Alice Hallows HackUp RingCraft May Monthly Blog ?
Placed with points, double clear and inside the time at Houghton International. A 'marvelous May'.
Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying the Jubilee bank holiday. Bank holiday you say? Don’t be daft we all know they don’t exist when you work with horses. Well, that is generally the rule of thumb, but I like bending the rules every once in a while. I enjoyed going to the Suffolk Show on Wednesday watching the Jubilee grand parade, and looking at different breeds of sheep, cattle, pigs and horses - the Suffolk Punches are always a delight to see. Cheered on my friends in the inter hunt relay, participated in the Young Farmer’s tug of war, and spent time with my very good friend, Hannah, mainly at the gin store and indulging in retail therapy; especially in the Rydale shop. I can’t help it their shirts are too good and I fully admit I am a walking advertisement for them. Perhaps a little sponsorship? Hint, hint. ?
The main focus of this month's blog is the adventure of competing three horses at Houghton Hall International. For myself before even arriving at Houghton Hall it was already an achievement to be competing Quizical Z (Quiz) in the CCI2*-L and Vintage Graffiti (Fritz) in the CCI3*-L. The last long format I competed in was in 2017 with Newferry Irish Mist (Misty) in the U18 Championship at Frickley. Quickly, I will explain that long format is three-day eventing beginning with a trot up, in this case in front of a very nice stately home. Followed by the first phase dressage, then the most important aspect of the whole experience is the second phase a cross country course of 4833m with an 8 minute 51 - second optimum time.
On the last day a final trot up, and to conclude show jumping in the main arena. The dressage was the only part of the weekend that could have been better… Quiz did a clear, consistent, tidy test in the 2* to score 30.7. It just needed to be more uphill and engaged which I think will come with time. It is easy to forget she is only 8. With Fritz, we both fluffed it. It wasn’t hideous or OMG this is awful, it just didn’t flow. For example, his hindquarters led in the half pass and I knew they were so I tried harder to stop them which then made it worse. Also, I forgot a movement which was a 10m circle at A, but I was concentrating on getting the quality for the simple change over the centre line. Overall, we scored 37.9 which was fair enough.
Ahhh dressage!
Honestly, I do love dressage and I enjoy getting it right and it is a really interesting part of the sport. However, sometimes it can be the most annoying phase and all you want to do is jump because dressage can be if you allow it to be intense. I get it. But when it boils down to it, studying dressage, figuring out: how lateral movements work? Why are they beneficial to my horse? How do I incorporate the scales of training whilst going through the motions of progress? Sometimes it is only a glimpse, but it is worth it when you achieve the feeling of it all coming together, as a partnership executing an accurate flowing test, knowing all the mistakes and learning curves you have both been through. Anyhow as we say, the dressage can always be worked on, but there is no point in having an event horse who cannot jump a stick or doesn’t like getting their feet wet.
Cross country day was super. Alec Lochore built a fantastic course which had sensible questions on which you needed to have trained your horse to be balanced, adjustable and think with their feet. The use of the terrain certainly played into the hands of the fitter horses. I walked the course six times and I got to know the layout and had set up multiple plans for backup options.
Quiz stormed round the 2* course for a clear inside the time finishing with plenty of running. Frtiz was ace, it is probably the most technical course we have done. As a team we opted for the long route at the water, just to make sure we got the qualification needed and I didn’t feel like swimming again! He flew around the course and was adjustable and speedy. Also, I was pleased with how I executed each jump with at the right speed, balance and line. I thoroughly enjoyed the longer stretches of galloping and the fact my favourite thing to do in the whole wide world lasted longer than 5 minutes.
On the final day, both horses passed the trot up and were feeling up for it. The show jumping was in the main arena and it was a decent track to jump. Both horses embraced the atmosphere and jumped foot perfect clear rounds. Quiz finished 14th in her 2* and Fritz 68th in his 3*. Not a bad effort as each class had over 100 entries including very well known riders and as always it is great to rub shoulders with them.
I cannot go without saying a huge thank you to Anna and Bob who are incredible owners of Fritz and Quiz. I would not be doing any of this without your support and I hugely appreciate the opportunity to compete with two lovely horses and do eventing full time. And what a venue Houghton Hall was to compete at and I am glad you both enjoyed yourselves too.
Hot off the press news for you all. My long-standing partner in crime Newferry Irish Mist (Misty) has for the time being retired from eventing. Misty is absolutely fine so please don’t panic! I know we all love her eagerness for the cross country especially myself, but the hard ground just isn’t very kind to her joints. Now we are going to focus on show jumping courses and having fun in the jump offs. And we did have fun together winning the Foxhunter at Houghton Hall and bringing home some prize money. For seven seasons we have progressed from the grassroots levels, the U18 programme and four seasons of intermediate. Often people have asked me why don’t you do an Advance on her? I just have never felt it is our gig. I know I have a good instinct when it comes to knowing what my horses can and can’t do. I am sticking with my gut with this one. You have to leave the start box with no doubts about your own or your horse's safety. It is a calculation of risk and it is part of horsemanship saying no that isn’t for us as a partnership. Stepping up to Advance is a journey for a different horse in my career. Misty is our family horse, but the rest of them have to earn their keep! It has been a huge help having had the RingCraft session over the last month which set us up for Houghton Hall.
It is very useful to have Alex’s expertise to explain what dressage judges are looking for in the tests 2*B and 3*B and how to polish off movements for an extra half mark. Also, we discuss how it feels as a rider for a certain movement and then how the judge is viewing the movements you are performing.
Next, we are off to Nunney International with a lorry full of a team of horses. Quiz is competing in her first CCI3*-S and Fritz is competing in the same class too. And Luna Eclipse and Fernhill City Bound are competing in the Novice. We are all set for gaining more experience and getting up the leaderboard for great results. Finally, thank you so much for reading the blog and keeping up with what I get up to with my horses. I am 100% looking forward to what June has in store for us. And from one horse lover to another…
Three cheers for our Queen! Alice x
