Anyway. Nunney!
Things got off to a rough start as we stabled overnight. We do this quite often as my mum doesn't like driving 2 hours + there and back on the same day as she has a muscle problem which makes her get very stiff driving, and she stubbornly refuses to let me take my hgv and drive it for her so...Squirrel is usually very happy to stay away from home, luckily, settles really easily and is fine. Also I had a free course walk with Sam Griffiths at 6pm the night before so would of been silly to drive 3 hours in total yesterday and 4 today.
However where we stayed last night, there weren't any other horses within seeing or hearing distance and it upset him a bit. When I went to give him his evening net and change rug at 9pm, he was box walking and did 5 poos in the time I was there with him. In the morning, he didn't have any poo stains or straw in his tail so obviously hadn't led down, and his bed was a mess. He then proceeded to trample over me when I was trying to plait so didn't really get off to the best of starts.
We arrived and it started pouring with rain. It was showers, but heavy and extensive when they came! I got SOAKED getting ready for dressage. I walked him down there and he was being very resistant bending to the right. During my warm up he was generally not moving off my leg, kept dropping out of canter, resistant in transitions and just generally switched off and not listening. I tried really hard to get him to soften and co-operate but it just wasn't happening.
I have to say, he has days like that literially a maximum of two or three times a year at home, so when it happens I tend to give up and go for a hack
so I don't really know how to work him through it - as its so rare it
seems pointless to have a fight when I know the next day he'll be fine!To be fair to him, when I trotted down to do our test he woke up a bit, and he did the first bit nicely enough. Nice centre line, decent halt and a nice first medium trot (much better than last time). First transition to canter was rubbish, then came above the bit in medium canter, then did some nice work. Extended walk never happened, he just wouldn't walk out properly and when I tried to insist he broke into trot. Walk to trot transition was awful, as was next trot to canter. I struggle a little with the transitions into canter in this test as it is, but they've really improved at home this week so was feeling happier (its the test with the 2 loop seperentine then transition to canter at x), he broke out of canter early and did the rest okay.
Its not often I blame the horse so hope I'm not coming across as a spoilt brat right now, but I do blame him for the dressage as I worked very hard to soften him and get him to listen but it just didn't happen today. But then again, I completly put it down to the stressy night he had, he was all tucked up after the dressage
Only video stills as it was raining too much for the proper camera.
So I was very relieved to see I had a score of 34! To be fair it was a very kind section with plenty in the 20s and no one over 40 so kinda felt if you add 5 marks you may get a more truthful score, but hey ho at least it looks better on my record
medium trot
I almost considered W/D at this stage as was worried about having a confidence knock SJ when we're new to this level and not on the same page, but decided to warm up for it.
He warmed up lovely
Completly perked up when we started jumping and did so beautifully. The
course was causing a lot of problems, only 5 clears in my section (38
in it) in the end, mainly as it was gotten very wet and slippery with
the heavy rain. Also the horses seemed to be finding the distance in the
treble very long, although when I walked it, it seemed fine.I went in and err promptly buried him to the first
Pulled myself together and actually rode quite nicely, and he jumped beautifully. Really easily and enjoying himself. 
We got round to the treble which was second to last and for some stupid reason I buried him into it, so landed very short, so I panicked and held for 2, which would of been ok had I kicked on for the oxer coming out, but I didn't and continued to hold so we had that down.
first part of treble
comedy photo of the last of the treble, he just clipped it, bless him he tried SO hard to save me
Then came round the corner to the last, had a nice shot, I remember sitting up and keeping my shoulders back so not to collapse...then bam, he went to take off, skidded and stopped. Looking at the video I can't see much as it was very close to the jump, but OH said he went to take off with his front legs then slipped and skidded into the bottom. Not sure why as he was studded but it was very cut up infront of it and another horse fell at it (by slipping) earlier.
the stop
bless him, I don't think he had a choice really. Initially I thought he slipped then stopped as he might of lost a bit of confidence through the treble as he doesn't really like running out of room, but OH said he had no choice.
Jumping it beautifully second time
AND you can just see, I lost a stud on the right front foot, normally have 2, so wonder if that had something to do with the slip.
I was worried afterwards, wasn't sure whether to go xc as I didn't want to go and have a stop as my nerves are quite fragile at this level after last year, but there was a big oxer up in the SJ warm up, so I jumped that and he did so beautifully so decided to go for it as confidence seemed intact.
