A Win for Louis

Well I said I wanted to get some better results and coming first in an Intermediate does not come much better than that!

Kellys Lad (Louis) did a good test with just one mistake, doing a flying change coming back to the track in the second counter canter.  We have been doing changes with him occasionally at home, so they are well established for when he needs them, unfortunately he enjoys doing them a bit too much!  He still scored 30.5, which was one of the best in the section.  He posted yet another clear in the showjumping, this phase has become very consistent for him now he is more mature and can sit himself back in his combinations.   He gave me a lovely ride round the xc, only having one hairy moment in the double of corners when he slipped quite badly in the middle of them, but managed to hold his line and jump, clever boy!  He finished full of running and getting 0.8 time.  Needless to say I was absolutely delighted that he won as he so deserved it as he is so talented.  He also got his picture in the Horse and Hound and will be the lead story in Eventing Magazine!

Louis -  Richmond Intermediate

Louis next event will be Belsay where he will run in the Intermediate Novice, and then to Catton Park for the OIu21.   Sadly, I cannot make it to Houghton for the Junior Championships as it clashes badly with my GCSE's and this will put me out of contention for the Junior Europeans this year, but thankfully I still have next year.   He has also qualified for The Festival of Eventing at Gatcome in Novice and the Intermediate sections, but he will compete in the Novice as that runs as an Intermediate anyway.

Pi my young strawberry roan gelding, has come back into work after tearing a blood vessel in his foot.  We have no idea what happened to him but he did it in the field.  He is currently doing a bit of flatwork and has jumped a few small fences, we are hoping he makes it to the 4yo classes now he has missed quite a bit of time off, but he is showing all the signs that he will be ready in time.

Pilgrim my 5yo bay gelding is coming along well.  His dressage is very good and he has developed better self carriage.  He is showing a much better technique over a fence and is starting to use his neck.  He has been cross country schooling a couple of times with some positive results, and he will need a bit more time in this phase.  He has been entered for the Burghley Young Event Horse class at Yorkshire Sport Horse next.

Congratulations to Philippa Wittrick for a great double clear on Billy at Richmond Horse Trials and her first BE placing!  Keep it up.

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

A Rather Late Update!!

It has been a while since my last update and I have had a few outings not all of them sucessful!

Louis made his Intermediate debut at Weston Park in the OIu21 section.  He performed a rather tense test due to the Selectors all being parked close to the arena with all of their doors and tailgates open, but the Judge obviously liked him as he scored 33.6 which was a top ten score on the board.  The next morning we were back for the showjumping and it was a rather twisty track very up to height and in a rather small space.  He jumped well just having an unlucky 4 faults.  He jumped amazing around the cross country taking all the direct routes and finding it rather easy, he got a few time faults, which you would expect at this stage and he finished in 11th place in a strong section.

Next for him was Belton International.  This is probably my favorite event and the cross country would suit Louis with his big bold jumping.  He did a lovely test, probably his best this year, but the Judge was not so keen scoring him 36.4 and putting him about half way down the class before the jumping.  Again, it was back next morning for showjumping and cross country.  The showjumping was as always at Belton was up to height and beautifully presented.  He did a spectacular clear in a section where there were very few clears!  Then off to cross country where as usual he was jumping boldly and bravely, even taking a stride out in the combination under the trees to the corner.  He found the water complex easy and it had caused some problems for a lot of horses, but his boldness was to be his undoing as he had a double of very narrow dog kennels under the trees and he jumped the first massive and I couldn't make the turn to the second so we ran out.  I then represented him badly and he ran out again.  On the third attempt he jumped it well and finished the course full of running and enjoying himself far too much!  It was gutting as he would have been well placed and he had jumped so well round the cross country, he still doesn't find the fences big enough to back him off!

Our next outing was the TCN** competition at Kelsall Hill.  This was entered to enable him to get his qualification for CCI** in good time for Osberton.  He did a fairly nice test but there was a bit of tension and as it was scored Internationally he got 51.1.  Again he did a gorgeous clear in the showjumping.  We set off cross country feeling full of confidence and he was jumping amazing.  Unfortunately his flash strap broke as he jumped a table and it was hitting him in the face, this was not something he could deal with as he is a very sensitive horse!  I jumped the A element to the water and I noticed that his bridle had come off over his ear on one side where he had been shaking his head so I had to pull him up before the B element.  I couldn't believe our bad luck, I pulled his bridle back on and took off the flash before representing him to the drop into the water which he then refused, poor boy, he had got himself a bit upset.  I then gave him a bit of encouragement and he jumped in and carried on round the course taking all the straight routes and finding it easy.  It was so unfortunate as he would have easily gone clear and got his qualification.

Lastly, I took him to Burgham to do the TCN**.  This was a last minute decision as he had not gone clear at Kelsall Hill.  He did a good test with a good score of 34.6, for some reason this was not scored Internationally.  He did a cracking showjumping round and went clear.  Unfortunately this is where it ended as he set off cross country thinking he was mint and jumping far too big and that again was his downfall as he jumped a fairly big drop into the water and jumped me off by pecking on landing!  So that was that.

It is such a shame as his results don't do him justice as he is the best horse I have ever ridden by far and he has the jump to go to the top level.  He just needs to not be so enthusiastic as he keeps getting himself into trouble!!  Anyway, his next outing is the Intermediate at Richmond and I am hoping for a less eventful outing!

Louis Burgham

I have also been riding a friend of mines horse, Sir William V.  He is owned by Philippa Wittrick and she has been doing her exams.  I did two BE90's with him and he was placed 4th in his second outing at Northallerton with a lovely double clear.  Philippa will now take back over as she has passed her exams, but I was pleased to have the ride on him.

I have also been sent a mare from a yard in Shropshire.  She is called Taggi and is a 17.2hh Holstein.   I thought she may be too big for me but she is not strong and is very level headed and is not wide to ride.  She has showjumped to Newcomers but has never done cross country and her dressage training was non existent and she is used to going in a fairly strong bit.  I have had her 3 weeks now and she absolutely loves cross country and her training sessions have been very sucessful.  Her dressage is really starting to come and she is a great natural mover with a very good canter.  She did an unaffiliated ODE and came 5th and performed well in all 3 phases.  She has now been registered and been entered for her first BE90 at Belsay on June 1st.

Anyway, I will blog again soon, hopefully with some better results!!

Phoebe Powell and

the Eventing Team

Season Starts

Well its all change here in that I have a couple of new rides for this year and I have sold Cairngorm to 3* rider Jamie Lee Day.  He has settled in well to his new home and had a sucessful outing at Aldon with a 2nd place in the BE100.

