Bigwood Bootcamp!!!!

Wow wow wow, last week Fiona very kindly offered to have Mulligan and I over to help with his medium trot, something he finds difficult. Well I can tell you I have never ached so much in my whole entire life!

In my first lesson on Tuesday Fiona had me really collecting him and asking for the hind leg to come through, we did this for a few steps and then let him trot forwards without letting the frame lengthen. Then she asked me to show her our medium trot and she saw that the problem was he wasn't powering from behind and he was running on the forehand. So she taught me to really prepare him before the medium trot, collect him and show the difference, whilst riding the back end and keeping a rhythm.We then ran through the dressage test that I will be doing in a few weeks time and she (really) drummed into me about my bad habit of not going in to the corners (this isn't new to me and something that has been mentioned before but I always seem to concentrate on my riding and not on my ring craft, hopefully I have learnt to do both now)! She got me to be really accurate to gain as many marks as possible. 
After riding Mulligan I got to ride Lionel for the first time who I was competing on Thursday, he was lovely, he was really easy to ride. We got on well, he had lovely movement and Fiona felt confident for us to go ahead and compete that week.

Then Mulligan got to stay on a sleep over in 5* accommodation, frankly I think he was disappointed to come home after being there (although he did give me the death stare as I left him)!


I went back on Wednesday morning. Fiona rode Mulligan to start with, she said it was the first time she had ridden an event horse! It was amazing to see her ride him, how she stayed so soft, yet he moved so beautifully, it just seemed effortless. It was really good to watch her because it meant that when I rode Mulligan I could visualise Fiona riding him. When I got back on him he was like a different horse, he was really light.  We didn't spend as long on the collecting because we had it sussed and we just ran straight through the test. The medium trot was the best I have ever had it and the best Fiona had seen it. I really started to use the arena and the test ran through smoothly. Proof will in the pudding in a few weeks!!!! I hope I do Fiona proud.


I had another ride on Lionel to familiarise myself with him again ready for the following day, although we never got to practice the test.


Thursday's dressage at Henfield

Lisa who grooms for Fiona brought Lionel and we met her there, I was a bit busy as I was also riding Pearl in two tests as well as Lionel, but I loved it! Lionel was the star though, he has never been to a competition before yet he was so calm, he never spooked and he pulled a win out of the bag in his first ever novice test and first ever competition. What a lovely sweet horse.

Next update: Jon Pitts  - Fit to Ride