I’m so proud. After completing three novice endurance rides we have now upgraded to the next level in endurance, open. This means we’ll be able to go faster and do longer distances next season. I can compete open level this season but we’ve run out of rides that we can do down here in the south and I’ve decided to not do any more competitions this year. So I’m keeping him fit up until about end of October, then let him have a couple of lazy months where I’ll just ride him a couple of times a week. We then start fittening for next season around Christmas.

We completed two of our novice rides at Firle Park a week or so ago and I was absolutely over the moon with Shah’s performance – plus not doing too badly myself if I’m allowed to say. I had, in my infinite wisdom, decided to compete on both days because one of the other rides we were going to do had been cancelled and I needed three rides for my upgrade. So, we were down to do 40km on the Sat (25 miles) and 32km on Sun (20 miles). Both rides with company I’m glad to say – it helps a lot when energy levels decrease and it’s nice not to be alone in case something should happen.

So I arrived on the Sat with a horse bouncing full of energy wanting to run. This was a different ride to our previous one, lots more hills (this is the South Downs) and harder going but as we train occasionally on the downs we weren’t faced by the thought. And Shah did well. Vetted in with heart rate 44 and our usual show trot. After starting with a large spook at one of the cross country fences he pulled and pulled for miles, really wanting a gallop early on so after a while I gave in and he had a blast up a hill. He then regretted it himself, noticing how much energy that actually took out of him – smart cookie!

Shah tired earlier this time, probably due to the big hills, and we took it at a slower pace as both horses (Sidney, 18 year old TB/Irish cross who just loves to follow Shah’s grey bottom) were quite tired towards the end. Both of us quite happy to see the finish at the end of our 4-hour ride. After sloshing, drinking and relaxing we vetted in with heart rate 46 (brilliant!!), usual show trot, slight dehydration and slight girth chafing but still good enough to complete. We got our first grade!!! Only a grade 4, but still, I was delighted. Horse in tow, nearly falling asleep in the trailer, we went home for the booked massage (for Shah that is…) and enjoyed a quiet evening relaxing and preparing for the next day.

Getting up Sunday morning I felt much better than after the last competition, in fact my muscles hardly ached at all! I’d like to put that down to better preparation, drinking lots of green tea to boost the antioxidants in the muscles, and doing lots of stretching the week before plus stretching and massaging afterwards on the first day. Shah looked strangly at me when he saw the trailer was out – again, you must be joking! But he went straight in as usual and behaved absolutely impeccably the whole day. Having 40km in your legs does wonders to the usual fizzy, impatient, arab, brain. I could even tie him up outside the trailer with his haynet without him moving about – bliss when you’re trying to get organised.

This time Shah had learned his lesson. He knew not to gallop – didn’t even ask for it. He knew to pace himself, starting slow and just keeping going steady pace. And he knew to drink much more, at checkpoints and in troughs on the way. This resulted in a nice steady going, not fast at 9.7km/h average speed, but all I wanted was to complete and we did. Vetted in the morning with heart rate 43 and came back with 44, which was even better than on the Sat. No dehydration, no chafing (using another girth) and usual nice trot. So, came home with a grade 3 on the Sun, wow, I never expected that!

I was also delighted to have won (yes, won, first time we’ve ever won anything) the award for Best Shod Horse on the Sunday!!!! Many thanks to my excellent farrier, Liam, who was delighted when I told him.

Next season and new competitions now beckon. I have learned a lot this season and should hopefully now have the knowledge of how to extend our training programme to reach the fitness needed for the next level of distances. To progress to next level, advanced, we need to complete one 65km ride and one 80km ride. Not as easy as the novice level, and we will probably need the whole season to do it – but it’s a great goal for next year. Ultimately I’d love to do a proper race ride (or endurance rides as they’re called – the terminology within endurance is very complicated for some reason), where you’re judged on who’s over the finish line first rather than heart rates etc. but you have to be advanced to do that. These are only run as rides of between 80km and 160km. The 160km (100 miles) is the ultimate ride any endurance horse can do, and it is this distance they ride in international championships. The European Championships, by the way, in endurance riding was held last Sat, 8 Sept, and the UK team came 5th, which is excellent!

In between now and next season I will be picking up on natural horsemanship again, a good opportunity to go back to some of those ground exercises…

There are some great Parelli programs on Country and Horse TV (Sky and online) if you haven’t noticed yet. Loads of great tips and advise.