My new horses are, Pilgrim, a 5yo 16.1 bay gelding by Medoc.  He is a lovely stamp of a horse with a willing and trainable temperament.  I bought him privately and he has done very little in his past home, but has come on in leaps and bounds since we started training him.  He will be aimed at BYEH and also BE 5yo classes this season.

My second new horse is Temple Lakeshore Crest (Pi) a 4yo 16.2 rose grey gelding by Lakeshore Road.  He was purchased from Ireland unseen, apart from on video, and he is a classy horse.  He is very much in the same stamp as Kellys Lad, and is a tremendous mover and jumper.  He will be aimed at the 4yo classes this year with a view to him qualifying for the finals.  He will definately be one to watch for the future!

Well the season has got off to a great start, with Kellys Lad winning at his first outing at Oasby.  He was in the ONu18 class with a strong field of riders.  He scored 30.0 in the dressage, and was double clear with a handful of time faults, he feels much stronger this season and ready to step up to Intermediate.

His second outing was the Novice at Great Witchingham in Norfolk which was a bit of a long journey!  He had the most appalling weather to contend with and if we hadn't travelled so far we might have withdrawn him, but we thought we might as well run him.  He did 3 massive bucks in the middle of his dressage test as he did not appreciate the howling wind and sleet across his arena!  He had 1 down in the showjumping as it was a blizzard when he jumped and was clear on the xc and found it too easy.  He wasn't placed due to time faults.  But he performed well considering the weather!

His next event will be Weston Park OIu21 and then to Belton for the OIu21 these both being Junior Trials.  But as I write this at the moment, it is snowing outside and I am wondering if this weather is ever going to improve!

Phoebe Powell and the
Eventing Team

Winter Antics

Well its that time of year again, and I am thinking of the forthcoming season.

The horses have had a fairly easy time lately, mainly competing in British Showjumping classes and Louis has been for a few dressage lessons.  But now its time to increase the fittening work.

Teddy (Burway) has now been sold to a lovely home in Sussex and has settled in well.  We have also made the difficult decision to put George (Cairngorm) up for sale in order to invest in some lovely young horses.  This in no way was a decision we wanted to make as we feel he has a huge future in BE classes and is a definate team horse in the making.  I am due to leave school soon and as eventing is my dream, I will need to have a string of horses to progress.

I have been invited to take part in the Junior Training which takes place on 13/14 February at Hartpury College, and I am taking my main horse Louis (Kellys Lad) and also George as he is not sold yet and it will be good experience for him.

Louis first event of the season is going to be Oasby ONu18 class and the entry is in and I can't wait.  He has yet to go cross country schooling as it is just too wet, but will start his canterwork this week.  He has been jumping 1.10 and 1.20 classes this winter, and he has won the last 4 out of 5 Newcomer classes and has some double clears at Foxhunter level which bodes well for a step up to Intermediate early in the season.

The plan for his season is Oasby ONu18, Great Witchingham Int CIC* or IN, Weston Park OIu21, then Belton OIu21.  We have only planned a bit after that as it depends on the weather and how he copes with his upgrade.  He will run at Houghton International in May in the CCI* as that is now the Junior Championships now Glanusk is not hosting this.

If George is not sold he will start his season when the ground dries out, probably after Belton and will run at BE100 for a couple and then upgrade to Novice and be aimed at the 6yo Champs.

Anyway, I will blog after my first run.

Good Luck for the coming season
Phoebe Powell and the eventing team

A Good End to the Season!

This is my final blog of the 2012 season, and its been a bit of a disjointed one what with the never ending rain. 

My next event after Allerton Park was Kelsall Hill and it was not a memorable day!  I was riding George (Cairngorm) in his first Novice class and we were not quite sure whether he was ready, but he had shown good form at BE100 so we thought we would give it a go.  He performed a fairly nice dressage test to score 36.0, although he has no medium trot whatsoever as of yet!  He showjumped well and was very confident, and just had one pole down.  The cross country was a fairly nice course, but with a couple of quite testing fences, a double of corners and a reasonable question at the water, having to jump in over a small log on the direct route or an alternative over a fairly large house at the side of the water jump and then 1 stride to a drop in.  I was unsure which I was going to take, as he had never jumped into water before.  Anyway, I set off and all was going well until he had a fairly sticky jump at the big ditch brush approaching the water, so I quickly decided to take the alternative and he refused it!  I went for a second attempt and he said no again, so I decided to try him at the straight route and he jumped straight in!  I wish I had put him at the straight route first, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.  He finished the course well and found it all quite easy.  I think he is ready for an upgrade to Novice but will run his last event at BE100 just to finish on a good note.  I also rode Ramera, mums horse, who went really well but had an unlucky run out at one of the corners, stopping her from getting placed, so all in all not a great day!

George - Kelsall Hill

Next event was the CIC* at Aske Hall with Kellys Lad.  He had his dressage on the Friday and then back on the Saturday for SJ and XC.  The dressage arena had been put on the only flat bit of land in front of the house which was nice, but the warm up was not good as it was on the side of a hill with no flat land what so ever so you could only do very basic work before going in, which is not ideal for Louis as he needs quite a lot of lateral work to make him more through and soft.  He didn't like the ground in the arena as it was quite wet and holding and got a bit struck in the ground in his rein back so did not score as well as I hoped he would getting 57.7.  But the score was not that bad considering it was a poor test for him!  On the Saturday he had two down in the showjumping, as he was a bit fresh and the ground is quite undulating at Aske, but he did a fab xc round finding it really easy and one of the fastest horses round.  He ended up in 10th place.  This would be his last run before Weston CCI*.

Dressage Louis -Aske 1*

Louis last event of the season was Weston Park CCI*.  He was selected to represent the Northern Region as part of the team so we were hoping for a good score.  He settled in really well and enjoyed hacking round the park and doing some flat work before his test which wasn't until Friday afternoon.  He warmed up really well for his test on Friday, and we were hoping he wasn't going to get tense when he entered the main arena as it was a bit more of an atmosphere to what he is used to.  We need not have worried though as he performed the best test of the year for him, it was just about perfect he was engaged and balanced but also relaxed and confident.  His lessons he had had with Ian Woodhead had really paid off and is canter work was the best it had been to date.  He scored a fab 45.3 which left him in 5th place over all out of about 80 horses before xc. 

I was quite nervous on xc day as I wanted to hold on to his good place but I had never ridden him over a 9min course before and as he is only 6, I was unsure how he would cope.  He felt amazing though, I just let him coast round and he felt fit and attentive the whole way and concentrated really well at the arena fences second from last as he had a table to a skinny brush to a table and there was quite a lot of people spectating.  He finished with 1.6 time faults, which I know I could have avoided, but I wanted to look after him as it was a bit wet and he is only a young horse.  He was in 6th overnight to showjumping.

