BK, showjumping champion of the world

This week, our much loved Brand Ambassador Katie Gray and her trusty steed BK took on the Australia Day Official HRCAV Combined Training Day hosted by Phoenix Riding Club.  As usual, BK came home with a ribbon and Katie came home with some witty blog material....

Note: jumping saddle!

Oh BK, you make my heart smile. While we can punch out a dressage test like nobody’s business some other equestrian sports have challenged us over the years.

There was the time we tried hunting, which we will not do again sober or before either of us turn 50, that is for sure!  Showing... well I hope they all enjoyed the array of fungal infections we whipped up for our debut a few weeks ago...  

Western is an option.  We would no doubt make a ripper cutting pair.  That horse can turn on a dime if faced with a wombat or almost anything else.  But this is assuming we could provide our own cow (which would ideally remain still and very quiet). BK does take a while to get to know other animals and I can't see him happy to rope a cow we weren't well acquainted with. I am unsure that you can provide your own cutting cow... and we don't have any cows, nor am I handy with a rope so let's leave that one on ice for the time being.

Then there is show jumping.  Plenty of advantages to showjumping: soft landings for the both of us, cool gear, impressive photos... so we occasionally moonlight. Today at a combined training day we jumped our first course in almost a year.  BK handled it in his trademark style, staring incredulously at each of the 10 jumps before low and behold we would find ourselves on the other side to totter off in disbelief to the next! My long time SJ coach from my eventing days who was judging was no doubt weeping into his clip board, but hey. As my dad says, there are 100 ways to skin a rabbit.

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Yay! Who needs cash when you can have hoof black?!!

A good dressage test had us in front by a few points though we copped 5 penalties as we jump below our dressage level.  The winner got the cash but in second place with NO jump penalties we won our very own hoof black! I am hopeful that our next showjumping round will look marginally more professional, especially as my sponsors will be watching and if things go according to plan I may soon be jumping at about half of the height of their other Brand Ambassador... Thankfully I have some dressage days coming up to look vaguely proficient at soon.

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