Sally Evans, A'Seduction and her Dressage Team

Sally's Stories
 

2005... A year of the good, the

 bad and the ugly

2005 in Review

Not a year that we really want to look back on as one of those great times to remember.

It started with great honour and pride to be selected to participate at the first lot of Ulla Salzgeber’s clinics held in Australia.

Basil was on his best behaviour, because at this time of the year he is still being used for semen collection. He went there and he showed his incredible talent for half passes and pirouettes and flying changes. However, because this clinic was held under such extreme heat, we had to allow some time for a full recovery from it.

We did our first event in March, and I felt that my boy was not giving me the normal amount of high octane energy that he normally gives. He needed to have some diet changes and a few muscle treatments.

Then, just bad timing for Basil, but his stable and travelling partner, Assassin was sold and gone, out of his life. Basil had been next to Assassin ever since he was 8 months old, competed together, paddocked side by side, all of his life so far.

Basil then caught a cold or something, come virus, blood tests etc., and had to recover from this.

So June our second event for the year, the Brisbane CDI. Basil at home still does not seem to be working at his best, but okay. I did not know what it was. So I decided to go and just take it easy and build up his confidence. We came home only to find out he had a large cut in his mouth, not from the bits or his teeth, but from a foreign object he must have chewed on. So okay, that was another event, not so good performed to his usual standard.

Then Grafton championships and the Tweed Valley championships. Basil started to work better at home, I am feeling more confident that we are back on track.

Because I was doing a lot of training on the canter pirouettes, trying to have them perfect, I blew it and had the boy a bit worried that I was making him sit just a bit too much in them,be cause he is so fantastic at sitting in the canter, it is just magic to ride them. Soooo, we had to back off the pirouettes for a bit and just ride them as a small working one in the tests.

That was okay, because we still scored so well considering the marks we got for them. So at four regional championships, Basil gets Champion twice and Reserve Champion twice. I am happy.

Then we go off to the NSW State championships and just before we go he bumps his leg, not sore but we iced it anyway. A splint forms just after the NSW States. We are now out for the Qld States and the Nationals.

What a year!!! Man oh man, not one that we care to remember. But I guess that Assassin did land himself in a wonderful home, and his money has helped us to purchase a beautiful property. Good ol' BJ. We still love him.

Anyway, look out for A'Seduction and me next year, because we have got a lot planned!!!!!!!