So we ventured a whole half a km down the entrance road to Old Bexley to give Ernie the chance to try out competing at an unfamiliar venue.
The plan was simple... walk him down, warm him up, Graeme competes in minimus, Sophie completes him in Novice and home we go. And back home for a late lunch. Should have sensed things were up as those promising to cheer from the sidelines slowly dropped away .....
So Saturday I took him up to Taylors, we did some good school work and did a dozen or so jumps just to get us into the spirit, a completely perfect warm up, then comes Sunday....
I get down to the stables early to muck-out before going to the competition and Ernie siezes the opportunity to escape, barging wheel-barrows and pitchforks this was and that, harrassing Mary-Lou on route - much squeeling ensues - and then moves on. Eventually stupidly corners himself in another stable which was open, where he has been enticed to enter and enjoy another breakfast - then on the way back trys to squeeze himself into pony stall for similar reason! I discover controlling a 17.1 horse with just a rope wrapped round his neck is quite challenging.
I walked him down inhand with a rucksack containing extra bits of tack, cameras etc. As we arrived he became a little more excitable, but it took me serveral hours to understand that one! So there I was one man and his slightly nervous horse, admin to sort and nowhere to put him! You try tieing a number to the arm of your jacket whilst holding a horse - actually in the fog of memory I can't actually recall how we did that in the end. Some sort of Harry Potter trick.
Finally got rid of my ricksack I decided it was warm up time. The mountain block here seemed to be an old piece of iron-work from an external fire escape - getting him to stand there was a destined loser. So the poor chap's getting more and more wound up. Eventually we cheat him when someone produces a chair and I precariously mount from them. We go to the warm-up arena, which seemed to be a mixture of sand-dune and quarry, depending on where you rode. Ernie not settled. Children arrive and start galloping their ponies around, this doesn't calm the big E. After they've gone we start some trot work, next thing I know I'm flying over his shoulder. One well timed buck and I'm off -- the first time! Am not sure which one of us is more surprised.
Sophie arrives and discovers that we hadn't posted ourselves for our round - long wait ensues. Anyway it is eventually our time. By this time I've done my course learning, am a little surprised about my earlier intimacy with the sandpit and am thinking the jumps are a bit higher than I thought. Chaos ensues, Ernie naps and has to be led in, we immediately start jumping around which after refusing fence 2 develops into bucking, rearing and more refusing - then we start spooking at the bottom corner (see above on arrival) of the sand school. On refusing fence 4 we are technically eliminated, I don't hear this or the wise advice been shouted from behind the camera. I continue. Of the remaining five fences I think we get over about three (a few more bucks n spooks), more me just wanting to settle things a bit rather than actual competition. And I do, and there's a lot of applause.
Sophie tags on to the end of the class and gets him to do it properly! Nice! I suspect driven by the need for survival when the bigger fences come along - quite reasonably. A little irritation on the part of the judges about horses only entering each class only once. Next painful wait ensues, jump-off of 15 horses! ....
Although they're up second they are cursed with a clear round and then have to penultimate position in the novice jump off. Another long wait. Anyway Ernie's perfomance this time is much better, Sophie has calmed him down, got him focussed and deliver the sort of performance we know he can do. After the long wait for the jump off, he's cold and wet (rain having started) and brings down a couple of jumps, so we breathe a sigh of relief and head home with him.
So in the middle of all this hanging around I offer to take the big E for a walk. Not thinking I take him out towards the road, and in horse psychology, towards home. Dumb move 1. I have to walk him past the other jumping horses, this gets him on his toes. As he senses home he picks up the pace. I realise the error of my ways and turn him in the car park and I find the source of our spooking, a cockeral stands on a fence and crows, Ernie rears. The cock crows, Ernie rears, the cock crows, Ernie rears ..... in the middle of this I am barking calming instructions and offering calming pats when he stands and the cock crows again.....
Monday morning - I am beaten up, hands raw from the lead rope, toes bruised from hooves landing on them, back and inner thighs screaming from being bounced here and there.... oh and a bruised shoulder .......
Link to youtube and Sophie's great rounds http://www.youtube.com/graemebesgreen
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