Well..... that was just a giant fuckety do dah!

Josephine and her flying machine!

*SIGH* I'm not entirely sure how to start this post.... Let's go with the positives first - so having jumped a lovely 90cm round on 11 March to qualify for BOTH Cricklands and Hartpury, I started to build up the jumping at home. Making the jumps higher and wider.

When our car brake caught fire on the M5 as we were on our way for Ewen's birthday celebrations at Exeter Race son 17 March, that sort of put the kibosh on Cricklands (10-12 April) but I was a grown up about it and focused instead on Hartpury.

My plan had been to do the 80 and 90cm classes at home shows over Easter, and maybe pop up to Hartpury for their unaffiliated jumping outside on 26 April (tomorrow) as preparation for the champs.

And so at home, I started to build the course up. These photos are from the 3 April. The course was set at 90cm and I had one fence at 95cm (an upright) - holes 14 and 15, important information to note haha.

My plan on the 3rd was to be comfortable at the height and then slowly build up the width. This jump is a few inches short of toe-to-toe (stand to stand) the champs would be at least toe-to-toe if not slightly more open (I know, I looked up last years Hartpury champs 90cm photos online).

Fred was finding the jumping easy - especially in his new saddle which we bought in March! - and it felt incredible to feel him really JUMP, like flying...... yeah hold that thought.

In between the jumping, I was working on my flat too, the shoulder-ins were finally coming back and we'd just worked out that if I didn't carry my whip, I could REALLY get a lovely balanced canter both reins. Basically the whip in my hand is making it turn out which is changing the dynamic.

This was discovered in an A-MAZ-ZING! lesson on Monday 6th April - where I was feeling super positive about how our elementary was coming on.

I did the gate at Badgworth on Wednesday 8th and hacked Thursday 9th. Deciding to have a 'little pop' on Friday 10th. The course had been used the night before and had been left at a decent height albeit some of the fences were obviously set up to 'solve' some training issue...... THAT should have been the tip off.

But with Freddie behind me I set about changing the course to 80/85cm and a couple of 90cm uprights. My spreads were all 'toe-to-toe' and I moved one out so that it was a GOOOOOOOD spread, beyond to-to-toe, BUT still at a sensible height. The purpose was to build up and out.

And so we set up, jumping this and that, Fred flying EVERYTHING like it was childsplay. There was just one fence on course - jump 8 - which I felt was challengingly positioned...... It was just by the gallery, and at almost 90degrees to the wall. I jumped it singularly and had to really ride around the edge of the arena to get the line in, I jumped it and then I jumped it with fence 9. I arrived quite left handed to 9. Fence 9 was the fence I had made BIIIG and WIIIDE - 85cm at the back at this point. But Fred gobbled it all up easily.

So I hopped off and put everything up.... Everything EXCEPT the weird fence 8.... I guess instinctively, I knew that something about it was wrong. Having cleared everything, putting fences together in 2s and 3s, I decided I would finish on the course.

It was going BRILLIANTLY, hitting the strides, flying the fences. AND THEN... we came over fence 7 down towards that gallery and the corner that Rob sits in. Fred did whip around a bit quick to the right and I think fell a little to the shoulder but in an instant, I knew the jump was wrong. At the angle it was set, Fred and I were going to arrive at the wing. He was game for jumping it but I knew that would result in us going through the wing. In that split second moment I said 'no, don't jump' to Fred, perhaps out aloud, but mostly in my body. In the split second later, Fred heard and instead of taking off, ducked around. Physics and velocity took over. When you're jumping you're normally covering the ground at a minimum of 325mpm, that's like 11-12 mph. I don't know how to calculate the speed of the 'jink' out but all I can tell you is I HURTLED through that jump wing. Ribs first. I body slammed the wooden wing, at pace, and down it went. The second part of me to make contact with the wing was my knee, the final bit? My face, as the wing hit the floor and bounced back up.

I rolled, got up. Saw Fred looking at me with his reins askew, but he was fine. Thank GOD. I was winded, badly winded. I somehow managed to lift the wing and put it back. I'd knocked it sideways about 3ft, the pole all laid perfectly in place as they'd obviously just dropped of on impact before I'd carried the wing away. I can't remember where the back stand was, I think It was just knocked down. But I knew I couldn't get the poles up, it hurt too much, they were going to be too heavy. And so I walked and walked in circles, trying to get my breath, with Fred following me at the end of his reins without question.

I could feel something watery on my face by my eye and my nose and my mouth. I wiped it away but it came back. When I could breath, I decided although I couldn't get the poles back up, I could probably just pop the cross pole and one or two more jumps to finish.

However, as I went to the mounting block to get on, I realised my ribs wouldn't let me lift my hands to collect my reins up to mount..... I recognised that I was actually in a bit of bother and started to feel that I might actually have done something BAD. For the first time in my life, I phoned for help.

I rang Jane, said I'd had a bit of a tumble and was a bit sore, could she just check. also going through my mind was that if i was ok, perhaps Jane could leg me up and I could do those last couple of jumps.

Whilst whilst I was waiting for Jane, I could still feel my face watering and I thought I'd flip my phone camera on so I could see what the bother was....

oops

Yep, I had the imprint of the wing on my face. and yet my hat silk is still clinging on. I didn't see that at the time.

I just thought oh bollox.

Jane arrived and since I wasn't going blue in the lips, we decided I hadn't punctured a lung but obviously had done something to my ribs - bruised or otherwise.

She said I was also in shock. Probably because I was babbling saying I promise I wasn't doing anything stupid or trying to be a clever dick. He'd been jumping well I just must have really fucked up the line.

Jane kindly helped me to put Fred to bed and I called Ewen to come and get me as driving was going to be a no-no.

Shortly after Jane went to sort the fence out and we discovered that the club who had hired the arena the night before had MOVED two of the fences - that one and another one. Despite saying they wouldn't. When I saw the line that Jane had put in when she corrected it the next day, I nearly cried. Fred and I would have made that jump on Jane's line every day of the week at ANY angle. Who the FUCK moves the jumps when they have arena hire and worse still doesn't put them back or tell anyone!

So whilst my pride was no longer bruised, my ribs most definitetly were!

That was the 10th April, it's now the 25th April, I'm healing well and I'm grateful that someone (mum) was watching over me that day and I didn't come away with a punctured lung, broken ribs (A&E said bruised or fractured but not broken) or any other more sinister damage. AND as a major plus FRED was ok.

On the downside, I'm not likely to be riding for another week or so and the Hartpury Champs are out the window. I'm gutted and now worrying that my pursuit for Trailblazers qualification and success at the champs may also be at stake.

And so I guess I started this year's blog with the title - "Dare I ask for more?" and the universe clearly responded with "oi you cheeky little Oliver Twist, take what you go and be grateful you horrid little street urchin!"

Obviously, these are the photos from the 3rd April, I omitted to take photos from the 10th after the fall!

Aaaand it's taken me two weeks to stop being so bitterly angry at the egotistical trainer that felt the need to reposition the jumps.