The final day and he was 6th from last to showjump, he warmed up well, but felt a little more tired than usual, but did a good round, just having 4 faults in a double.  I was so pleased with him, he is such an amazing horse and he finished in 7th place, the youngest horse in the class!  He was the best of the Northern Team who finished in 4th place.

Louis - Weston Park

The last event of the year was Oasby.  I took George and Ramera,  George was in the BE100 which he scored a really bad dressage score of 40.0, as he found the dressage really exciting for some reason and was squeeling and did a couple of flying changes in the canter work.  But redeemed himself with a double clear in the jumping phases and finishing 9th.  Ramera did a lovely test to get 33.5 and was about 3rd after dressage, she had her only pole down of the year as the sun was low and she couldn't see a fence properly and unfortunately had a 20 on the xc, which was a shame as she would have had a good placing.  All in all though, not a bad day!

The horses will have a bit of a rest now, and over the Winter will do some dressage and BSJA classes.  Louis will be aimed at Intermediate and a place on the British Junior Team next season, George will move to Novice and will be aimed at the 6yo Championships and Ramera will go to Badminton with mum and then hopefully be put into foal.  So lots to look forward to!

Thanks for reading,

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

A Bit More Eventing!

Well, since I last blogged, some good news and some not so good news ....

The good news is that Kellys Lad has been selected for the Northern Team at Weston Park in October.  This is what we hoped would be a good round off to the season for him, so fingers crossed for a good result. 

The bad news is that my last two events with him didn't exactly go as planned.  Let me fill you in.  Firstly, Milton Keynes.  We set off the day before we were due to compete with 3 horses, Louis, George and mums horse Ramera.  First to go on the Saturday was Louis in the Novice.  He performed a good dressage test with a very good score on the board of 32.5.  He jumped a lovely clear round in the showjumping to put him in pole position before going cross country.  He set off his usual brave and confident self on the cross country and everything was going amazingly well until .....  I fell off!!  Yes, he jumped into the coffin, on a downward slope under some trees and span out from underneath me in a microsecond!  He saw the ditch was not just full of water, but very noisy water, a bit like a waterfall gushing through it and was having none of it, not even any negotiating with him as when I stood up he was gone, galloping up the cross country to be caught be some kind person in the showjumping warm up!  So that was the end of that, oh dear!  George was good, just suffering a little tension in the dressage test to score 33.0 but a lovely double clear within the time left him in 11th place in the 5yo class, and just to cap it off mums horse would have been 2nd but had a run out at the corner, so all in all a very unlucky weekend!

Louis - Milton Keynes

Next to go was Hutton in the Forest with Louis.  He had been over to Heidi Woodheads during the week just to remind him that ditches were not frightening and he had been very annoying by hopping over them all without a care in the world!  Anyway, Hutton.  Great dressage, an amazing score of 24.0, nice to prove the last one was not a fluke!  Good round in the showjumping again putting him in pole position before going cross country, sound familiar?  Set off great, really going for it and jumping confidently, had a fence downhill towards a water splash which he took a stride out at and then I lost my brakes and he ran straight past the narrow fence into the water, the cheeky monkey could still probably have been placed but he ran out at it again, this time being a bit naughty and picking up 60 penalties.  He popped it lovely 3rd time, wondering what all the fuss was about and finishing confidently with no red rosette and a million time faults!  Good job we love him.

Anyway, just to finish on a good note, Allerton Park, always one of the nicest events of the season was last weekend and Louis and George were both entered.  Louis was in the Intermediate Novice and the U18 selectors were coming, so we had better do well.  He performed a great dressage to score 32.3, not the best on the board, but competative.  One down in the showjumping, which I thought was good as it was very airy and not many fillers, and a great clear cross country with a fairly fast time, despite having to cope with torrential rain, he finished 9th in a very strong class.  George was 32.5 dressage, one down in the showjumping and I got lost so got 4 time faults, I really should have looked at that course before I went in, and a great clear cross country within the time.  Good boy!

George - Allerton Park

Next events are Aske 1* for Louis next week end to have a practice for Weston Park, he will only run cross country if the ground is good and George is doing his first Novice class at Kelsall Hill on the Sunday and I am also riding mums horse in the Novice as well.  So wish me luck, I think I may need it!!

Until next time ....

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

Some Eventing At Last!!

Kellys Lad didn't have the best start to the month with Cholmondeley Castle and Skipton Horse Trials both cancelled, so we made the best of things with some outings to British Showjumping competitions. Kellys Lad has all his double clears in Newcomers now and Cairngorm all his in Discovery, so may do some second rounds with them next year!  Good news also is that Kellys Lad has also been longlisted for the U18 Champs at Weston Park, pending qualification.

Kellys Lad (Louis), got his much awaited run in the Novice at Aston Le Walls.  We had a very eventful journey down there as we had a front wheel tyre blow out on the M1, which took some of the lorry with it, thankfully nothing ran into us on the hard shoulder and it was all repaired and we were on our way in about an hour.  We amazingly were still in time, and Louis did a lovely dressage to score 32.5, clear showjumping and clear xc to finish 5th.  We were really pleased with him and he has made a massive improvement in his dressage just in the last few weeks of being out of eventing.  This has been his weak point on grass as he is such a big horse and is only 6 and can become unbalanced so easily, he really seems to have grown into his frame lately though.

Louis - Aston Le Walls

Next week it was off to Somerford Park in Cheshire for the INu21 class with Louis.  He scored a fantastic score of 22.7 in this is first Intermediate test, and felt really secure in all the movements, he will do better at the higher level tests as he is so secure in his lateral work and his medium paces are really starting to come good.  He showjumped clear round the higher height showjumping, although I thought he probably would though as he is used to doing 1.20 courses regularly now, and he is much more controllable in his new bit.  He was in for a win before going cross country but I deliberately took him steady as I knew he was not 100% fit because of missing so much of the season due to cancellations, it was tempting to go for it, but I have to remember he is only 6 and is being produced for much higher things in the future.  Anyway, with his time faults he finished in 6th place, so a good result for Louis and he is now qualified for Weston Park and Intermediate.

Louis - Somerford Park

The following day, it was off to Richmond Horse Trials with Cairngorm (George) for the 5yo class.  He felt good and scored an impressive 27.0 in the dressage, although he needs more practise on grass, because if it was on an arena he would score so much better.  He was clear in the showjumping and felt really keen and forward cross country and gave me my best ride on him so far in this phase.  He came in well within the time just coasting round and finished 9th.

Both horses are off to Milton Keynes next weekend so fingers crossed for some more good results.

Hope the rain manages to stay away and we can get some more events in before the end of the season!

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

Rain Stops Play!

Well there hasn't been a lot of eventing lately to blog about, the rain has been pretty endless and the horses have had just about all their events cancelled...

