Hello Readers,
Well, I have had a very busy time since I last checked in what with the Easter Holidays eating up a big chunk of time teaching privately and also for a variety of pony clubs, I have had a very enjoyable time and so did all the riders it seemed, especially at a two day camp for Flamstead Pony Club run at Milton Keynes Eventing Centre. Both myself and my mother were teaching which was a really nice milestone to be teaching along side my mum. Milton Keynes has got a super variety of fences to suit all the age groups that we had, some needing the tiny fences in a contained field with its own ditch and bank.
I have run some well attended cross-country clinics at Attington Stud using there all weather facility. All participants improved and really made progress, using the variety of fences, steps, ditches, undulations and a brilliant water complex with everything you could need. I can highly recommend this facility. I spent an afternoon a couple of weeks ago watching Christopher Burton school 6 different horses cross-country, I learnt a huge amount from the afternoon especially as he was very helpful in answering some questions I had. He really is a very harmonious rider with some very simple and important training principles.
I am well on with my training for my next exam, the BHS I Coaching exam. I spent a very useful day recently at Ingestre coaching a rider other fellow coaches to develop and hone what is needed to pass the exam with flying colours.
Belton International Horse Trials was fantastic! I really enjoyed the event, the dressage was very relaxed and for once I actually had to add more power rather than just contain Continuity (Brad), which was surprising considering how busy the trade stands were around the edges of the arena. After dressage we were in the top 15 of the Advanced section which was full of horses bound for Badminton so this was a lovely feeling. In the showjumping nerves caused me to let Brad down by making a couple of little blips to cause a couple of poles, however he loved the round jumping the 1.30m fences with ease except pilot blips. Time for the Mark Phillips cross-country course which definitely caused some thoughtful decisions to be made by myself and other riders about how best to ride some of the combinations. Some really required you to be very bold or take a route to best present the horse to the fence or add a stride to be able to stay accurate to a corner. Things like this made the course very rewarding to ride and another notch on our belt of 4 Advanced runs. Here is the link if you would like to watch the course! https://www.facebook.com/davidbritnelleventing.co.uk/videos/785352778297178/
I am so very proud of Brad and how far we have come. Next run will be at Hambleden this Sunday in the Advance Intermediate so very much looking forward to cantering through the Bluebells again this year.
Just to keep the variety to life myself, mum and my sister went to Snetterton Race Track to take part in a Track day a week or so ago which was great fun as always. Roxanne has got a lot faster and is now overtaking quite a few cars, which is awesome considering she hasn’t even had her licence a year yet! It was mums first experience of going fast on a track and after a steady start she really got a liking for it so Im sure she will join us again in the future. Going around corners at 80mph and hitting 115mph on the straights is definitely and adrenaline rush but it doesn’t quite compare to setting out on course at an event!
I hope you are all having a great season. Till next time, Crack on!
All the best David
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