BEF First Premium...

As you can see from the title, Troy has also gained a 1st Premium!

I was looking through my evaluation sheet a few weeks ago and discovered the evaluators had actually written his eventing marks alongside the dressage ones. I contacted Jan at BEF and after I had explained the reasons I wanted to remain in the dressage section (to receive the feedback which I found so valuable) it was agreed that he could be awarded the 1st Premium for eventing too.

He achieved 8.16 as a potential eventer, but not only that; he achieved the highest mark for the yearlings at the venue! I cannot describe how proud I feel of both Troy and Hannah. My first attempt at breeding has been a successful one, and I now cannot wait for the Futurity next year!

For now, he is a scruffy yearling enjoying being muddy and hairy.

We are all moving to Northcote Stud on Sunday, so it is a brand new start for Team McNair!

Troy at the Futurity

Firstly, let me apologise for the delay of this post and also the lack of updates on this blog. Things have been pretty hectic since the Futurity, but I am now getting into the routine of having three horses and it is becoming slightly easier.

Troy went to the Futurity on Friday 1st August. I picked him up from Tina and Mark’s in Whalley and they had done a simply super job of getting him ready for me. He looked absolutely stunning, and I felt so proud to be taking him.

It was his first time travelling in the horsebox, as previously he has only ever loaded and travelled in a trailer. However, I should not have worried because he walked straight up the ramp and started munching on the net as though he had done it a hundred times before. What a good boy!

We got to Myerscough with plenty of time, so I walked him around, reloaded him a few times and had a few trots up in hand. He felt pretty good, was listening to me and not too hot either. As we walked over to the vetting I could feel him getting a little unsure, but he respected my space and stayed in front of me rather than dragging behind.

The vetting went brilliantly, I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him. He achieved two 8s so we went over to the evaluation feeling quietly confident but incredibly nervous as this was my first time in front of the evaluators and I did not know what the routine was.

As we walked into the international arena, the previous horse was receiving its evaluation which concluded with the audience clapping. Thankfully, I had taken Troy in with a lunge line, so when he reared up and tried running I could give him space without having to pull on his mouth. However, this left him really hot when we started the evaluation.

Once we had done the free schooling, one of the evaluators came over and said they thought he would be more apt for eventing. I explained that I had bred him for me, and would really like the dressage critique as that where I will be competing in the future. They then asked whether they could parallel judge him, which I agreed to.

Troy received a 2nd Premium as a Dressage horse with 7.79 and he would have achieved a 1st Premium as an Eventing horse with 8.13. So we have so much to aim for next year and I cannot wait for the next one!

Since the Futurity he has been back at home with me and the two girls and is such a poppet. He is a very sweet young horse, and I am very excited about his future. Our next big day is a Richard Maxwell learning day on 1st September!

Troy is going to the BEF Futurity

Things have changed slightly since this blog was started...

Troy was living in a field with two other colts, but he had some scabs on his face which were being caused by a lice infestation. I decided to bring him home because there was no way I could send him up to the producers with lice, so he has been living at Corrie Green’s yard since May.

He started to look much better with regular feed and haylage, so much so that this week he has gone over to Tina and Mark to be produced for the BEF Futurity on 1st August. His dressage career begins there and I am hoping he comes away with some positive feedback on his future movement!

Troy and I have become quite close since he came home and I am missing him like crazy since he went away again... I cannot wait until he is at the yard with Grace and Hannah and I can see him every single day again.

I am going up to visit him in two weeks time, so a long update will no doubt be made!

Some photographs of Troy at 12 months!

Let me introduce Troy (aka. JetSet Rebel)

Troy is my homebred yearling out of my own Irish mare (Hollinhurst Rebel) by Pro-Set. He was born on 12th March 2007 at 10am after fourteen nights of me staying in a caravan!!!

I have documented his first year in his dam’s blog (http://hollinhurst-rebel.blogspot.com) but I thought he now deserved his own blog as he is growing up...

Currently, he is living out near to End House Stud with two other yearlings, one of which is my good friend’s colt, Morris. They all seem very happy, chilled out and are enjoying their ‘being boys’ time. He spent a lot of time with his dam until he was 6 months because I was on a livery yard where there were no suitable companions, so when I had the option of allowing him time with his peers, I jumped at the chance!

He will be staying where he is until October, when he will be going over to Grace’s breeder (http://graceful-addiction.blogspot.com) to winter out. I do not want him stabled until he nears his third birthday when he will come home to be backed and hopefully start his dressage career as a four year old. I would love to be able to take him to the young horses classes, but for now I will wait and see how he takes to the beginning of his education.

Although he is eligible for the BEF classes, I do not think I am going to take him in August as initially planned because I do not have the facilities where he is to start training him to trot in hand and loose school (which is now required). However, if I can find somewhere for him to go for a few weeks that has these facilities, then I would very much like to see what the judges think of him!