Marvellous May

8 weeks have flown by. A lot of projects have come together nicely. I’ve completed some great CPD and Salvation (Humpty) and I have had the most marvellous May. 
On March 27th I made a reel whilst thinking about setting new performance goals in the Dressage Arena. At home we had achieved some test performances that I was exceedingly proud of and I wondered if we could recreate these results at an away show. I pinned a show date into the calendar and began work on my performance mindset. 

My aim was to achieve 2 60% plus scores so that we could part qualify for the British Dressage Veteran Championship. Meanwhile I also wanted to focus on three areas of my schooling programme. Balance, Suppleness and developing Strength in the Counter Canter. I had already entered and planned our at home online competitions too so I wanted to show our best work for these competitions as well. 

I had a small blip in confidence and almost didn’t enter my Veteran Test with E Riders. I’m very glad I ignored myself because we posted a comfortable win with pleasing feedback. I had another boost the week of our away show when I found out we had won the Online Dressage International Spring League. This was especially pleasing because I had chosen to step up to Newcomers level and now we were back to back Veteran Champions. What a horse!

The week of our away day, I took things easy and we enjoyed some lovely hacking as well as stretching in the school. On the day I was delighted to find that Salvation whilst excited was listening to me. Our first test was respectable. It felt good to be back in the long arena and I was proud that the training we have put in was reflected in the communication we had. We had about an hour before our second test to unwind. 

I was clear that I wanted to take the tension away for our second test and trust that between us, we could show what we are capable of. I knew the moment I set us up to turn onto the centre line that he was with me. It was the best feeling to have that conversation where we flowed from one move to the next. I couldn’t stop smiling and as we neared the end both of us were tired and emotional. We metaphorically held each other’s hand to power up the centre line to the final halt. We were back. Five years since my last British Dressage Competition and a staggering 10 years since Humpty retired. I made him comfortable, watched my friends tests and then went to collect our test sheets. We posted 65.2% and 67.5% with an 8 in the second test for our stretching in the trot on a 20 m circle. What a comeback! This gave us part qualification with just one more score needed for the BD Veteran Championship at Vale View in November. 

I had booked Humpty a physio treatment for the Tuesday and planned a gentle ride on the Monday providing he was comfortable after his week off. Well he felt amazing and I had a lovely ride helping him to stretch. He went on to get a great report from the physio and we spent the rest of the week hacking in the sunshine. Humpty had managed the competition so well and after physio myself and a rest I was ready to get going again. We have spent the last few weeks hacking and filming a few tests for our online competitions. Bliss. 

I have graduated from the Digital Media Gold Accelerator this month and passed my Level 2 Digital Marketing Certificate and my ILM Foundation Certificate in Mentoring. I am a volunteer Mentor for the Help to Grow Programme and an Ambassador for the Digital Marketing Hub.

May really has been marvellous!