The good news is that Louis' bruising has healed well and he is back in full work, but both events he was due to run in were both cancelled so as of yet he has not evented since his 1*.  He has been re-registered with British Showjumping and has jumped well getting some more double clears in Newcomers, we have upgraded his bit in this phase as he has become too keen and won't always come back in related distances and this has made him much easier to ride.  He has cross country schooled and despite being really excited, jumped amazing!  His next event will be Aston Le Walls on 10th August and then hopefully the INu21 at Somerford Park.  He has been out to dressage too, getting a 1st and a 2nd.

Cairngorm (George) has managed to have two BE runs since I last blogged.  His first was Burgham, which is a fairly stiff BE100 test. and entered in the 5yo section.  He performed an amazing dressage test to score 27.5 which we were really chuffed with as he kept good concentration and tried really hard; his showjumping was fairly good, although lacked a little attention as he was too busy staring at the people and tradestands around the arena, so he has the first fence down but jumped beautifully around the rest of the fences.  I was pleased with his cross country as I felt he was a little green for the course, but he coped well just having a run out at the third from last fence which was a corner through a gateway with a big bale of very bright, green shavings on the top which were obviously going to eat him as he jumped through the gap, so although he was unplaced I was very pleased with him!

His next trip out was Thornton Watlass where we got a great double clear from George and a fifth placing with a 36.5 dressage which did lack a little concentration!!  His next event will be the 5yo class at Richmond.  George has also started going to British Showjumping where he has got double clears in British Novice and Discovery.  He has finished all his BYEH qualifiers unfortunately not managing to qualify for the finals at Burghley, which is a shame as he is a lovely young horse and just the type to do well in these classes.

Teddy is still being retrained and has progressed considerably since I last blogged.  He is cross country schooling quietly and staying nice and calm and has been placed regularly in showjumping.  He is doing another unaffiliated ODE in a couple of weeks and taking him on a trip to Thornton Watlass BE event to be worked in the warm up has made him more settled and relaxed in the atmosphere.

Boysie, my little grey Connemara is coming along nicely, but we have decided to put him up for sale as I dont really have enough time to devote to another youngster this season, hopefully he will go to a lovely home.

Anyway, fingers crossed I may have an event to go to soon and im sure im not the only one to be praying for dry weather! Until next time....
Phoebe Powell

Boysie- XC Schooling NEC July 2012

JUNE SO FAR

Since I last posted, Louis has completed his first 1* at Brand Hall in Shropshire.  This is a lovely event with good bold galloping cross country courses.

He had to perform his dressage test in the main arena and it was a bit more atmosphere than he is used to, but good practise for the future.  He performed a fairly good test with a couple of mistakes in the medium trot and some resistance in the rein back, which is usually a very secure movement for him, but on the whole we were pleased with him.  He scored 59.4, which was a respectable mark and after dressage put him exactly half way on the board.

His showjumping was very early the next day in which he had a pole down coming out of a double and then unfortunately he slipped taking off to a oxer, crashed through it and skidded along the floor, he was a little star though as he carried on as if it had never happened and completed the rest of the course clear!  So 8 to add.

I took it slowly with him on the xc, but took all of the direct routes and he was amazing.  He did however get  20 penalties, as I galloped past the 'b' element near the end of the course and had to circle.  I was very pleased with him though as he found it easy.

When we got him home, he had a small cut on the back of one of the front of his legs which had happened in the showjumping and it looked a bit swollen so we took him to be scanned at Minster Vets just to be on the safe side.  He has a small bruise around the tendon area where he caught himself and the vet prescribed two weeks off, then two weeks hacking and then resuming normal work.  Unfortunately this means that he will miss his next event at Catton Park and then Aske ONu18q.

Because of Louis's small injury I will now be riding Ramera (mums horse) at Aske in the qualifier.  I had to ride her at Skipton to get my qualifying run in and she was a star coming 3rd in the BE100 Open.

George (Cairngorm) made his debut at Skipton with a very pleasing 29.5 dressage, 4 faults showjumping and clear within the time cross country, he was amazing, particularly as the ground was very muddy and he is still quite green.  He will go to Hutton in the Forest next.

George also went to Yorkshire Sport Horse Show for the BYEH class.  He was 3rd going into the final judging out of a strong field of 5 year olds, but missed out on a Burghley qualification this time.  His next qualifier will be at Richmond Equestrian Centre.

My new little grey is coming along great, his name is Boysie and he will hopefully come out to compete toward August time.  Here is a picture of him at home.

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Anyway until next time, I hope you enjoyed reading my blog,

Phoebe Powell

Richmond and Bishop Burton

Since I last blogged, Kellys Lad (louis) has been out a couple more times.  He was balloted from Chatsworth, so got a late entry into Richmond.  He ended up running on the Monday in the Novice, as the weekends classes were cancelled.

He was unlucky in the dressage as he got the only 10mins of the morning when it was sheeting down with rain, so he was a little unsettled and had his quarters in in most of the canter work.  He scored 40, which was not as bad as we thought it may be!  He did a poor showjumping round for him, getting a bit strong and not really listening and had 2 fences down.  We put it down to the fact that he goes to Richmond to jump fairly frequently and was a bit over confident!  He redeemed himself with a fast accurate cross country round within the time.  Needless to say, he was out of the placings for the first time since he started doing Novice.

Bishop Burton was next for Louis.  He did a slightly tense test and scored 40 again, but cheered us up with a lovely clear in the showjumping arena on Bishop Burton's amazing surface.  The cross country was a fair test of the level, but again he flew round stopping the clock on the optimum time exactly!  He finished in 8th place and he felt really confident.  He has his first 1* next week, so fingers crossed it will go well.

The youngsters are coming along well.  George (Cairngorm) was entered for Richmond, but didn't get a run due to the bad weather.  He had a run the week after in the unaffilliated at Northallerton around their BE90 course in which he had 1 showjump down and was clear on the cross country.  He has now been entered for Skipton and Hutton in the Forest in June and will contest BYEH classes at Bramham (currently on the waitlist) and Yorkshire Sport Horse.

Teddy (Burway) has taken a step back in his training in that now he is much fitter he is finding it quite hard to control his excitement when out with lots of horses.  His recent cross country schooling session was interesting in that it was very busy and he just wouldn't settle.  Since then though, he has been out showjumping and stayed very calm and produced a double clear.  We will have to take it more slowly with him and maybe just play about with him this season until he starts to calm down and take things more in his stride!

We have taken on another 5 year old to produce now.  He is a 15.1 roan grey Connemara from Ireland.  He has lovely big paces and a super jump and is level headed.  He will hopefully do some BE events towards the end of the season.  I will put a photo of him on soon.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading my blog and keeping up with my progress this season.

Phoebe Powell and the
eventing team.

