First BE ODE next month, any advice welcome!

[Rollingdinosaur]

I am finally taking the plunge, and having a go at a proper affiliated ODE next month, if I don't get balloted out. I am excited, and somewhat terrified. I have done several unaffiliated ones, and not made a complete tit of myself, so this seems like the logical next step.

I would be interested to hear any tips, or ideas of what to expect, from those in the know. Will the standard be a lot higher? Will I look a prat, as a lot of my gear is on the cheap side, and I will be turning up in 4WD and trailer, rather than a swanky lorry. I am also not sure on the hat standard required, it mentions PAS 015, and kitemark. Does that mean it needs both? My hat has the kite mark, but not the other bit. I suspect that means I need a new hat, but I don't want to fork out for one if I don't need to. Any tips will be gratefully accepted, thanks.

Aargh, Gin, bloody flies! You still have a few days til the weekend though, so hopefully it will be sorted again by them. Let us know how you get on! Frosty, hope you get good news at the follow up, I guess it will take a while to get back to normal.

Well the horse hunting is going well, sort of. I have looked at a total of one horse! I really liked him, so I took my instructor to have a look, and she really liked him too. Got him vetted last week, which didn't go entirely to plan. He only has front shoes on, and was lame in the vetting, when lunged on a 10m circle, on gravel. It is almost certainly because he was barefoot behind, but the vet can't pass him until he does it sound. I am therefore now waiting for him to have back shoes put on, so he can be retested, and see how he is.

Loving how the hound puppies have found a newish bed sheet!! How random! They are excellent scavengers!
And how exciting about potential new horse!! Details?? And good luck with second vetting. Hopefully all OK wih shoes.

I think personally having a caller at dressage would be more confusing for me. Only doing prelim but using the long arena to give us more room for manoeuvres. And have made the grown up decision to just do one test!! Last time 3 years ago and 6.5 months pregnant I chose to do 2 tests and both were new to me as had been about a gazillion years since I had done one previously!! Will let you know if we get there and how it goes...

Hound puppies! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! [manic laugh].

This week I have mostly been selling ponies. Two in one week! The bank account will be looking happy, but the children and I will be in floods.

Specification of horse please Rollingdinosaur!

What saddle will you be doing dressage in Gin?

Horse hunting can be exciting and depressing at the same time, I have a friend looking who just can't find anything suitable yet mine was the 2nd I looked at. Good luck with the vetting. Attached is pic of dear little puppies......butter wouldn't melt!

Are the ponies being replaced? It's so sad when they go but new ones are just as exciting.

Puppies!!!!! Butter wouldn't melt I am sure!!! Just adorable!
Well done for pony selling! What a week you've had! Hope all goes smoothly and that the tears don't last too long. Are you looking for bigger models?
Saddle wise for dressage I am fine. I've been riding him for the past 3 months in my very comfy dressage saddle which is lush. The problem is if I decide to take him xc schooling afterwards.... 2 more months (crazy) until my new jump saddle should be with me. It hd better fit...!

Frosty, at the risk of looking horribly ignorant, I have to ask, why are you walking hound puppies, and what does that entail?? They do look very cute.

Horse is a Warmblood x TB. He is only 4, with dubious steering, no balance, but a really lovely willing nature. He has only just been brought back into work, after being backed and turned away last year, so he is a real blank canvas. I have so many plans for him!

Unfortunately, not only does he not come with a saddle, he also has a lot of filling out to do, so I can see lots of saddle shopping in my future if this works out! I can't believe you still have two months to wait Gin!!

Tootsie, it must be heartbreaking selling two at once, but I guess at least it gets it over with quickly, like ripping, rather than peeling a plaster off. Will you be pony shopping soon?

Yes, the ponies have already been replaced with upgraded models, so the tears won't last too long I hope.

Hound puppies always go out to live in people's homes between the ages of about 3 and 6 months, longer if you are brave enough! It makes sure they are socialised and have seen more of the world than just the kennels and other hounds. I've had 4 lots, but not for the past couple of years, couldn't take the stress anymore!

Oh yes, I forgot you have the dressage saddle. Do post pics of the new one when it arrives!

So are you looking for a project Rolling? That is a proper project - so satisfying to have a horse that you have made yourself that you know inside out. I hope he is ok when shod.

