Oops! A bit of a break since my last blog has seen a trip to The Winter Champs for Romeo where he had a costly mistake in the Medium Freestyle and was a little too tired for the Medium. However I was very pleased when he came away with a 15th and a 12th. A superb result for a horse with his issues.

Since then we have been cracking on with training. Last week Romeo and I were lucky enough to be able to gate crash the Central Regions High Performance Camp.

This was a 2 day camp at Catherston Stud open to riders of Advanced Medium level and above.

Catherston is down in Hampshire so Romeo and I left on Sunday night and stabled in Worcester on the way to break the journey up a little for Romy. As he normally only works every other day I thought it would be too much for him to do a 4 hour journey down on the Monday, have lessons on Monday and Tuesday and then travel 4 hours home.

Splitting the travel worked and he was fabulous. Jennie saw no signs of his Kissing Spines and asked if we had competed at Prix St George yet as we were clearly able to!

We played around with the changes, half passes, trot zig zig, walk pirouettes and piaffe and passage.

A little video is available to view on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/118867574848052/videos/833192333415569/

Looking forwards we will just continue at a pace Romeo is happy with and see where we end up!

In the meanwhile space has become available for 2 liveries - part/full/competition livery. We always have room for rehabs and schooling liveries but these are 2 long term spaces.

So another regionals have gone and we had some highs and some lows!

Louise Baker's Roh Classica was a superstar! He was Reserve Regional Champion in the Medium Restricted and Regional Champion in the Medium Restricted Freestyle.

Romeo is such a little trier, and the sense of achievement I felt from his results is greater than any I have felt before. Romy has Kissing Spines and dodgy hocks!

Over the years he has been medicated however surgery was never an option. When he came back into ridden work in Feb last year I knew then I was playing the long game with him. At home he is never ridden on consecutive days and we alternate riding with lunging in the equiami either on the flat or over poles. Over time we have built up his strength levels and what is asked of him and it certainly seems to be paying off!

Needless to say he is a regular to be monitored by the physio, Emma Dainty, and his vet, Simon Woods, is also kept up to date on how he is feeling. With the help of the Back on Track products and the supplements from Hack Up Romy has gone from strength to strength.

His Regionals for me was all about the freestyle. I absolutely love the music that Chris (Lever Dressage Music) wrote for him and it truly is a piece where I feel like I am dancing with the horse. We were last to go in both classes and it is clearly a position Romy likes to be in!

In fact Romy actually knocked Val out of a qualifying slot in the freestyle!

But to have qualified through in both classes was just the icing on the cake. I'm so proud of him and how he has come back from everything that compromises him and he is a very lucky horse to have such a great owner as Louise.

So Romy was the highs of the show....which means Val was the lows!

In fairness to Val he really only had 10 days prep for the show following over 5 weeks off over Xmas and well into January. The time off was due to him just being 'not quite right'! He was trotting up sound but under saddle he felt terrible. Long discussions with both Simon and Emma led for us to try a few treatments and he definitely feels like he is improving.

As far as the show went he was just underprepared. He was obviously feeling better than he had for some time and as a result reverted back to his stallion days! He thought it was great fun to regularly stand and wave at the judges! There was no pattern to his rearing and so I'm fairly confident that it was not pain related. And I think that I was just a bit too soft on him and let him get away with it.

So in order of our tests....

The medium restricted..... Rearing during the test in a half pass resulted from 1s from all the judges for that movement....needless to say we didn't make the top ten!

Next was the Elementary Open Freestyle. Val warmed up nicely and in all honesty had kidded me into thinking it was all lovely and soft.... We entered the arena....music started....Val stood and repeatedly reared and wouldn't move! I eventually managed to get him in the arena and after the quickest halt and salute in history we were then playing catch up to the music....needless to say we had a very disappointing result!

Following a little break in which I watched back the video my friend Jen had done of the last test it was time to get back on Val for the Medium rest freestyle. At this point my goals had gone from striving to do well to getting the horse off my leg! So with a completely different attack in the working in Val suddenly started to actually move again and I finally had a positive response to my leg aids!

