I think I mentioned that Romy had a sore leg
(mild ligament strain to be precise) a while ago and we realised after a LOT of investigation that it was compensation
due to him having a sore lumbar region. With a few tweaks, including him now
being turned out overnight (in rainy Ireland...shit buzz), he’s back to his
amazing self and has finally got his zing back. His physio Niamh has been kept
busy with him but has done such an amazing job. Not only has she kept his
muscles comfortable, she has been the first to spot anything out of the
ordinary and I know she will be my second pair of eyes for a long time to come.
It astounds me how many dressage horses out there don’t get regular physio /
osteo / chiro appointments. Romy sees Niamh every 4-6 weeks, Rob Jackson when
he’s in Ireland and I still use his equilibrium massage pad and heat pad before
and after every ride as well as other ad hoc chiro / acupuncture treatements. I’ve now had four separate saddlers check his saddle and
have gone through four models in a year to ensure he is comfortable (Fairfax
Gareth is where we’re at now) and while I know not everyone can afford this
level of attention, it’s important to do what you can to help your horse be the
best athlete it can be. I think it’s so easy for owners to focus on what the
horse is looking like on the outside and the visual effect it offers and forget
what could be going on underneath it all. In my humble opinion, if there’s one
thing an owner should do, it’s take care of your horses back, especially if it
is a dressage horse.
So, less of the preaching and back to the fun
stuff! We went out competing a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to update with
photos but unfortunately didn’t get many (really need to hire that minion soon)
so this is just a quick update to say Romy was the best behaved boy, a little
stiff in the first test but I’m still learning what’s best for him and a longer
warm up is most definitely best for him. We still managed just under 65% in the
Elementary 43 and then he warmed up beautifully for the second test and did
what I thought was a really lovely test. We ended up on just under 66%, which I
found it a little odd because we only got 6.5’s, 7’s and 7.5’s throughout the
entire test but then got three 6’s in our collectives (with a 6.5 for riding) and
as they are double scores they brought the end score down. I’m currently
training to be a judge and I thought the collectives should reflect the entire
test so it seemed a little unfair to me but I guess that’s dressage for ya! I
was really happy with how he went and he was forward, supple and content and to
me that’s the most important thing. Apart from winning, obvs...I kid, I kid. But I still see big things for Romy's future and I'm sure his scores will increase along with his confidence and experience (I often forget that he has only been to 5 competitions ever!).
Our scores meant we have qualified for the dressage
summer nationals in Cavan International Equestrian Centre in Ireland this September at
Elementary level. This also means we can ride Elementary freestyle so I FINALLY
get to whip out my Phil Collins number, wahoooo! And I’m jumping on the great
feeling that Romy is giving me and am going to try qualify at Medium level too.
We are out this weekend doing M61 and M76 so fingers crossed we get at least
one qualifying score. I have 2 more chances to try to qualify after this so NO
PRESSURE VICTORIA...JUST BRING HOME THE GODDAMN RED!
It’s definitely annoying me that we haven’t yet
won a class but with a suspensory strain that was never going to be easy. Also,
the classes in Ireland are bloomin HUGE, my last class had 23 riders in it...NO
FAIR. And I find the judges tend to be a bit more stingey with their markings in Ireland, compared to the UK. So all these yellow and blue rosettes are NOT boding well for my
competitive streak and love of red rosettes. Still, I feel it in my waters...we’re
due one ANY day now. Any day. Twitch.
