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Sarah Lewis Show Jumping

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It was exciting heading to Hickstead with two horses who seem to be improving over the summer season, and especially Billy Arietta who seems to be stepping up to 1.30 with relative ease. The RIHS has it's own special atmosphere, with a 5* nations cup drawing some of the world's greatest riders, and the championships of many showing classes in addition to the national jumping.

However, all this excitement has two little downsides: a week of 4.30 starts, and some serious walking! The number of horseboxes to be parked is bonkers! You learn to appreciate the toll that working on the hard ground takes on the horses' legs! But on the upside, you can definitely eat as many cakes, ice-creams and sweets as you like during RIHS week - 24,000 steps a day is fab for your fitness!

Unfortunately, despite the very early start, I had underestimated the time it would take to get parked on Tuesday, resulting in a cross country run, and a very speedy, and rather inadequate, course walk for Areitta's 1.30 class.   She jumped the first half absolutely beautifully, but in my efforts to find a bit of space to the water tray in the jump-off I managed to find half an extra stride with not nearly enough impulsion. Even lovely Arietta couldn't perform the task asked!  However, she was very good, and came again and finished the rest of the course clear. Definitely not a moment to be proud of, but it's important to learn from mistakes and move on.  I should have walked the distance better, and ridden that turn and distance more smoothly with more conviction. As you go up the levels the course walk becomes more important. Although on paper the 1.30 is only 10 cm bigger than the Foxhunter, it is not a novice horse class, and asks questions requiring more technical expertise.

Next up was BE Khalissy in the Winter Novice Qualifier on the grass in Ring Two.  She jumped absolutely beautifully, just to get a little bit quick and have the last fence in the first round.   I think if I had known that 11 horses would go through to the main ring I might have been a little bit more "dot the i's and cross the t's" about this, but I thought only two would go through, and that there was no hope of me being fast enough in the jump-off.  Actually she's so careful and quick that even with me as pilot she probably could have qualified herself.    

Wednesday started with Khalissy in the Foxhunter in Ring Two.  She jumped the first part of the course very easily, and appeared to take off perfectly into the combination and then literally fall through it.  Very, very unlike her and very disappointing.

Arietta also jumped in Ring Two in the 1.25.  She not only found the show ponies utterly terrifying, but also took extreme terror at the fun fair next to ring two.  The bell went, and she just galloped off, and had three fences in the first half.  She's pretty naive at life, and the atmosphere was a pretty steep learning curve for her.

We had a day at home on Thursday.  I gave Khalissy a jump over a small combination, and took Arietta for a hack, and they had a nice couple of hours stretching their limbs in the field.  In the afternoon I went to Hickstead to watch the Eventers Challenge.  It is always nice to catch up with some old eventing friends, and it was a great competition, won by Gemma Stevens (Tattersall) with a scorching round.

Friday Arietta was in the 1.30 in Ring Three again.  She jumped a great first round, and just had  two slightly green poles in the jump-off: a dog-leg to a double that she didn't quite understand and the front pole on the turn-back to the water tray.  

Khalissy jumped the Newcomers in Ring Four, but definitely wasn't happy through the double or the combination, so we decided to give her a few days off.  The horses had a chiropractic treatment from Caitlin McCaffery yesterday, and Khalissy seemed very sore, which may have affected her ability to stretch out in combinations. So we will go gently with her for a few weeks to regain her confidence, and make sure she is comfortable in her jumping. I find chiropractic treatment a very useful health check/therapy for the horses.  Caitlin treats them once a month from when they first go into work here.  Not only do the horses really benefit, but also Caitlin can take an objective view of anything that has changed during the month.

I just had Arietta for Saturday, another 1.30 in Ring Four.  We both felt a bit tired and she had an early fence, but she and I had a very constructive show, jumping some bigger, more technical courses, for just a few unimportant mistakes.  It is wonderful to have such a lovely horse with such amazing ability. Especially while Askeaton is having a little time off, it's very good to get my eye back in over bigger courses, and makes less pressure to get Askeaton back. I am a little bit upset that Khalissy was less than her usual self.  But hopefully after a few days off, some chiropractic and general tlc and a gentle return to work, she will be back to her super competitive ways.

