poles and building up to some small fences. It worked a treat, and we both felt better for it. Independently I have been practicing at home, and Willo and I are now back to jumping a decent height and some scary fillers with smiles on our faces, hurrah!  We also boxed over to Sparsholt for an outing to practice over a course of their jumps which is always extremely beneficial, and it felt great for him to be taking me to the fence again. I’m very keen to get out and compete round some courses, but equally we need to make sure we’re ready or we will back at square one. All good things come to those who wait!

We’ve also been working further on our flatwork, with the help of Sharon. We’ve had some great lessons and on a few occasions recently he’s really given me the wow factor in his work; working deep and round, coming up underneath me, and becoming super light in the hand. Last weekend we ventured out to Altogether Equestrian at Cholderton to do some dressage. We were planning to pick Monty up but he picked up a knock, so we had to go without. Knowing I had entered 2 Prelim tests, I offered Sharon the 2nd ride on Willo; this mean she could still compete, but also that Willo would get the chance to show what he could do with a more established dressage rider. Well, after the hold up with Monty, we arrived late and my warm up was non-existent! Nonetheless, he felt so much improved and we finished the test smiling. Next up was Sharon’s turn and she rode P10 on him, finishing 7th with 66%! Pretty good considering she last sat on him about 7 months ago! Sharon felt excited having ridden him, and feels he’s got an 80% in him...great news. He’s continued well at home, and I popped him in the draw reins the other day to help remind him to get deep and round. With barely a contact on them, he just floated round the arena, and he’s very keen on showing me his medium trot at the minute! He was just awesome, so forward and off the leg...perhaps he’s feeling good for being on the summer paddocks?! If he can perform like that in a test I will be grinning from ear to ear! Yep, dressage making me smile, who’d have thought it?

I really feel we’ve turned a corner lately; having to step back from the situation has allowed me to see that Willo is just a very sensitive chap, and we were dealing with him in the wrong way. He takes confidence from his rider, and is unsure if you are; if you punish him for it and get after him, things can quickly spiral, but if you reassure him and work with him he tries his heart out for you! I think my changed mindset has helped, and I’m really keen to see if we can continue to make good progress. Ok, he will never be the schoolmaster I was originally looking for, but now that my understanding of him has deepened, we are working together as a team. It helps that he is just a nice person to be round too! If the right person comes along to buy him, I will sell him, but certainly in the mean time I’m happy that we have plenty to work with and build upon, and of course we will continue to compete. Partnerships can take a long time to develop, and part of me is now wondering if 9 months was long enough for me and him?? Definite wobbling!


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Tough decisions and announcements.

4/24/2012

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Firstly, apologies for the lack of activity lately; I’ve been in a state of flux really, trying to figure out the best way forward. Now that has been established, and I’m happy with my decision, it’s probably time to share! If you aren’t already aware, after much deliberation I’ve decided to sell Willo. When I was looking to buy a horse, I was advertising for a Schoolmaster type, been there done it kind of horse to help me get started with the lower levels of British Eventing and British Showjumping. Along came Willo, with an enviable record showjumping and a great first effort at BE90.

He seemed the perfect horse, but as I’ve always said, very different to any horse I’ve had before! I’d had whizzy, sharp, spooky, nappy, strong, and Willo is none of those things. What he is though, is quite a sensitive, complex character, and he looks to his rider for confidence and support. We’ve had a few issues along the way but always managed to work through them with the help of my extremely patient trainer Sharon, and with some fantastic results because of it.

What has happened recently though, is that I’ve lost confidence with Willo after taking a tumble. It started with an honest stop, but because I ended up on the floor, since then my whole style of riding has changed. I hadn’t realised until I watched the video’s back, but when jumping I’m so worried that he might stop that I’m really sitting up and not allowing him to stretch over the fence. Willo being the sensitive soul he is, has picked up on this and now lost confidence in me. Whilst I am quite sure we could overcome that in the short term, and have just gone back to basics with it to build us back up again, it’s given us the opportunity to look at the bigger picture and reflect.

