A Midweek Flyer and a Brave Step Up
- Kelly Logan
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
After such a sparkly but confidence-boosting start to the show jumping season, Wednesday felt like the next little test for Fred and me. The plan was simple: go out, jump the 80cm, keep things calm and positive, and see where we landed.
Fred warmed up in the warm-up arena like a total professional. Granted, we were in there on our own for quite a bit of the time, but riders were coming and going and horses were appearing and disappearing around us – and Fred took it all in his stride. For a horse who has sometimes found the atmosphere of warm-up arenas a bit overwhelming, this felt like a quiet but significant step forward.
When the 80cm class started, it quickly became clear that the pace was on. Riders were flying round, with clears averaging around the 27-second mark. When it was our turn, Fred felt forward, confident, and ready to go. We set off and absolutely flew round the track, stopping the clock at 23.36 seconds.
For a moment it looked like it might hold, but the last few competitors clearly decided the gauntlet had been thrown down. One managed to just pip us with 23.19 seconds, nudging us into second place.
Honestly though, I couldn’t have been happier. A fast, confident clear and – most importantly – qualification for Hartpury.
But the excitement didn’t end there....
Standing at the gate afterwards with Hannah and Elaine, as the 90cm fences had gone up and the class was about to start, we had the conversation. You know the one: “Should we… or shouldn’t we?”
Part of me thought it might be a brilliant step forward. maybe the universe was telling me it WAS time to try for the 90cm championships.... It has been a goal after all..... Another part of me wondered whether I might just completely embarrass myself and leave all the viewers - other competitors, and more importantly my friends (including the judge) - wondering what on earth I thought I was doing.
After a bit of debate (and encouragement from Hannah - "honestly, just go for it, you're doing better than me, i'm not even jumping right now" and Elaine -"I just jumped the 60cm - my first jumping in 4 years - do it!" …), I decided to go for it.
This time the plan was completely different. No racing the clock. No clever turns. Just a quiet, sensible round: wide approaches, smooth rhythm, and presenting Fred to each fence clearly now the height had gone up.
And it worked.
Fred felt confident, popping round with ease, filling me with complete confidence in my decision, clearing the fences and listening to me.... until fence 9.....
At that point Fred apparently decided the sensible plan was not only optional but "boring mum"......
He came over fence 8, around the back of fence 6 and instead of going wide like I planned, he essentially said, “Oh come ON mum!” cantering sideways across the arena directly at fence 9, so that I was only just able to square him up in the final two strides to jump it - which he did beautifully and clear. From there he said no more wide - and powered over the spread at fence 10 just as confidently.
We finished with a double clear in 24.27 seconds, which put us into 3rd place, only 1.42 seconds behind the winner and .78 behind second - not bad when we were taking it calmly!
Even better, it meant we qualified for both Hartpury and Cricklands at 90cm too.
So what started as a straightforward plan to quietly jump the 80cm and hope to qualify for Hartpury to complete the 'set' turned into a brilliant midweek outing:
2nd in the 80cm and Hartpury qualification
3rd in the 90cm with double clear
Qualification for Hartpury and Cricklands at 90cm
Not bad for a Wednesday and a slightly spontaneous decision at the gate.
Most importantly though, Fred felt confident, happy, and up for the job – which is exactly what we’re aiming for this season.
Now… I suppose we’d better start planning those trips to Hartpury and Cricklands and how the bloody hell I'm going to fund it. :(
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