We got Arietta home as soon as we could, turned her and Khalissy out for the afternoon and rushed back to Hickstead to watch the Queen's Cup.  In true Hickstead style it was a fantastic competition, and it was very exciting to see Shane win with the wonderful Haya.

We were back again on Sunday for the King's Cup.  What an amazing competition, with the most electrifying jump-off.  The top four horses were absolutely beautiful - it's great to see what it really takes to be world class, and the riding is truly something to aspire to.

Ellie, the horses and I are all very tired after a very busy week, with a fair amount of socialising too.  We will have a very quiet week this week, and then back to training and jumping next week, moving towards the Hickstead September show to see how far we've all come on.

Congratulations to the team at Hickstead. A fantastic show of world class jumping, showing, shopping and socialising.  We have all missed it so much.

Many thanks to Ellie, who has been fantastic, and to Saracen Horse Feeds, Protexin Premium Equine, NDS Equine, MacWet Gloves and Just Equine, I really couldn't do without you.

Billy Arietta - 1.30 Saturday

BE Khalissy Foxhunter Wednesday

Billy Arietta - 1.30 Friday

Billy Arietta - 1.30 Tuesday

BE Khalissy - Winter Novice

Royal International Horse Show - Hickstead

We have spent the past two Thursdays at Coombelands.  It's so nice to have this lovely show back on the calendar.  

The first week I decided to jump Khalissy in the Newcomers, to try and finish getting her clear rounds for next year.  Over the years I've had this thought with several horses, but often when they are confident jumping bigger fences they can be a bit casual over a smaller course - Khalissy was keen to point this out over the first fence - but otherwise jumped a lovely round.

Arietta jumped good rounds in both the 1.20 and the 1.30 for a fence in each.  She is sometimes a bit spooky to the water tray, but in this case was a bit spooky to the fence after in both rounds.

Cue a very early morning training with Trevor Breen on the following Monday. Ellie and I got up at 4.30 for a 7 o'clock lesson.  What a relief to get both horses jumped in the coolest part of what turned out to be a very hot day. Khalissy jumped like a star, and Arietta also improves with every outing.  I've generally ridden small and slightly keen horses, who tend to like and need a little bit of pace to give themselves a bit more scope over a fence, so it's taking a huge amount of self-discipline to sit more quietly on Arietta and let her get closer to a fence, rather than launching ourselves at great speed! We have also been keeping the water tray out under a small fence at home to get Arietta more comfortable with it.

We were back to Coombelands on Thursday. Khalissy probably jumped her best round to date to finish 4th in a busy Foxhunter, and Arietta jumped really well in the 1.30 for two poles where I got a bit too enthusiastic. Slowly I am getting my eye back in at this level, and it's all new territory to Arietta. I feel both horses are ready for the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead now.  They will have four days of jumping over the week, so a great opportunity to consolidate the season so far.

Askeaton is currently having three months in the field, rather than struggling to keep her happy and sound, I have decided to turn her away completely to give her the best chance of making a complete recovery physically and mentally.  I probably should have done this last year, but having sold Heidi I was too impatient.  I should probably be old enough to know better!  However, Karen & Claudia Rees have lent her a lovely pony friend and she seems incredibly relaxed and happy.

I feel that the way the horses jumped at Coombelands is a real testament to the fantastic surface there.  Good surfaces give the horses real confidence and are a vital contribution to their longevity. The second show was incredibly busy, yet the organising team managed to make it all seem so calm and easy, and the feel good factor at Coombelands along with a great course from Ben Townley, really helps make for a very happy outing.

Many thanks to Ellie Collins for fantastic help as always, and to Saracen Horse Feeds, Protexin Premium Equine, Just Equine Ltd, NDS Equine and MacWet Gloves for their ongoing support.