UPDATE

Good news, Kellys Lad (Louis) has made a very successful transition up to Novice level.  He completed his first Novice at Belton, which is a fairly strong test of that level, and performed a lovely fluent dressage test scoring 34.5 and putting him in 5th place after dressage.  He showjumped a lovely round but had an unlucky 4 faults, and completed the cross country easily but getting a handful of time faults.  He finished the day in 9th place and earned his 1st BE point!

His next Novice was at Kelsall Hill where he ran in fairly testing conditions.  He did a fairly nice test with a couple of small errors and he was not enjoying the deep going, he scored 39, which was a little disappointing.  He had 4 faults to add showjumping, but again flew round the cross country finding it all rather easy and finishing in 10th place. 


He is showing us he finds Novice rather easy, just as we thought he would.  He has also upgraded at BSJA to jumping 1.15 and 1.20 tracks at which he has been getting clear rounds.  He also recently won his first elementary dressage test with a score of over 65%.  Quite remarkable for a 6 year old!    He has now had his next events cancelled due to the bad weather, but hopefully he will run at Richmond, Bishop Burton in the Novice and then he will have a go at his first CIC* at Brand Hall in early June.


The youngsters have had their first run at an unaffilliated event where George (Cairngorm) was double clear with a 31.0 dressage score to get placed and Teddy (Burway) got a bit tense in the dressage, showjumped with one down and clear cross country, but so far neither have had a BE run as their events have been cancelled due to the heavy rain fall of late.  George is entered for Richmond BE90, fingers crossed it will run, if not both youngsters will be entered for Skipton in June.


Thats all for now, hopefully I will have some events to blog about soon, if it stops raining. x

2012 SO FAR.......

Sorry haven't blogged for a while, its been all change here.  As you will see from my horses page, Donnermere has now been sold, and I have two nice new horses to bring out this season.  It has enabled us to have a much needed cash injection into the yard and the horses as well as a lovely new lorry!

So, now Kellys Lad (Louis) has to fit into some rather big shoes and be my main horse for 2012 season, quite a responsibility for a 6 year old.  He will be moved up to Novice at Belton and if all goes to plan will contest the ONu18 classes this year and hopefully qualify for Weston Park CCI* at the end of the season.  There is no doubt he has the ability, but whether he is mature enough to gain consistent results, we will have to wait and see.  I also have a lovely new warmblood by Sandreo from Laura Colette, who has amazing paces but is still quite green as he was not backed until nearly the end of his 4yo year, he is coming along nicely though and first indications are good, we are hoping he will be out in May. 

My other new horse is an ex-racehorse called Burway (Teddy) who is very bold and a nice mover, but can't quite seen the point in dressage just yet, hopefully he will also come out about May time.

Anyway, first outing of the year was to take Louis to the JAS at Bishop Burton, he was very excited and jumped fairly well, but was unplaced, probably due to some bucking and squealing as he did his round!  He has done a fair bit of BSJA over the Winter, but for some reason finds this class really exciting!

His first event of the year was the BE100 at Oasby.  He did a fairly nice test, but got a mean Judge scoring him 38.  He was hyper in the showjumping (first time on grass for a while) and had an uncharacteristic 2 down, and then redeemed himself with a lovely clear on the xc.  He finished in 17th place and so did not disgrace himself too much.

Then it was off to Burgham for his last BE100 before his upgrade to Novice.  I must confess I forgot the test and went wrong, so I was really cross with myself, but he scored 36.5.  He did a lovely clear showjumping a near perfect round and then followed this with a lovely clear xc well within the time.  He finished the day in 8th place, so first rosette of the year for him.

His next outing will be Belton on 30th March, and then after that Novice at Kelsall Hill.  I will keep you up to date with my progress.

Until next time,
Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team.

Weston Park U18 Championships

After some hard work on Donnermere (Beanie)'s dressage with Rachel Lupton, we felt ready for Weston Park CCI* Under 18 Championships!  Beanie was newly clipped out and looking very fit and smart, and we had been cantering him regularly to prepare him for the 9 minute cross country at Weston.  He was competing as part of the Northern Team of 10 riders who had been selected from the qualifiers that ran earlier in the season.

We arrived at Weston on the Wednesday and he was due to run on the Thursday in the dressage (day 1), 2nd to go out of the Northern Team.  He settled well into his stable and has now started to get more used to going away and competing.  After a light dressage session on the Thursday morning, he trotted up well for the ground jury.  We decided not to work him too hard before his test as often he produces his best work within the first half an hour.  He performed a very nice, relaxed and consistent test, with only one small mistake in one of the counter canter movements,  but other than that we were delighted with him and he scored his best FEI dressage score to date of 52.2.  He was well placed on the scoreboard after day 1. 

Day 2 and he had a hack round the park, while dressage was on all day again in his section.  At the end of day 2 he had slipped down to about 30th out of 77 starters so still plenty to play for!

Day 3, xc day!!  The course was quite long and up to height for a 1* but his xc is always very keen and enthusiastic so I was looking forward to it.  He was amazing, really enjoying himself and making it all feel really easy.  He completed the course 30 seconds under the time and recovered really quickly, showing that all the fitness work had really paid off.  He had moved up the board quite a bit too!

Day 4, he was not due to showjump until after lunch, so after his trot up in the morning, he just had a bit of grazing in hand.  He warmed up well for the showjumping, but unfortunately just before he went in he overreached quite badly and his foot was pouring with blood.  We managed to stop it but he felt quite sore on it.  He did showjump well, however he did have 2 fences down, but the course was causing havoc and there was hardly any clear rounds at all.  So all in all we were pleased with him and felt he had performed very well in the whole event.  He finished a respectable 24th and the Northern Team were second in the country by 0.8 of a penalty, so a good team result as well.

Beanie is now having some time off work in the field, for a well deserved rest with the other horses!

Reflecting on the 2011 season, its been a great year for the horses and they have performed very well.  Louis is ready for an upgrade to Novice/1* next year and Beanie hopefully will run at Intermediate/1* and maybe try a 2* next year, fingers crossed!

I hope you have all enjoyed your year eventing and have liked reading my blog this season.  I will start writing early next year, when the horses are all back in work and getting out and about a bit.

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

September Event Update!!!

Allerton Park

We had the whole weekend at Allerton Park in Yorkshire, Saturday with Louis (Kellys Lad) in the BE100 and Sunday for the Intermediate Novice with Donnermere.  We were hoping Louis would do a better cross country round after Hendersyde Park with his green moment at the coffin, and he has been over to Heidi Woodhead's for two training sessions dealing primarily with steps, sunken roads and ditches which are fences he can still be a little babyish with.  He went well on his training sessions and his confidence improved lots.

