I finally took that bold move that so many excuses had kept me from competing and there were no more excuses to make so- I just had to do it. I rode my awesome soft Welsh cob mare B. Duchess, a mare I bred and Steve and Conor had broken in for me, and I have ridden on, in a dressage competition. We had a lovely time, she is just right for me, great movement, lovely nature and an easy height for me. People kept asking me what type of horse was she and how did I find a saddle to fit her, etc.



We competed at the Rachel Stock fundraiser at the AMDG's lovely new grounds in Clevedon. Course it was only a training test and it was an unregistered competition but the nerves were apparent for both of us. Duchess had eyes on stalks though was very good to me. Duchess has a novel interpretation of dressage deciding that "A was for exit" and "C was for Car-DONT GO NEAR IT".



Still we managed to complete both tests and I was very proud of my little Welsh cob. We had lovely encouraging comments from the judges and even a score of 9 for one movement!

Niamh and I were so lucky to be on early as the rain poured down once we had finished and many riders were wet through. Niamh rode Shammy, who unfortunately saw the jumps set up for eventing and she just couldnt take her eyes off them! Niamh bravely rode Shammy through her excitement and had a successful second test beating me! DANG!

We had a great time in the clubhouse mingling with many of the other competitors while waiting for the scores to be collated.