Sydney Mid Week Event

The second half of the season has begun! With a tune up Jumping lesson from Stuart prior to the event Crafty was ready for his next appearance at the Sydney Mid week in which he was entered in the Pre-Novice. The event had a pretty relaxed atmosphere but Crafty thought it was very exciting as his last outing was nearly seven weeks ago. He warmed up really well for his test and I feel his flat work is really coming along. Unfortunately upon approaching the arena he decided he was feeling a little fresh and subsequently didn't score as well as I had hoped as his neck got a bit short. There may be something to do with the fact I have being feeding him a lot to put some more weight on him during winter, might need to reduce feed before the next event, woops! He did look very nice though. I have a video which I will try to upload soon.

The second day we had SJ first. Crafty did a very good clear round and was being especially careful! The fences actually looked small which is good. He had a couple of admirers that wanted to know where he came from :) XC he was excellent as well. The course was really good with a variety of fences, I probably could have let him travel more in the first half of the course, but I wanted to make sure he was listening and adjustable as it had been so long between shows. But he is really getting confident and is starting to understand the related lines more and jumped into the water with no problems. Over all I was very pleased, he is such a star! Our next show is Tamworth in two weeks time, so we are looking forward to that :)

 

Winter woollies

After a busy start to the season and reasonably good weather we all turned our calendar over to the month of June, and it was as if the beauro of meteorology and the Channel 7 weather reporter took great joy in announcing that the first day of winter was upon us. So literally from that point on it was rain, rain, rain, rain with absolutely no sign of sun for the next few weeks. There is only one word to describe it 'miserable' oh and 'muddy', yes there was mud everywhere, even a trail through our house, and none of us know how to use the mop apparently. But the show must go on! Except for the two WA chickens who felt that riding in the sleet or snow at Berrima was far from appealing, so we opted to go to Clarendon Jump Club and do some training rounds in the rain, but it was almost humid, so was not too bad! So Crafty did the 1.10m a couple of times and then we did the 1.20m, he was really good, he actually felt better in the bigger height and he is feeling really confident and is trying very hard not to touch a thing. I was so happy with his progress that I decided after such a busy season so far he deserved a break. So in the very wet weeks ahead, Crafty got to stay warm in his winter woollies and hang out with his friend Rexy. I on the other hand packed the truck and took a trip south with the Tinneys to compete at Melbourne 3DE with Holy Bruce. It was a freezing week, but all the hard work paid off and we ended up 7th in the CCI2** against a very competitive field.

Nevertheless I think the few weeks of during June has done Crafty a world of good. I brought him up to the stables at the end of last week and under all those rugs is a horse that has matured and possibly grown a bit. I have lunged him for a few days and did some flat work on him today and he feels ready to tackle the remainder of the year. Our next event is the Sydney Mid-week at Pre Novice level in three weeks time so I will keep you posted. What is exciting news is that now we are in July the sun has come out and the boys got to go out in the nude and have a good old roll and play!

Rexy & Crafty 

         

Equestriad Camden Championship Weekend

Last weekend 26th May was the Equestriad Camden ODE. Crafty did the Pre-Novice Horse Championship class and it was an extremely competitive field. The venue looked spectacular with Marques and TV coverage. On the Saturday it was again freezing and very windy. I drew the short straw with a 8:30 dressage, so on went the infinite layers of jackets! Crafty did a great test, more consolidated than the last, he coped really well with leaving the other horses and going to a separate oval where the pre novice dressage arenas were. He again scored a 51 which was good and he received some nice comments from the judge! The SJ was also on Saturday and he did a cute round. I then walked the XC and it was very testing course for a young horse. We had two water jumps, some introduction to narrow fences, angled lines, apex and sunken roads. Crafty is becoming very mature and was so quite in the warm up which was really good. He then set of in a great rhythm out of the start box and just took everything in his stride. Although green he was always listening to me and was so brave. I trotted through the first water jump as about half the class were either falling off or getting eliminated at the jump in, Crafty had a good look on the approach but was very honest and jumped in well, cantered through the water and spotted his fence out. At the second water jump he went straight in and felt great. We went a bit slow again, in one section of the course I opened him up a bit more and he was really good and easy to collect back again so we can work on that more at subsequent events. Over all we finished up 9th out of a big class and without time he would have been in the top few again so I am super pleased with him. His next event wont be for a while, instead we are going to do a few SJ days and continue our regular lessons with Stuart Tinney. Another highlight for the weekend was winning the CIC2** on my other Horse Holy Bruce so champagne all round! 

