Becky Ritchie

June 2011

2011-06-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

Since my last update there has been lots happening. Maddox has been ploughing on with his dressage, we have had lots of lessons and his lateral work is much stronger again. He has also started jumping and had another check up with the vet, he has had the all clear to keep progressing with his work which is great.

Bambi has been out eventing, he ran at Eland Lodge in April, he was rather fresh in his dressage so scored 38.5, 4 faults sj but clear xc with no time faults. Next was Milton Keynes for a 100+, he was good in the dressage but unfortunately the judge didn't really like him so he scored 37.6, again 1 down sj but clear xc and a couple of time faults as we weren't in a competitive position so I didn't push him.

Keysoe was next and he was fantastic, 26.5 dressage and double clear which should of won it for us but unfortunately the ground was running very fast due to the hard work the organisers had done on it and we clocked up 8 time faults for being too fast!!! I was very disappointed as this dropped us from 1st to 5th!!

Bambi then had his final run at 100 level at Shelford, 35 dressage and again double clear with 3.2 time faults as parts of the course were slippy from the rain that day but finished in 7th place. Next was his first Novice, we were first to go all day so he didn't get much time to trot around the arena before his test so wasn't as settled as I would of liked and scored 37.6, a lovely clear sj but an annoying run out xc at a double of corners on a curve, he got his turn but then turned too much, so we have lots of practicing to do!

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April 2011

2011-04-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately Bambi didn't run at Lincoln as he picked up a bit of a skin infection after Oasby. He will be running at Eland Lodge on 16th April. I took him to Arena UK schooling and he went very well.

Maddox has been out to do some more Dressage, he qualified for the Sheepgate Indoor Winter finals, he produced a good Novice test to score 67% for 3rd and then scored another 67% in the Elementary for 2nd. He then did his first Medium test and scored 64%, he tried hard but lacked some expression so we have lots to work on.

Cracking start to the season.

2011-03-14T01:48:00.000-07:00

I ran Durcouf (Bambi) and Spooky at an unaffiliated event on 26th Feb, Bambi completed with a 35 dr, double clear with some time xc for 3rd place and Spooky completed with a 29.5 dressage, 2 down sj and clear xc for 7th.

Bambi had his first affiliated run of the season at Oasby, he did a lovely dressage test for 33.5 which I think was the second best score in his section, he then jumped a lovely double clear with just 2.4 time faults xc for 3rd place!! I'm really pleased with how he has come on, he found all 3 phases very easy which is great. He will stay at BE100 a little longer as he has only done 5 now so I feel he needs more experience before moving up to Novice. Next stop is Lincoln on friday so fingers crossed for some good weather.

Maddox has been out doing a little bit of dressage, he has only had unaffiliated tests so far but always scoring in the high 60's%. He has also started cantering out as the ground is so good at the moment. I will hopefully start jumping him at the end of the month.

Thats all my news for now!!

2011-01-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Last week I took both the boys training to Arena UK, Maddox was very excited and a bit of a handful, the windy weather didn't help but it was good for him to be out. Bambi jumped a couple of show jump rounds, he was very good and keen.

I took them both to Laughton Manor for unaffiliated Dressage, both did two novice tests. Maddox won both his with scores of 71.2% and 69%, Bambi got two 3rd's with 63% and 62%. He still needs a bit more work but will soon get into the swing of it again.

We're off to Arena UK again tomorrow for more training and Bambi will hopefully being doing indoor xc at the weekend.

2011-01-07T11:07:00.001-08:00

January 2010

Maddox and Bambi came back from their holiday at the end of October, both were relaxed but pleased to be out of the weather. Bambi started back with some gentle work. Maddox went back to Oakham for another scan and was given the all clear to start working again. He is allowed to compete in Dressage and start some jumping in the spring which is great news. I had planned to have Bambi out to BSJA over the winter and Maddox to BD but the weather put a stop to all that.

Bambi was treated to a trip to the beach on New Years Eve to give him a change, he loved it but did take some persuation to go in the sea.

