From tears at the finish line to difficult calls, Jess Rimmer finds the balance between ambition and horsemanship means that sometimes not competing is the right call
Hello Dorset Life! This time last month I had just returned from a very exciting week at the FEI Sports forum in Switzerland and Thoresby 4* in Nottinghamshire. Although April hasn’t seen any spontaneous flights, it’s had its fair share of excitements. And by the time we’d trucked to Burnham Market (north Norfolk) and back, I think our mile count might actually be pretty darn similar! Burnham Market was a really educational event for me and the horses.Max was the star of the show, jumping clear around his first Intermediate. It was actually quite a moving day – he managed to bring both mum and me to tears over the finish line. It sounds ridiculous: at nine years old and having been educated in the professional system since the very beginning, it really shouldn’t have been as big a deal as it was. But Max is a quirky individual and it has taken him a long time to learn to trust me as his rider and to work as a partnership.
At Burnham Market, he set out with confidence – at the beginning, he asked me for help (‘These jumps are trickier than normal, mum!’). I supported him, and he answered everything with honesty.
Then, in the latter parts of the course, I made a bit of a mistake at one of the final combinations: a brush on a mound to a big open corner. The last few strides I really had to ask him to help me out. At this point, “old” Max would absolutely have noticed my mistake and run out at the second element. But (and this is what meant so much to me, more than any of his previous competitive results) our partnership finally shone through. He gritted his teeth, pricked his ears and absolutely flew. It felt like he said “don’t worry mum, I got this one!” as we took off. I’m actually getting a touch emotional just writing about it. Seriously, Jess?
It’s moments like these that make the years of patience and perseverance worth it – his owners, Peter and Sue Andrews, have never once stopped believing in this horse. I’m so proud of Max – and excited for what’s to come for him!
Grown-up moves
Basil and Jimmy also took part in our mammoth trip to Burnham (and I STILL don’t have my HGV licence … sorry mum!). On paper, Jimmy didn’t produce the most competitive result, but he learned a huge amount from his weekend away. I was really pleased that he produced a really smart 28 dressage in the Intermediate – we have been practising the more grown-up moves lots at home, and he really REALLY tried to remember ALL his training when we went down that centre line!
Although we had a fence down in the showjumping, it was a good round, and cross country was perhaps one of the most beneficial rounds we have had in terms of producing him for the future. We came home with two run-outs, but as I said to his owners, the Portman Ladies Syndicate, they weren’t so much run-outs as they were “whoops – was I supposed to jump that one, mum?”.
At only eight years old, Jimmy hasn’t had as much exposure as the others: there were lots of crowds out on course, and it all came up much quicker than he was expecting. Rather than being put off, he came around for a second go and gave it his best. It just showed me that he is learning and adapting to the higher level stuff with his usual eager-to-please attitude – again making me very excited for his future.
Stepping away from the hype
Last but not least – Basil! He was the one who probably educated me the most this weekend, as an all-round competitor. Our dressage felt so much better than Thoresby. We had a really productive evening with William [Fox-Pitt] between the two events, where we sat down and re-watched my Thoresby test, analysing each movement bit-by-bit and discussing how I could gain even 0.5 of a mark by making really teeny tiny alterations. There isn’t really time in between events to make any major changes, but as William said, if I could improve each movement by just 0.5, suddenly the scores are going to look so much better!
I was very proud because, for the most part, I followed my instructions and we were trending on an actually competitive 4* score for the first time ever!
I then made some costly mistakes in our flying changes (the final two movements of the test), which dropped our mark back down to mid-field. Although I’m aware we need to work on this bit, I’m not beating myself up about it too much. I’m not overly experienced at riding the 4* tests yet, and I’m proud that we actually managed to score some 8s – that fancy test is in there somewhere! Basil, being the legend he is, jumped a beautiful clear showjumping the following day, and I then had to make the tricky decision not to run him cross country.
It’s so hard when all his owners are there to cheer him on, I’ve walked the course (three times!), and he’s feeling the best he’s ever felt.
I had to take a step away from the “4* hype”, and think about what’s best for the horse. We have two important runs coming up (eek!), and I had to prioritise those over the run at Burnham – we didn’t need the qualification, and he has nothing to prove to us cross-country. So I put my grown-up trousers on and withdrew, rather than running him for the sake of it. It’s a funny feeling, driving home from an event like that without the post-cross country adrenaline. But I don’t regret it one bit. Basil is feeling and looking brilliant as we build up to another exciting marathon road-trip in a few weeks time – one which makes Burnham Market look local!
The young guns
OK, now I’ve wibbled on for so long about the three at Burnham Market that the poor young guns haven’t even had a mention. In between trucking up and down the country, we’ve been out lots with the younger, less-experienced horses, continuing their education and helping their progression towards their different but equally exciting aims.
Cleo has been progressing in leaps and bounds (sometimes literally – we often call her pingy jump ‘Cleo airlines’!), most recently finishing on her dressage score of 28 for 3rd place at Moreton Cotswold Cup.
I was lucky enough to take William’s homebred mare Tambrilla (Winnie to her friends) to her first event at Larkhill, where she picked up a top ten placing. I also had huge fun riding the lovely grey duo of Minn and Fin (whose fancy name is Usain Colt, just the coolest name ever) around Moreton Cotswold Cup too.
Fin is quite a cool little horse who really does look like a Barbie Pony, but with a real element of class about him too. I’m only riding him temporarily though, to continue his education while his ‘real’ jockey, Guto de Faria, is back home training in Brazil.
Since Fin has only ever really showjumped, my job is to help him understand his new role as an event horse, setting the foundations for representing Brazil on the world stage one day. I’m very lucky to be playing a part in all these young horses’ educations: this is such a fundamental time for them, and I’m loving every minute. Regardless of age, level or ability, they’re all on an individual journey and it’s so rewarding to work with them and see their progress.
Next up for us is a very busy Bank Holiday weekend, with the grown-up squad running at Cirencester Park on Saturday and the young guns following suit at Bovington on Sunday. Basil’s gearing up towards another 4*, and Blondie is looking forward to making her international debut … see you on the other side!
