Well worth the wait!

I have owned Anjuli since she was six months old and I met her the day she was born. Today I sat on her for the first time. I was very nervous as the last time I got on such a baby I had a nasty accident but no need- Mark and Ben have done such a fantastic job that Anjuli stood still and stayed calm.

I got on and off a couple of times and she was rather surprised that I was so very pleased with her! I was relaxed enough to notice that she has a wonderfully comfortable saddle- Thank you Ted at RB.

I haven't felt such a connection to a horse since I rode Ginty she feels very similar and next time we are going for a walk. I am taking baby steps because she is a very sharp mare - well possibly we'll manage more than walk Ben is a great one for motivating riders out of their perceived comfort zone and I am more than happy to have my arm twisted.

I am thrilled because in my head I thought I would get on when she was really tired after a serious schooling session when she wouldn't move a muscle instead I got on after she had been for a hack . Anjuli was relaxed and happy and totally unfazed. Its the first step and I am looking forward to the rest of the challenge.

X Factor Dreams and looking ahead to Summer Season Challenges

The past month has been a bit of a blur! We did the double again at Moulton though did not achieve the crucial qualifying percentages which meant though we went forward to the viewing day we were not strong contenders. I did enjoy the experience though and quickly refocused on the Regionals. Jack and I had a misunderstanding in the canter tour! I over corrected in the medium canter and Jack produced a lovely though quite undesired flying change and though he obligingly changed back for me I had lost my cool so that when I asked for more engagement in the counter canter I wasn't quiet enough with my aids and we ended up with some lovely but again not wanted tempi changes. Hmmm so no Nationals this year for me!

Anjuli meanwhile was going very well and we decided to let her have a half term holiday before bringing her back into work at the all new MB Equestrian.

This report is late because I have moved house and had to wait to be reconnected...

So now to the future. My next big outing is the X Factor Charity Dressage to Music Gala at The Hand for Children in Need. We were selected last year but Jack caught a virus and had the winter off. Fingers crossed we are chosen again. Other goals are to qualify for Winter and Summer Regionals. Watch this space!! Alison

Anjuli's photo diary

Jack does the double at Moulton

Jack won both medium classes at Moulton yesterday and gave me a great ride in spite of having to hide in the hedge during a heavy rain shower whilst I was trying to work in. Jack does not do rain and even wearing a quarter sheet to keep him warm and a little protected from the ( in his view ) evil rain drops he gave me two choices- running backwards to the lorry park or hiding under the hedge! Rain stopped long enough for me to check we could still half pass and keep our balance in counter canter and then it was test time. Very pleased with the way he went once indoors and pleased to report we now have our Pet Plan qualification complete.

We now need to achieve two 63% scores at Medium before the 1st September, perform to the best of our ability at the Viewing Day for the Home International and to demonstrate our progress at the Regional Championships so that we can qualify for the Nationals. Hmm no pressure then.

Anjuli meanwhile is doing very well and I hope to be able to post a picture diary asap!

Winter Season

The British Dressage winter season began on July 1st and I have turned my thoughts to the winter qualifiers. Jack is working well and we have made the step up to contesting the medium qualifiers. We have part qualified for the medium area festivals and I am now working to improve my test riding at this level in preparation for the Home International viewing day. I have ridden three tests at this level now and yesterday at Moulton I felt as though it would be possible. I made a silly mistake yesterday as Jack spooked and I missed my turn onto the centre line. Of course I should have ridden deeper into the corner and he wouldn't have had the chance... However it was a wake up call when the bell was rung and I rode him more forward up to the bridle. The resulting canter half pass was the best I have ridden and I was rewarded with a different feel and a 7. Reflecting on yesterday I realise that this is how Jack should feel in a medium test. There is hope and I have some homework before our next outing in two weeks time.

Anjuli update.

Anjuli has settled very well with Ben and Mark and I am thrilled with her progress. I will post some pictures of her asap. She has a new saddle and is maturing into a rather exciting prospect. I can't wait to ride her.!

Solitaire Dressage goes from strength to strength!

The excitement is building this week!

Jack recruited some more members for his fan club at regional training.

The Freestyle Dressage Productions team has been put under the spotlight in a tried and tested review for Equine Affairs members.

