On what’s already a rollercoaster ride...although Bow’s white cell count had been on the way up I decided to have him re-tested two weeks before our first event; disappointingly it had gone back down again. What to do? The vets advised me to carry on as normal but with our first advanced scheduled quite early on in the season I opted to try something I’d never tried before; the Black Box. A friend recommended a Radionics practitioner; I sent her the required hair, picture and other details and waited. She told me that she thought it was something to do with his liver and that he’d picked lead up from somewhere, recommended a liver tonic, said she’d treat him and we’d see what happened. He’s been firing on extra cylinders ever since. Purely coincidence? Who knows.
Our first outing, the unaffiliated at Aston Le Walls, was an experience on the wild side. With the dressage arenas situated in the middle of the cross-country, the combined proximity of loudspeakers, galloping hooves and chilly breeze was enough to put most horses on the sharp side of fresh and mine were no exception. Roger (the understudy) almost managed to contain himself and had almost settled until we entered our arena; from there he could see another fence which nearly blew his mind completely. I struggled to keep him between the boards as we performed some lovely movements that weren’t actually in our test; I thought we might gain a few extra marks for our ad-lib half passes and flying changes but the judge clearly disagreed and we were placed almost last. Bow felt similarly fresh and managed to get his tongue over the bit twice before his test. I had to jack his bit up so high that he looked somewhat like a Cheshire cat but it worked as he did a good test; his score placed us a more respectable third in his section. Both boys jumped double clears although Bow’s performance was considerably calmer than Roger’s and he finished third.
Our first affiliated outing was at Tweseldown; making the most of my new flexible lifestyle I was able to enter the Thursday OI on Bow. A slightly calmer test preceded a respectable show jumping round; although we had two fences down, I rode him well. After a slightly hesitant start (on my part) I got my act together and he flew around the xc. Roger was also slightly calmer in the dressage but tried to take off around the course of show jumps before letting me ride him more calmly over the twisty xc course. No prizes but a promising start.
Then came my fortieth birthday weekend but with Roger at Swacliffe 100 on Saturday and Bow entered at Aldon OI on Sunday there was little time for partying. Roger was calmer in all three phases although his show jumping still felt out of control. Bow was the star of the weekend and helped me to celebrate my milestone with 2nd place; a good test, one fence down and a clear fast xc round left us on a score of 34. Having ridden well I was elated especially when Horse & Hound published our picture; with their accompanying caption I reasoned that at least I wouldn’t have to tell everyone how old I’d turned!
Gatcombe followed swiftly. With Roger’s continued wildness in the show jumping I wasn’t sure whether to take him to his first novice but decided to give it a go. He was still wild but jumped a double clear giving me a really good ride xc. Thinking about trying the black box on him; anything’s worth a shot to harness his talent.
Perhaps I should have anticipated my nerves escalating on Bow in the AI; having opted to do day before dressage I thought hanging around at home would be easier than a long gap on the day. I thought I’d get loads done on Sunday morning but instead spent the entire morning worrying a lot and achieving very little. Arriving on site did little to ease my mind; with the tragic news of Spring Along’s death combined with the vision of a tricky sj track, my stomach twisted itself into tight ball. Rescue remedy eased the tension briefly but wore off before my turn came. I entered the arena surrounded by all too familiar faces and simply overrode to have four down. Frustrating and disappointing as Bow had been jumping really well. Next time sod the rescue remedy, I’ll be having a nip of brandy before I go in; maybe then I can let Bow jump the fences!
Deciding to run xc for fitness I set off determinedly; with our first advanced only two weeks away I wanted a good run. Having jumped the first few fences well we approached the double of corners. On our approach a fence judge walked onto my line. I thought I was about to be stopped; I should have shouted at him but instead just froze. We got to the fence but had both lost focus and Bow decided to run past the first corner. Having turned the air blue and given Bow a hard smack, our second attempt was foot perfect. He flew around the rest of the course.
Although very disappointed, especially following our previous success, I’m not going to over analyse it; I’ve learnt from it and am moving on. Future fence judges who get in my way had better beware; next time I’ll ride on (and over if necessary!) regardless, unless someone actually waves a flag at me. After all, at least we’re both fit, well and ready to fight another day.
