Aston

It was a very satisfactory day for Team Fox-Pitt at Aston. We had seven horses from the yard there and we had 7 double clears, so we really couldn’t be happier.

I had two Intermediates and three Novices.  The day kicked off rather early in the OI and Oratorio did a lovely dressage. He was very calm and relaxed and soft, and he scored 26.  He show jumped a lovely clear and I decided to run him cross country which had not been the plan, but the ground was actually pretty good. The course was on the soft side for him thank goodness so I opted to seize the opportunity and give him a run while I can, and he is now off the mark.  He was pretty settled on the course, hardly argumentative at all and I took him quietly for several time faults needless to say.

Atlantic Vital Spark was having his debut in the OI, he also did a very nice test and scored 27, he show jumped beautifully and flew around the cross country wanting to go several notches quicker than me.

My only slight glitch during the day happened with Summer at Fernhill with the dressage where he was slightly crazy to say the least, he somehow managed to score 48, which is an interesting figure!  But I have got to say he didn’t deserve one more mark.  He was wired to some other planet and was obviously slightly too happy to be out.  He then jumped a good double clear and was much more manageable, so he might behave a bit better next time!

Centurian Bay was having his first novice run this season and could not have gone better. He did a stunning dressage test, scored 25 which apparently put him in the lead, he show jumped a super clear and popped around the cross country for fun. It was not my intention to get any points or prizes and I am sure I got a few time faults.

Under Oath was also on good form, he did a very sweet test of 26, his show jumping was excellent and he was also in the lead after after show jumping, and he felt great on the cross country.  I think he would actually have done the intermediate very nicely, so hopefully that bodes well for August.

 

Then we had Lucy doing the novice on Blakeney Surprise, she is a lovey mare but sometimes she is quite a handful.  Her dressage wasn’t bad with a score of 33, but there is lots more to come.  She then jumped a very pleasing double clear, and gave Lucy a top ride.

 

Lexi and Chico’s Man VDF were doing the OI and she also had a very productive day. She did another good test of 26 and followed up with a good double clear. She is certainly looking very polished at the start of her season.  Let’s hope she gets something worthwhile to aim for at the end of 2020.

 

Ann and Nigel Taylor had done incredibly well putting everything together, it all seemed to run very normally, everyone was being cautious and sensible, but they were only running a few horses less than normal and the day ran without hitch. Nigel had done his usual classy job providing the best going and the two tracks were spot on for what we currently want.  It was a shame there were a few jobsworthy people looking to cause trouble from external sectors, but apart from the odd person standing a bit close together they had disappointingly little to really complain about.  Everyone was doing remarkably well, the odd rider might disagree but I think the way the sport is going there will quite a few changes that become the norm.