The freestyle itself was a bit hit and miss but overall I was relatively pleased with the improvement.... At this point Val was the temporary class leader....then we got knocked to 2nd, but still in a qualifying slot... That is until Romy knocked him into 3rd. Sadly I don't think there will be a wild card.

Our final test was the Elementary Open and despite Val attempting a few antics round the outside of the arena the test itself felt a lot better. We were not far outside the top ten in quite a hot class and I think had we have not been disrupted over the winter and had the full preparation time that he would have been competitive in all his classes. As it was when he was off my leg he needed to rely on my hand a bit too much as the balance and self carriage just wasn't there.

So all in all it was a good regionals with Romy qualifying and an important reminder in the way Val needs to be ridden. They are 2 such different horses that it is always interesting to ride them in the same classes as I have to clear my mind between riding them to make sure that I ride them the way each one needs to be done.

So with just 49 sleeps to go until the Winter Champs I now need to refocus and plan my training for the next few weeks. Meanwhile I have also 3 new rehabs arriving in the next week!

My Regional entries have been sent recorded delivery today to enter Val and Romeo for Myerscough in 2 weeks time.

I love the big shows and staying away with the horses....the only downside is that it is February and 9 times out of 10 we have snow around that time. The atmosphere up there is always friendly and it's a great to chance to catch up with friends that I haven't seen for a while.

The boys are doing some of the same classes so it is always interesting to see who comes out on top. In the medium Romeo is much more established than Val so I am anticipating that he will lead Val this time.

I am having a final run out with Romy on Thursday by going to Prescott as they have the medium 75 and they have put on an unaffiliated pick your own freestyle class so we can all have a practise. Val had a quiet 5 weeks over Xmas as he had a little niggle and just wasn't quite right but withy that behind us I am now concerntrating on building up his fitness and keeping our goal in sight.

Valentine's Day is the weekend before we go so I shall also try to juggle all the prep work so that Jamie and I can spend a little quality time together.

Prescott had good entries on Sunday so it wasn't until 4.45pm that Romy and I headed down the road to do M73 and a medium freestyle.

Romy hasn't been out since the area festival at the start of November so I just wanted to give him an outing prior to the regionals next month.

Although the M73 isn't the regional test it is still one of the higher tests at the level so I was pleased with a +68% test despite a few little errors mainly in the walk pirouettes.

I stayed on board as I only had 20 minutes between tests and had a quick listen to my Music before the freestyle. Chris Lever or Lever Dressage Music has done an absolutely amazing job and he worked hard to get it to me late on Saturday night so I could have a run through on Sunday.

Despite having never ridden to the music I was keen to do the competition as it would give me a feel for the timing of the music on a different system and different surface than mine and home. I must have watched the video at least 20 times and had the music on repeat all morning whilst doing the yard.

By the time the test came I was hopeful of a good mark. Romeo was a star, the music was perfect and we came out with +73%. The test was an absolute delight to ride with all the transitions and changes in the music falling perfectly into place.

We stood 7% clear of the rest of the class and I really did feel like Romeo and I were dancing to our music. I can't wait to ride to it again and can only hope that it goes half as well at the regionals next month.

Happy New Year to you all! Mine has certainly kicked off with a bang!

New horses arrived just after Xmas including one from Scotland and 1 from North Yorkshire. It is very complimentary to know that owners who will not be able to visit their horses are prepared to send them 4 hours and more away from home for us to carry out their rehab work.

Also in is a lovely dressage horse who has come for his holidays whilst his mum enjoys hers! And he is an absolute delight to ride.

This week has also seen the release of tickets to the 'What the Judge is Looking For' demo that I have organised in conjunction with Prescott Equestrian Centre. And I'm pleased to say that all tickets sold out in less than 4 days.

This event will take the audience through the levels from Prelim to Medium under the guidance of Harry Payne (List 1) and Val Smyth (List 2). 4 brave guinea pigs will each ride a test and be critiqued by the judges.