When we walked the course at Allerton they had built a new sunken road on the BE100, so it was time to test the training!  He started with a fairly good dressage test and was given 37.0, which was a good score in that section.  As usual, he did a lovely clear in the showjumping.  His cross country was lovely, and he felt the most established at this level that he has so far, he did the sunken road beautifully and finished with just 0.8 time faults.  He finished 4th overall in his section, which was a great result!!!

We were back early the next morning with Donnermere.  He had his dressage really early, but unfortunately when I went to get on him I realised that I did not have my boots with me.  Anyway, after a quick call home, my dad brought them up to Allerton where they arrived only when the horse in front of me was doing its test, and they could not manage to move me in the section.  So with no warm up I went in to do my test and I can't say it was one of our best ones!  He was a little tense and the sitting trot wasn't helping matters either!  Anyway, somehow he got a score of 40.5, so not as bad as I was expecting.  The showjumping was a fairly ok round and he just had one down.  His cross country was amazing though and he flew round well within the time and feeling amazing.  Needless to say he was out of the placings that day.

I wore a hat-cam at Allerton on Louis that weekend and I will upload the video on to my website and facebook page asap.

Kelsall Hill (2)

We went up to Kelsall Hill for the weekend, it was to be Louis last event of the season in the BE100 regional finals and we decided to enter Beanie for one more run before Weston Park CCI* as we wanted another practice of a dressage test!

Beanie was first to go, and we have had a couple of dressage training sessions with Rachael Lupton since Allerton and he was starting to feel more supple and connected.  He performed the best test of the season so far scoring 29.5, which was the best score in the section.  I was really pleased with him as he really tried hard.  His showjumping was a faultless and lovely round and he had nothing to add.  He bounded round the cross country finding it really easy and finishing with 0.8 reverse time faults and coming 1st in his section!!!!!!  It was a great result for him as he had come so close to winning a few times this season, but it had not quite happened until now.  He now has moved into Intermediate points.

Louis was next to go and he didn't perform as well as usual in the dressage phase as he spent the time whinnying at mums horse who was doing dressage at the same time as him in the next arena!  He was given 38.5 which was probably a fair score.  He did a lovely double clear to finish on his dressage score, but unfortunately did not qualify for Badminton Grassroots Championships.  Thats him finished now for the season and will have some well deserved time off  in the field relaxing before preparing for next year.

Last event of the year for Beanie next which will be the British U18 Championships CCI* at Weston Park, I will blog and let you know how it went!

Phoebe Powell and the
Eventing Team

Skipton, Haras du Pin and Hendersyde Park

Back again.  Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, but its been a busy time.  Horses are all well and I've had some mixed results of late, but this always happens when you are pushing through the levels and trying to improve the horses.  On the whole though, this years objectives have been reached, Donnermere has been selected for Weston Park teams, Kelly's Lad has improved and shows signs of being my top horse of the future.  Anyway, the events have gone as follows:-

SKIPTON (2)

Kelly's Lad (Louis) was entered in the 5yo class at Skipton.  We were sure it wasn't going to cause him much problems as he had already completed Skipton (1) around the same height course and had found it fine.  He performed a nice test to score 33.5, although we think it should have been higher.  He did a lovely clear showjumping and flew round the cross country clear with 2.8 time faults.  He finished 9th in his section to unfortunately did not manage to qualify for the Young Horse Championships at Osberton which is a shame as he must be one of the nicest 5 year olds around.  But at least the 6 year old Championships next year are based on BE results and not on just one competition.

HENDERSYDE PARK

Louis was up at Hendersyde competing in the Scottish Championships at BE100 level.  He had qualified for this with a win at Floors Castle.  This was a day I would rather forget!  He performed a good dressage test for the 3rd best score in the section of 30.5.  He was doing cross country next as it was being run with the showjumping to take place at the end, which meant he was a little fresh going into cross country and was not really listening to me.  It was all going fine until the coffin where he jumped in and said 'no thanks' at the ditch and meant it.  He therefore got eliminated and that was that.  He will now go schooling over lots of ditches as he must need a reminder that they are not that scarey!

HARAS DU PIN (FRANCE)

How exciting it was to be competing in France.  We travelled with Jodie McGreggor and her mum over to France as she was also competing. 

Beanie travelled well and arrived feeling reasonably fresh from the long journey.  He had a full day before his dressage which was unfortunately very early on the first day of the dressage for the 1*, which had a huge amount of entries of well over 100.  He had done the arena walk the evening before his test so he had at least been in the arena, as it was on a surface and quite spooky with lots of flags and banners and wooden huts for the Judges to sit in.  Anyway, he warmed up fairly well and started the test well.  He got a little tense however when a tractor was driving about behind the hedge emptying the bins, but on the whole kept his composure.  We were a little disappointed with his score of 63.3 but most of the early horses were all in the 60's mark wise so we were ok about it.  However, the scoring did get alot better as the day progressed and we did feel that if he had been drawn later in the day would have got a much better mark.

The following day he showjumped well.  He did one of the only handful of clears of the day and pulled himself well up the board.  We were really pleased with him as it was quite a spooky course.

He cross countried well, although we was a little tentative at the first few fences as he had not been out since his bad round at Chomondeley Castle but he gained in confidence around the course and finished really enjoying himself.  It was anounced that he had 4 time faults and that was what our timing was as well, but when it went down on the board he was given 19 time faults, which we knew wasn't correct, so we challenged it but they wouldn't change it and they don't take a time at each fence, as they do in the UK, so there was no way of checking it.  Anyway that put him back down the board.  Although I did get invited to the mounted prize giving and was given a bottle of Champagne for being the youngest competitor at the competition, so that was nice!!  He arrived back in the UK please to be home and having lost a bit of weight so we decided not to compete him again until Allerton Park in a months time.

All in all, my first trip abroad was great experience and I must say a big thankyou to Heidi (Jodie McGreggor's mum) for taking us, Sue Carson for providing us with lovely saddle clothes and clothing, Jane Peters, Caroline Moore for helping me with my warm ups and all the support of the other British Juniors.

Until next time... Phoebe Powell and the eventing team.

July Event Update!

The weather has been good and some rain means the ground has softened off a little.

Burgham Horse Trials
Our next event was Burgham, a new event in Northumberland.  We walked the course on arrival and thought it was a well designed course, making good use of the hills and water features.  We new the showjumping would be a test for a 5 year old as it was next to the busy BSJA rings so there was lots of distractions.

Kelly's Lad was having a run in the BE100 section and we were hoping he was back to his usual self after Buckminster Park.  He performed a very nice dressage test, one of his best, although the judge only awarded him 39.0, which sounds a low score, but was 5th in the section.  He coped very well with the atmosphere in the showjumping with a lovely clear round.  The cross-country was a decent course and was a big enough challenge for him with two waters to negotiate.  He did a confident clear and finished within the time to complete on his dressage score and finish in 4th place overall.  I think he will be easily ready to upgrade to Novice in the near future.  His next outing will be the 5yo class at Skipton.