When I took him over there, Squirrel got rather excited. After 2 and a half years of eventing, Pea-brain has finally worked out what its all about! He jumped beautifully in the warm up, and when I did my usual final walk-canter transitions before going over (he can be quite backwards and not off the leg) he promptly bogged off with me
then cantered sideways to the start box. Which was quite nice as he felt very keen.He bombed out the start box and had a great jump over number 1, number 2 was a little awkward - I was trying to put into place something Sam Griffiths said in the course walk, about taking a check into big simple fences a few strides out then riding forwards, but it doesn't really work for us. Squirrel can be a bit backwards thinking and taking that check just seems to take him off my leg if that makes sense...Or possibly taking that check makes me think too much about my stride whereas we seem to have a nicer, more flowing jump if I just keep coming.
So I quickly discarded that idea, flew over number 3. For some reason he wasn't keen on 4 so I got quite close and sticky, so I had to ride hard for 5 which was the first combination and very close after 4. It was small and in the BE100, but landed just on top of a very steep hill, with another fence at the bottom. He got a growl but actually jumped nicely, popped over the fence at the bottom and the next.
Then it was a similar fence, a log on top of the hill, then down the hill but a sharp left to the second part. We err trotted down the hill and popped over that. I then needed to generate some power as next was a step up with a LONG one stride to a little flower bench thingy. I made a real hash of that, he came up the step with no power and I'm not sure whether we had 2 strides in the end or 1 messy one but we got over it although it was untidy and I lost a stirrup.
Managed to regain my knitting to jump a table, then another table which apparantly used to be fence 3 in the intermediate at longleat.
Next was a HUGE trakhner. I rode this quite strongly as he was a bit spooky at the one at Borde Hill, and this one had a far bigger ditch. I needn't of worried, he isn't normally ditchy and jumped it lovely.
Then there was a house, again on top of a steep hill. He jumped that huge and I had to quickly gather us together as up a hill, round a sharp corner to a corner which I kinda aimed at the middle of and he was super. Next was a big bullfinch which he looked at but jumped nicely.
I rode strongly at the water as lots of people had trouble there last year if I remember correctly, but he jumped lovely in, trotted through the water (I need to work on that) and jumped the duck in the water nicely enough.
Galloped up a big hill to a table which I let him jump out of his stride lovely
he looks untidy in that photo but think it was taken a split second too late.
Next was an upright, again right at the top of a steep hill. Approached it fine, then he saw another horse coming the other way (course passed itself very closely), I lost ALL his attention and he started getting slower and slower as he was fixated on this other horse.
I errr gave some vocal encouragement of "What are you doing?! Don't look at him!!" and smacked him on the shoulder and got over the fence.
Slithered down the hill which was turning into mud at this point and err booted him at the Not so skinny Skinny on top of the hill as I still didn't have his full attention. But he jumped it nicely. Had a lovely jump at a rather large table which was the same size as the intermiediate fence next to it (which Sam Griffiths said was a useful fence to see what kind of scope your horse has for the bigger levels).
It was bigger than it looks in that photo! Obviously lol..
Second to last was a angled double of palisades, Squirrel was feeling tired and put 3 in instead of 2 but jumped it nicely enough, and then a fairly big brush oxer to finish.
I was thrilled and exhausted when we were done. It was certainly sticky but I was delighted to be finished clear given we weren't really on the same page most of the day. I was even more thrilled to find I only had 5.2 time penalties. I thought I would have at least 10 as he felt quite tired towards the end (not sure why as he is fit and loves deep going), and only 6 in my section went inside the time. I know exactly where we can speed up - not sure why he tired at the end, it was a fairly long, hilly course but he is certainly fit enough, so I'm putting it down to stress from the stabling as he normally kips for ages at home, he's always sleeping, although going to keep a careful eye on him the next couple of days to make sure he hasn't picked up a virus or anything. He seems fine in himself anyway.
We came 15th in the end, and tbh I am pleased. I kind of feel, if this is a bad day compared to what I know we can do, its pretty impressive. And err we also halved our score from Nunney last year and I didn't even get to the xc that time!
We're at Milton Keynes next week so I hope he picks up quickly with a good night's sleep tonight and a day off tomorrow. Don't like eventing so close together but struggling to find novices at weekends within driving distance, but then we have 2 and a half weeks until our next run.
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