Since I've still been hurting from my crash it seemed a good reason to get some dressage practice in, I can't imagine another scenario where I would willingly forfeit an event or even showjumping to spend an entire weekend doing dressage.( I'm not knocking dressage? I'm sure I'd be hooked if I could pull off all the fancy moves.°

So a fortnight ago we set off early saturday to Brittany with Turnip and Charlie for a premier annee dressage class. I had rather high hopes for Turnip as he was so good at the Haras du Pin. They were cruelly dashed. I don't think it helped being short of warmup time but I could tell as soon as he emerged from the trailer we were up for fun. He wasn't really bad, but bad enough to throw in lots of extra moves and get a bad mark after a tentative but promising start.
It was Charlie's first ever competition, he began by being sweetness itself, standing quietly on the trailer while Turnip strutted his stuff. From there it took a sharp nose dive as he exited the trailer and proceeded to leap a round with his willy out, shrilling his head off. All of a sudden this old dressage lark wasn't looking so cushty and I was left to consider ( but only for seconds as the plunging continued) whether taking Charlie for a dressage romp was really a safer alternative to jumping one of the older ones.
Charlie being Charlie ran out of puff quite fast,though he found a dose of adrenalin can really enhance endurance. Sadly he came last in his class, he was the only four year old and a little sullen and reluctant to do anything outside a walk within the markers but he proved himself to be thoroughly unsharp and relatively sane. The photo above is of him tethered to the trailer after his moment of glory, as you can see he's a pretty chilled out chap considering he's still entire. I would like to reassure you we were very close to him incase he decided to take a shine or instant hatred to any passing horses but he was more concerned that Turnip had the better haynet.

Sunday was round two of dressage this time at Caen with Ned and Rog. I have to say they were both stars and I was the party pooper.Whether it's due to fatigue, stress, pain , nerves or just needing a good kick up the bum I don't know but I've recently begun a habit of forgetting dreassage tests. This time I excelled and managed to muck up one for Rog then one for Ned and as luck would have it during the better test each horse performed.
I was first in the first class of the day on Rog and last in the last class on Ned, maybe that had something to do with it. Anyhow we got off to a fine start, I managed to 'overlook' the first halt, salute' in Rog's test, so thrilled was I with the straightness of his entry and centre line.(The eventing dressage tests don't require this first halt so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). Anyhow Rog saved me and did a pleasing test despite some joggy walks of anticipation, I was particularly pleased with his leg yield into the centre line on both reins as they felt even and consistent even if I did overshoot it, TWICE!

I have made Rog a photo page and posted his test here;
 Rog's photo page
and now you know why it's an odd place to be coming at the first halt from.

Ned did a pleasing test in this class too though some of the movements he's not quite up to speed with yet.
Rog managed to get second, high sixties, despite our woes to win back his entry fee and a corkboard for pinning notes to; should be handy as kindling! Ned pulled in a reliable fifth in the low sixties, no handy prizes.

In the long and tedious wait between rounds one and two we managed to find some long scrummy grass for the two of them to munch on and on such a beautiful day it was hard not to enjoy it, Janville enjoys extensive views over a huge wide flood plain.
We also found some catty enjoyment gigling at some of the other competitors, there were a few tubby ladies on skinny horses and skinny ladies on tubby horses and the like, but the attention grabber of the day was an old glam rocker (Noddy Holder)  who must have been in his sixties who had curling grey tresses flowing in the breeze from under his top hat while sporting some massive dark sunnies and trotting round on his pony flicking his coat tails. He was quite eyecatching for sure though perhaps not in the way he intended.

The second and last class with Ned and Rog went similarly to the first, they both performed very respectably, me mucking it up again this time for Ned near the latter stages of the test. But they repeated their placings of the earlier class despite having different judges and against different horses. Ned was fifth and Rog second, what prizes galore did Rog secure this time round. He won not only his entry fee back but a gorgeous purple plastic tray and a saddlery voucher; 10 euro off any purchase over 25 euro made before the end of december LAST year.

Really what more could one ask for to round off a weekend of dressage extravaganza?