In just a few days time Boy and I will be jumping in the arena at Aintree International Equestrian Centre competing in the Dodson & Horrell Amateur and Veteran Championships! I couldn't be more excited and the run up has been so positive.
Boy and I have been out jumping every weekend to build our confidence and keep the practise up. I had an excellent time competing at Arena UK on 31 October in their Spooktacular show. We jumped in the 1m open class and only had one rail down in the first round and then in the 1.05m open class we only had one fence down in the jump off. Even though we didn't win anything, we had a fun day and got back into the atmosphere of a really big crowd as there were over 100 people in each of our classes – a lot of competitors!
We had a successful day on 8 November at Field House Equestrian Centre. We just had one fence down in the 95cm jump off and then we came sixth in the 1m open. That was our last show until the finals, so all the hard work has paid off so far.
Lots of preparation has to take place off the horses back for a big show so it’s operation ‘clean everything’. Boy’s tack has to be cleaned along with all of his show rugs, numnahs and boots. All my show clothes are being cleaned and my boots are being polished. With the show being at least three days long we have to have plenty of clean clothes to go into the arena with. Our trailer has also had a wash and clean as Boy must travel in style!
Boy also needs more preparation than just his training to be a show jumper; he must also look like one too. He has had a clip, had his mane and tail pulled, had his feathers trimmed and on the day we leave for Aintree he will have a bath so that he is looking at his best. Boy received a massage last week and is feeling much better for it, I occasionally get back and muscular pains from the amount of riding and physical work I do therefore I decided that if I want to stay in tune with Boy my body needs to be feeling as good as his. So this week I'm off to see a sports massage therapist.
My mum who is a massive support to me at shows will be coming along to help and support me during the week of the Championships. The rest of my family and my boyfriend will hopefully be joining us at the weekend if we make it through to the Grand Prix finals.
With only a couple of days to go it’s all a bit of a mad cleaning and preparation frenzy but I really can't wait to be there as all the hard work will have been worth it. Wish me luck!