     

Quirindi Event

So after a few weeks at the Tinney's place Crafty has settled in nicely. He is out in a huge paddock with another horse and is learning to fit in with the routine. Leading into his first event we attended a couple of Show Jumping Days which were really good practice. He is stepping up into the 1.05m classes with no problems at all and is not concerned about the fill. I have also had some lessons with Stuart and he is improving every week.  On the 19th May we packed up and caught a lift in the Tinney Truck to Qurindi, a six hour drive North. It was a great experience for him having to go along with all the other horses and a very enjoyable weekend despite the freezing cold nights where even the water buckets had a layer on ice on them in the morning! Crafty was entered in his first pre novice and did a really Super job! His dressage was very nice, he has a great presence in the ring even though he is green. He scored 51penalties and was in the top few placing's. He also did a nice SJ round and a beautiful clear XC. We did a steady round and had some time penalties, my priority is for him to stay confident and have time to develop his jump, we can make time up in the future ! Over all he ended up 6th which was very exciting :)  Next event is Camden!

Crafty at Quirindi

The Epic Journey!

Crafty & Bruce

So Crafty must have thought he was heading back to where he grew up as we set off from WA to VIC at the beginning of April. He travelled like a professional and ate and drank the whole way, although after 4 days off he was feeling very lively at the other end. We arrived in Camperdown on Thursday evening and Crafty thought the event was a lot of fun because there are lots of different horses to talk to and you can play with them and subsequently let them rip your rug off your neck! So my nice new show set now has to be repaired, love baby horses! The Prelim dressage was located off the oval and Crafty did think that it may have been Sunday because you got to warm up around all the XC Jumps, so despite looking stunning with his false tail and lovely plaits he was a little bit tense and his frame was a bit high for a prelim test, so we didn’t get the mark we were hoping for. I'm not too worried as he has been perfect in all other tests he has done and the whole trip is a lot to take in for a young horse. We then had the SJ and he did a super clear round, looking like he wanted to be a Grand Prix show jumper. The following day was XC and he did a nice bold round, feeling very confident with it all. We had a few time penalties as the ground was quiet hard and i think he just needed to go at his own pace. I am really pleased with how he is going at the moment. My other horse Holy Bruce also did very well placing 5^th in the CIC2*.  After the event we then hit the road Monday morning and made our way to Sydney where we will be based at Stuart Tinney’s place. It is a great area to be as I’v got access to some very good coaches that specialise in all disciplines. In the next few weeks i will pick up a few SJ events and some ODEs. Will keep you posted!   

Getting Ready for the Season

We officially have a plan to the beginning of the season. Crafty has been going really well the last few weeks, improving and getting a much better top line. We have being going to Brookleigh equestrian estate just down the road for Show Jumping training, they have a course set up and its just nice to have an outing without the pressure of a competition. He is just jumping so well! The first competition in in two weeks (Capel ODE Prelim level) and we are doing a clinic with Stuart Tinney the week before so Crafty should be well prepared. The plan then is to head over east the first week of April and pick up Camperdown ODE on the way to Sydney. I would then like to enter him in the Young Event Horse class there. Then for a few months we will stay with Stuart and work out a plan for a few more events. It will be a big trip for him so will just see how he travels and go from there. Below is a video from one of my lessons at Brookleigh, cool as!

Lovely Summer!

