SUM UP OF WILLERBY & 2006.

We arrived safely at Willerby hill at 9.30 am last sunday ready for a day of competitive jumping however unfortunately it was not to be our day, we all had a great warm up and because i was working i did 75 in stead of 95cms and heres what happened, jayde started off nicely but then had 3 poles down knocking us out and molly wouldnt jump a second part of double at all :-( then we reframed our minds for 85cms and i was first to go, jayde started off beautifully but as we turned for jump 3 the jump wasnt up! so i had to stop and no one knew what was going on so i looked like an idiot finally the jump was up but not on properly and jayde lost her rythym and we caught it we also had a nother pole down when she stumbled in the middle of the double, i wasnt exactly unhappy with this performance though, infact pleased at her efforts. Molly just basically wouldnt jump a huge spread burning her out of the competiton....

Now the horses have a rest until 14th jan or maybe the 3rd of February pending and its a good time to train and get ready for next year and the upcoming trailblazer second rounds which are ever on my mind. The low of the year for me was definately
August where we got eliminated in both jumping phases of a ode and only got 43.5% in the dressage, my lowest ever and the high for me has been coming 2nd in junior and 4th overall in a trailblazer qual with 64.5% and getting to those second rounds and a step closer to the finals.

it's been quite an eventful year to us but as ever the road to the finals next august goes on and so does my riding, Merry Christmas to all and a Happy new Year! i hope 2007 brings you all the luck you want & need as for myself, See you next Year!!!!

Laura Salmon x

TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU WHAT GETTING TO THE FINALS WOULD ME TO ME.....

If Jayde and I get through to the finals at Regionals in March, i would be exstatic, it would mean all the hard work we have put in has paid off and i would be so pleased, i would finally of accomplished a good thing in my junior dressage year and it would make me the happiest person alive and behind all of this would be me and Jayde. Proud.

BACK TO NOW...

It's the day before the final show of the year 2006 and i'm hoping it goes out with a bang as we hopefully get to regionals in jumping 85cms/95cms. Today i'm going to really work jayde to give us as much chance at willerby tomoro and Leona will be doing the same, wish us Luck!

Laura Salmon

RETURN TO RAINY DAYS....

it's afternoon on tuesday and it's rainy cancelling another training session with Jayde, so instead i thought i would come on here and update you about epworth club show, and about other bits and pieces.

Saturday 10th, Despite our concerns Molly was fine to go to Tickhill along with Jayde, It was a very icy and frosty morning and the wind was very chilly, so we had to go slower than anticipated, so it took us 2hrs + to get there meaning we missed the pairs relay. But we made it for our team with Elaine and Emma and Leona and I. Jayde jumped a lovely clean round and our team came 6th! and So i decided to Gymkhana which was funny, but jayde was a star and took everything in her stride, flags, posts, swinging letters, and our team came 3rd. Then we was awarded the prizes and selection boxes and we travelled home back to southdale in under 2 hrs.

Sunday, it was raining again, so leona and i just lunged Jayde and Molly and they both went well even if molly needed more encouragement to move and jayde less, it was cold and dark so we fed them and jayde went in for the night.

Well today it's raining, only just brightening up and i have been at colllege this morning, doing my work, in French, Biology and English, and i intended to ride but the weather was so horrid i decided against it, and watched my fave tv show ever Strictly come Dancing and it takes two.

I will update you later in the week before we go to willerby hill this weekend to close the year.
Laura Salmon x

first post of December!


This week i have been very busy with college work and reviews, not so much with work, but i've still been getting down to the yard often, as we have Epworth Club Christmas show at Tickhill arena tomorrow.

It's a 2 hr drive to Tickhill and Molly has come down with a cough but we are keeping our fingers crossed that she is fine to go and also that jayde doesnt come down with it too, it should be a great show with a good atmosphere.

I've got to get a map as we have never been there before but that adds to the pre show build up! My Grandma and i are off to lunch to discuss the plans and packing for tomorrow, she is checking molly out this morning and lunge jayde to keep her calm and fit.

well i'll update you all on sunday after the show.

bye for now,
Laura Salmon x

WILLERBY HILL CHRISTMAS DRESSAGE SHOW & TRAILBLAZER QUALS....

Fridays session went not so well and i was very anxious about this mornings performance,in the warm up jayde was very welled tuned and listening for once and i felt really good about nailing prelim 10, i went in and smiled most of the time jayde was fab and we scooped a fantastic 64.54% and took 2nd in the junior section and 4th in the combined section, i won a medal, a rosette and of course my much wanted qualification...regional finals here i come yay! the rossette is red and white and gorgeous and says mey xmas on it lol.

prelim 14, molly went lovely and they looked great and leona got 58.52% and cruised in at 6th place and jayde not so polished this time got 56.54% and took 8th place, and those score cards and rossettes are in the post...

overall it's been a wonderful day and things are looking up for us....

Laura Salmon x

TUESDAYS LESSON....IT DIDNT COMPLETELY RAIN FOR ONCE!

