Update from The Fork

Susie Beale; Friday April 3rd.

Just a quick update from The Fork Horse Trials, North Carolina.

Chris and I had a long drive yesterday in fog and rain, we had hoped to make the event by 3pm, but didn’t get there until 6pm. And it was still raining! I decided to skip riding her, I could see absolutely no point in getting myself and all of my equipment wet, (including Cynthia’s saddle that she had so kindly leant me!) We settled her in, sloping back and forth through the mud! Just imagine mud about 4 inches deep, and rain and you have a perfect picture in your mind of the conditions!!

We awoke to a beautiful morning, windy, but sunny and warm………………but still LOTS of mud!! We fed Isabella breakfast and then unloaded some more equipment from the trailer including all of her dressage tack, and quite by chance our next door neighbor had not come to the event so we acquired a tack stall!! A wonderful thing, this means we don’t have all of the equipment outside of her stall.

This morning I had a dressage lesson with Silva, Isabella was jumping out of her skin as we walked up to the practice arena. There were 4 dressage arenas going, flowers, tents flapping in the wind, golf carts, dirt bikes you name it, she thought it was terrifying!!!! I eventually made it to the practice arena with a little help from another horse and rider who “escorted” us past all the scary stuff! The lesson was very helpful and then it was back to the stabling area to get cleaned up and dressed for my dressage test.

We scored a 40.4 which is not our best, but I was happy enough with it, given that Isabella has had not turn out for 2 weeks, and I have ridden her 5 times in the last month, I will take it :)

The other scores range from 28 to 50 so I believe I am right in the middle of the pack.

At 4.30pm I walked the cross country course with Phillip, I think there were about 20 of us! The course is HUGE and more combinations that I ever thought was possible to put on a course!!! LOTS of corners and narrows. I have not decided yet how far around the course I will go, Phillip thinks that Isabella is ready and doesn’t need the run, but I think I need it for my confidence, so it is just a matter of finding the right balance for us both.

The forecast for tomorrow is 72 and sunny, and hopefully a little less windy, although I will say as I type this, it is 6.56pm and the mud is finally drying up, so thank goodness for the wind!!

Isabella is settled in for the night, and storing her energy for tomorrow’s big course!