After our shocking dressage test at Werribee it was clear that Whisper and I had some training to do. After a few weeks of focusing on Dressage we entered a pony club dressage competition at Bacchus Marsh. We did two very nice tests to come 2nd and 3rd and champion overall.

Two weeks later we did another dressage competition at Ballarat Pony Club. Our tests we alright although Whisper was scared of the row of trees behind the arena and was a little rushed in canter. We managed to come 1st and 3rd to get champion overall.

We also competed at Werribee Pony Club 2 day event in Grade 3. Our dressage test was quite nice apart from one of our canter transitions. After Dressage we were sitting =2nd. Our Show jumping round was a little messy as it was our first one for a while but we managed quite a nice round with only one rail. Cross country was going to be interesting as it got really windy and we also had to jump into water which had been Whispers main issue. She was quite excited and got a little strong at some points but jumped really well not even hesitating at the water and going clear to come 2nd overall.

Over the last few months I have been very busy being out competing alot with ESB Irish Whisper.
We have competed in two rounds of the Barwon Equestrian Dressage Series in Grade 3. in the first round one of our tests was pretty average and we place 9th but managed to get it together in the second test to come 4th. At the second round we had improved alot and managed two very nice tests to come 1st and 3rd and 3rd overall for the day.

We also competed in a pairs ride with one of my friends which was a challenge as our horses both have very different striding. In the pairs ride we did a rehearsed dressage test and an unrehersed test which we were given for 10 minutes to memorise. We managed two very nice test and came 2nd at Zone eliminations which meant that we qualified for states. Two months later we competed at States. Our rehearsed test was quite nice and we managed to come equal first though our unrehearsed test was very messy which pushed us down to 4th overall.

I also competed at Kardinia International College's interschool competition in the 90cm showjumping. We managed to go clear in the first round but knocked a rail in the second round which meant that we didn't go through to the jump off. Although we didn't do the jump off we still managed to come 6th.

Our next event was Woady Yaloak Horse Trials. On the Saturday we had dressage and Showumping. We did one of the best dressage tests we have done so far which put us in 6th place. we managed to follow that up with a clear round in showjumping which pushed us up to 4th place. On the Sunday it was time for Cross Country. Whisper started out by testing me and trying to run out at the first jump but when she failed she gave up and was perfect for the rest of the round and we managed to go clear and under time. This meant that we came Third overall!!

Over the school holidays there was a week long competition held at Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre. On the Wednesday we competed in the 80cm Combinded Training. Our dessage wasn't our best but we still managed to come 7th with 64%. Whisper flew around the show jumping, going clear to put us in 5th place overall. On the Thursday and Friday we did the 75cm showjumping going clear in two of the rounds coming 9th in one and 7th in the other.

on the 19th and 20th of July we competed at the Eventing Victoria Fundraiser at Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre in the Intro section. Our dressage test wasn't our best as Whisper was quite tense and focusing on the scary shapes on the other side of the trees beside the arena. we still managed to get 61% although we were in 24th place. later that afternoon we had Showjumping in the Indoor. To begin with Whisper was a bit nervous being in the indoor and didn't want to go anywhere near the walls but after alot of encouragement she decided that they weren't that scary and she was totally fine. We did a very nice round going clear which pushed us up to 22nd. On the sunday we had cross country. coming into the first jump she again was testing me, seeing if she could get away with running out though quickly decided that she wasn't going to get away with it and jumped every jump perfectly. We had a great round which was heaps of fun, going clear to push us up to 16th place.

 

 



Febuary 2014

At the end of January I competed at the Geelong Showjumping Competition held at Drysdale with ESB Irish Whisper and ESB Irish Rumble. It was Rumbles second competition so he started out a little nervous having so many horses rushing around him but was completely unfased by the bunting that was blowing around in the wind. We started out doing the 50cm round to step up a little from the last competition. He was still not quite comfortable cantering into the jumps so we started out trotting. By the second day of the competition we had steped up to the 65cm round and he was getting much more confident, starting to understand that it is easier to canter into the jumps.

Whisper and I started with the 80cm round and managed an easy clear round so moved on to the 90cm round in which we knocked one rail. The next day we did the 75cm round going clear even though the ground was a bit slipery and Whisper was struggling to keep her footing and managing to come 6th.


On the 16th of Febuary I did Drysdale Leopold Pony Club HT with ESB Irish Whisper in the Grade 3 section. In the warm up for the dressage she was a little bit strong and full of energy but by the time we got to the test she was much better and we managed a very nice test coming 5th. The showjumping course was very simple and we did a very nice round going clear which put us up into 4th place. I had never jumped her into water before this competition so I was a little bit worried about the water jump on the cross country course so when I came into I didn't push her forward enough to be able to jump it properly so we got 1 refusal. on the second go we made it in and Whisper did a big leap down. Around the rest of the course she was an absolute star and seemed to be loving it! Overall we didn't do too badly coming 7th on a count back.

January 2014

I started out 2014 with a trip up to Vanessas with ESB Irish Whisper, Rumble and Judge (Judge Judy) for a week. We spent the week working to get Rumble ready for his first competition and to be able to ride Judge Judy for the first time. Rumble was perfect all week and we even started to canter into some small small showjumps and went out and schooled over some x-country jumps. By the end of the week he was well and trully ready to get out competing.

We started out ponying Judge Judy out around the bush off of Whisper. She was so good that within a couple of days she was ready for me to get on and be ponied around the bush. after a lap around the bush we went into the round yard where we were let off the lead and were able to walk and trot all by our selves! the next day we went for a ride around the bush off the lead with the only problem being that she didn't quite understand what I was asking when I used my legs.

ESB Irish Rumble (45cm round)

ESB Irish Whisper (90cm Round)

On the 11th and 12th of January I competed at Terang Showjumping with ESB Irish Whisper and Rumble. It was a little bit scary for Rumble as it was his first competition. On the Saturday I started out with a 30/35 cm round on Rumble which went surprisingly well. He was quite nervous in the warm up because there were lots of small ponies which kept coming very close to him. Once we were in the ring he calmed down alot more and seemed to have a heap of fun. over the weekend we did 5 rounds of showjumping and managed to work our way up to a 50cm round. Whisper started out doing an 80cm round and only knocked one rail. over the weeked we managed to work our way up to doing a 1m round which was slightly messy and we knocked 3 rails but it was also the highest that we had jumped together.