Updates have been a bit on the low side lately but we’re riding, practicing and enjoying the summer. The young horses are still on the field but in the beginning of August I’m gonna start them up again. At our home in Bred we have Sture and Shaggy who are both 4 years old and Gino who’s 3. The plan is to start them up in Bred so they can spend all day and night outside. Then they’ll get the best of both worlds, practicing and loose housing for as long as the weather allows it. I have a great paddock and stables at our farm in Bred so I can keep them there as long as it’s warm enough to use the outdoor paddock.
The other month I went to Vansbro with Dennis, it was the last competition before Falsterbo. I really like the competitions in Vansbro, it’s always well organized and taken care of. I rode FEI’s preliminary 7 year test on the Saturday. We accomplished a pretty good performance but we had a major communication mishap in a half pirouette. It was too small so Dennis turned around and the canter discountinued. I could’ve supported him better so it was definitely on me. Despite the mistake we scored 76,46% and won. On the second day it was our debut in the FEI’s Final test. I had a great feeling during the warm up and it stayed with me through the competition. No mistakes and a new personal best with 78,22%. I was so pleased and for every competition we’re getting better.
After the competitions in Vansbro Dennis got to rest for a full week and the following week he just got to jog and hacking out. Both his body and mind needed some recovery and then we started the preparations for Falsterbo.
He seemed to be in harmony and I had a good feeling when we left for the competitions. But when we had arrived in Falsterbo he felt very anxious with the environment around the warm up area. It’s a very open and big space with cluttered surroundings. In the main arena he didn’t seems as affected as he was pretty relaxed and rideable. But the tension in the warm up area didn’t go away even though I did my best to keep him calm so I made the decision that it was best to withdraw from the competition. It was an easy decision for me since he was obviously insecure and was even protesting during the warm up. Even if he gave me a good feeling in the main arena when we were practicing I didn’t want to risk him having a bad experience there too so we walked back to the stables instead. I’m disappointed of course that Falsterbo didn’t turn out to be the way I had hoped but horses are flight animals and sensitive individuals. Everybody knows that Falsterbo is one of the most difficult places to compete at and Dennis doesn’t have that much experience yet. Things like this happens and he’s just as good of a horse as before this with great qualities and I’m just as good of a rider. Falsterbo is just another competition on the, hopefully long, journey we have ahead of us. We just have to analyze, learn and move on. Now he’s rested, he’s going to be checked by a veterinarian and then we’ll keep practicing and preparing him for new challenges.
Bobbo wasn’t competing in Falsterbo but he still got awarded. Bobbo and I received the honoring Per Johansson trophy which is given to a remarkable performance in the small round as well as it’s a promising horse and rider for the future. The members of the jury are Bo Jenå, national team coach Louise Nathorst and former national team member Anette Solmell. I feel so happy and honored to receive this award. I’ve been keeping Bobbo’s summer a little slower than his normal times. We’ve been hacking alot and just enjoyed the lovely weather. He’s matured a lot in the past year and I’m looking forward to increasing his training again and compete during the fall. I haven’t decided yet in which competitions we’ll participate but I’m really looking forward to being back in the road with him.