My plan now is to take both horses to Arena UK's training shows to get them out and about. Maddox will be registered to British Dressage and hopefully will himself some pennies to put towards a new jumping saddle. Bambi will be prepared for the season by doing some unaffilaited Dressage and Show Jumping, as soon as the ground is good enough we will be out xc schooling and possibly for a days hunting!!

September 2010

2010-09-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

Well I have now finished my season, its been really mixed...

After Belton I decided Maddox needed some confidence building so we had an xc lesson with Lucy which I found really helpful. He then did a pony club ode at Buckminster where he scored the best dressage of the day 18.8!! The show jumping caused no end of trouble, he had 3 down and time faults (this was relatively good!!) then jumped beautifully round the xc our only mistake being he slipped coming out of the water so didnt make the distance to the fence.

I also took Bambi to do the combined training, he did a lovley dressage of 27.5 and had 1 down sj with a couple of time faults to finish 2nd!! Very pleased with him. The week before he had done a little ode (75cm max) and won it so improvement all round with him.

I then had 3 horses entered for Cranwell ode, a mare called Spooky for a client, she went very well to finish 2th with a double clear. Bambi did a 34 dressage, 1 down and stormed round the xc but unfortunately we were too fast so picked up about 14 time faults!! Maddox was next to go but as I started studding him up I noticed he had half pulled a front shoe off and with no farrier on site I put him away again.

Maddox was then entered for Shelford BE100, he jumped a beautiful double clear with a 30 dressage but picked up 6 time faults which cost us first place, we finished 6th. I then took Bambi and Spooky to the Pony Club at Shelford, Bambi did the Intro course, 33ish clear sj but then spooked near the water, he just didn't understand what was being asked and there was too much for him to look at, we picked up 60 penalties but jumped perfectly round the rest of the course. Spooky did a 33 dressage in the Pre-novice, had a silly stop sj but flew xc to finish 4th.

Both my horses were then entered for BE at Little Downham, Bambi was first in the BE90, 33 dressage, 1 fence down and clear xc to finish 4th, very pleased with him. Maddox did 29.5 dressage in the Novice but unfortunately it all went to pot, 1 stop sj and 3 down with time faults, xc he went well and jumped lovely but stopped at the coffin, same fence as last year grr!

Bambi went to Milton Keynes for his final BE90, a poor dressage score of 39.5 ( lots of very high scored), 4 faults sj and clear xc to finish just out side the top 10.

We had training with Lucy that week which was really good, working on turns and related distances.

I took Maddox to Catton park the following weekend, he did an awful test but managed to come out with 32, warming up for show jumping he was not at all happy, stopping a lot and jumping to the left so I withdrew him from the rest of the competition. I wasn't too sure what was goin on so gave him a light couple of weeks then took him back to Lucy to have a look and to get some advice. It was decided he wasn't right so he was booked into Oakham. I have had concerns about him this year and wasn't sure he was 100% but couldn't find anything. On examination the vet found very slight lameness in front which was so hard to see, and on being scanned we found a minor tendon injury, it looks like a strike injury which was likely to be done in the field. So Maddox's season was cut short, never mind, hopefully he will recover well and be out next year.

Bambi went to Eland lodge for his 1st BE100, he scored a 28 in the dressage and then double clear to win his section! I was most surprised but it was exactly the boast I needed after Maddox's bad news.

Poor Bambi then had to sub Maddox in the BE100 open at Buckminster, 37 dressage, 4 faults but clear xc, he had some time as I took the long route at the corner, I didn't feel he was quite ready for it, but he finished really well. Time for a short break for him.

He was then entered for Carlton but had a slight accident in the stable a few days before which resulted in a swollen knee and a quick trip to Oakham. He is fine and it was nothing more than some bruising and sweling.

2 more events left for Bambi, Shelford 31.5 and double clear left him in 2nd then Winkburn, 33 and again double clear left him in 4th. I am completely thrilled with how he has come on and matured this year. I am pleased to of ended his season on a good note with some fab results.

