Pumpkin Sold

2 weeks late with updating our blog. My darling son used up all our monthly allocation of Broadband and so its been so slow tyring to load pics and update.
Pumpkin has been sold to Para Squad Rider Rachel Stock. He will join her team for her quest for 2012 Olympic Qualification. No Pumpkin won't be going! Para riders generally use pool horses. So off he went in a big flash truck to his new home and condo. Rachel sent me these pics to show me how much he really missed us. NOT!

Our few minutes of Spring yesterday.

WRC Dressage.

Well its been 4 months but today was the day we dipped our toe back into the competition arena. Finn is still a bit ouchy from his very deep abscess so it was Pumpkin only going to the WRC day at Woodhill Sands.
I must say it was with some trepidation as I have no strength in my lower legs and two ankles that are pretty immobile so sitting to the trot is not easy.
Murphy being himself on our debut it was absolutely peeing down with rain and we arrived at the warmup area with just 10 minutes to go before our test because of my reluctance to leave dry land. But Pumpkin was very chilled and despite my bouncing around like a lump of lard in the trot we did a very conservative test to finish in 2nd place 3/4 of a percentage point behind Henton Attorney General. I did try to at least get a bit more medium for our second test but with me bouncing around it just caused Pumpkin to tighten up. Still another 2nd behind H.A.G again. So no excuse now. I must admit I was knackered riding 2 tests so was pleased that I did not have to ride Finn as well. But now excuses now that the toe is dipped theres no looking back.

WHS Training Showjumping

On Sunday we took Pumpkin out to do a couple of classes at the WHS SJ training Day. Pity about the crap photographer. Sorry Zoe.

Back in the Saddle

Yay I am now riding again. I have had my boot off for nearly two weeks now and although I am still pretty lame I can at least ride. The break had healed nicely but the ligament which had been torn was taking alot longer to repair and will still be sore for some time yet. So with the Achilles on the other leg still also sore I am still shuffling around. I have lost alot of riding fitness so its going to take some time to get back on form though so it will be a while before I tackle any competitions.
The horses at least have kept up some level of fitness with the odd ride when I could co-erce someone to ride them. I took the time out as an opportunity to send Pumpkin to Lisa Coupe for 11 days to get a jumping refresher. At the end of the time there he went to a Showhunter training day at WHS. He was very tired and grumpy after his extensive schooling with Lisa and did not jump that well so did not place in any classes.

Bad News

Well the bad news from me is that I am now in plaster! After 4 weeks of hobbling around and still barely able to put weight on my left foot to rise to the trot I decided I had better go see the Dr about it. I came out in plaster. It seems that when Finn jumped on my foot he managed to break two bones. No wonder its been so painful! So now I am completely out of action. I am still able to get around enough to lunge both horses a few days a week but thats about it for them for a while. Sadly my achilles specialist is thinking I may need be put in a moon boot for a month on that leg too so when my next appointment comes up in 2 weeks I may be in plaster on one leg and a moon boot on the other. Now won't that be a pretty look!
Good thing is that its winter. I was tossing up about doing the winter series anyway so now the decision has been taken out of my hands. My achilles has been giving me a lot of pain since January and has really affected my riding so maybe its time to get it sorted properly. Sadly Pumpkin was really only starting to work well again after his long break and now will be off again! Not what he needed.

Waitemata Dressage Autumn Day 2

Finn has almost recovered from his clipping ordeal. Hes been tight and tense in the back for the days after but by comp day he was nearly 100% again after 3 daily massages. This was to be his first reg Novice start and we decided to do the Prelim 1.5 as our last prelim and as a leadup to the relatively easy Novice 2.1. Don Diego the reigning Prelim Horse of the Year had the same plan so we were up against some stiff competition. I was pretty pleased with the Prelim test. He was just a little heavier in the hand than I would have liked but good enough for 3rd place.
The Novice test had some seasoned Novice horses in it as well as a few newcomers like us and Don Diego. It was a pretty pleasing test with him still getting a bit heavy and tense and we were very happy to finish in 4th place. We just have to get some more strength in his trot and we will be away. Because Finns tests were running late I had to really fly to unsaddle Finn and saddle up Pumpkin to be ready for being first up in the Elementary. Pumpkin does not like rush and our hurried half hour warmup told in our tests. My leg was also really starting to give me hell and sitting trot was murder. He was 3rd in the 3.5 but with only a 56.4 %.
5th in the 3.1 with 57.2 Horrible percentages! Theres still lots of ground to make up with Pumpkin to get him back up to speed again. Hes still tending to dive on the forehand as hes still not regained his strength. The plan is to get him out to do some Showhunter so hopefully that will help out with his restrengthening.

