In A Bit of Bother Bitting issues for Arabella Clegg
Well, by the time you read this I will no longer be a teenager! Does this mean I have to start growing up and acting like an adult? I hope not!!
What bizarre weather we’ve been challenged with over the last couple of months. One minute all events are being abandoned as they are waterlogged, the next the ground resembles tarmac.
After the disappointment of Withington and Hambledon being cancelled, we were relying on Aston le Walls to run. The team at Aston did a fantastic job. After having to cancel 4 days one week, they put on an extra day the following Monday to accommodate 6 intermediate sections and one novice regional final. Strangely, the ground was quite firm! However, the courses were fantastic.
Arabella competing at Pontispool Photo by Jayphotos
Molly produced a nice test for the first time in an intermediate in a snaffle rather than a double bridle in which I have previously ridden her. I’ve decided she is more relaxed and less tense in a snaffle. Unfortunately my riding in the show jumping affected the way Molly jumped. The distances were quite long for a small horse like her and I didn’t allow her to open and stretch for the strides in
Photos by Jayphotos & Tim Wilkinson
the related distances. So she was getting too close to a few which meant 16 faults were collected, but a foot-perfect clear round cross country made it feel like a pre novice.
Ruby performed what I and others thought was a very nice test, but she was harshly marked with a score of 40. However that wasn’t as bad as the next phase in the day! It turned out the bit we had in was too sharp and she wasn’t jumping in her usual easy, calm way. Instead she was tense and tight, jumping ‘away’ from the bit. So she actually had a couple of stops, which is very unlike her, but she went on to complete, ending up with a bit of a cricket score. However, she made up for it by putting in a superbly confident round over her first Intermediate course.
Technically she jumped a clear round but, on paper, she picked up 20 penalties. I decided to put in a circle at the third element of a combination as she had jumped so big and bold over the middle part. Also I wanted her to get straight to the final skinny to give her time to see where she was jumping.
Ruby was always entered at Tweseldown in the novice just
Arabella with L’Aurore Choral (Ruby) and Danse de Feu (Molly)
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