Those that read my blog on a regular basis will know the trouble I have been having lately finding a bit suited to Ceaser and one that he works nicely in for dressage. This week has been just as difficult as I was away last weekend for a few days, which meant Ceaser had a mini 5 day holiday and was a little fresh when I returned home Wednesday to ride.
In-fact he was so fresh, that on Thursday I was wondering why on earth l I had made the 'clever' decision to book in for our first dressage competition in over 4 months for the coming Saturday; and not just any dressage, but our affiliated debut of the season!
The problem I am encountering at the moment is that because of Ceaser's repeated mud fever last year he is confined to a small turnout area this year, that has no mud and is closely monitored in terms of being regularly poo-picked. I think that because he isn't getting a large area to run around in when turned out and somewhere to burn his energy, he is attempting to do it when ridden because the arena is so big!
On Thursday evening after a quick chat with my vet I decided a day out in some mud couldn't do much harm and so whilst I was at university on Friday he spent the day in a big field and did plenty of running around!
When it came to getting him in to ride he was plastered from head to toe in mud so it was quite obvious a day out is just what he needed. Additionally, he was a lot more relaxed and worked lovely through some of my dressage test movements. A nice, promising ride after two very tense ones was just what I needed and I felt a lot more confident for the following days two tests.
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Ceaser has also been working much better since I invested in the fantastic Equilbrium Massage pad. He now has it on for 30 minutes before I ride on the medium setting and then again after I have ridden for 15 minutes on the low setting to cool him down.
So, as soon as we arrived at the competition an hour before my first test, I got him off the lorry and put the massage pad on him to warm him up whilst I got dressed.
To ensure he didn't cool down before I got on, once the pad had finished we quickly tacked up and I jumped on to get him ready for our first test.
As soon as I asked for trot I could feel a huge difference in him compared to the previous few days. He was much more relaxed and working properly rather than rushing and pulling. For once I was actually quite excited to go and ride a dressage test in a snaffle - which is a very different story to this time last year!
Prelim 13 was our first test up and quite honestly it passed by in a rather big blur. The snow was pelting down throughout the whole of our test, however not once did Ceaser rush or pull me. I'm not sure how I managed to get through the test squinting and shutting my eyes when a snowflake fell on my face, but we did! Both of our canters were spot on and the whole of the test felt like it had gone well. He was responsive to leg, hand and seat aids and all too soon we were going down the centre line to halt between X and G! A huge pat for Ceaser and grin at the judge finished off my test nicely as I squinted my way through the snow to leave the arena in a free walk on a long rein.
At that moment I didn't care what my score was, for once we had produced a lovely test and in a simple snaffle! Finally!
Our next test was Prelim 14 and with only 20 minutes to go I kept him warm by walking in the indoor arena. Despite being the smallest pony there and lots of big warmblood types cantering past him, he was an absolute angel. Not once did he spook or get tense and when it came to warming up for our second test, did so without any bother.
Our second test went just as well as the first to be quite honest. However, if I was being picky, he did rush a little in one of the canters and fell into trot for a stride, but instantly he cantered again as soon as I asked.
Again, the test passed by in a blur, but fortunately it was a nice blur! Too soon we were leaving the arena in a free walk on a long rein again and on our way back to the lorry.
As promised I untacked and put the massage pad back on him to cool him down after being such a superstar for me. The walk to the results board was agonising and as I walked towards it I couldn't believe my eyes - we had won!!As I squinted some more and looked closely I was absolutely over the moon (and in shock) to see we had won Prelim 13 with a whopping 70.83%!!! We have only ever got 74% at unaffiliated, so to get just 4% lower at affiliated was an amazing feeling. After close inspection of my test sheet I noticed I had quite a few 8's and mostly 7's.
Not too long later Prelim 14 results were announced and although I knew it wouldn't be quite as good because we broke into trot during one canter, I was not expecting 65%! Ceaser certainly showed that your pretty "average cob" CAN do dressage and be up there with the big boys!
The judges comments were more than fair and said that Ceaser needed to work from behind more - however I know that as this is one of the issues we have been having! Apart from that she commented that my transitions were absolutely spot on where they should be and Ceaser looked a lovely, obedient little horse to ride. You can't get better than that!
What a fantastic way to start our season and it certainly was with a bang! I am over the moon and cannot wait to go out for our next affiliated tests in a couple of weeks. Usually affiliated results are published in Horse & Hound magazine so I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed they publish these results - that would be a brilliant start to the season!
Hopefully we have turned a corner now with our bit issues and on the road to better things!
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