One of many discussions that have recently arisen between myself and the many people involved with Fergus’s training (tenuously or otherwise) is whether competing at a lower level is actively detrimental to both his scores and our performance. BD-day told me that some judges were always going to mark him harshly for his pony-ness and lack of flashiness, but could it also be telling me that there simply isn’t enough evidence in a simple preliminary level test of his training and correctness (for which you can read “awesomeness”).
So, what would happen if we ramped up the complexity of the test? Fergus is schooling medium at home, fairly well now with only the odd blip in simple changes if I don’t collect him enough for the downwards transition, and SI in trot which he has decided is much less fun than half pass or travers, and therefore he occasionally chucks his toys out of the pram about performing it. Now I’ve never ridden above novice, so that might be pushing it… But elementary – collection, mediums, a bit more counter canter, leg yield and much more going on in each test? That sounds right up Fergus’s street!
It was an experiment, as much as anything that made me enter E42 at Norton Heath two weeks ago. What have we to lose, I asked? My dignity was the only answer that sprang to mind, and I’ve never put much store by that anyway…
Norton Heath is as close to home as they come. Unaffiliated tests are cheap, so no financial outlay to put the pressure on. Small class sizes, so a nice quiet warm up. Lovely surfaced arena to ride in. This all adds up to a nice, low pressure day out, right?!
So the prerequisite bathing and plaiting and trailering aside, there we were, warming up with the lovely big outdoor warm up all to ourselves. Fergus was hot, by highland standards, and spooky, launching off my leg in every direction and staring at the birdies in the grass. But he warmed up sweetly:
We entered the main arena and, after pulling up in front of the judge’s box to show off his number, I sent him round the arena in the most medium canter I could muster – get him forwards, get him covering ground and moving. Then back and forth, back and forth, and down to trot, back and forth in the trot, SI down the long side, and a wide, sweeping turn on the the centre line.
The concentration from Fergus and myself was palpable, every part of my brain was dedicated to remembering the way, focussed on the plan I had formulated for every movement, every stride. And Fergus responded by dedicating his mind to me.
Until the second medium in canter, that is. F belted down the long side like a bat out of hell, I nearly let him cruise out of the end of the arena, and came around the short side giggling at him. A quick telling off for being “so professional” and resetting my “game face” meant I forgot to check him into the half 10m circle, resulting in a little blip, quickly recovered, but a break of pace none the less. Down the centre line we turned, and finished with the satisfaction that we’d survived without major disaster.
I was pleased with Fergus’s effort. He’d tried hard and done his job well. I could do better, but I hadn’t let the side down entirely (second canter 10m half circle aside). The scores would be low – that’s fine, I’m an amateur playing at a new level on a native pony who is all my own amateur work – I don’t expect miracles! I honestly cannot express my surprise when I saw the very encouraging 63.something%, or my amazement at his red rosette. It felt like one of “those” days – the sort you read about in pony books as a child where the protagonist takes her unlikely sports pony into a class beyond their level and wins despite everything.
I actually had the opportunity to have a word with the judge too – he overheard my expressions of shock at the results and piped in to explain that the blip in canter was well recovered and only cost a half mark, and he offered some words of encouragement about the rest of the test which I think pretty well left me in tears. In a good way. I may have declared my love for him at this point, which is what I do in these situations apparently…
So our elementary career has begun, with a bang. And this is apparently what Fergus thinks of the new level – “elementary, my dear blog-reader!”
The life and opinions of the Hot blooded Highlands 