It is a fantastic opportunity to witness live scoring of a dressage test and also hear the judges discuss what the riders could have done to maximise their marks.

We will also be hosting a raffle in aid of Cancer Research and I will be posting details of the raffle prizes on the event facebook page in the coming weeks

Some time ago I was given a Fairfax style girth to try. Pregnancy and injured horses got in the way and I had forgotten all about it. Whilst tidying out the junk from my lorry I rediscovered it and thought I would give it a go.
I tried it first on Romeo and did notice that he was freer in front. But at the time I decided that his back wasn't strong enough for him to cope with the extra lift. (He is croup high and has Kissing Spines so I never over push him).
I then tried it on Val and I would say I didn't feel such a big difference but left it on his saddle to give us all the possible help whilst we qualified. gradually over the last 6 weeks Val has gradually shut down more and more behind the saddle. He has had regular physio but wasn't improving. I took a step back and thought about what has been changed over the last few weeks. And all I could think of was the girth and that he no longer goes out overnight.
So prior to my training with Harry Payne on Sunday I turned Val back out and I found his old girth for his lesson. Thankfully Val returned to a soft and swinging way of going where he was connecting back to front.
Needless to say I won't be swopping back to the other girth!
It's so easy when you ride on your own a lot for the little things to creep up on you. And I find myself thankful for the support I get from friends, owners, trainers and physios etc who allow me to talk ideas through and help to keep us on the right road!

So last night I went to a talk by Alex from Fyrnwy Equine Clinics at Battlefield Farm Shop on Atypical  Myopathy.

I was particularly interested to go as we have about 15 Sycamore trees around the boundary of the turn out paddocks. Needless to say they will be coming out this weekend.

I think the main points that I took away from the talk are these:

1. It is a lottery as to whether or not the seed/leaf/sapling is toxic
2. The toxin affects the horses muscles and the pain is extreme
3. The survival rate is low at around 20%

Of these 3 it is the thought of the horse in pain that is often the deciding factor for people. Often the vets decide that the Welfare of the horse is paramount and that levels of pain are too high to try to put the horse through treatment.

One of the tests the vets do is to check the muscle enzyme levels. I think I have remembered these figures correctly...

Level in a normal horse
     around 400
Level in a horse with Azotoria/tied up
     4000 - 10,000
Level in a horse with atypical Myopathy
     250,000 - 1,000,000+

The fact that these trees have been here for the 15 years I have and we have never had a problem is not enough of a reason to leave them in place. So, as mentioned at the start, the trees will be coming out this weekend.

If you do have any on your property please do think seriously about whether or not they need to be there. Whilst you may never have a problem they could blow into your neighbours and kill their horse.

So last night I went to a talk by Alex from Fyrnwy Equine Clinics at Battlefield Farm Shop on Atypical  Myopathy.

I was particularly interested to go as we have about 15 Sycamore trees around the boundary of the turn out paddocks. Needless to say they will be coming out this weekend.

I think the main points that I took away from the talk are these:

1. It is a lottery as to whether or not the seed/leaf/sapling is toxic
2. The toxin affects the horses muscles and the pain is extreme
3. The survival rate is low at around 20%

Of these 3 it is the thought of the horse in pain that is often the deciding factor for people. Often the vets decide that the Welfare of the horse is paramount and that levels of pain are too high to try to put the horse through treatment.

One of the tests the vets do is to check the muscle enzyme levels. I think I have remembered these figures correctly...

Level in a normal horse
     around 400
Level in a horse with Azotoria/tied up
     4000 - 10,000
Level in a horse with atypical Myopathy
     250,000 - 1,000,000+

The fact that these trees have been here for the 15 years I have and we have never had a problem is not enough of a reason to leave them in place. So, as mentioned at the start, the trees will be coming out this weekend.

If you do have any on your property please do think seriously about whether or not they need to be there. Whilst you may never have a problem they could blow into your neighbours and kill their horse.