Had my first ODE of the year this weekend.
I'm eventing and jumping a friends mare this year while my young one grows up enough to start his eventing career.
I only compete with Pony Club at the moment and did the beginners under 26 class which was 70cm max.
I was thinking about doing the beginners open but thought I should do closed thinking it would be the smaller group. If I did open, I would have placed higher. There were only 7 in that class with one eliminated!
Next ODE I'll have to go in the open or even move up to Intro wich is 80cm max, but I think we really need to work on our dressage before we move up.
Saturday was the dressage (yes I know ODE is ONE day event. The pony club ODE's are split over a weekend coz there are so many people we wouldn't get through it in one day). Dressage left us placed 16th in a field of 31. I was going to be happy with high 70 or low 80%, but instead I was suprised with 67.2%! I was stoked to get that since every other year with my old horse I was around 88-93%. Can you guess I used to have a show jumper??
Our dressage would have been a touch better if she decided to not be leg ignorant down the centre line at the end and actually STAY on the centre line. And we stuffed our first canter circle. We got the left lead correct but we came too wide and hit the rope boundary and it threw her off and she flying changed and I didn't even realise it :-( The ONE time she flying changed too...
Sunday morning we had show jumping wich I was VERY happy with. Perfect clear round and she even got all correct leads which she never does!! That only took us up to 14th place so it was all up to cross country.
To start my group was delayed for xc about 1.5 hours due to a few accidents. We ended up having to get TWO ambulances.... One of them was only the 4th or 5th rider of the day! I don't know how they're doing now, but I can only hope they're fine and dandy now...
We didn't get to warm up properly for our course. This was the first year in the last 4 I've been doing this event that they changed the course. They reversed it so we were going from the old finish to the old start. That threw off a few of the regular compeditor horses. My friends horse that NEVER balks, balked. The mare I was riding decided to randomly slide stop into the first jump but then cat leapt over it - glad it was only a 70cm course!
I took her to a hunter trial last year and we were 26 seconds under the optimum time so I knew this year I was going to be too fast. When I finished the course I felt I was going to be at least 45 seconds under time. NOPE! Only 3.20 under.
This brought us to finish in 5th place. I was super impressed with this 'old' nag.
Here's a couple dressage photos. Don't mock my crappy position, I know I'm dodge at dressage and need to improve a LOT. I think I'll stick in beginners open for the rest of the year and work my but off on dressage...
I'm eventing and jumping a friends mare this year while my young one grows up enough to start his eventing career.
I only compete with Pony Club at the moment and did the beginners under 26 class which was 70cm max.
I was thinking about doing the beginners open but thought I should do closed thinking it would be the smaller group. If I did open, I would have placed higher. There were only 7 in that class with one eliminated!
Next ODE I'll have to go in the open or even move up to Intro wich is 80cm max, but I think we really need to work on our dressage before we move up.
Saturday was the dressage (yes I know ODE is ONE day event. The pony club ODE's are split over a weekend coz there are so many people we wouldn't get through it in one day). Dressage left us placed 16th in a field of 31. I was going to be happy with high 70 or low 80%, but instead I was suprised with 67.2%! I was stoked to get that since every other year with my old horse I was around 88-93%. Can you guess I used to have a show jumper??
Our dressage would have been a touch better if she decided to not be leg ignorant down the centre line at the end and actually STAY on the centre line. And we stuffed our first canter circle. We got the left lead correct but we came too wide and hit the rope boundary and it threw her off and she flying changed and I didn't even realise it :-( The ONE time she flying changed too...
Sunday morning we had show jumping wich I was VERY happy with. Perfect clear round and she even got all correct leads which she never does!! That only took us up to 14th place so it was all up to cross country.
To start my group was delayed for xc about 1.5 hours due to a few accidents. We ended up having to get TWO ambulances.... One of them was only the 4th or 5th rider of the day! I don't know how they're doing now, but I can only hope they're fine and dandy now...
We didn't get to warm up properly for our course. This was the first year in the last 4 I've been doing this event that they changed the course. They reversed it so we were going from the old finish to the old start. That threw off a few of the regular compeditor horses. My friends horse that NEVER balks, balked. The mare I was riding decided to randomly slide stop into the first jump but then cat leapt over it - glad it was only a 70cm course!
I took her to a hunter trial last year and we were 26 seconds under the optimum time so I knew this year I was going to be too fast. When I finished the course I felt I was going to be at least 45 seconds under time. NOPE! Only 3.20 under.
This brought us to finish in 5th place. I was super impressed with this 'old' nag.
Here's a couple dressage photos. Don't mock my crappy position, I know I'm dodge at dressage and need to improve a LOT. I think I'll stick in beginners open for the rest of the year and work my but off on dressage...