Having consulted with Sharon, and a local professional eventer, we have taken the decision that actually Willo and I probably aren’t the best match in the world. He’s not nasty, or dangerous, and in most ways he really is a delight to handle, but he isn’t that straightforward schoolmaster that I originally set out to buy. After much agonising, and knowing that I’ll probably never have a horse who can match Willo for ability, I have taken the decision that we need to go our separate ways because we are simply not getting the best from one another.

I will be extremely sorry to see him go; one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life would be when he jumped clear round the BE 90 course for a HT at Larkhill, and was just an absolute machine!  Oh, and not to mention the feeling that he’s giving me with his flatwork lately...all that training has really paid off because he just feels fantastic, the giraffe that we were working with at the start is a distant memory!

All that aside, I am now sure that this is the best option for us both, so hopefully soon Willo will find a new home where he will be a superstar again, and I will be actively looking for a new best buddy to go out and compete with. I think sometimes it’s almost harder to know when things aren’t quite right because your personal attachment to the horse and the situation can cloud your judgement, and it’s been far from disastrous so it was never a straightforward decision; just one that I’m sure will benefit us both in the long term. Phew! Actually feels good to commit some of this to paper...or virtual paper anyway ;-)

So, in the mean time, Willo is advertised for sale and has a few viewings arranged; if they aren’t quite right for one another then I will continue to ride, train and hopefully get to a few dressage competitions to see if we can get that elusive score we have been striving for. Once his sale is complete I will look into buying another – typically I’m sure the ones I like will be double what I have to spend, but I think that’s par for the course really! My main priority will be finding Willo a lovely new home where he will be happy, and trying to get back on track with my ambitions before we lose the eventing season. The little taster I had has left me wanting more, and I’m as ambitious and determined as ever – so watch this space!

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XC schooling...with wings

3/22/2012

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After the excitement of Tweseldown, I gave Willo Monday off to recover...because if his muscles ached a fraction of what mine did, he would be grateful for it! Back to training as usual on Tuesday though, and throughout the week we just continued with a mixture of hacking, flatwork in the school and a bit of jumping too. I wasn’t sure how the jumping would go considering how we
left things on Sunday, but he was actually very good! We didn’t break any world records height wise, but I just wanted to make sure that he was confident and happy, and he was taking me to the fences with no signs of stopping which was
just what I wanted.

On Sunday we then went to our local XC course ‘Dene Farm,’ which luckily for us is only hacking distance away! My sponsor Sharon Kilminster was holding a clinic there, so we went along to the afternoon session with 1 other – a beautiful 5y/o dapple grey mare called Jasmine. After having my bingo wings ripped apart by Willo at Tweseldown, I had realised the hanging cheek KK with the lozenge was just not going to cut it jumping wise, and changed to a Waterford. It was going to go 1 of 2 ways...after
a 10 minute hack to the venue, Willo was very moist in the mouth, and was testing it out. I think he got a bit peeved at the fact that I could ‘get hold of him’ in it if needed, and just as Sharon asked us to go for a canter and warm up, Willo had a meltdown! 10 minutes of napping followed, and he performed his Lipizzaner type leaps, half reared, bucked and walked backwards, which was delightful! After pulling ourselves together, things eventually got under way! Bless him, he does like to have an opinion about everything!
 
After having 1 naughty stop with no excuses, Sharon said Willo was taking the mick, and I’d have to start riding more aggressively. Whilst I really admire a quiet rider, I think Willo does not tolerate a passenger and needs lots of leg and riding forward to get the best from him. This was a turning point, and from here on, he jumped every fence on the open
course with plenty of room to spare, and seemed to really enjoy himself. In fact on a number of occcasions he put in absolute flyers, and was jumping everything with real gusto. I wouldn't use the waterford all the time, but I did really like how it allowed me to be soft and give, and take a pull when I needed - unlike the hanging cheek which seemed to have no effect whatsoever. I think I'll continue to play but next time out I'll certainly try this; he became really light and changeable at time which was ace for combinations and more technical fences.

My favourite picture I have included below; we'd been playing in the water with different combinations of jumping in and out. Willo was quite happy about the whole thing, so we pushed him a bit more and took him to the largest drop in that we could find. He paused on the edge, seemingly in 2 minds as it was quite a way down, and then without warning took an enormous leap off the edge and landed halfway across! I slipped my reins and managed to sort myself out just time for him to jump out, but it did give us all a laugh. Thanks again to Martin for taking some very well timed photo's!

