Second outing for Oaks Volta

Team Joyce attended the Peninsula Showjumping Show held at Tonimbuk Indoor Equestrian Centre on Sunday 23rd Aug. We took only 2 horses Oaks Volta and LH Johnny. This was to be the second outing for Oaks Volta and a challenge for Tiffany and LH Johnny as we were stepping him up to the 1.25m classes hoping to reach the 1.30m comfortably by the Australian Championships next month. Will the pair start the season off firing?

The car park was so full we ended up parking outside on the road unloaded LH Johnny tied him to a tree and quickly tacked up Oaks Volta on the truck. Wes quickly rode over to the warm up arena and had to jump a little ditch and the entrance of the arena. As Volta took this massive leap the saddle slipped badly to the side and Wes slid off! Thank goodness Oaks Volta’s impeccable temperament shone through as he just stood there looking at Wes! A lovely gentlemen held the reins and assisted Wesley in getting up and back on. The comment when I finally arrived was how amazing they thought our stallion behaved which really did make me feel quite pleased. Drawing number 49 in the order the pair were to tackle the Open 1.05m course , may I stress the obstacles looked quite busy and colorful. To our delight Volta jumped fabulous , Wes had to work quite hard and after clearing the KWA Permits dazzled oxer the next straight fence came up a bit quick so Wesley quietly made a circle to re-approach to make sure Volta had every chance of comfortably jumping the fence with no trouble. This would mean 4 faults but this does not matter when training a youngster. Oaks Volta was then taken back to stand on the truck until the next class.

The Open 1.10m did not go as well’ they jumped the first fence super and even the second but on landing Volta tripped and Wes flew over his head and made a walking exit obtaining an instant elimination! These things can happen and nobody was hurt thank goodness so we look forward to Euroa next week doing more rounds to give Oaks Volta more experience. Thank you Greg Stephens for coming out to see if Wesley was ok your kindness was much appreciated.

The next challenge was for Tiffany starting straight up in the KWA Open 1.25m . Team Joyce are trying to see if LH Johnny is ready to make that next step into 1.25m-1.30m classes. This was to be our first look see. They warmed up great and in the first round Tiffany gently coaxed Johnny over all the obstacles with a good tempo. Jumping clean felt terrific for their confidence especially going into the jump off.

The jump off had the fences raised to approximately 1.30m and Tiffany was fourth in the draw I was so nervous videoing and could not wait for the last fence. Again the tempo achieved helped with some long and deep spots as it gave Johnny a good chance to have the power to get up and over with ease achieving another clean round.

Well done to the Peninsula Showjumping committee for organizing a showjumping event with such short notice. Only 6-7 people put together a grand two day show covering all grades so there was a chance for everybody to have a bit of fun!