Fancy Footwear & Footwork This Month
This month, David’s trusty steed Brad takes over the blog spot this month and shares his views and news…
I am pleased to announce that we achieved our goal of a top 10 finish in the CIC3* Barbury International Horse Trials. (Thank you to Mark Rudge Dipwcf for glueing my shoes on #looknonails or I wouldn’t have got there. Is anyone else finding this weather plays havoc with their footwear?
I did do a fantastic dressage test. If you don’t count the toilet break into the halt and I am sure Dad meant to halt at one point and please, could someone remind him how to ride serpentines? Perhaps it was all the gin he drank the night before? (I’m just saying) Two of the judges loved me, the third, not so much. This new dressage saddle Dads’ new sponsors WOW Saddles have put together makes the ‘flicketytoestrot’ much easier, and it certainly helps the aerodynamics so that I do not have to drag along his flapping elbows (more supple balance or some such) along too. I believe that I am still the only horse wearing bridle with no flash strap (can’t abide those unless I am so busy going cross country I don’t notice it) but I like to be different.
I have apologised again and again for spooking at fence 2 in the show jumping. All the other horses told me it was scary, so I decided to join in. It was a daring plank, pole red, green number straight after the most wonderful triple bar Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony fence. Sadly that put play to the success of the first fence of the double too. I had my legs in a knot and was very bothered about it all. The rest of the course was excellent though according to Dad and Richard Waygood (I have a nickname for him, but I have been told I can’t publish it) And if you really must mention the final element of the treble, yes, we had that down too. Honestly, am I supposed to be perfect every day?
There was a very worrying time after show jumping when my humans were discussing NOT GOING cross country. They washed me off, took my little studs out (Dad never uses big ones) and sat looking glumly at the scoreboard with their friend Tracey. The 12 faults in the show jumping had dropped me down from 19th (70 starters) to about 30th, and Dad reckoned it might not be worth running me over a big, testing track if we couldn’t get some FEI points to count towards a 4* qualification. I don’t mind telling you I was sweating more about the decision as opposed to the temperature waiting for that decision! I felt it was hopeful because they were still feeding me my pre-cross-country carrots…..
Thankfully they saw sense, and I was tacked up for the best bit. According to the commentator “the throttle was jammed open”, but it was a joint idea to go for the time. YIPPEE, it was indeed. I did my level best (did you see I even got to jump a combine harvester?! ), and despite losing both hind shoes half way around, we finished just one second over the time – the fastest time in the class. I understand “the fastest man in the world” with curly hair did better in the Event Rider Masters #ERM class later but he wasn’t carrying a #BRADBERRY, so that doesn’t count.
All in all lots of fun was had, and I’m looking forward to more parties!
This blog comes courtesy of tweed fashion brand Timothy Foxx www.timothyfoxx.co.uk