The rest of the week has been hacking, flatwork, and lunging with my new favourite toy- the equiami! More on that another time... 
 
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Reflections on our 1st BE

3/12/2012

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This weekend, Willo and I went to Tweseldown for our 1st BE90 together. Willo has competed BE once before and came a fairly respectable 16th, but for me it was all new. I went with no expectations, other than the fact that we would learn lots from it, but really and truly it would just be nice to get the first one under our belt...everything since I bought Willo has been building up to it and it kind of feels like the holy grail!

All our prep went well, with a great mixture of showjump training, xc schooling, fitness work on the gallops, and even our flatwork seemed to have come good just at the right time – now that I did NOT see coming! After a eureka moment with our training, Willo is now working soft and round every time, not only in flatwork but jumping which is a massive leap forward. With that progressing, I did feel positive going into the event, knowing that we have never been better placed to start out BE.

Dressage
The day came, and first up was dressage. Willo warmed up ok...but not to the same standard we’d been achieving at home, and was bouncing on and off the contact, dropping me and coming hollow at times. We were called forward and went to our test, which was a complete disaster! All of a sudden, the bay giraffe had made a reappearance, chomping and mouthing with his nose in the air, and flicking the proverbial V’s. We ended up with a shocking score of 46 which I was mortified at, but was fair given the performance...the most annoying part was our downward transition to trot in prep to do a ½ 20m circle. I was half halting for all my life was worth and Willo got slower and slower but refused to trot, so we were essentially cantering without going anywhere. Not our finest hr! Although it has to be said that I think I was a little thrown by his antics warming up and let him get the upper hand, as looking at the pics my reins weren't short enough and I don't look like I'm riding with the same confidence. 

Showjumping
I hopped off and went to check out the SJ course. It definitely looked up to height, and there were a few good colourful ones there too. We warmed up and he flew a large oxer like Pegasus! Height would not be an issue. We were called forward, so off we went. We weren’t as balanced and rhythmical as I’d have liked as he was proving strong and quick (although he always feels faster than he looks!), but I was happy that he was taking me to the fences.  We came to the last, a very bright and colourful double, almost home clear, and Willo changed his mind at the last millisecond, leaving us stranded amongst the wings and poles, and his bottom somewhere on the floor. Somehow I stayed on, (superglue, according to the commentator!) and thankfully Willo was unhurt. The fence was rebuilt and we took the last 2 again, clear this time – that really pleased me as it could’ve put him off completely and caused him to throw his toys out the pram. 4 faults, not too bad.

Cross Country
I hot footed it to walk the xc course, (should’ve taken trainers, riding boots are not designed for walking, ouch!) and then took Willo to warm up. There were a few that I was wary of, but would just heed some very good advice; heels down, eyes up, and hopefully we’d be ok!  We set off, and came to the 1st fence...a few smacks down his shoulder as he had a wobble, but took it on with encouragement. He was flying round and felt confident, ears pricked, and seemed to be enjoying it. My only concern was brakes – or lack of them. He was hurtling along! A few of the more technical fences required some collection, and I had a job to contain him to make the turns, but we were certainly doing ok. We were coming down a hill towards a hanging log, with the 2nd part of it immediately right and up a short hill. I’d really have to get him back if we were going to make the 2nd element, but thankfully I got hold of him just at the right moment; he popped the first, made the turn and up to the 2nd...at which point he made to jump the fence, and immediately pulled back again, leaving me over his head and on the ground. Elimination for a fall, and unable to carry on. How very disappointing! Such an easy fence, and I genuinely have no reason for why he objected, as we got a great shot at it. Thankfully we were both unhurt, (bar a spot of concussion and fat top lip for me), but I was so disappointed...he is ace at xc usually, an absolute machine and if we could’ve gone clear I would’ve been happy with that as a first time effort. Unfortunately nobody was there to see the fall to say it was me, it was Willo, wrong stride etc so I’m not too sure what to work on...I don’t think it was nerves as by this point the adrenaline was pumping, I was ‘in the zone’ and enjoying it, but who knows. Maybe his confidence was low after the SJ mishap?