During November I was preparing my other horse for the Adelaide International 3DE so Crafty had some well deserved time off. He has come back in to work at the end of December and is going better than ever so this should be a good year to consolidate everything and for him to become a 'proper' horse not just a 'breaker'. We have been having weekly dressage lessons and the improvement in the last month has been significant, just getting a better connection. I have also jumped him a few times and he is feeling great; been very exuberant over his fences and as always not wanting to touch a pole! I think he has grown and is overall looking more mature, as of next week he will have been under saddle for a year so he has done well, it will be interesting to see how he looks after another 12months of competitions. So the plan this summer is to have as many outings as we can and keep going with regular dressage and SJ lessons likewise I would like to continue with regular xc training. So Mr Crafty is a very happy horse and I look forward to 2012 with him.

Brigadoon ODE

Our first little fence! 

The scary brush fence! But over we go.

This weekend was Brigadoon ODE and Crafty was entered in the Sr Intro I. He did a really nice dressage test in another 20 x 40 arena, (this time we fitted in it better) and finished on a score of 49 which was a really good effort. We then had SJ on the Saturday as well, and Crafty didn't miss a beat getting perfect spots to all his fences and feeling a lot more confident taking me to the fences, even the scary ones! The xc course was testing enough (As the lower grades tend to be in WA.....) but he set off out of the start box in a good rhythm and was getting the idea of what this phase is all about. He was more concerned about what the jump judges were up to during his round but was very focused on all the jumps. Again he covers the ground really well and everyone commented on how fluent he looked for a young horse, he is very sure footed and copes with the change in terrain really well. At the water jump there was a lot to look at for a young horse and a log jump in, I decided to trot him through the water first( to give him confidence as it was causing lots of problems) and then he was really amazing, jumping in huge with no hesitation. Overall I was really pleased with him and we finished on our dressage score which placed us 6th (out of ~50 horses in that class!). This has been a big year for Crafty, it has been exciting to see the transformation from an unbroken 5yr old in January to successfully completing his first 2 ODEs in. We now have a break over the summer from competitions, Crafty can have a couple of weeks off while I am in Adelaide and then he can come back into work and do some SJ days and some more xc schooling so we are ready for next year. Bring on 2012 and thank you Vanessa for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the ESB team this year and for selecting such a cool young horse for me to ride! We love him to bits and he has so much character!  

Brookleigh ODE

Brookleigh ODE was Crafty's first event for the season and he was very well behaved all weekend. Our dressage was in a 20x40 arena and not only did we manage to fit in it but Crafty did a really cute test finishing up on a score of 48. He warmed up well and did not appear stressed trotting around with all the other horses, I just let him find his feet in the arena, not putting too much pressure on him as I felt his first time out needed to be an enjoyable experience. We also did SJ on Saturday and Crafty did a nice clear round jumping all the scary fill. Now I thought Sunday was going to be our biggest test as Crafty can be a bit spooky training, but I was pleasantly surprised when he cantered out the start box, found a lovely rhythm and took it all in his stride. It was a reasonably tricky Intro course with a lot of variety. We had a log on a mound two strides down to a narrow, a sunken road, ditch/palisade combination and two water jumps, crafty cantered around all of it with me needing to trot to the finish line as he has a deceptively large stride, finishing up right on time. Crafty finished on his Dressage score and placed 3rd! It wasn't until I looked at the score board at the end of the day that I realised we could have been 1st if we went a bit slower as 1st, 2nd & 3rd were on the exact same score and placings came down to whoever was closest to the optimum xc time. Overall I was very pleased and look forward to our next event :)

Ditch/Palisade

3 strides to another ditch

What a good boy!

Winter with Crafty

Over the winter i have been working with ESB Irish Craft (aka Crafty). Although he has not been an easy horse to produce i think he will be well worth the wait as he has some serious talent over a fence!
Therefore we have not rushed him, instead have taken it slowly consolidating things at home and attending a few little SJ days. He has really come along in the last month and is getting the hang of the lateral work and is jumping  with more balance. Crafty has such a powerful backend we needed to learn how to land with control.

