A couple of almost unbelievable things happened to me this weekend. The first was getting to compete at the BRC Winter Novice Showjumping Championships. The second was that I actually really enjoyed it.
We’d qualified for this back in February (you can read all about that in my February round-up) and I’d had to really psyche myself up to even compete at the Qualifier because of my not-at-all-irrational fear of the height of the jumps in the second round – a ginormous 85cm. But if you stick within your comfort zone, you’ll never make any progress, so I went for it. But when our team ended up doing really well and qualified for the Championships, I wasn’t sure whether that was a positive thing or not!
After letting the qualification sink in, I figured that we’d survived one 85cm round, and the Championship couldn’t technically be any worse than the Qualifier. And it was such a good opportunity to compete at that level, which is the best thing about competing with British Riding Clubs – you have the chance to qualify and compete at big shows that would be completely out of reach for combinations like me and Belle otherwise.
As Saturday approached, I felt more and more excited (I think my brain training is working!), and when we arrived at Arena UK and checked in at declarations I was determined to just enjoy the experience. I think the fact that it was a Championship show had, oddly, made me relax… we’d already done the hard part by qualifying, so if it didn’t go very well on the day, did it really matter as long as Belle and I had enjoyed it?
I’d be lying if I said that walking the course didn’t test my positive mental attitude, though – it was quite long, with some sizeable spreads, a couple of fairly technical lines and a triple, which was something I’d never jumped before.
Belle warmed up beautifully, feeling full of energy and not touching a pole, which definitely boosted my confidence as we went into the ring. I tried my best to stay relaxed – it sounds so simple but I always ride so much better when I’m feeling more chilled. If I’m nervous, I just overcomplicate it and interfere, causing more harm than good. So I tried my best to just trust my horse, and let her do her thing.
So off we went, and I tried to pick up that bouncy canter that I’ve been working really hard on in our training. We went clear over the first few fences, and Belle got into a lovely rhythm. We were meeting everything well, and she was jumping off the strides I was expecting. We came through the double perfectly and I thought, hang on a second – I think I’m actually really enjoying this!?
We were clear up to number eight, which was a fairly large, square oxer, and unfortunately we just got in a little too close and the front pole fell. So the clear round was out the window, but we’d been jumping them so well I didn’t really care! We tackled the dodgy line from nine to 10 well and came round to the penultimate line: the triple. By that point, we were flying *or at least it felt that way in my head – why does it always feel so much faster than it looks!?*, and Belle did the striding of the triple perfectly! We cleared the last, and I was so thrilled. Just one unlucky pole down out of the whole course!
We then had a really long break before our second round, so it was time to support my teammates (especially Jo and Jack, who had been drafted in as last minute subs and did such an amazing job), have some lunch, walk the second round course and do a spot of volunteering: pole picking at the start of the second round. Our sport relies heavily on volunteers; we couldn’t compete without them, so I’m more than happy to do my bit.
For the second round, the positions of the jumps hadn’t changed but the number order and direction you jumped some of them in had, which blows my tiny little brain. I’m fine to learn two courses in different arenas, but this was a challenge! Number one and two were the same, but then you had to do a sharp right after the second instead of left and head back to what was previously number six. Mental! And that’s without considering that the coloured poles of doom had gone up to the dreaded 85cm height. I went in the ring chanting, “Turn right after number two!” and hoped that if I could at least remember that, it would flow on from there, and that I’d be so busy concentrating on where I was going that I wouldn’t stress about the height.
And it did – I didn’t get lost! Small victories… and Belle jumped another amazing round, which felt even better than the first. This time, I just messed up our line from nine to 10 and was too indecisive to change her canter lead, and we had number 10 down. I think if I’d just managed to get my lead change, she’d have cleared it, but never mind – it’s just one of those things.
So I came out with another four faults, but the biggest smile on my face. Me and my absolutely mega horse had just competed at our biggest show ever, over one of the biggest courses we’ve ever done, and we’d only knocked two jumps down, and she’d been amazing, and I had actually really enjoyed it!
That brought us to the end of our day at the BRC Championships. Our team had all put in really solid performances, but we were just out of team placings – it’s such a competitive competition! So no rosettes this time, but such a fantastic learning experience and a huge confidence boost for us. If you’re an amateur competitor like me and are thinking of giving BRC competitions a go, just go for it! It’s honestly the best experience.
So maybe 85cm isn’t so ridiculously out of my comfort zone after all. Which is good, because we’re back competing with Solihull Riding Club at the Combined Training Qualifier on Sunday, in the 85cm class. Gulp.
P.s. I also have to say the biggest thank you ever to Jo and Helen from my yard, who are such fantastic friends that they actually came all the way up to Arena UK with Jo’s trailer, so that they could take Belle home for me so I could head straight over to Norfolk for a family party. If they hadn’t have been so kind, I wouldn’t have been able to compete at the Championships. So thank you, Jo and Helen. x
Totally Amateur Eventing 