Laura- And it’s off to Badminton we head!
XC Schooling
So as I start to write this month’s blog our progress has come to a bit of a halt, thankfully this time not down to Mikey, but me, last weekend I found myself admitted to hospital! As most of us horsey girls are it seems, I think I am pretty self sufficient and don’t tend to fuss with the doctors unless it’s something really bad, so to walk into the emergency centre at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital last Sunday evening was almost unheard of for me. Pretty quickly I found myself admitted, bloods taken and a cannula in my arm! I had got an abscess in my abdomen that was hugely infected and needed a surgeon to cut it out! Ouch is all I can say to that. A week off work, bed rest and definitely no riding for the foreseeable! Gutted. I am hoping to be back in the saddle a bit before the nurses said I would be (they said it would be up to a month!) but for now am taking it one day at a time.
Dropping in to the water XC Schooling
Before the drama of the abscess Mikey and I along with my friend Nadine and her horse Moet headed to Milton Keynes Eventing Centre for some XC schooling ahead of our first hunter trials which was the following weekend. Having not been on a XC course since last October I was a bit nervous so we took Michaela with us who trains me at home (she later said “ I don’t know why I am here!” as we cantered off to pop some more fences ha-ha), I just wanted some back up from the ground, sometimes it just feels good to know someone is there doesn’t it? Mikey was super, he jumped everything asked of him first time and didn’t bat an eye lid at any of it, we did the ditch, a step down and then the ditch, a step down with two strides before a step up followed by a brush fence (a question which was marked up for the BE90 course so was super chuffed with that!). We tackled a trakehner, the water, and jumped both in and out of the water – I couldn’t have asked for more and we had a great time including a hilarious moment where Moet wasn’t too keen to jump in to the water but slipped and so had no choice in the matter, which saw them leap in to the air at quite some height – sticky pants Nadine managed to stay on board though – I don’t know how she did it!
With a successful XC schooling outing we were all set for our return to the XC course and the following weekend headed to the Mini Tetworth Hunter Trials, a really super friendly local event that is run with the main aim of FUN.
Mini Tetworth Hunter Trials
The classes start from a tiny lead rein XC where the parents lead or run round after the kids and the day finishes with a 2ft 6 team chase class – it is low key and low pressure, and exactly the sort of thing you need to do if you need a confidence boost, are riding a young horse, or just want to compete somewhere where its more about the fun than the outcome of your round. It was the perfect outing for me after being out of the game XC wise for so long. And boy did we have fun, it was a really long day – I left my house at 9am in the morning and finally got home about 9.30pm, but, it was well worth it! Surprisingly my nerves held up pretty well and I was more determined than ever to get round the course, we had gone to walk the course the day before so I could get it clear in my mind which really seems to help me, is it just me that struggles to learn the courses? I set off determined, and after backing off my leg coming out of the start box, a few kicks to persuade him to get going, and a few smacks on the bum with my whip we were off, in the main I have to say Mikey felt great, really forward and wanting to do the job in hand, a few times he felt unsure and backed off but my determination I think was a bit of a surprise all round, he responded to that well and jumped his socks off, we had an unfortunate stop just a few fences from home, a pure moment of lost concentration (Mikey was too busy gawping at a lady and her dog to the left of the jump to even notice there was something that meant he needed to pick his feet up over!) But we came back round and he jumped it fine, we made our way through the famous Tetworth pit (a step down, a few fences going back up the other side, back down a slope, up over a log fence to the finish line!). I was delighted – we had done it! YES! That feeling over pure adrenalin is hard to beat isn’t it and the reason we put our hearts and souls in to this sport? I can’t wait for the next one!
Lizzie and Mikey having a jump
Whilst Mikey has had an unscheduled quiet week this week after my impromptu visit to the hospital I must say a big thank you to my friend Lizzie for coming to ride him a couple of times for me – they even had a jump, its always hard riding a horse that you don’t know but Lizzie did a great job and helped me tick him over for the week which I am really grateful for!
Quainton Honeychop rosettes
We have been working with a few venues and shows spreading the word about the fantastic Honeychop products this month.
Quainton Stud near Aylesbury in Bucks have an unaffiliated Show Jumping series which kicked off last month and Honeychop are sponsoring the series, you can win yourself a gorgeous Honeychop rosette if you place 1st-3rd place aswell a bag of Honeychop feed. There are classes from 60cm right up to 1 metre with a championship show later in the year for all qualifying combinations – check out the Quainton website for more details: http://www.quaintonstud.co.uk
LBSDRC SJ winner with their Honeychop goody bag
Aspley Guise Riding Club a local riding club that I am member of have a summer dressage series over the next few months and Honeychop will be sponsoring this series, the first date was last month and there are dates at both Addington Manor Equestrian Centre aswell as Wing Dressage and Jumping Centre, there are classes from prelim right up to elementary aswell as pick your own classes and the lucky winners will receive a bag of Honeychop, check out the riding clubs website for more information of the shows and all the dates: http://www.aspleyguiseridingclub.com
Honeychop and Aspley Guise Riding Club
Honeychop are also sponsoring the Show Jumping ring at the Leighton Buzzard, Stanbridge and District Riding Club Summer Shows, the first of which was this weekend and the prizes went down really well, there are two more shows across the summer, and with classes from 55cm right up to 1 metre there is a height to suit all so check out the website for details: http://www.lbsdrc.org.uk
Amy and Mikey at the LBSDRC Show
With me out of action Amy had yet another excuse to kidnap Mikey for the day and took him to the Leighton Buzzard Show, Mikey must of got out of bed the wrong side as he was a bit more grumpy than normal in his individual trot ups, but Amy did a good job and despite his ears being flat back for the most part they came away with a 1st place, two 3rd places and a 4th. They have qualified for the Chiltern Thames Championships later this week as well as qualifying for the Sunshine Tour at Hickstead! I know need to follow suit and start thinking about my plans for qualification!
Hunters Farm Shop
I would also like to say a big thank you to Hunters Farm Shop in Little Brickhill just off the A5, they have done a great job in supplying me with my Honeychop over the last few months and stock a wide range of horse feed and bedding amongst many other things, it’s a lovely place to spend an hour at the weekend having a nose around the farm shop, and a word to the wise the lovely homemade cakes are also worth trying!
So that’s all for now, it just leaves me to finish (or more accurately start!) packing . My friends and I are heading to Badminton for the week, I cant wait, the weather is looking great and I hope we get to see some great riding throughout the competition, we also have a VERY special guest joining us for the week in the form of Honeychop Henry. Check out the Facebook competition on the Honeychop Facebook page that is live right now to see how you can get your hands on some free Honeychop aswell as a load of amazing Badminton goodies:
https://www.facebook.com/Honeychop/?fref=ts
Honeychop goody bags
If you see us at Badminton please do come and say hello – Henry will be right in the middle of the action every day and will be loaded up with money off vouchers for bags of Honeychop aswell as some extra special vouchers which mean you can grab a bag on Honeychop for free!
Until next time
Laura and Mikey x