I have also been doing a bit with Jimy this summer (horse I broke 2 winters a go) he has done some dressage shows scoring 65%, he's done some unaffilated show jumping and is getting better everything. I took him to Wragby show to have a go at some showing, he finshed 3rd in Ridden Horse (he's not actually a ridden horse type) and we then entered him in the Working Hunter, the jumps were put quite big, ranging from 2ft6 to 3ft but he flew round and did a loevly individual show to win it!!

Maddox has been back to the vets, lots of improvement so was allowed to be turned out for 6-8 weeks, Bambi has joined him for a little holiday. I am hoping both horses will be out competing in December, Bambi BSJA and Maddox BD.

2010-04-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

A quick update on the boys progress so far this season.

Maddox competed at Lincolnshire in the Novice, he went lovely in his Dressage test and I think that was the best he'd ever gone at that level but only got a mark of 33.5, having looked at the scoreboards I think the whole section was harshly marked. He then produced a lovely show jump round just lowering one fence which he barely touched. Across country we had one silly run out at 4b, a narrow fence under the trees which was a bit spooky. I took a couple of long routes on him at difficult fences as he can be a bit sticky at his first couple of events, unfortunately I crossed my tracks at one of the long routes therefore collecting another 20 penalties.

Burnham Market was next, it always seems to take forever to get there and I think Maddox felt the journey, he came out for Dressage a bit flat and didn't go very well but still managed to get 33.5. I had a couple of hours before my show jumping so I fed Maddox and a new horse came out of the lorry raring to go, he jumped a beautiful clear round which I was delighted with as the ground was getting pretty deep. Cross country didn't go to plan, some how Maddox managed to forget how to jump at first fence and laid on it getting his foot stuck. It was then evident by fence 8 he wasn't comfortable so we pulled up. The next day he had a swelling between his front legs and was quite stiff, so he had some treatment and rest.

I had already done my entry to Belton so decided to take him for the Dressage and Show jumping, he produced an accurate test for 35.5, again I feel the judge was possibly marking a bit harshly. He then jumped a lovely round with just one down. His show jumping has improved so much recently, I have been changing how I ride him and it seems to be paying off. I withdrew from cross country as he had missed a whole week of work and lost some fitness.

Maddox is now going to have some quite time as I don't want him to burn out too soon from Eventing.

Bambi has been super, I have taken him for a couple of schooling sessions at Arena UK over show jumps, he jumped everything put in front on him. I also cross country schooled him, I am pleasantly surprised with how good he's been. I have also done 2 Hunter Trials with him, both went better than expected. I will now keep building on this and go to some different places schooling so he can see as much as possible. He has been entered for 2 unaffiliated ode's then depending on how they go I will look to get him registered and out to do some BE90 classes.

Feb 2010

2010-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

Some very good news to report, Maddox has been out doing some more affiliated Dressage and had won 5 out of 5 Novices and 2 out of 3 Elementary. He now has 32 points in just 5 outings. He will definitely be out doing more throughout the year, I think it will be very beneficial towards his Eventing. It will also give us the opportunity to get qualified for the Regional Finals and compete against some strong competition.

Bambi has also done some Dressage, only unaffiliated though but he was super, he is so much more focused and confident now, he scored 68% in his Prelim and 69% in Novice to win both classes. I also took him for a days hunting and he behaved beautifully and did everything asked of him including jumping some big dyke's!!

My plan with Maddox now is to get him cross country schooled and over a show jump course as his first Event is Lincoln on 20th March. I am still really excited about him and can't wait to get cracking this season, my main aim is to be competing successfully at Novice and to get qualified for the Regional Finals, then to upgrade to Intermediate and possibly aim for a 1* towards the end of the season.

Bambi is also going to be cross country schooled this spring and I am hoping to aim him at some Hunter Trials and unaffiliated one day events before affiliating him.

2010-01-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

January 2010.

