Thursday 17 August 2017

Here's to His Health


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.

Keep everything crossed for us this weekend purleeeeeeeeeease!
 
V&R x