Well on the face of it it would not appear to be the end of the season we would have wished for, but there is more to the results than the mark.
At Hartpury, Ber was fantastic. He settled really well in the stables and with the trip down.
He worked well in the warming up days, but conditions conspired against us at the very last moment.
It is easy to forget that despite his achievements he is only a young five and this was but his 4th show (2nd away from home). We were determined to keep his competitions to a minimum and work hard on his basic training.
He did the arena walk at 07:00 and found the atmosphere of the ring a lot to cope with. Despite being at the show for the two previous days, this was the first time we had been allowed near the warming up arena for the main ring.
Horses being lead around the arena in hand, with rugs on and in headcollars is clearly something the organisation or organisers will have to get a handle on. Just as we left, a lead horse reared and got away from the handler. Careered around the arena twice scattering horses as it went. I did warn the steward – a lucky escape for us!
As Nicky trotted down the centre line in medium trot to battle the head on heavy rain fall, the umbrellas, marquee and flags flapping at all sides did just enough to take some of his attention – and some tension crept in. Check the photographs if you don’t believe how heavy it was!
His medium work was a little conservative and he made an unauthorised change in the canter!
All in all, to end up with a a mark of 6.9 is about 1 mark shy of what we would have liked. When you consider the marks he will have received as a result of the tension this is not a bad result at all, although looking back on the test I think a little harsh still.
Pleased? Very much so, because his behavior and temperament during the show was superb. By the end of the test he performed a lovely stretch and left the arena buckle end.
It makes such a difference to a horses career to get out at competitions early. Ideally this would have been our second season with him – high hopes for 2012!
A quick look at the massive, powerful, uphill canter in the photograph and compared to just 3 months ago shows how well he has developed.
Never once did he look out of control or behave badly in any manner, and let us not loose sight of the fact that he finished in the Top 20 in the UK – in a very very strong 5 year old age group. What a future for UK sport, the quality of the horses was quite amazing.
A great education and experience for this horse – in an international show atmosphere.
We were looking forward to going to Hickstead with a more experienced horse, but with no on site stabling available and a 4 hour trip each way we have decided this is not in the interests of the horse.
Never any indication from the organisers that this might be the case when we balanced our season around competing there.
To be passed from pillar to post with a 5 year old stallion is quite unacceptable. To be put on a yard you don’t know with no idea of their disease control measures or facilities is unacceptable and a big boo to Hickstead on this.
If you can’t manage to run an event at the size you have it then perhaps you should shrink down a little and get it sorted. Rant over!
Ber is a Grand Prix horse in the waiting and we will now continue with Bandit and Ber to produce our next generation of FEI horses.
Bandit has his regional final for Novice at the beginning of August – he is much more experienced than Ber – having done Premier League as a 4 year old – so hopefully the occasion will not phase him at all.
What fun. With the breeding programme kicking in, and foals and youngsters coming in from all angles it is a great time to be part of the team.