(Photo from beginning of the year)

Now that it is Spring and the weather is better we have entered in an ODE for a couple of weeks time. Between now and then we will do some more xc schooling and SJ events. I have a feeling the spectators and jump judges will be the most scary bit about eventing!

Below is a link to some xc schooling from a couple of weeks ago, poor video quality (not sure how to fix that as it looked good on my computer before i uploaded it???) Anyhow we are just doing a few small fences and in the next few sessions i will add in a few bigger fences.

Beginning of 2011

After working with the two lovely ESB horses at the beginning of the season, ESB Irish Leprechaun has now found a new home with a super young rider in Western Australia. Katlyn Prendiville member of the W.A.Y.E.R squad (WA Young Event Riders) has selected Leprechaun as a future prospect to take her through to International Level. At their first event they came home with a blue ribbon and i am sure there will be many more of them to come! We wish Katlyn the best of luck in producing this talented young horse.

New ESB Arrivals

We welcome ESB Irish Craft and ESB Irish Leprechaun into the stables!

These two lovely horses have recently returned from getting broken in over the summer. They will now start basic flat work and education at home. I look forward to working with them both as they are super scopey looking horse with great paces.    

TEAM ESB

I am proud to represent Team ESB and look forward to producing the lovely young horses that have been carefully selected by Vanessa Hawkins. 

At the end of 2009 we Purchased ESB Irish Ritual as an unbroken 4year old and took on ESB Irish Operation a 6year old to produce. I have very much enjoyed working with Vanessa, I have never met such a motivated and passionate person in my life and I love her positive attitude and dedication to her horses and breeding program.

ESB Irish Ritual is a spunky grey gelding that has taken everything in his stride. He finished the eventing season winning his first Prelim event, and has the brain and heart to take him through the grades!

ESB Irish Operation is now a member of the WA Police force, they are thrilled with his temperament and ability to pick up tasks so easily. He has started street patrols and is a delight in the stables. The Police force hope to liaise with Vanessa in the future as Irish horses are very suitable for the job!        

Career Path So Far

I am currently working full time as a Registered Nurse and my sisters and I run Perth Performance Horses a family run business www.perthperformancehorses.com.

I am a member of the WA State Eventing squad, having previously been a member of the National Youth Development Squad. I have received fantastic training from our National Coach and Olympic riders themselves.



One thing about Evening is you will never stop learning! The ultimate aim is to represent Australia on the International Stage. Over the years i have trained and competed a variety of event horses with numerous wins and Placings. I now look forward to sourcing a special horse that will take me all the way.

Justamint is my current 3* horse who has been in the family for 6 years, producing excellent results. In 2011 I plan to qualify and compete at Adelaide CCI4*. 'Minty' has taught me the ropes of eventing and allowed me to develop my riding. Although he has his quirks he is a very special horse with a big heart.

My long term plan is to relocate to the UK to gain further experience on the International eventing scene. If the time is right and i'm presented with an opportunity that will allow me to further my riding skills, heading overseas will be a challenging but exciting prospect!

But for now, we look forward to the 2011 season in Australia with Justamint and the Young horses.

My Schooling

I spent my younger years at Moora Primary school, which was located 10mins from our farm. Then in year  2000 my parents made the decision to send me to Boarding school as the local Moora high school was very limited with its opportunities. I spent the next 5 years at Perth College which is located in Mt Lawley in Perth. Mum use to keep my ponies in work and would drive to Perth so I could ride them on the weekend. In 2002 we purchased a small property in the Swan Valley, it appeared to be the next logical step as we were all very keen to continue our riding careers and needed a place to base ourselves. I graduated from Perth college in 2004 and had a gap year.I worked and rode horses for half of the year in Perth and then moved to Adelaide for a few months to work for Gill Rolton. In 2006 I began my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Curtin University, after 3.5 years I graduated and began applying for Jobs. I got an interview at Princess Margaret Hospital (Pediatric) and was offered a Job starting in August 2009. So to fill the time I went travelling to Mexico and Europe! I am now partway through my Post Graduate program as a Registered Nurse and loving it :)