I have been flat out this week searching for a new yard and also organising a Fred Scala clinic in Cornwall next week. The horses have been ticking over although poor Ellie has taken a back seat which I guess does her no harm. Posy is this weekend off to Bicton for the BE100 on Sunday which we are looking forward to and we have a bit of run of events this month. We do Dauntsey a week on Monday and Wilton in the final weekend of the month.

No success on the yard search yet which is frustrating and quite a worry!

Still busy yard searching so if anyone is knows anything near the A30 between Chiverton and Camborne let me know.

In the meantime Posy had some BE training at Launceston on Monday with Tim Cheffings training. She was really good the session was only spoilt by the removal of a shoe at the end! We did a variety of combinations and she really has matured. Sadly with the clinic finishing at 830 and the A30 being closed I never made it to bed until midnight! Was it worth it? Guess so!

So forward on a week and today I did some work in the school with Posy focusing on some athletic exercises and then practising some corners after our issue at West Wilts. A good session and no hesitation on the corners!

Sorry update even later than expected as been a bit at 6s and 7s! Was told on Monday that the stables I have been renting at the yard will no longer be available and had notice to leave in a month. You can imagine the panic I am in. Not easy to find a yard within the geographical distance I need with room for a lorry. Keep your fingers crossed!

So looking back had a super time at Bicton with the girls even if the weather did try and spoil the first day!

Day 1 we had two classes entered in the lovely grass main arena. I have to say when I walked the first class the Newcomers having not jumped that height for a month I was rather nervous as it looked big. Matters were not helped when the rain started! There was a decent treble and the course caused problems.

It wasn’t our best round and a little green in places but she tried her heart out for me. The weather really came in after that and the ring cut up. It was perfectly jumpable but as we are on the limit of our experience currently I pulled out the jump off. I was really looking forward also to the 1 meter derby later in the day but although it had dried up the ground was quite tacky and I decided to pull out of that as well. Do sometimes wonder if I am a bit soft but at the end of the day she is precious.

What we did manage to do though was take Ellie out XC schooling. This was clearly quite a step up from her first baby schooling session. She was generally fabulous except she got keener and keener and tried to get faster and faster!

The next day was spend doing an 18 inch upright and teaching her to canter to and from it in the same rhythm. Finally the day after she settled back down. Super pleased how she is coming on.

Day 2 for Posy involved two classes and probably first off was her best round of the week a super double clear in the two phase Newcomers (jump off started after fence 8) where we finished 8th in a class of over 60. We then progressed to our first 1.15 class where we made 2 mistakes probably not helped by me knowing we were stepping up a class and therefore so keen to ride better I got worse!! The final day we jumped another Newcomers class. This time it was jumped the old fashioned way with a separate jump off. There was actually not many clears considering the size of the class as the water trays and wavy planks stopped a few horses. Posy was a little behind the leg but despite this jumped a good clear. The jump off was decent and I had some sharper spurs on, just lost some balance on the turn to the double and took the front rail (it was the bogey fence) but she jumped the rest great. Posy’s day wasn’t over as seemed a shame not to use the excellent cross country schooling facilities whilst I was there. Didn’t overdo things after a busy few days but focused on the water where we built up to jumping her in the Novice ways which is great progress for a horse that has taken her time to get used to water!

A lovely few days away and both girls learnt a lot.

Just heading off to Bicton for 3 days of jumping with both girls. Also have a BE clinic at Launceston with Tim Cheffings on Monday so don’t expect any updates on here until probably midweek.

I will try and post on Facebook but signal is patchy!

As regular readers know this year I have been selected as a worming ambassador for supplement solutions. This allowed me to have two horses on their annual strategic worming programme. Link

Last week we had a worm kit arrive for both horses and I took some poo samples and sent them back for analysis. A few facts :-

• Link to worm count kits
• Throughout the grazing season horses should be tested for roundworm using a faecal egg count – Supplement Solutions works in partnership with Westgate Laboratories who are renowned for their fast and effective service getting results back to customers.
• Worm counts are a useful tool from Spring-Autumn to detect a roundworm burden and any results over a medium count (200epg) needs treating.
• In most cases you will be able to alleviate the need to worm your horse across the grazing season, cutting down the amount of chemicals going into your horse and back out into the field.
• If a horse’s count shows they need treating a targeted dose of the correct wormer is an effective way to deal with the burden.
• Buying a worm count kit from an official stockist like Supplement Solutions means you receive helpful follow up advice from our award winning SQP Hannah who is on hand to answer any queries that you may have about worming!

So great news both horses had identical results, Posy and Ellie - <50epg no eggs seen. No worming needed whereas normally I would have wormed them now. All that poo picking is having an effect.

Yesterday Ellie had her first taste of cross country schooling and she was fantastic. Don’t get me wrong it was only tiny but her attitude was great and she was so bold. We had a couple of baby moments at a skinny and a decent step down but everything else she just took in her stride. In time her problem is most likely to be she is too bold!

The video takes you through most of the session Out of sight of the camera we also did a couple of decent ditches and water including popping and out a step. Our only near miss was at a fence in the woods when Ellie jumped big and left and landed us in some deep undergrowth, luckily we both remained together and in tact!