Well not quite the start to the year I had wanted. I had to have another operation on my shoulder at the beginning of December. So the horses had a short break, well Maddox only got 3 days off as I was determined to ride sling and all! Before the operation I took Maddox for a couple of days hunting which he loved, much to my surprise, he was very calm and sensible (very unlike him). I also took him to his first British Dressage competition where he won the novice with over 70% which I thought was incredible as he had done a full days hunting the day before and we went wrong in the test and lost 2 marks.

Other than that the snow has stopped play, so will hopefully cram as much work as possible into the few weeks left before the season starts.

2010-01-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

Since my last post I have been very busy with work, I had quite a lot on and was riding up to 8 per day!!

Right back to Maddox's competition, since our little blip at Buckminster he has been xc schooling again and I've been making him jump corners every day in the school. I then took him to Solihull where he performed well with a dressage of 32 then jumped double clear but unfortunately I hadn't realised the time was so tight and we came home with 6.8 time faults which left us in 8th place.

Then it was time for his first Novice at Winkburn, after a bit of a worrying start to the day when Maddox decided to run whilst I was tacking him up it luckily all improved. Joint 1st after the dressage on 32.5, 4 faults sj and clear xc with some time faults which I expected as I hadn't pushed him for the speed and took one long route. So made up with 15th place.

I took him for the BE100 Regional Finals at Cleobury, he again put in another good performance although I could feel him boredom in the simpler dressage test and hoped he wasn't going to do anything silly which thankfully he didn't and finished on our dressage score of 32 for 5th place!

We then went back to Novice for the last couple of events which weren't quite so successful, good dressage tests a 33 at Keysoe and finally a sub 30 at Little Downham, a rail down in both events in the sj. Xc had 2 stops on both tracks so we will be practicing hard over the winter.

Bambi has been out unaffiliated show jumping and is now jumping much better, not quite so big and cat like but with more control and class. He has also been doing a little bit of dressage and went to the summer championships that he qualified for at sheepgate where he finished 6th in the prelim.

Plans for the winter Maddox is going to have some quiet time but no holiday then will do some affiliated dressage and as much jumping as possible. Bambi lots and lots of hacking to increase his confidence and fitness.

2009-07-17T02:33:00.001-07:00

I had the all clear from the Dr to start riding again the last week in may, so I got straight back in the saddle. Since then Bambi has been out doing some dressage, scoring 65.65% in his first test and he has done some unaffiliated jumping which he's really enjoying. Maddox has been eventing, first event not as good as normal, but it turned out only 2 people in my pre-novice section completed the xc clear!!!

Next I took him to Little Downham where he did a 32 dressage, an annoying 4 faults show jumping and a really good confident xc round. He finished in 4th place. Eland Lodge was next and another good performance, 31.5 dressage which is what he finished on for 3rd place. Then was Buckinster 32 dressage again, clear sj but a stop at the corner xc, he hasn't been quite as good over these this year so some more home work needed. If he had gone clear he would of been placed 2nd!!

I have been having some training with Lucy Henson for jumping which is proving very useful, currently he is happy just working at 60% of his ability so we're trying to find away to get more. Same with his dressage, I'm trying to get some sub 30 marks as I know he is more than capable of achieving it!

I am now planning on a couple more pn's then moving to novice, I think he will enjoy the challenge as he needs a lot of stimulation to keep his interest.

2009-02-19T01:14:00.000-08:00

Well some good news and some bad to report. Good news, all the horses have been performing well, Bambi is jumping round 85cm and 95cm really well, he's ready to affiliate now. Maddox is jumping Newcomers and although couple of rails down he is really trying and giving me some fantastic jumps. Jimmy is broken and riding well, started some hacking which he's enjoying, his owner is now taking over the ride and moving him home in next couple of days.

Bad news, I am completely off the road having broken my collar bone last week. A clients horse very kindly pulled me off my feet on the lunge, unfortunately I landed on my shoulder and neck, because of how the bone is now sat I need an operation to straighten it with a plate otherwise it will be deformed and weak.

So the horses are officially on holiday for about 6 weeks then I'm hoping to get some eventing done in second half of the season.

New Year

2009-01-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

I now have another horse in called Jimmy, he has come for breaking livery. He is going well under saddle now and has started some pole work.

