The results are in, and Linda received 2nd again! We knew she had received a grade 1 completion, but all of the riders in the set speed on Sunday came in at the exact same time, so it came down to who had the lower pulse.
There was a bit of confusion with the time, Linda actually arrived a minute or two ahead of schedule and side passed in front of the finish line with the rest of the riders until the minimum time was reached. I have to say, that is a weakness of set speed, particularly in the placed rides. Everyone is going to be shooting for 7mph so everyone is going to arrive at the same time. Also, it kind of loses its value if everyone is just standing around at the finish line waiting for the clock to tick.
I was reading in cross country that there are rules against falsifying the pace. Something like after the final jump you aren't allowed to walk or halt. Perhaps this sort of approach can be worked into a set speed ride? Also, I much prefer the staggered start, because if everyone is shooting for the same in-time, they are either going to bunch up and remain together on the trail or constantly be passing one another which can get annoying. Plus when they get in at the end, the vetting gets backed up and people at the end of the line have an advantage as their presentation time is the same, but they will have an extra minute or two to bring down their pulse (especially since final pulse is counted for the full minute) Just some thoughts!
Saturday night, Courtney, Emily and Tracy joined us for the camping. There weren't any more volunteer jobs available so we put them to use crewing. They took direction really well and caught on fast! Fred and Dianne also agreed to do a demonstration vet check to teach them what its all about. Bentley was our subject, but after 2 nights and 3 days of doing nothing in his little paddock, he turned from precious little angel, to naughty little demon horse. He was dancing, wiggling, and kicking through the whole thing (not at anyone in particular, just overall being a pest). However he WAS good for the trot out, just too much energy, he wanted to be worked!
This carried through to trying to get him on the trailer where he absolutely refused and was kicking around in protest. Compared to Friday where all we had to do was put a bucket of grain at one end and he jumped right in. Oh and we were loading in the rain, so that made things all the more fun. Thankfully the girls were all there to help!
I was a little mad at him for his behaviour, so I didn't play with him after we got home, I didn't want to ride angry, it just doesn't work. Monday I didn't end up riding either as I was really dizzy. This seems to be a pattern when I go away for a ride weekend, just needed to stay in the house and take it easy.
Last night I took him out for a slow ride. Did 3.5 miles with a bit of trotting, he is slowly getting better and it seems like the best routine for him is slow consistent work. He gets a lot better when I do lateral work, so we have been doing a lot of that.
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