Pachesham Grade 1-5 Show

We were back at Pachesham again this weekend for the Winter League grade 1-5 show. We ran Doople and Zazu. The day started off nice and frosty but got better later on. It ended up being a very efficient show as we managed to get through everything in a few hours. I think the cold hurries people up!

Always ready on a frosty morning

We started with Zazu in the jumping. He was really going for it all the way. We had a few wide turns as he caught me out with his speed. We were really pleased with how he worked away form me. I messed up a turn so he missed a jump, but we were still pleased. The agility was next. He was very distracted here as Susi went to film from the other side of the ring. He still managed his A-frame contacts so all was not lost.

We had another agility round after. He came out the tunnel entrance, possibly because I turned too soon. I took the opportunity to try a fancy new turn to see if we could get it tighter. It's jump 7 in the video, just before the second tunnel. I have been very skeptical about these turns in the past as most times I've seen them used have either been in the wrong place or poorly executed. We had training with Den Keeler the day before and he was explain the proper places to use these turns, and to be honest they do work when used correctly. Zazu at vaguely understood me and he was tight.

His final run was in the steeplechase. I ran this very far away from him and I didn't have to move very far from the centre of the ring. He worked away well. We had a few wide turns as I was focussing more on getting him to drive forward. We ended up the round in 8th place.

Doople only had two runs here as she tends to get tired and give up towards the end of the day. Her first was the jumping. I ran her in this and she seemed to be very distracted and not really paying attention. She still ran but not at her best. +Susi Cooper ran her in the agility round and she did run better. Turning well and pushing forward a bit. They ended up with 3rd place.

It was a fun day and we learnt a lot with Zazu. He is really coming along and is quite happy to work at a distance. We still need to build his drive but that will come with time and confidence