Tootsie beat me to it but I hasten to add they are not actually living in my house, much as they'd like to! It gives them a chance to meet lots of different things, learn their names, learn to be on a lead, learn not to chase things - they daren't chase our cat, he's got them well under his paw, ditto the sheep and horses - a bit of traffic awareness etc etc. They go back to kennels and spend the next year growing up, and are introduced to trail hunting next Autumn. With luck they remember you and come rushing over when they hear you, more often than not they've completely forgotten the lovely time they had trashing the garden!

Potential new horse sounds nice, I don't have much experience of Warmbloods at all but the 2 I know are very affectionate and willing - I've never dared take on a blank canvas so I'll take notes as you go!

Ah, OK, that makes sense. I'd never thought about how young hounds are socialised.

What are the new ponies like? Have they settled in OK?

I'm not sure if I am mad or not, taking on such a youngster. I have done it before, but that was 20 years ago, when I bounced a lot better than I do now. I am looking forward to the challenge though, it will be amazing if it all works out!

Good luck for tomorrow Gin! I hope the fly bite is sorted.

Golly that was exhausting!! Finally got back on board yesterday and took him in the school. Let's say the canter was wild... We needed to do do an emergency stop at one point as he was being just too lairy! Anyhow. Got there today. Warmed up nicely and managed not to crash into anyone. Went into main arena and he was certain there were nasties lurking behind all the white boards so felt very tense and very distracted. Canter wasn't too bad although he did thinking of hooning off at one point but think the emergency stop yesterday helped remind him not to be a complete lout. So ended up on 65% and a 5th place rosette. Not bad for his first dressage outing and we survived. Will be interesting to see what he is like next time...

So how are new ponies? Horse been re-vetted? Knee? Hound puppies?!

V nice to have a competition report! You can't complain at 65% first time out for ages. Great. Sounds like you just need to keep getting out until he remembers that white boards are boring!

We've only got one new pony recently, we have had one too many for a year now, so selling 2 was essential for my sanity. Unfortunately, however, the new one is shod, unlike the 2 I have sold who were barefoot, and the farrier came this week . She is amazing though, 12.2 roan, 17, been there and done it all, very clever and wise. DD2 (who is 8) has gone from 0-60 in a week, having not been able to jump much at all as she had a Shetland, popping 70 cm rails and she can't get enough, she wants to ride ALL the time, wants to play chase me charlie, is making up pretend one day events in the field, has even started trying to do leg yield!!

Pony sounds amazing!!! Love a roan and so pleased to hear of the fun your daughter is having. That's what having a pony should be all about. Long may the fun continue.

Hopefully doing some more stressage in a couple of weeks. Next weekend working at Burghley and DH doing a triathlon but will try to do another test to reassure him that there are no monsters. Not bad at all for his first time ever in an arena though.

What are you doing at Burghley?

Running a course walk! I work for one of the top riders and we are holding a coursewalk. I'm currently writing a shopping list!

Oh, I remember you saying up thread. Are you in the SW? My brain is whirring now, PM me which one! Are you staying over? I am a bit gutted as I bought a tent this summer but discovered Burghley doesn't do tents! Caravans only. So I'm staying with a friend.

Whoop it's Burghley week. Sadly only going on Saturday and Sunday this year but still looking forward to it. Had a tough week at BSPS Summer Champs from Tuesday to Saturday (commuting each day!) so looking forward to watching others do the work this weekend plus some shopping..

That sounds like a fun dressage outing. I'm a tad hungover this morning as we had a race night last night involving hunt relay, hound racing, terrier racing, space hoppers, 3 legged, carry your wife and others which was a riot - I was on the bbq which was manic so didn't get to see much but the video's on FB are entertaining. Knee as a result is sore, but that's my own fault. Planning on sitting in the sun this afternoon to recover. Hound puppies are well, destroying cardboard boxes is their passion at the moment which is fine except for the mess!

New pony sounds a cracker, they really are worth their weight in gold those ones, and I'm glad your daughter is having so much fun.

I've never been to Burghley but do try and watch what I can - hope the course walk goes well.

Frosty that sounds like so much fun!! Space hoppers and carry your wife particularly amuse me!!

