The three of us (Big Vin in the back, mummy and daddy in the front) set off for Allenshill this morning.
Vin and I were entered in two tests: Prelim 7 at 13.14 and Prelim 12 at 14.38.
We arrived, unloaded, groomed, tacked up and worked in.
Prelim 7 had moderately good parts.
And parts that were less moderate and way less good.
Despite working in gradually he was tense – and it showed.
Afterwards – when we got our sheet – I was pleased with the overall mark (62%) but felt that (even on the day) we could have done much better – and that we are capable of turning in a much better performance.
For the second test he was a different boy; he was brilliant, relaxed, supple and showed more than a little spark of the talent he has.
Several times during different movements I found myself grinning like a loon – everything felt like a partnership and Vin felt he was going really well.
The qualifying statement for this is that Prelim 12 is really a fcuking not nice test. The movements are peculiar, they come at you too quickly and they’re arranged in a testing combination for – frankly – a Novice test, let along a Prelim.
Regardless of the mark I thought we did brilliantly – and I loudly told Vin that he did brilliantly as soon as we got back to the lorry.
I untacked, groomed and slipped his ‘string vest’ on and gave him a net of haylage, then The Lovely S and I disappeared over to the food stall where we stocked up on badness.
Then we strolled back to the lorry to tell Vin how wonderful he was (again).
While we were there a beaming Maxine brought our test sheet over.
The judge had given us lots of nice comments as well as a column of almost-straight 6s for every moment – except for the halt where we scored a 7.
Good marks!
The more difficult test, good marks and we got placed – yay!
So thanks to Maxine for calling both tests for me too (even though I’m going to reward her with a couple of small prezzies).
We eventually arrived back at our yard with lots of bad food and many mugs of hot chocolate inside us (the humans; Vin had lots of haylage inside him!), and with a bright pink 6th Place rosette in the lorry ‘kitchen’.
I unrugged Vin from his travel rug, groomed him, changed him in to his field rug and then turned him out after apples and scratches were dispensed.
Beech got apples and strokes.
Then The Lovely S and I came home via McDonalds drive-through (2 apple pies, 2 McFlurries, 2 Sundaes – so rock’n’roll! We know how to live!).
Back home we sat, we ate, we watched three episodes of Buffy.
And now it’s 20.00 and I don’t know what to do next.
Perhaps a book?
Sunday evening on the cutting edge of life.
Great, isn’t it?
🙂
B.