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!