81.7% OMG

Last Sunday I took Finn and Pumpkin to the Waitemata Dressage Day at Woodhill Sands.
It was Pumpkins first outing in 5 months and Finns in 3.
I did not expect much from Pumpkin as hes only really been back in work less than a month and had yet to regain the required strength for an Elementary test.
What I did not count on was his excitement at being out again! His tests were exciting to say the least. The collected trots were non existant but the mediums were stong and huge. The medium canters bought about sproinging all down the long side! It was all a bit of a laugh really and he scored the worst scores hes ever had. Oh well. To be expected really.

But Finny really excelled himself. He got the best score hes ever acheived 81.7%.
I was pretty excited with the 75% he got at Auckland Champs but never have we got 81 in a registered competition. Move over Anky! :) His first test was pretty ok but he was a bit tense and tight in the poll. We scored 66% for third place. He had relaxed more for the second test for the huge score. We even beat the horse that was 3rd Overall at HOTY. Granted that one did win the first test though but we were not that far behind him!

Finn has continued to amaze me this week. I decided to run through one of the Elementary tests that Pumpkin had done last weekend and he nailed it. I reckon he would have got a better score than Pumpkin. Not that it would have been hard with Pumpkins yehaa antics!
So its onwards and upwards from here. Next comp will be his debut at Novice. Unfortunately they have the 2.5 scheduled which is a bitch of a test so I will just do the easier Novice and the harder Prelim on the day.

Jumping For Joy

Recently we had Jo from Poland and Rob from Ireland to stay. They put Pumpkin and Finn through their paces.

Woodhill Sands Dressage

Today was Pumpkins first registered competition since August. Its amazing how time goes. I was absolutely rapt with his first test. He was a bit messy in one transition from freewalk to medium walk to canter transition. He knew the canter was coming and resisted into it. His stretchy trot circle was not as good as I would have liked either but all in all a good test. The judge liked it too and placed him first. By the time the second test came around he was a bit over it. It had been a long day for him hanging around since early morning waiting for his turn and then a gap between tests. His second test was no where as good as the first one. He hopped and resisted in one 10 metre canter circle and was starting to really dive on the forehand at times. He was hot and tired and getting shitty towards the end. Not good
enough for top spot this time but still second place.
Finn unfortunately was not having a very good day. Hes been spooky and a bit over reactive for a couple of weeks. I think the batch of Asia Mix is to blame. Its really dark and looks to be so full of molasses. His white nose has become stained orange theres so much in it. I think its just one really mollassy batch and its clearly way to sugary for this soul. Time for a diet change me thinks. His first test was abysmal. He was resistant in his transitions and I really struggled to keep him straight. His second test was better and he managed to pull off 2nd place. So not a bad day all in all. Next weekend is WRC Dressage and the following is Waitemata Dressage Champs. I need to get Finn and his sugar highs sorted before Champs.

WRC Dressage

As Pumpkin has been out so long I decided to forego the registered Dressage at Clevedon and do the Unregistered WRC day instead. It was a great chance for Pumpkin to get his feet wet again and its just as well we did it at an unregistered day because he was horrible. He was falling on the forehand through the transitions horribly. Not nice. and falling on his nose. Judges comments - Lovely Boy but just struggling a bit today. No kidding! He still managed a 3rd and 4th but not our greatest moments. Being an unregistered day I decided it was a chance for Finn to have a go at Novice. Pity his first test was the horrible 2.3. Its a test I absolutely hate and would rather ride most of the Elementary tests rather than it.
Finn did an admirable job though for 62.08 %. The second test was the much more flowing 2.1. He flew through this one with the greatest of ease. Pity about the rider though who did not know the test and got 2 course errors. He still managed to get 2nd in it though with 70%. Go Finny.

The Boys kicking back at Home

Woodhill Sands Dressage Day Three. Pumpkin does his best test ever !

Finn has been suffering from a case of the 'Winter Blues'. He pulled back a couple of weeks ago and was still suffering from some tightness in his neck and back.
Then he inexplicably lost alot of weight and developed a skin condition. He was miserable and manky looking and hardly fit to be seen in public. So out came the lotions and potions and he had the right royal treatment of daily massages, extra feed and even a worming to try and restore him to his former Star self !
He was responding well and starting to look like his former self again but still had
some residual back tightness and was tending to twist in the neck.

Pumpkin has been feeling the effects of the new grass growth and has been a monumental prat. Hes been like a madman on speed with no brakes. Efforts to restore some regularity and rythmn tended to end up with him getting extremely tense and pulling like a train. We had a lesson the day before the competition and he did his absolute worst. For 45 minutes he pulled,leaned, threw himself on the forehand in transistions and kicked out at the leg. I was in absolute dispair. I was aching and exhausted. Had it not been a lesson I would have just given up and thrown him back in the paddock! Bastard!!!!

