Milbry Hill Rider Ruby Todd, takes time out in Thailand to write about the season so far! My season so far has been full of ups and downs!
Scrappy and I had a very late start to the season like most others, due to the wet weather. But after what seemed like a lifetime, we finally got our first BE run out at Northallerton. We weren’t originally entered for Northallerton due to a family wedding the same weekend, but my mum thought it would be best to have a run around a track we knew well. Unfortunately due to Scrappy not feeling himself after dressage, not lame, but just not quite right, we show jumped as i thought it may have been a combination of first event of the season nerves from us both. However, we withdrew before cross country as the showjumping round was not great – always another day. Physio showed he was a little tight in his back, but nothing to stop him competing. So next we went Frenchfields, a new event that Scrappy absolutely loved! We didn’t get the best dressage due to Scrappy thinking a flying change was necessary, but he did a foot perfect double clear and we ended up in 8th place.

A week later and it was Millbry Hill Richmond Horse Trials, Scrappy did another perfect double clear and ended up just out of the placings.
Just when I thought we were back on track, I had to retire him at Belsay due to him not feeling himself – again! Dressage was satisfactory, sj wasn’t great and then he had a stumble into a xc jump! But we lived to see another day thankfully.

Next we had Warwick Hall, we gained a few faults showjumping, but I made sure we went clear cross country, picking up lots of time faults.
Then we had The Cooke Coachbuilders Skipton Horse Trials where we had our best dressage of the season and a clear showjumping round, I then had to retire him from cross country yet again, he felt as though he was to push round and didn’t seem to be enjoying it at all. Then after getting eliminated from the showjumping at Pony Club Area Eventing, and not doing a great test at the Pony Club Area Dressage we decided that we should get Scrappy some in depth investigations carried out (he had seen the vet, back lady and had physio so far throughout the season, but nothing was ever found to be significantly wrong). He went in to the vets overnight and had many tests done to try and find out what had been making him act so unlike himself. When we picked him up from the vets they informed us that he had done his offside hind suspensory ligament. This came as a shock as he has never been lame on it, there had never been any swelling nor heat.
After a few weeks of chilling in the field and getting shockwave treatment on his leg, he can now be brought back in to work, slowly.
But before finding out about what had happened to Scrappy, I went to try out a lovely horse – Colleen. I fell in love with her and we picked her up a few days later.

We had a little bit of a rushed start due to the fact that I had Pony Club Area Showjumping the next weekend! She was a star though and jumped two lovely rounds, despite the fact that I had only owned her for one week!

The same weekend Charmer had his first ever BE at Northallerton. Our preparation for his first event looked good on paper, however, just like most things, it didn’t quite go to plan. Despite plenty of schooling and training, and a few days down at Somerford Park, we didn’t actually get to an unaffiliated one day event and he hadn’t been inside the white boards of a physical dressage arena before either! However, he was an absolute massive star, being one of only two people that finished on their dressage score in our section! I was very very pleased to find out that our placing was 3rd!

I hope that Charmer will carry on being so willing to learn and look forward to getting home, back on the trio and to the rest of the season and I can’t wait to see what the future brings for Colleen and I! Scrappy will hopefully still be sound and ready to hunt come the start of autumn scent training.

-Ruby Todd

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