BE Khalissy Foxhunter

Billy Arietta - 1.30

Coombelands

Having missed the CSI2* at Keysoe I was very keen to visit and see the improvements to the facilities there.  Keysoe has always been one of my favourite shows, and it was certainly really worth the journey from Sussex.  We had lovely stables in big barns, and were lucky enough to have rubber matting too. With the horrible August weather having the indoor to warm up in was invaluable, and we had three days of lovely courses in the big international arena on superb footing.  Khalissy jumped well, and with increasing confidence each day, and Askeaton continued her comeback with two clear rounds and a placing in the Foxhunter on the final day.  As the economics of travelling to Europe to shows are no longer viable for us, this really was the next best thing, the team at Keysoe made moving the horses up and down in class so easy, the atmosphere was absolutely great, and the food delicious.  If it wasn't for the British weather, we could have thought we had actually escaped. It was a great opportunity to catch up with friends who we've seen so little of in the past year, and we will definitely be back.

Keysoe

2013 Bay Mare by Golden Hawk out of a Good Times Mare.  Askeaton jumped successfully in International Seven Year Old classes in 2020 and has jumped successfully CSI2* Classes up to 1.35/1.40 in 2021.  She jumped clear every day at the Sunshine Tour 2022. She is very bold, scopey and careful.  She is a fantastic mover with a huge powerful canter. She has a lovely temperament, and has been very carefully produced.  

Askeaton

Askeaton 1.20

We are delighted to work with Gillett Cook - feed merchants in Kent who serve the whole of the South East.  Gillett Cook give an excellent service at very competitive prices, stocking all our favourite brands such as Saracen Horse Feeds, Bailey Haylage and Royalspan Shavings, as well as a very comprehensive catalogue of horse essentials such as electrolytes, hoofoil etc

Gillett Cook

Just Equine deliver the very best equestrian brands straight to your door. Kentucky Horsewear, Dy'on, etc.  Really fantastic and helpful service.

Just Equine

Simply the best gloves for any weather. Never, ever slip. Climate controlled, hard wearing, sensitive. Once you've ridden in MacWet you will never wear any other brand of gloves

MacWet Gloves

I am delighted to receive support from NDS Equine. NDS is a leading company when it comes to collagen formulas for horses. Studies have shown that specific Collagen Peptides are needed, especially to help with different parts of the horse where the problems occur.

We use Equine Multi Collagen Total to support and help prevent damage to joints, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, and muscles for all our competition horses and for Askeaton, who has had a bone bruise, Equine Bone-X which is a unique, especially developed collagen peptide for incorporation into bone tissue, which supports microarchitecture and permits mineralisation to take place in a normal way.  This helps ensure that her injury is fully healed and continues to be supported.

I also take Ezy-Move, for humans, myself, and have found it very effective in helping the function of my arthritic shoulders.

NDS Equine

Excellent supplements, ranging from very effective calmers, to joint supplements, gut support, etc. Camilla Zanna is very knowledgeable and helpful.

Premier Performance CZ

We started using Protexin Acid Ease in April 2021 with dramatic results on two of our mares, Askeaton and BE Khalissy.  Almost immediately they appeared more comfortable to saddle up, less irritable to the leg and generally happier. We also use Quick Fix when travelling which we have found to be very beneficial on longer, more stressful journeys. We also use Gut Sponge for any horses that have an upset stomach due to stress or change in diet.

Protexin

Saracen is simply the best horse feed on the market.  We have fed Saracen for 20 years.  We feed Releve Cubes for most of the horses, these are cereal free, non-heating, and suitable for all horses. They are especially good for horses that are prone to tying up. We use Competition Fit Cubes for horses requiring a bit more energy. All the horses have Stamm 30 feed balance and Saracen Molassed Chaff. The brood mares and young stock have either Mare Care or Level Grow, depending on the time of year and support required. For any horses requiring more calories or top-line we use Equijewel. Saracen also have excellent, free nutritionist advice.

Keysoe 1.20

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