RB Equestrian have pledged further support for Solitaire dressage with a new sponsorship deal and as part of an exciting partnership between Freestyle Dressage and Equine Affairs, Roughway Jack will have a new competition name: Equine Affairs Roughway Jack.

Regional Training : A lesson with Jennie Lorriston-Clark

I enjoyed a very positive training session with Jennie. Jennie put me at my ease and then gradually asked more from me so that I had the confidence to work with her and to learn. Jennie is a first rate coach and I trusted her. Her system was familiar to me and thanks to the wonderful job Sabrina has done I was able to cope with the exercises we worked through and to make the most of the session. I felt privileged to work with Jennie whose love of horses and experience gave me the confidence to ask questions. I was very proud of Jack for looking after me and giving me the chance to play as Jennie put it. Jennie improved my feel and my confidence so I really enjoyed myself!
I owe the fun I had to Sabrina (and Jack!) as without her guidance and training I would not have been able to present myself so happily or to ride the exercises. I am grateful too that Jennie recognised early on that I can get lost in the arena when riding a new exercise and was quick to point to the marker she wanted me to ride to!! I did wonder if she had some inside info from Sabrina who has had to put up with my unique sense of space for some time now! I came away very happy that I had ridden advanced medium movements in front of a lady I admire greatly and not disgraced myself with any exam condition nerves.

I am looking forward to training with Sabrina on Wednesday with my last session before the Hickstead Semi finals on Thursday.

Winning Medium Freestyle at Manor Farm.

I made my medium level debut with Jack at Manor Farm. I warmed in the training section of M73 and was generally pleased- Jack was helpful and gave me some good medium trot across the diagonals in fact most of the trot tour was OK! Then the moment all dressage riders dread my mind went blank and I couldn't remember the walk pattern! I think my head was stuck in elementary mode as I could remember where the canter started but not how I got there... Oh dear. Two course errors later I picked myself up and enjoyed the rest of the test. Jack was a little tense though as I ended up doing about four walk pirouettes before I got the pattern correct.

So I was detemined to perform better for the freestyle! Jack warmed up well in fairly spooky circumstances with a new arena being put down next to the work in there was quite a lot of scary flapping plastic and heavy plant machinery limbering up alongside. Jack was not convinced it was a safe place to be whilst they moved large quantities of stone. However it did give more lift to his paces!

I let him have some quite time by the arena entrance and he relaxed until the sound check and the opening bars of The Entertainer when his pulse surged and his head came up and he looked over to the arena. From then on he knew it was show time. I rode a few more transitions and in we went.

I was nervous as though I had ridden the floorplan I hadn't ridden the floorplan to the updated music edit and I wasn't sure how Jack would react to the change. He reacted very well and the test flowed well. Jack was confident. I remembered the test. My favourite bit was the last canter circle- I was worried I would run out of music to show my medium canter and I was not at my mark. I gave Jack a lets go message and we went up several gears in one leap to get some impressive ground cover. My lack of subtlety and the panic lead to a little hollowness in the transition that I instantly regretted however Jack was not upset and allowed me to ride him forwards and accepted the rein again. The music helped as Jack recognised the phrase and we had caught up to hit the mark for the trot transition on cue. Clever Jack!

By now it was late in the day and John and Joanna really needed to be back to collect Hannah so we collected my music cds and my score . I was delighted to collect 67.8%.

When we got back to the yard curiosity overwhelmed me and I phoned Eddie to ask if I had placed- Great News- we had won the class. I hugged Jack who was busy investigating the food supply in his stable and told him he had won again. Jack was quite indulgent of my good mood. I put his equissage on and he settled for a snooze with one ear flicked in the direction of the lorry as we unpacked. By the time his equissage had finished we had the yard back to normal and I was ready to feed. An excellent day with qualification for the medium freestyle 2009 regionals secured at our first attempt. John posted great results with Rio too- 2nd in the novice qualifier and a convincing win in the Novice Freestyle. Thank you to John and Joanna for taking the whole day so we could compete. We started with John's test at 10.36 and my last one was at 17.25. Jack and Rio made the lorry their home and munched their way through each others haynets. A happy day!