08/06/2026
I've been so terrible with updates recently! I don't know where the time goes.
Yesterday was the second working equitation show of the league and our 3rd go at the Novice class.
We attended one of Hayley's clinics last weekend and had practised some of the bits that we'd got stuck on at the previous show so I was looking forward to seeing if we could improve our Ease of Handling score.
It was a bit of a mixed warm up, there was some nice bit but I also couldn't wait to get him inside so I could have his full attention. In the field beside the arena, the cross country jumps had been put out which offended him so that long side wasn't pleasant to ride. In the field beside this was some sort of dog handling event with 5 or 6 dogs and their handlers - he likes dogs so was interested in this whilst simultaneously being offended by the fences. Down in the bottom field was R&D riding club dressage which he kept trying to giraffe at so overall, there was a lot for me to compete with for his attention (he's SO nosey). He's also freshly clipped which I think added to the attitude somewhat.
We went in for our round and as we went inside he suddenly went 'oh yeah, forgot you were up there' and engaged his brain. There was a lot of improvement from last time but also some silly little things that ought not have been an issue.
Improvements:
- overall he was more 'with me' and our transitions were (mostly) better, with an improved use of the space
- the sideways pole was much better, he just caught it on the last step
- our slalom was more balanced and even
- the bull line wasn't as rushed
- the pen has better bend
Not so improved:
- he fought me a bit on the reinback bell and tried to turn round
- 2 barrels was untidy and he went on the wrong leg right canter circle
There's still plenty to work on but I was pleased with the things that had improved.
We didn't have long to wait for the speed round as nobody wanted to re-walk the course and we were keen to get to the best bit! We went in, the bell rang and cotton eyed Joe started blaring - I can't put into words, the feeling that I get from him when he gets in there for the speed round. He's SO up for it and I don't have a single doubt that he's with me. He zoomed through the start and we turned back on ourselves to go down the slalom and straight into the pen, then on to the gate where he was so offended that I'd asked him to stop flying around that he planted and we had to have an argument about completing it. Swiftly on to the bull line and I almost missed the vara because of the angle in that I took but we were quickly down that and round to the cup where he had to have another argument before heading to the sideways pole. He went sideways very quickly and I don't think there was much in it but the pole didn't stay up (lots more work needed on this). Down the long side and through the barrels at an angle, sharp turns to complete the right and left circle then straight into the reinback bell where we made a quick exit (losing some tail because he stepped on it 🙈) before shooting down and over the bridge, zooming for the finish.
It was SO much fun and it took him a while to calm down when we got outside. He kept trotting off anytime I patted him or scratched his neck 🤯
We came 2nd to Ali & Wobert again which I'm super pleased with. We improved our EOH score by over 3% from last time.
Well done to everyone who took part and super huge thank you to HSR Equestrian and everyone involved in such smooth running of the day.
Coblet enjoyed being reunited with his buddy Wobert, even if he was stroppy with him to start with!