Burghley is lovely. It has a very different feel to Badminton, not that that's a bad thing. Beautiful setting and will be interesting to see what the course is like this year. Sad I don't have an excuse to stay up there this year but hopefully next year the boss will be back on board.

BSPS sounds exhausting Butkin! Were you competing?

Well done on the dressage Gin, sounds like a good first outing overall. Pony sounds awesome, and I am very jealous of everyone who is off to Burghley!

I am still without a horse, and back to square one. The horse never made it to the re vetting. They had offered to take him over to the vets, as they have the proper facilities there. They then rang me to say they'd had a crash en route, but were all ok.

I suggested giving the horse a couple of days to make sure he was OK after the crash, then rearranging it, but they messaged me three days later to say they'd sold him to someone else.
It's all left me a bit baffled to be honest. So here I am, once again on the hunt for a horse...

That sounds a bit fishy Dinosaur, how odd and very frustrating. I hope something suitable turns up sooner rather than later. Are you looking all over the place or just locally? If you can manage Worcester/Herefordshire borders let me know and I'll look around.

I'd like to be going to Burghley (although looking at the rain pouring down at the minute perhaps not!) but am going to support a couple of friends at a local BE event today and tomorrow instead.

I'm going to try riding this week too - my six weeks is up and the consultant said to go carefully and see what happens. Apparently it's normal for my knee to be swollen and sore for at least the next 3 months.....which puzzles me a bit as he didn't mention that at the beginning but I'll take his word for it! Horse is very on his toes so my friend has said she'll ride him first for me and take some of the fizz out - phew. All the wheat and rape has been cut on the farm and I'd dearly love to be on the stubble fields before they are re-sown, it's a v short window of about 2 weeks so it would be nice just to hack on them rather than the roads but I'll have to see how bouncy he is.

That does all sound fishy. I know it's annoying but i bet something better will come a long very soon.

Frosty hope your knee starts to rapidly improve very soon. Great that harvest is over though.

Got back from Burghley in the early hours of this morning and now tucked up on sofa with coffee watching it on the telly! Very interested to see how it rides and how tough the time is.

Well it rode harder than WFP thought it would (according to his H&H article) I think. Although looking at the scoreboard at the end, there were actually more clears than it seemed when watching the course, but no one got the time! I caught a flash of Jonelle Price just before the leaf pit, she really did look like she was going hell for leather.

Chris Burton is lovely to watch ride. And just nice to look at anyway!

I was out all day at a BE event watching a friend - 3rd on their first outing with new horse so very exciting - so watched Burghley on catch up last night.

There were some seriously big questions but I think what caught a lot of people out was the ground itself - not the going but the ups and downs. Proper undulating terrain and I think a few of those horses just weren't prepared/fit enough for that, and that combined with the rain made it harder. To be fair though there were a number of less well known combinations and it's when you see those going XC you realise how difficult it really is, I'd say that it's a harder course than Badminton, the jumps there may be bigger but overall the question itself is more difficult at Burghley. Hats off to them all, anyone who got round there should be pleased with themselves and their horse!

WFP was adamant that it was the easiest Burghley course he has walked in a long time. Not that it was easy (it is a proper 4* track and properly massive) but it had a lot of options so people should be able to get round. The time is always tricky, especially as this year it was going the other way like it did last year. Up until Jonelle there didn't seem to be much attacking going on? She rode such a classy round and it was great seeing her horse finish full of running.

The field was somewhat lacking of the big names due to Rio. Pleased for Burto after his Rio disappointment (it so nearly happened again yesterday!).

Not a good advert for Sam Griffiths' sponsors either! Poor Happy didn't not look impressed at being pulled up!

Hello everyone! So today we have been out stressaging once again. Entered 2 tests this time as hoped I could bore him into accepting the White boards wouldn't attack him. Prelim 19 first and had 15 entered. He did well although did an enormous spook at an arena sign but then settled and did ok. We then did Prelim 17 and did some nice trotwork although the canter still needs some work as he doesn't always respect me so downward transitions are not always pretty. Main thing is we survived! How we've the rewarding thing is we came 2nd in both classes! And even more exciting is there is a lot of potential for improvement.

Just waiting for Ok from DH to enter hunter trial next Saturday...