Victoria Bax Eventing blog December 2017

What’s up in the Victoria Bax Eventing blog December 2017… well, November was another month of huge ups and downs. It started very well with a trip out to our new local British Showjumping show at the lovely Beechwood Ec early this month. I had initially planned to take two horses, but one did what they do best and came in a couple of nights before with a cut and a fat leg which is still not better three days later, so she managed to swerve a showjumping trip! However, six-year-old Alberta’s Pride (aka Frankie) went alone and excelled himself yet again by not only producing another double clear in the British Novice but also a super duper double clear in his first Discovery too; is there no end to this boy’s talent.

The following week, Alberta’s Pride was called up to fill a place in a Riding Club Team qualifier where he put in another superb jumping display in the 1m & 1.05m rounds helping the team finish a respectable 2nd.

Some successful clinics have now been completed as after all it is prime training season right now. The course showjumping clinic was lots of fun with a couple of new clients and lots of regulars, all thoroughly enjoying themselves, practising techniques and learning new skills, but two sessions really stood out for me;

One very brave regular of mine brought along her new horse and smashed it by jumping around the whole course! Brilliant! Another who has travelled a very LONG journey over the last eight months with her own horse, who at the start would not even step over a pole on the ground through to jumping beautifully round the course including all the fillers; making it look very easy.

Lastly, later this month I received some utterly devastating news from a phone call late on Friday afternoon to let me know that a lady who started as a regular client but soon turned in a great friend very sadly lost her extremely quick and aggressive fight against cancer and passed away. She learnt of her diagnosis only 4/6 weeks beforehand and simply didn’t have a chance of fighting it as it had really got a hold of her. I am utterly devastated to lose someone who I considered a really good friend. My thoughts go out to her young family and husband at this hugely tragic time. So, please give your loved ones both two-legged, and four-legged an extra hug and kiss today because you never know when it might be their last.

Life does go on for the rest of us, so wishing everyone a happy Christmas and a smashingly successful New Year.