FER NARANJITO has been amazing. In his first freestyle, he came second, only by 0.5%, he has qualified for the music freestyle Regional finals next February. He LOVED the music, a medley of Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass, and it was such fun to ride. He went to Burrows Court with Fulminante and won both the qualifier and the non qualifier, he just loves to be at a competition. He was tense in the first test, but much more settled in the second, so the plan of taking him out as much as possible is working.
FULMINANTE-CEN has been to the Winter Championships (see separate entry), and has come out of his winter doldrums. He won the elementary qualifier at Burrows Court and was second in the non qualifier. In the latter, he did a HUGE spook and a buck, prompting the judge to comment on his "sense of humour"! I was amazed, seeing the video, that I stayed on board, it was a real corkscrew.
I still need to work on his self carriage though, and that great big neck is not so easy to control, so this year will be concentrating on developing his engagement and carriage.
ORFEBRE has done another couple of Inter Is and it is slowly coming. We are now getting 6s for the pirouettes, which is a big step forward, as they have been so hard, yes even for an Andalusian! It is a very involved test, with no letup, and just needs suppleness and strength. But at some of the shows, I am now on nodding terms with some of the big guns, and actually they will often proffer some kind words of encouragement. It is my goal to get to Grand Prix before I hit 50, and that doesn't leave a lot of time, so I need all the help I can get!
FAQUIR VII has arrived, and settled in well. He is a Rolls Royce of a horse, quite big at 16.2hh, but is so gentle and polite. He wasn't at first though, however my fabulous assistant, Sophie, who is a real wizard with groundwork, had him lamblike within a week. He is working quietly at home, he can be a bit "stalliony" so we have been hacking him out with the geldings, then the other stallions and now he is working in the school with another stallion, so this is all a de-sensitising plan to prepare him for going to a show. Which I am hoping to do soon, as he needs to get out and about before being subjected to the electric atmosphere at the Breed Show.
