With a gorgeous new Ideal dressage saddle to ride in, as well as my new jacket and jodhpurs I had a good feeling and finally felt like I looked the part. Ceaser loves his new saddle and since buying and using it he has behaved perfectly. Anyway more on that a little later...
I'm not sure why I do it to myself, but I booked in for Novice 28 and Elementary 44 despite having not been allowed to ride for 2 weeks prior to the date due to having a small operation on my back! Thankfully 3 days before, I was finally allowed to hop back on and wow, what a difference 2 weeks work on the lunge and a new saddle had made to Ceaser!For the first time in what felt like forever Ceaser was working lovely and in stead of being a little reluctant to move forward into his paces he was finally moving off my leg and going nicely. I didn't want to do too much in the new saddle before I had had it checked by my saddle fitter, Poppy, but after a quick check of it myself, I was sure it fitted and decided to ride in it at the competition seeing as he seemingly preferred it to our Albion!
In true "Sian style" I decided not to ride through my tests in the three days running up to the competition as I was bound to get wound up about a certain movement - it always happens. In stead I ran through the different bits and incorporated them into my schooling exercises. Three days wasn't a huge amount of time to prepare but who doesn't like a challenge?After arriving at the venue early Saturday afternoon I was a little annoyed to find I had completely forgotten to charge Ceaser's massage pad. Whilst it's not a necessity to use it, I still find it helps him loosen up before I ride.
Because I didn't have the massage pad to put on it meant we were all able to have a sit around the lorry and watch my competition. Usually I find myself rushing around tacking up and jumping on with only minutes to warm up, but this time I ensured I gave myself 40 minutes to warm up, which was a lot better. I had forgotten what it felt like to not be in a mad rush!
Ceaser felt "okay", he was going nicely, very responsive to my leg and working lovely, however I felt like he was learning on me slightly which is probably due to the lack of work we've done over the last few weeks because of my back. The transitions to me felt nice and uphill and actually quite nice. It's not often I work in and find myself thinking we have a slight chance. Mind you, I was slightly put off again to find we were the smallest in the class! You would think by now I'd be used to it, but I don't think I'll ever get used to competing against the big warmblood types with such extravagant movement.
Novice 28 went nicely and better than expected actually. Ceaser was a total gem and I couldn't have been happier with him. In one of the canters he tripped slightly in the K corner and instead of coming down to a trot or it throwing him off balance he picked up the canter straight away without me having to ask and carried on like nothing had happened! The trip threw me off a little but to be honest it shouldn't have and we finished the test with a lovely halt and salute at the end.If I was to be picky with myself I think the 10 meter loops could have been slightly bigger than I did them, but I was pleased with all transitions and the canters. With some tough competition in our large class I expected to get somewhere in the low 60's and around 6th place. However, I was absolutely over the moon to be told we had got 68.33% and 2nd place - what a fantastic result for my little cob!!
It was a fantastic feeling stepping onto the podium to collect our rosettes and prizes and I think I must have grinned like a cheshire cat the whole time - oh well!
With 30 minutes to spare before Elementary 44 I toyed with the idea of putting my double bridle on to stop him leaning on me so much. However, after a quick think and a discussion with those who had came to watch to me we decided to stick with the snaffle and work him more in the double at home before competing in it again. It was probably a wise decision as he had been thrown in at the deep end a little with a new saddle to contend with for both tests!
After a quick first read of Elementary 44 ( I really need to start going through my tests more) I hopped back on and trotted in to the arena again. Ceaser had by now softened a little after lots of walk to trot and trot to canter transitions in the warm up, but wasn't as soft as I'd have liked. In this class we were the smallest combination again but it felt like we rode through the test well. Mark was a little slow on reading the final downward transition to trot so we fell into our final trot a little, but I suppose if I had learnt my test and gone through it before riding it then I would have known that trot was looming!Despite this I was thrilled to get 4th place (behind the lovely warmblood again!) and 62.80%. Overall I was pleased with our results and to be honest the day couldn't have gone better for us. The comments on our test sheet speaks volumes and shows that replacing my dressage saddle was a good decision to make.
I feel there is no stopping us now as my lovely other half, Mark joined me and Ceaser with British Dressage as my Easter present. This enables me to compete at affiliated dressage competitions without having to run on a ticket. We can also qualify for the variety of championships they hold which is something to look forward to!
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After noticing my old dressage saddle had been pinching Ceaser slightly, purchasing my new one and finding him a little stiff in one back leg I decided it was time to call Poppy Webber again to give him a good going over with some Bowen Therapy. Poppy is also qualified to fit saddles so I booked her to have a look at my new saddle and checked I had purchased the right type!
Poppy confirmed my suspicion that Ceaser was tight through one hind leg, but thankfully she thought it was all down to the incorrect fitting saddle and was sure it would improve. The stiffness hasn't been hugely noticeable, however when warming up I have noticed it both through my aids and when going past our arena mirrors!
After roughly an hour of working on Ceaser, watching me ride in my new saddle to ensure he looks happy in upward transitions, doing lots of trotting in-hand and various bits and bobs Poppy declared him fit and ready to go! He was an absolute angel for her and to be quite frank was more interested in eating his hay than what Poppy was doing. This what I love about Bowen therapy, the treatment is by no means invasive and unlike other treatments I have seen doesn't look to make them uncomfortable.I must say it is lovely to hear someone who knows their stuff commenting on how well Ceaser looks for his age and how free he moves. My only hope is he continues to stay like this for quite some time yet.
After mentioning my migraines to Poppy I soon found myself lying on the riding school cabin floor and having Bowen therapy myself on my neck, back and shoulders. As soon as she started to work on my left shoulder Poppy could tell Ceaser leans rather heavily to the left and gave me some exercises to sort him out. It was quite nice to actually hear someone tell me that my neck and shoulders were simply a "mess" as it confirms exactly what I have been feeling these last few months, if not years! The pain in my neck is unbearable some days and I find myself taking endless amounts of Panadol to help. After a couple of "odd" moments, where I could feel my muscles crunching and popping, Poppy declared me fit and ready to go as well! Well, both the pony and I have been ordered to have two days rest so that means Ceaser will have lots of field time to enjoy until Saturday!
Fortunately Ceaser doesn't need to see Poppy for another 3-6 months now, but I have another appointment in a couple of weeks. I will let you all know how I feel in a few days time and whether I feel it has helped my migraines. Apparently Bowen Therapy is a great treatment for migraines so fingers crossed I have finally found something that works!
A huge thank you to Poppy for sorting both Ceaser and I out!
That's all from me now - I will update again soon with how the jumping clinic we are taking part in on Saturday goes!
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