So, tuesday had arived time for some tuition once again.... and in our arena new flood lights have been put up so i expected her to be a bit shy aswell as afte having mondaY off but for the first 35mins she was unpredictable one minute she was complying the next she was going mental, and tracy took me through one of the tests but jayde was just messing around so TRacy got on her for ten mins to give her the business, when i got back on she was much better and we finished on a positive note. Tracy advised i cut her feed down and lunged her the days i couldnt ride...

So today my Gran is going to lunge her with side reins on for 45 mins, as i'm woking tonight all though it would appear i have caught a bug maybe the flu and am having the day off college, work is undecided...

On Friday i intend to ride her for 1h 30mins or until she settles down, so she is good and ready for saturdays competition at Willerby hill.

Laura Salmon x

THE WEEKEND RIDING SESSIONS... SAT & SUN,

On saturday and sunday Jayde was much better behaved and i manged to run through the tests a couple of times which went relatively well, on saturday her canter was like a dream and she went fabulously well,
Hopefully the road for us is clear !!!!!!!

Laura x

FRIDAYS LESSON WITH TRACY....

Well the weather disliked us again yesterday and in our lesson with tracy it rained and the wind blew but we carried on.

Having missed my tuesday riding spot with jayde due to obscene hours of working Jayde had a little too much energy and took ages to settle down.

By the end of the lesson she had calmed down and now we are focusing on the WH quals for dressage on the 25th Nov. We've sent our entries off today and i am doing prelim 10 and prelim 14 and leona just 14.

Today i am hacking her out before practicing dressage so it wont all get to her head too much, she has to remember she has her winter break coming up soon, so i need all the training and practice now for the 3 last competitions this year accumalating in christmas SJ.

Thats all for now

Laura Salmon x

ROUND UP OF JUMPING AT WH....


On Sunday ~Morning we were up bright and early for trailblazers quals at WH, leaving the yard at 08.30 am, not really much to pack as we'd packed the car in the nights before. When we arrived after 1hr's drive, we went straight and entered. Molly in 75cms as a main class and Jayde in 75cms as a warm up. Molly went fairly well until she did a dead stop at the water tray and Leona managed to slip off. Jayde on the other hand flew round nicely but caught the rail on number 6! No quals there. Leona took Jayde in 85cms to get some experience of bigger classes and again Jayde had one rail down :-(. After that i went for my main class 95cms and Jayde jumped lovely over the first 4 jumps but then stopped at some wall fillers which was daft because she'd already jumped them and i ended up on her neck which knocked her confidence. After that she would jump it and it was the end of the road for us.

Not too disheartened we travelled safely home to prepare for the challenges that lay ahead of us.

Laura Salmon x

TUESDAYS LESSON WITH TRACY.....


In my lesson on Jayde on tuesday with Tracy, jayde was really unsettled so tracy jumped on to help me out, but the end she had stopped having a hissy fit and complied to canter a 20m circle nicely, with longer strides, tracy was also confident that i would make it on the 25th Nov Quals, which was an extra boost of confidence i needed.

College closed early on wed and despite having to be at work for 5pm i managed to get 40 mins in on jayde and practiced keeping a steady rhythm in canter and i popped a few fences as a practice for sundays jumping qualifiers at willerby. In which i'm doing 2 classes, in which i need a double clear to get to regionals. She went nicely.

So i've spent the week doing the usual, college, working, riding every spare minute and now packing for this weekends equestrian event at WH. Every one keep their fingers crossed for me, i need to ride well and have no bad luck.

Laura Salmon x

TRAILBLAZERS DRESSAGE QUAL 5TH NOVEMBER.....

When we arrived at willerby everything seemed fine and for once it wasn't too cold, but in warm up it soon became apparent that it wasnt going to be my day, jayde was rushing a round and it was taking me all my time to calm her and myself down, afte is stressed over a hair net.

Jayde went ok in the test but for the second part of the canter she lead on the wong leg which ended up seiously jeopardising our position, i came out with my confidence knocked and felt unhappy after all my hard work. Molly went well.

when the results came out i was expecting around 40% but a pleasant suprise as i got 57.72% unfortunately 0.28% under what i needed to qualify, leona on the othe hand scooped 7th place and a qualification to regional finals on 4th march with 62.72%.

On 25th november i have one more chance to get through and being so close this time and with another couple of lessons, i am pretty sure i can make it!

2 DAYS.....


Well i've managed to crawl out from this endless world of work and homework and gotten to ride jayde and molly this afternoon, Jayde was fab and is looking a good prospect for sunday however Molly on the other hnd could have quite alot of improvement and hopefully leona will neaten her up a bit. I've just been so busy.

Jayde was shod on wednesday, so she's got nice shiny shoes on, no risk of them coming off from being loose. Tonight i've just started sunday's packing, and now i know when we both ride i can alter the schedule so it's more appropriate :-) I ride at 12.59pm and Leona at 1.06pm.