Cholmonderley Castle Horse Trials


Next outing for Donnermere (Beanie) was the OIu21 class at Cholmonderley Castle.  This was Beanie's first attempt at Intermediate cross country and it was at an event we were unfamiliar with, so we had no idea what the course would be like.

When we walked the course we thought it was big!  But not having walked many Intermediate courses, we were not sure how big it was for the level.  We made a decision to take the alternative at the open ditch at fence 11 (this was like the Cotesmore Leap at Burghley, and not much smaller!) and probably at the water as it was causing mayhem, even with experienced horses and riders at this level.

Anyway, first the dressage.  He performed a quite nice test, making a couple of small errors, but on the whole not bad, I was especially pleased with his leg yield as he has improved a lot in this movement.  He scored 35.0.  Most of the board was around the same mark, so the dressage wasn't going to be the deciding factor in the placings.

He showjumped a nice round, just having 4 faults, which was my fault, as I buried him at an upright.

The cross country started well, until he had a run out an A,B,C combination at fence 4, which was a bullfinch with a tight 5 stride turn to a very narrow tall triple brush, to a steeple chase fence.  He has never had a run out before and he got a bit upset with himself.  He jumped it fine second time, but he felt not quite on the job for the next few fences.  At fence 9, he jumped a hanging log on the brow of a hill and ran down the hill to a large brush corner on the turn, which looked like a maze of flags from Beanie's point of view!  He had a run out at this also, then after he jumped it, I decided retire him and call it a day.

Reflecting on it, the course was just too big for his first Intermediate, and lots of riders, who were much more experienced were struggling to get round without a penalty.  The U21 Trainers said it was a big course and not unlike a 2*.   I was pleased with his first two phases though, and as long as we choose the right course next time out at this level I am sure he will be fine.

Beanie will now go cross country schooling, and then its off to France for his 1* mid August.  I will let you know how he gets on.

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

Aske and Buckminster Park - Update!

First weekend of July and we were competing at Aske Hall Horse Trials with Donnermere.  He was competing in the ONu18(q), which was the last qualifier for the Northern Region.  Donnermere (Beanie) has already completed two of this regions qualifiers, with double clears in both, so didn't really need to compete in this one, but as we had entered him as a back up qualifier, just in case, we went along for a run.

It was a very hot day and all the flys were out, and despite being covered liberally in fly spray, managed to get a horse fly attached to him in the dressage phase!  This spoilt the halt and walk movements as he was throwing his head around and biting at himself trying to remove the offending fly!  Anyway, not to worry, he got a respectable 38.0, which was a bit average for him but reasonable in the section.

The showjumping was a nice course and he performed a fairly nice round with an unlucky 4 faults at a parallel.

He flew round the cross country finding it easy and finishing well within the time limit.  He finished 5th in the section and it was a good performance overall.  He feels ready for his upgrade at the end of the month to Intermediate at Cholmonderley Castle and we look forward to see how well he copes.

In the meantime, he has been invited to compete at Haras du Pin in France in August by British Eventing as they feel that some promising combinations could benefit from International experience so we are very excited about that and are looking forward to it enormously.  This will be at 1* level.

BUCKMINSTER PARK

The following weekend we took Louis (Kellys Lad) to compete in a 5yo class at Buckminster Park.  We have never competed at this event before and were very impressed at the good organisation, cross country courses and excellent ground conditions.

Louis felt a bit quiet and flat in his test and didn't show off his work as well as he ususally does and this resulted in a mark of 37.0 which was his worse mark of the year so far and was very average in the class.  His showjumping was not much better with an unusual run out at fence 2 when he clocked what he thought was a very spooky filler!  He finished the course though, after getting a telling off, with another fence down so got 8 faults.  This was an unusually bad round for him as he is a very careful and clean showjumper and had jumped clear the week before in the BYEH class at Richmond to get a jumping score of 36/40 which was the highest in the 5yo section and that had been a much bigger bolder course.  Anyway, he's only 5 and still learning.

He redeemed himself on the cross country course though with a lovely clear and within the time.  He feels much more confident with this phase now.  Anyway, needless to say, he didn't get placed and finished 21st.

Louis - Buckminster Park

Anyway, Louis is competing at Burgham in the BE100 next and Beanie is competing in the OIu21 at Cholmonderley Castle at the end of the month.

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team

June Event Update!

Another month of the eventing season has past and it seems like i've only just got started!  I've had a great year so far and I feel really lucky to have the horses performing as highly as they are.  I hope you are all enjoying your horses too.  We have been busy this month at Brand Hall and Skipton...

Brand Hall Horse Trials:
We took Donnermere down to Shropshire for our first international event (FEI), the CIC*.  It was a very different atmosphere to what he was used to in the dressage.  There was only two arenas next to each other with two judges per arena and with shops around the outside and spookier boards and flowers, but thankfully it was a quiet atmosphere as there was only dressage going on.  I was very excited to wear my new top-hat and tail-coat and was hoping for a good photo!!!  He performed a lovely test besides his silly rider going wrong once, and scored 59.4 which I was fairly pleased with looking at the stiff competition.  Unfortunately, going wrong costs a minus 2 off each Judge, so a fairly expensive mistake, I won't be doing that again!  He found himself in the bottom third of the board going in to day 2, so not such an amazing start!
We stayed at some friends yard in Shropshire overnight and set off bright and early next morning for showjumping and cross country.  The showjumping was probably his worst round of his eventing career, not in the score as he only got 1 down, but he hated the hard ground and felt insecure on the take off as it felt quite slippy so was a little cautious, we have decided to double stud him behind from now on.
His cross country was amazing as always, he flew round finding it really easy and taking all the straight routes.  He finished well within the time and pulled himself well up the board to finish 21st.  Not a bad first attempt at this level.

Skipton (1) Horse Trials
Two weeks later it was off with Kellys Lad to Skipton.  There has been some major course changes this year and the course made more use of the natural features and included some nice hedges to jump.

Louis performed a very good dressage score of 33.0 leaving him high on the leader board in his section.  He showjumped clear and flew round the cross country with 3.6 time faults which was good enough for 2nd place in the section.

The following day Donnermere went to Skipton for the ONu18(q).  It was his second qualifier of the Northern region and he needed a good clear in front of the Regional Co-ordinators.  He did a lovely dressage to secure a good score of 35.5, the best in the section tied with 2 others.  He showjumped clear, and a nice round, double studded up behind, but unfortunately incurred 1 time fault.  His cross country was faultless with a foot perfect round but got 6.8 time faults, which I was surprised at because he felt like he was flying and it was one of his best cross country rounds this year.  Anyway it was good enough for 4th place and a double clear was what was needed.

