Georgie and I have been going to Ickworth park since we were in pony club so a few weeks when we realised that the Suffolk Hunt Pony Club were hosting a One Day Event me and Georgie quickly felt it would be a lovely change of pace for her to have a try at this. Georgie and B don't compete at BE due to the high cost (that money goes on the girls and ponies etc) so it was a nice opportunity to do a great unaffiliated ODE. We went and walked the course on Saturday, channelling our inner Badminton and discussed lines, take offs etc and found the course a nice full up 100cm that was very much like a BE course in technicality and jump questions.
Francesca for height reference !
Another really hot day Sunday and we got there in a good amount of time for me to get B off, him have a good look where he was and stud him up while Georgie went and had her hat and back protector checked. Georgie gave herself plenty of time to warm up so we tacked up and got up to the collecting ring. B was feeling rather excited to be at this wonderful venue as we've come cross country schooling before and with the start and first 3 fences nearby was very keen to get jumping rather than prancing round a dressage arena.
He went nicely after a slightly tense start and got a score of 35.9 which was in the better half of the mid-range results.
We had a couple of hours to kill so we found some rare shade and sat and had a picnic as Dad and Georgie's husband Keiron had arrived with the girls so we had the whole family here!
After a nice bite to eat and a rest out of the beating sun Georgie and I tacked up B and got him ready to go to the warm up. We luckily got there quite early to warm up but soon after it did get really quite full and buzzy. Georgie had about 10 people in front of her before her round and the course was proving a full up technical show jumping and a good few were having poles down. B went in the ring very exhuberant and jumped out of his skin, leaving a big distance from the poles until the planks..
Everyone had been having the dreaded Suffolk Pony Club planks down and sadly B was one of them, he just got a little close and wasn't able to snap his legs up in time. The good thing about his exhuberancy was that he made the time and didn't get any time faults compared to quite a lot of others.
So with just the 4 faults we only had a short time for Georgie to get changed in to her cross country base layer and making her way to the cross country collecting ring.
In this time I walked as fast as I could on to the middle of the course to get as many photos as I could. It was clear from the start that Georgie and Beanie were going to have a great round. B absolutely LOVES cross country, he powers round and doesn't even quibble at the fences, no matter the size of complexity. He used to not be a fan of ditches but doesn't even bat an eyelid at them now!
Times for both show jumping and cross country were quick so Georgie didn't get any time faults for either.
After Georgie has whizzed round he was cooled off, walked and then washed off while we quietly packed up the car after a long day at Ickworth Park. Luckily it's a nice venue not far away so we were home relatively quickly where B was brushed and immediately upon getting into his stable he flopped down in his fluffy straw bed for a well earned roll, which he greatly enjoyed by the sounds of his grunts as he rolled around on his back itching.
Results have been posted this lunchtime and sadly Georgie was just 2 points away from the ribbons. First was 30 points on the dot, with 10th being 37.85, so Georgie's final score of 39.19 means she was 11th out of the 30th competitors who took part. Really not bad at all considering the last one day event Georgie and B did was around 3 years ago, if not 4 years ago!
Not just a show horse aye!
We all had a lovely time at this fabulous event. It was well organised, everything was on time, the other competitors were so friendly and nice and most important these two had the best time together.
We really believe that variety is the spice of life, not just for humans but for horses too and it's very good for their brain to do different events and activities to keep their brain fresh and happy. B is a very good example of a horse who shows, but doesn't just show and he's so so happy for it!
Did anyone else manage to get round some of the BE events still held this weekend? I'd love to see and hear how you got on!
We have our first county show in a couple of weeks so we're looking forward to that, while I'm (Sophie) grooming at South Suffolk Show this coming weekend!
Over and Out
Georgie and Sophie x
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