In any case, next weekend we have xc clinic with my trainer Sharon, so hopefully we can get our flow back in a safe and familiar environment. Willo will have today off, and I will have him looked at by a physio to make sure he’s physically ok, but then it’s back to the training as before. Next BE is Larkhill in April, so a nice break to regroup, reflect and prepare again. The first one is always going to be the hardest, but fingers crossed by Larkhill we can find our mojo again and learn from the experience. I must be a glutton for punishment because I can’t wait to go again, and try to make amends for a performance that I don’t think is a reflection of our capabilities. I’m not expecting miracles, but certainly an improvement.

Lastly, a million thank you’s to Sharon Kilminster, my trainer, sponsor, friend, mentor, driver and groom for the day for all her help – both in training and on the day. I hope next time we can are able to put in a performance more befitting of the level of training she is giving us.

Positives: meeting some lovely fellow eventers, with some great advice. Experience!

Learnings: take trainers to walk the course. Need to find a more suitable xc bit. More superglue required. Sit up and kick! And for the love of God smile and stop looking so terrified!

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Eureka! Light bulb moments...

3/4/2012

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This week has been a bit of a revelation...I never thought I'd say this but...flatwork is the key to everything. My instructor has been telling me this for quite some time, but until you truly experience how it should be done, you can never really grasp to what extent that is true. Well done Sharon Kilminster, I am a convert! So, to give you some context...  

I bought Willo about 8 months ago. He was a showjumper, reschooled for eventing. The plan was to find a horse that I could start my first year of British Eventing with, and Willo seemed to tick all the boxes. However, he's an exceptionally smart boy, and clearly sensed that dressage was new to me (I'm a sj and xc junkie by heart!) and he was not going to do anything he didn't have to. We have spent approximately the last 8 months gently cajoling and encouraging, trying to get Willo to work correctly (which we knew he could do) and more importantly teaching me how to achieve that - but also struggling with the fact that he is very fussy in his mouth, and he can object quite strongly to a firm contact - often with huge bucks and lipzzaner leaps!

The trick has been trying to establish an elastic contact that he didn't object to, not hanging on his mouth, but also not leaving him without support and dropping him on his nose. Having not had a lesson for a while had given my trainer Sharon Kilminster time to reflect, and she concluded that Willo has had things his own way for far too long! He had ample opportunity to comply, so now it was time to get tough - no more asking, now we were insisting. Oh and just to warn you, says Sharon, you might need to sit up in case he starts to object! *Gulp*

So what was the end result? Well, win number 1 was no objections from Willo. No chomping furiously on the bit, no nose poking, no grunting, no bucking or leaping - and actually not angry at all! Result. No flying dismounts required, happy Willo and happy me. Win number 2 - an entire lesson working correctly in an outline, hocks underneath him and working over his back. Oh, and not just a token gesture, a few steps then drop you and hollow, or a slight softening, I mean the full monty walk trot and canter on both reins, even maintaining through transitions and changing the rein! Wow, what a feeling.

I know this is just the start and there is heaps more to work on, but without having achieved this correct way of working our progress has been slow in this area and our scores poor, so now we can really build and hopefully progress through the scales of training. To a dressage diva I'm sure this would have been easily achievable, but there is no learning in having someone else hop on your horse and showing you how it's done!

That was revelation part 1. Part 2 came the next day when I followed up with a jumping lesson. I hopped on, and to my astonishment, there he was, immediately soft and round and easy - exactly the same as the previous evening, proof that it wasn't just a fluke! It's like the penny has dropped. Sharon said I was looking a little bit Cheshire Cat up there I was smiling so much. It got even better though, we cantered round the school on both reins, flying changes where they needed to be, and every fence he really popped in a way that I've not felt before. For the first time I felt like I was sat on that talented showjumper I bought, his performance was 100% better, and he was really pinging - all because he had been working correctly! This was all the proof I needed, flatwork definitely is the key to everything, and maintaining this new way of working is a priority.

