Team Joyce went in two different directions this weekend. Wes & I ventured off to Berwick Ag Show with Chava, Triple C. Sarah Josh and Myles went to Foster Ag Show with her prized minature Poppy , Domino Downs Pop Star.
It was such a warm weekend, the mornings were cool but by about 11am the sun had shone thru the clouds and it was hot! Wes and I left for Berwick late Friday afternoon and parked in our usual spot. Why change a good thing right – we have parked in this area for over 15 years the only differences were the trees, they had grown over the fence and plenty of public walking through the grounds on the track.
I was in the van pencilling volunteering from 7.30am and Wes prepared himself and Chava for the 1.20m & 1.30m. Yes I had all his clothes boots etc ready in one spot. Sarah helped me clean all his tack the day before. He did a wonderful job on presenting Chava , his tail looked so lovely. They jumped a lovely clean round but incurred some time faults in the 1.20m and had 1 rail with no time faults in the 1.30m. I cheered quietly to myself while writing his results on the sheet.
The day finished at a reasonable time so I could catch up and hear how Wes thought the rounds went. He said he feels he is getting somewhere. Chava is relaxing nicely in the warm up but sometimes feels a little tense on course and settles again. Lets see how he goes tomorrow.
Sarah and her family had a terrific Saturday. Poppy took out Supreme again. Wes and I were so delighted to hear of her news on the phone. She prepared him all week , lunging washing and now teaching him to jump as well!! She said the show had lots of people enjoying all the entertainment. The ususal snake man, rides, horse jumping, hacking , dog high jump and so much more really created a wonderful hype of actitivties for everyone of all ages.
Wes and I slept in Sunday morning it was so easy to do. Chava was very happy to be brushed fed and tacked up for the 1.25m-1.30m. They warmed up perfectly and went in the arena ready to tackle the long course in the warm humid air. I actually videoed the whole round, I was so glad I did becasue they were just amazing. Wes rode so well , calmly with a good consistent tempo giving Chava every chance to clear the fences. Which is exactly what he did, and in the jump off as well.
We are now planning to go to Port Phillip next week. So much can change day to day so all we can hope for is more consistency – time faults are not a concern at this stage. Although the new ruling of 1 for 1 does seem to bring some cricket scores if we go over the allocated time.