I have a whole load of college work to do but my main focus this weekend is making the 58% grade, so i can proceed to the regional finals!!! in March! So tomorrows going to be a lot of final preparation, cleaning, polishing and packing even more.

This is when it gets busiest for me...

Laura Salmon x

LESSON WITH TRACY

today i had my dressage lesson with tracy at 2.30 - 3.30, firstly i worked jayde in and got her bending and responsive before Tracy settled us down and fine tuned some points of my riding as a whole. After Jayde was settled down we went through the dressage test step by step, improving each time and then unfortunately it rained! heavily! and i got soaked!! Tracy thinks we should get high marks for the trot part and slightly less for the canter, but thinks we have what it takes to get the required percentage.

I have some College work to get on with but firstly i need to write the weekends plan, also today my sister and i got a letter inviting us to Epworth Club Christmas show invitational, which is mainly fun class and things like teams and pairs which is always a nice season finale.

The farrier is reshoeing the horses tomorrow as Jayde's shoes are coming unstuck and we can't risk her dropping one at Willerby on Sunday, when it's probably going to be freezing, lots of flasks and warm rugs required there!

Laura Salmon.

YESTERDAYS RIDES....

yesterday i did dressage with both Jayde and Molly, taking them through the tests and trying to smooth off some of the rougher parts, like the canter cross overs, i will get my trainer tracy to go through it with me tomorrow to cover it even more, and after my lesson i will apply the techniques to my riding with molly.

Finally the entries for the prelim 10 qual have been put in the mail box and the first big event will be on thursday finding out the times which we ride at on the sunday, saturday will be a prep day at southdale, lightly working the horses, plaiting up, and packing up the last of the gear to go to willerby. And sunday morning will be an early start, timing with not much room for error, so when we have these shows i have to write the plans for them on the monday or tuesday of the week before. if i get time i might write up one of these schedules on here, but i am working weds, thurs, and sat nights til 9, so i might not get the chance.

Alls well but busy at southdale, so for now

Laura Salmon.

1 WEEK TO GO...

Currently there is one week to go until the dressage qualifier where i need 58% or above that doesnt seem to hard but depending on your horse it can be! When i rode jayde yesterday, i put her back in her snaffle and she went as well as she does in her pelham which is good. My main faults were the canter cross overs in the prelim 10 which i am working on and i really need to keep my legs very still :-).

Did i mention the photo above is us on route to coming second in an open jumper class!

I'm not particularly worried now but if the main faults aren't sorted by next saturday i may freak a little... I can always get tracy to help me out with the steps in my lesson on tuesday.

Talk to you soon

Laura Salmon

ALL ABOUT TRAILBLAZERS....

Trailblazers is the biggest unaffiliated finals in England and holds it's prestigious five day show in August. Competitors get there by firstly qualifying through a first round by jumping double clear in showjumping and gaining 58% or more in dressage then, every centre holds a second round and depending how many attend depends how many go through, no more than 10 go through.

Jumping classes include
75cm (2'6)
85cm (2'9)
95cm (3'1)
105cm (3'6)

Currently i am involved with the 85cms and the 95cms.

Dressage involves these levels
prelim
novice
elementry
medium
and freestyle

And i am taking part in pursuing the prelim dressage series, wish me luck guys!

Laura Salmon x

below is jayde and i in a 75cms TB jumping Qual. if it works well.

Hi I am Laura Salmon, Aged 16 From North Lincolnshire, UK. My one love is horses and i have decided to write this blog to share my passion, feelings, thoughts and experiences with the Equine.

Most riders have a great deal of financial support behind them and manage to own or ride five or six horses where my sister Leona, 15 and i only own one each. My Horse is Jayde, she's a 16,1hh 9 year old irish sports horse mare and completely black, she is the love of my life. Molly is a 15,1hh 5 year old welsh cob mare, dark bay and belongs to my younger sister.

Today I arrived at Southdale Farm early, at 8.30am to turn out the horses into the field, that's the other riders horses. I kept jayde up and decided to ride early. I took her into the arena for a session on the flat concentrating on keeping a good position and using my seat and it was fairly good but Jayde was a little discontented at the others enjoying themselves in the field whilst she worked. So i made the decision to hack her out and try and calm her down so we hacked through two local villages then back up the bridle way which leads to Southdale cantering and splashing in puddles having a great time. When i got back i decided to give Jayde a short break before jumping so i set up a bounce of small fences and 2 strides later a cross pole, knowing this coujld be somewhat fun and beneficial. Jayde had settled down in the arena and was really jumping well, this time her canter was in a much better rhythm and i was pleased

Hopefully when i ride her tomorrow she will show the same positive attitude and carry it through so my trainer Tracy can give us that push to get ready for the trailblazer dressage competition on November the 5th, when i am doing Prelim 10 qual and possibly prelim 14 qual and when Leona returns From Iceland and chooses her Class i will finally be able to get those entries sent off!

Will write soon

Laura Salmon x