Not a great results at BSPS, Dolsey wasn't the judges cup of tea I guess! But thats showing for you! Had a fab time there anyway and really enjoyed staying away, Dolsey was fab in her stable overnight and went really well in the class so I couldn't have asked any more from her.
I rode Dolsey Friday night - the night we got there - I rode for about an hour and a half just to stamp out any bucking! The surface at Arena UK is fab!!! After coming out of the huge outdoor arena I went on a HUUUUGE field and had a very fast long gallop!
After that we put Dolsey away in her stable. It was boiling hot, and the stables were temporary so they got very hot inside! She was a bit tired so we left her there, and went to watch some of the evening classes.
Evening performances are always really fun to watch, there was a soldier guy in the corner who blew a trumpet type thing to tell all of the horses to trot/canter/gallop and finally come back to walk. Then the placings were called out, followed by lots of clapping and a big lap of honour where the winnber stays in and gallops down the centre line or down the side to exit.
After that we went to check Dolsey and drove to Grantham Travelodge to stay the night. We unpacked all of our stuff and went to the pub for tea. There was an entertainer there that was doing magic tricks, and he made the Queen smile on a £20 note!
In the morning we went early back to the showground, we were a bit worried about how Dolsey would be but she was fine, really good for her first time in temporary stables and somewhere new. She had a wash and covering up in chalk and shiney sprays! Then we were ready to go and warm up, and watch some of the classes before mine. We also met Horsey Chick before the class who gave me some pep talk!! We made it into the ring at quarter to 11, and though I was a bit nervous I wasn't that bad. (Or so I thought)
The go-round was OK, a bit hectic with that many ponies all crammed in one ring. Was pulled in initially quite low, about 12th, and it didn't get much better. I didn't present her very well in the in-hand (I think nerves kicked in) and in the individual Dolsey had got bored and fed up with waiting so wasn't on top form. She was a bit nappy and broke into canter which meant we were just out of the top 10 by a few marks. Couldn't have expected much more of her though as the previous day she had travelled 80 miles (she has never done as many as that before) and stayed somewhere unfamiliar. I was expecting to be pulled about that place and although a little disappointed not to be in the top 10 and evening performance, it meant we could go and chill for the rest of the day and Dolsey could recover a bit. Hopefully next time we will be more prepared for the bigger shows -it's all good experience!
We stayed until the evening performaces anyway and watched a few friends competing. It was good fun to watch, after that we loaded Dolsey up in the dark and drive home, it took us about 3 hours and we finally got home at midnight!
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1 comment:
Interesting to know.
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