Paul Langford || Equestrian Services || News

Passed both Stage 4 Riding & Care!

Having finished university, and training all summer, I put in for my Stage 4 for the beginning of September. This was a huge ask of me as I hadn’t done any BHS exams since my Stage 3 when I was 17. The riding parts were in the morning, and having worked the horses on the flat and over fences, I was one of only two riders who made it through to the cross country section.

Riding theory sections went well, and overall, I felt quite confident about the riding. Care was in the afternoon, and having spent the last month learning every system in the horse’s body, and everything else on the syllabus, my brain felt like mush, but was able to dig out the answers and pass the exam. This is now a huge weight off my shoulders and gives a bit more to my CV.

Valentino & Ralph bring home red rosettes – again.

Alison McGees Valentino won his class at Bluehouse dressage this week with nearly 67% in the Novice. He is becoming much more consistent and confident with the work he is producing, and I can now start to replicate the work we do at home in the competition arena.

DHI Whiley, owned by …………. also won his Prelim test with 67%, and behaved impeccably at the show – a big turning point for that horse. Liz Stevenson’s Ralph also won his class with 69%, so it was a very good day for the team. This follows the success we had 2 weeks ago at Lea Close Equestrian Centre, where Ralph led the first class with nearly 74%, and the second class with 71%. Valentino earned an impressive 70.8% in the Novice test. My sister and her horse Little Miss Sunshine had to settle for 3rd place with 70.4% - not that we are competitive.

All in all, I’m over the moon with the horses as the partnerships are still quite young, and we are still getting to know each other. They are promising scores and I’m looking forward to our next shows.