Here is a taster of the pre-revelation bay giraffe I used to own warming up for our 1st ever dressage test. The professional pictures were so awful I couldn't even bear to look at them! The one on the right is the 'new Willo' who is hopefully here to stay! 
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Before...
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After...and this was just warming up for some SJ!
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Strike a pose

2/17/2012

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I was very excited earlier this month to receive my lovely Kilminster Equestrian clothing package for my sponsorship deal, all looking very smart with the embroidered Kilminster logo in the distinctive black and white colours. To celebrate their arrival, I made an appointment with Gail from FallenLight Photography, and on Monday she came out and took some pictures.
I can't say I've ever been a particularly willing subject when it comes to having my photo taken, but I certainly felt very proud to be sporting the Kilminster name. Having a photoshoot seemed a great way of saying thank you to Sharon, and showing other people the new range of Kilminster products available at the same time.
Willo was due to be our equine model, but he is obviously reluctant to be in the spotlight too, as he decided to pull off a shoe prior to the shoot! In his place, Ruby my little 4 year old stepped up to the plate, and I think you'll agree she didn't do a bad job. What a little poser! Below are a selection of shots for your interest.
If you would like to buy some Kilminster team clothing, whether it be a coat or a polo shirt, a hoody or even an embroidered dressage square for your horse, please contact Sharon for a price list. If you like the photo's and would like to arrange a photoshoot for yourself, please contact FallenLight Photography.
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New year, new website!

1/16/2012

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Since 2012 marks the beginning of my sponsorship from Kilminster Equestrian Ltd I thought it was wise to start a blog to keep a record of our progress. The 14th January marked our 1st outing of the year, so this has to be a good place to start!

A game of 2 halves...

After a quiet December competition wise, we have been getting to grips with flatwork and trying to remain consistent in the bad weather. 2 lessons a week has been helping us to keep on the straight and narrow. Willo and Ruby have both been going very well. The only time we had a bit of a rubbish session was immediately followed up by a huge improvement, so it just goes to show that when you think it’s not making a difference, it is still going in!

We then seemed to make a real breakthrough, and my once hollow Willo was suddenly soft, supple, and working in a beautiful shape, the only thing we had to keep an eye on was too much right bend. Once was maybe a fluke, but this happened in 3-4 consecutive sessions, so both Sharon & I were thrilled with the progress – which has been as much about me learning to ride better from the leg as it has been about Willo accepting the contact. Both Willo & Ruby were due for a physio visit, so we asked the lovely Pip Stacey to come and give them a treatment. I think this was too close to the competition really, as this Saturday we went to Sparsholt to do some dressage and he didn’t seem very comfortable, and had gone back to his head tossing and hollowness a little bit.

This was rather disappointing as he’d been so much better, but hopefully just down to being a bit tight and sore in places after treatment. The 1st test was one to be forgotten – a terrible 51% which owed plenty to being hollow, and the fact that my non spooky horse was inexplicably leaping over the boards and spooking at the letters! Very out of character and to be honest I was quite pleased nobody was there to video that one! The second one was much better, and we came out with 58%. In the grand scheme of things, many would sneer at such a score, but having only started dressage 6 months ago, and had nearly 3 tests where we were stuck on the same old 55%, this was a bit of a Eureka moment to be honest with you! Proof that things are heading in the right direction. There is still much to improve upon, and I’m hoping that after a few sessions we can pick up where we left off with our home schooling so that we can start to translate this to the dressage arena in a competition environment before long. He was still over the bit and hollow but this shows to me that we are making small improvements in other areas, which gives me great hope that once we manage to get this outline and way of going re-established, we might actually achieve this reasonable score we are in search of. 1 step at a time though – next target would be early 60’s. We are hoping to go and do some test riding at other venues to help hone our warm ups, and ride some tests without the pressure of the competition aspect.

With Sharon’s help and support, and consistent reminders of ‘leg!’ and yep you guessed it ‘more leg!’ we are slowly getting there. I know at least 1 improvement is not riding my transitions ‘like Frankie Detorri riding a finish’ and we’re beginning to move away from ‘a showjumper trying to do dressage.’ So I would say that Sparsholt was definitely a game of 2 halves...and whilst initially horrified at the idea of having to ride 2 x Prelim tests, I’m now very glad I did, or  we would not have seen the improvement that we knew was in there somewhere. Oh, and for the record – Sharon was right once again about the scores we would be looking at! Permission to feel smug granted Mrs K!

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