The day was rounded off to a bad finish however as when we arrived home Leo, a young 5 year old of ours, unfortunately was badly injured in the field and when the vet arrived it was confirmed he had broken his leg which meant we had no choice but to have him put down.  This was just the worst thing imaginable as we had high hopes for this young horse and had grown to really love him.  It was a really upsetting experience for the whole family and something I would never want to experience again.

Anyway, with a lighter note, Donnermere is off the Aske next and Louis will be out at Buckminster Park in the 5YO class.  If you see us out eventing please come and say hello!

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team.

May Event Update!

Hi everyone,
I hope you're all having a successful eventing season with your horses! We have been busy the last 3 weeks at Richmond (1) horse trials and Floors Castle!

Richmond Horse Trials:
Saturday moning we set off to Richmond horse trials with Donnermere (Beanie).  He was in the ONU18 (Q) for Weston Park, the first qualifier in our region.  He had a very early dressage time so thankfully it wasn't too far away!  We were hoping that he would perform better than at Bradwall horse trials in the dressage.  He performed a much more secure test but still with some tension and a long way off how he performs at home but he scored a respectable 38.5.  Beanie jumped a lovely clear in the show jumping and is beginning to find this level far too easy.  The ground was on the hard side on the cross country so I gave him more of a 'cruise' round posting a lovely clear with 5.6 time faults.  Unfortunately the time faults knocked me down a few places and he finished 13th.  I hope he did enough to show his ability.

Sunday morning came and it was Kellys Lad's (Louis) turn! He was in the BE100u18 class and it was his first horse trial at BE100 level.  He did a lovely relaxed dressage test, considering the ground was slippy because of the rain, and scored a good 34.0.  He is becoming very good in this phase and should score some high marks in the near future!  He show jumped very boldly with a lovely clear round and taking a stride out of the last 5-stride distance!  Now for the bad bit... He set off boldly on the cross country taking confidently to the first 4 fences, but as he turned to fence 5 he saw a very scary igloo and donkey (fence decorations) about four strides away from the fence he slammed his brakes on and whipped round with me and I promptly fell off him setting off my air jacket for the first time!!  He ran off up the course and was caught by Lyn Cottingham (our Regional Junior Co-Ordinator) who I am supposed to try and impress!!  Oh well these things happen with green 5year olds.  Anyway I got back on him and he wouldn't go anywhere near the fence and I was eliminated for trying..... never mind there's always another day.

Louis was taken back to Richmond the following day on the schooling day and I had a lovely ride on him around the cross country and he jumped fence 5 fine once he had time to have a look at it!

Floors Castle Horse Trials:
This was the day we were waiting for- when it all comes together on Louis!  We set off very early Saturday morning to Kelso in Scotland to compete at the picturesque Floors Castle. 

First was the dressage with Louis... it didn't set off to the best start when he spooked across the other competitors arena before he started his test when the judge got out of her car.  Thankfully when he started his test, he did the best test he's done this year scoring a fab 29.0 (second best in the section)!   He showjumped fantastically well for a clear round.  We were a bit worried about how he would do the cross country after his bad round at Richmond.  The course was much bigger and bolder, but we thought that may play to his strengths as he is a very bold, big jumping horse.  We needn't have worried though as he did a fantastic round, not missing a beat at any of the fences and absolutely loving it!  He finished on his dressage score, which turned out was good enough for him to take 1st place!!!

Next morning we took Beanie from the stabling back to Floors for his first Intermediate Novice class.  He did his best dressage test for a while, and he had to do an Intermediate test which is a little more difficult, so we were delighted with him and he scored 36.4, which was a good mark in the section.  The showjumping was at Intermediate height and he coped well and just had an unlucky 4 faults at the treble.  He ate up the cross country and found it easy finishing with no time faults.  He finished 11th in the section which was good for his first attempt at this class.  He is now ready to try an Intermediate class.

Next for Beanie will be the CIC* at Brand Hall Horse Trials and then Skipton for the ONu18(Q).  Louis will go to Skipton next for the BE100 and then probably Buckminster Park for the (5yo class).

Will post next after Brand Hall.

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team.

KELLYS LAD BE100u18- RICHMOND

Northallerton and Bradwall Horse Trials

Hi everyone,
I've had a very busy weekend at Northallerton and Bradwall Horse Trials.

Northallerton Horse Trials

Saturday was a lovely day and I had Kelly's Lad (Louis) in the BE90 at Northallerton.  It hasn't rained for ages and I was a bit concerned about the ground conditions, but I needn't have worried as the organisers had done a really good job of the ground and it was the best they could have made it in the circumstances!

Louis did a really good test and he is showing lovely work in this phase scoring a pleasing 33.0.

The showjumping was quite small for the level that he has been doing at BSJA, but he jumped a good rythmical clear round and I was really happy with his performance.

The cross country was a lovely course with a mixture of woods and fields and it was a very encouraging course with plenty of variety and an inviting water jump.  After his round at Eden Valley Louis was obviously feeling very overconfident in this phase and I had a little problem with the brakes on the far field, having to circle to give myself more time to set up for the double combination and get him to listen to me!!  I am going to have to have a rethink on his bitting before Richmond!!

He finished clear with 2.8 time faults and his final total was 35.8 putting him in 7th place.  I was very happy with his performance overall.



Kellys Lad- Northallerton Horse Trials 2011

Bradwall Horse Trials

After an early mornings start we headed the 3 1/2 hour drive to Bradwall in Cheshire for Donnermere to compete in the ONU18. 

After walking the course I thought that it was quite a technical course and more to think about than some novices!  I decided I would take all the straight routes as it would be good practice for him upgrading later in the season.  But first the dressage ...

After a good warm up I headed out across the field to the dressage arena and started going round the edge.  Cue a very hairy and (in Beanie's opinion) scarey dog who obviously likes to eat small horses in his spare time, appeared and walked around the field with his oblivious owner!  Beanie performed probably the worst test of his career (and of all time) as he couldn't take his eyes off the dog and wouldn't listen to me at all.  I managed to complete the test with much embarassment and post test amusement (I didn't find it funny at the time).

I tentatively looked at the scoreboards before jumping and to my amazement I had scored 42.5 (which was one of the scores towards the bottom on the board but certainly not last!!)  I now felt more optimistic about the jumping phases.

The showjumping was quite up to height and quite airy jumps but he did a fantastic clear round and got a round of applause.  It was one of our best showjumping rounds.

He flew around the cross country giving me a great ride, taking every straight route on course and finishing well within the time. He pulled himself up the board to finish on his dressage score and 11th in the section.

Richmond is next for Beanie for the ONU18 (Q)

Phoebe Powell and the Eventing Team