Better than ......

Supply your own word. There isn't a single one in the English vocabulary that I would disagree with being used to end that sentence. I'm as high as a kite!

We got there and I went and walked the course. Good grief!!! The first fence was a brush topped pallisade of almost maximum height (that'd be 3ft NINE, being Prenovice :-0000). It didn't get any smaller or easier from there, so I went to warm up for the dressage with a churning stomach!

He did a very good test. A huge improvement on last time, with the trot quite soft and rythmic. He was a bit annoyed about the flash strap, but it certainly helped. The only problem we had was my fault - the last canter transition I did before going over to the ring was left, and the first one we wanted was right. Of course he gave me left and then counter-cantered one whole movement. I stopped him and restarted but by then we had left the ring and come back in, and lost a quarter of a circle that we were supposed to do and his canter was unsettled. So, considering that he must have lost at least 5% between those two marks, it was great that he scored 46% and means the rest must have been much better than last time. I couldn't get my sheet, they weren't releasing them until the class was over.

The ground was rock hard, quite the worst you can get for traction with barefoot. But it gave me confidence that he'd had no problem in the dressage, so we went over to warm up for the showjumping. Showjumping? George was only interesting in cross country jumping them! He kept taking a stride out and going huge. I wasn't prepared to work him for long on that ground, and there was no doubt he was going to jump, so in we went. I was petrified - I haven't jumped fences that big in competition for three years and I didn't know if I still could. It was my fault that we knocked three because I just wanted him to attack them. We didn't clatter them and we didn't climb them, it was just a knock each time. The last fence was a spread about 4ft wide and 3ft 5 high - seriously big. And he jumped it beautifully. Again he'd had no problem about the traction, so I stopped worrying about what his grip on the cross country might be like because there the fence take-offs were grit.

A quick change of colours and off we went. No-one warming up, so into the start box, and off! Fence one he looked at and said "are you serious?" and I tapped him down the shoulder and he said "OK then" and flew over it, a beautiful jump. As he landed I thought to myself "we can do this".

Fence two was a big house, he asked for reassurance again and then flew that too. A slight rise up the hillside to three, an enormously wide fence built of greenery with a rolltop shape and a telegraph pole at the top of the back. Again that "really want this?" and then a fantastic jump. On up across the hillside to four.... uh? where's four, we're heading for a novice fence! I'd missed the turn left :-))) So I had to stop and turn round and take the left hand route through some trees to my bench with flowers on the seat. A really nasty approach, uphill but not smooth, undulating, with less that a stride of flat ground in front of it. He popped it.

Five and six were a double of pheasant feeders, and seven was his first ever "into space", a pallisade on the down slope of the hill. Down a very steep little drop, where he let me control his speed absolutely perfectly, to an eeenormous brush topped rails with ditch in front. It was huge. He popped it.

Nine worried me when I walked the course because he's never seen anything like it. They've got one where I train, but we've never done it. It was a sizeable step up, probably 3 ft, followed one canter stride away by a post and rail fence about 3 ft high. I spoke to him "bounce George, bounce" and tried to bounce him up the step. He jumped up it fine ...... and stopped! Looking back, I think he realised that he had to gather himself after the step and chose to stop to do it, rather than plough on and get it wrong. He's not stupid, he really uses his head. Anyway, get this..... a moments hesitation, some encouragement from me, he trotted two strides and popped it. Zero faults so far!

Up a very steep path up the hillside through the woods, and then only two strides out once you get it in view a BIG pheasant feeder at ten. "Problem, me?", said George - "pah!!" More track through the woods, then another fence at eleven that can't be seen until you are on top of it, a wide lamb creep. George was rolling, and clipped the edge of the barley field before completing the turn to run along the path through the barley to a very big and wide hedge/rails at twelve. All the way down the hill again to a house with two big triangles you could see through (so not a complete ground line) which was still on the downhill slope. Fence thirteen and we're still flying!

Fourteen was a tiny pile of logs as A, with a HUGE, three-part ascending brush SKINNY as part B. There was an alternative and my plan had been to do the alternative if I was clear at that point (trying for a confidence boosting clear). Oh sod it, I thought, he's going so well he can get this. He popped A and then started to swing around on the approach to B, I managed to drive him on and then he suddenly realised that he should jump it, and did. Phew, got away with that one!

We had a nice long breather then across a flat field to 15 and 16, a pair of pheasant feeders, very wide. The second again up an approach of very undulating ground and without much of a flat bit to take off from. Piece of cake, said George. Sharp turn left and shoot down the hill again to a bench at 17, again covered with flowers.

Eighteen was a three part water (by goodness, have they made PN more technical since I did it last!!!) A was a log, and then we nearly missed B, a narrow entrance to the water but I hoiked him back on line. We cantered through the water because C was a very big house less than a stride from the far side of the water. The fence was wet from the other competitors who'd jumped it. George did a big leap and got it.

Then across the field to nineteen, a pile of logs stacked in twos - you know what I mean - 2 left to right, 2 front to back and 2 more left to right? It was very wide and probably max height, and George popped a shorter stride in and finished full of steam.

He loved it. He wasn't fazed by the size of it at all. It didn't feel like he was making a big effort to jump any of them. It just felt like he was saying "it's what I do". He looks so ordinary in the flesh, but he's a very special horse.

When we got home my Eland confirmation was on the doormat for 2 weeks time. Oh I just can't wait!!!

C