So competition day dawns with me feeling not so confident. First up was Finn. He had been fabulous in his lesson the day before but he had left his best work at home.
It was a very mediocre test with me just teasing him along. We finished in 5th place. The second test was pretty much the same as the first with a 4th placing. Pretty ordinary but expected.

I joked that because Finn has obviously done his best at his lesson the day before and done pretty ordinary tests that Pumpkin who had been a prat needed to pull it out of the bag and do well. I did not really believe my own spin but Hey You gotta Keep the spirits up some how. Well Blow me down if he did not pull one out of the bag! It was the best test he has ever done. Soft and completely on the aids.
Where did that complete Prat from yesterday go?? I was smiling from ear to ear. The judges comments said it all ' Horse seems to be enjoying showing off what he can do" 2nd Place!
Unfortunately I blew the second test. I did not know the test and as a result was tense which made Pumpkin tense too. I was so mad at myself that he had done such a great first test and now I had let him down badly. We managed 5th place.

Woodhill Sands Dressage Day 2

After the bad week of nursing the sick ewe,feeding orpaned lambs and a very sore back I did not hold out much hope for today. :( Finn was first up and right from the minute I got on him things were not good. A lack of work all week had not put him in the frame of mind for competition. He was so behind the leg,leaning on the bit,crooked and just downright not in the mood. His first test was very ordinary and he managed a 5th place. The second test he had just given up entirely. It was all over the place. 13th place. How embarassing!
Pumpkin was up next and was surprisingly not too bad considering his lack of work all week. But he seemed to have completely forgotton how to do travers so we had to do some last minute schooling. So in our first test we had lots of travers (at every gait) offered even though it was not called for. :( Pretty ordinary test all up though for 2nd place. The second test was a heap better and we managed to do both travers very nicely for 7s. Another second place so he at least made up for Finns bad mood. The back held up reasonably well with me well primed with painkillers but in the rider comments on one test the comments were riders back lacking suppleness. Hardly suprising really. Lifting 80 kg sheep is not recommended for back health!

Woodhill Sands Dressage Day One

Today was the first day of the Woodhill Sands Winter Tournament. It was Finns Debut as a registered horse and Pumpkins second Elementary start. It was the most crappy rainy horrible day but we trucked on regardless expecting to get soaked. Finns tests were first and it absolutely pelted down during our warmup but stayed bright for both of our tests and amazingly stayed fine for the rest of the day. After Finns exciting day jumping yesterday I found the brakes were rather faulty. Non existant in fact! I dispaired of finding them at all but when it was my time to do my test I just thought Oh well here we go. We entered the arena and the Finn Star came to the fore. Ok he said No jumps involved. I know what to do and the Brakes miracuously reappeared. He was still however a tad stronger than he should have been. He did two pretty outstanding tests and won his second test and was 3rd in the first one. Great percentages too of 68.2 and 65.2. There is nothing more satisfying than starting a fresh new registration book and being able to add 12 of the possible 14 points available and $60.00 prizemoney! A great start for his career as a dressage horse. Pumpkin decided to be Mr Cranky Pants half way through his warmup. He was squiggly and resistant. He did two very ordinary tests and I found out when I got back to the float why he was so cranky. He was busting to Pee! Stupid boy. He got 3rd in both tests by default of the fact that most of the good Elementary horses decided to stay tucked up in bed away from the rain!

This Week

Wednesday we had another beach ride. This was a club day so I took Finn. It is nice when I get to ride him as Pumpkin is so competitive in a crowd and not much fun. We had a lovely ride and a shared lunch at the end.
Thursday evening was Club Prizegiving and it was a bit of an embarrasement of Riches.
Both Finn and Pumpkin have been great this season and we came home with 4 trophies,2 dress rugs,2 bottles of shampoo,and a pooper scooper. And to just continue on in the jamminess I won the raffle. A first for me but I was determined that it was going to be mine.! So I am also now the proud owner of a BJ Merino swallow tail dressage pad. I don't know how I am going to better that season!
Friday I had a lesson on Pumpkin and we seem to be getting to grips with our walk pirouettes. Trot Half pass is now good so next step is to progress to Canter half pass and flying changes. The first of the Woodhill Sands winter series is in 2 weeks so its onwards and upwards.

LetzDanse (Pumpkin)

Pumpkin is a 9 yr old Warmblood gelding by Gibralter11 out of Showdancer. He has just started competing at Elementary Level. He has had a good season winning the WAR Novice Cup and placing well at Champs.