The new year has started well competition wise, I took both Maddox and Bambi out to do some jumping on the 3rd Jan. Bambi is showing a huge amount of scope, he jumped round the clear round jumping huge over every fence so I entered him in the British Novice where he had just 4 faults at the last due to me not lining him up right. Maddox was double clear British Novice to finish 2nd and jumped a clear round in the 95m open.

The plan now is to get Maddox jumping round some bigger tracks and I also want to do some indoor xc clinics and the JAS class before the start of the event season. Bambi will be out competing in jumping and Dressage, when he is ready he will also xc school.

2008

2008-11-01T02:30:00.000-07:00

This has been my first full year up and running. I have been out competing on Maddox, have success in both British Eventing and BSJA. We had a slightly late start with the eventing as Maddox pulled a muscle in his back and had to have some time off. However once up and running has progressed extremely well.

First event at Bishop Burton doing his first Intro. It was a mixed day, riding in strong wind has never been an issue for Maddox and he produced an excellent dressage of 30.5 on his first attempt. It then didn't go quite to plan with a rail down in the showjumping and a refusal, both due to the arena being next to a barn full of cows!! Cross country I was quite pleased with although we picked up 40 faults, he gave me a good ride and showed me that he does have a lot of promise.

Little Downham Intro was next, we had a tyre blow out 25 minutes after we left home and didn't get moving again for nearly 3 hours!! Luckily I was allowed to slot in at the end of the class, he produced another excellent dressage for a score of 30, the best in his section all day. He then managed a double clear to win his section, which I was delighted with.

We were balloted from Catton Park where I planned to run him in the pre-novice so we re-routed to Eland Lodge for another Intro, again another consistent performance from Maddox. 30.5 dressage, double clear but we picked up 8.4 time faults to leave us in 6th place.

Maddox's next run was Buckminster Park doing his first pre-novice. He produced what I felt was a good dressage for him scoring 34.5, lowered one rail showjumping but gave me a fantastic clear cross country, he was really confident and eager to get over every fence. We finished on 38.50 to leave us in 6th place.

I then withdrew from Carlton as Maddox had put his hind leg over the electric fencing the morning before so I felt it was better to withdraw than risk further injury or lost confidence.

Next event was Solihull, another good dressage scoring a 30 again. We had an unlucky two rails down showjumping, both rails Maddox barely touched and they just rolled off. Again he gave me another fantastic ride across country, even jumping the beach balls before the water without even looking at them. We finished in 6th place again on his dressage score.

I was quite disappointed with the show jumping at Solihull so I decided to take Maddox for some training with Dale Burnham, was has actually worked wonders.

I then took Maddox to Draycott House, where we didn't have a great dressage scoring 36, he was a bit upset by the midgies and got a little bit tight through his body. He then however jumped a super double clear to finish on his dreaasge score in 9th place.

I was then planning on running at Winkburn but bad weather meant it was cancelled. So next run was Burnham Market, another good dressage of 30, this time thanks to Jess my dressage trainer, we had worked on the test as Maddox was finding some parts difficult being such a big horse. a lovely clear round show jumping but 40 faults cross country, both I take full blame for, a combination of the 3.30am start and me having flu meant my reactions with not up to scratch. So we had a bit of home work to do.

The last event I ran Maddox at was Oasby, in hindsight I think it was one event too many. An average dressage of 33.8, he didn't have his usual sparkle. One rail down show jumping, again a bit laboured. Cross country was a struggle and we didn't complete. Two refusals at the sunken road was very out of the ordinary for him. We then had a run out at fence 7, which we jumped on the second attempt , I then retired him knowing there were still more questions later on in the course and something wasn't quite right. The fence judge decided we had two refusals at 7 so eliminated us. I have challenged this with no success.

Since then Maddox has been having a well earned holiday and I have been concentrating on getting Bambi going. He was bought as a project in August. So far I have had him out a couple of times jumping to get him used to seeing different things. He has a very big jump but still needs some more work on his technique. Now just getting ready for the indoor season with both horses.