28/08/2026
ππYesterday was the day, we FINALLY did our first competition ππ
I didn't feel that Douglas was quite ready, but also felt like I needed to bite the bullet. So we went up to our local venue Chard Equestrian for the unaffiliated dressage and completed two Intro tests - nothing spectacular, I just wanted to get him in the ring.
It was perfect for Douglas, as it was nice and quite and although he was on edge, he behaved incredibly well and got two 67.5% (not sure on placing)! Lots of tension, a couple of spooks, my straight lines weren't particularly straight, my circles weren't particularly round and my free walk we practiced our π¦ giraffe stance, when he saw some horses being turned out π€¦ββοΈπ€£ BUT we were in the ring and we were doing it π The smile on my face at the end halt couldn't have been bigger π I'm very proud of how well he coped and will now continue producing him and building on our partnership πͺ
For the first time in a while, I actually feel like we might get there one day ππ
An added bonus, we also managed to load within a couple of minutes π earlier in the week this took me an hour. Thankyou to the kind Lamberts Castle ladies that tried to help me, you'll be pleased to hear that once everybody had gone and it was quiet he went in π€¦ββοΈ
Huge thankyou to everybody that's helped me along the way and especially to Julia Auger for being my extra pair of hands on the day, it's much appreciated! β€οΈ Also to my huge support team for turning up to cheer us on on such an important day, a real milestone, Hannah Aplin Sally Bell Dressage Toni Taylor Tom Chubb Lyn Marsden Paul Marsden & Rosco. It means so much more to me than you know β€οΈ Walker Equine Vets Equine Products UK