On 21 and 22 September, Gerard Horst participated with Stapleford Shake A Leg in the combined driving competition at Heeten, accompanied by new groom Lynley Benneker.
The competition was well organised, the terrain was perfect and the weather was fine. A great basis for a good competition.
The first day the dressage and cones tests were driven. Unfortunately, in the dressage test the necessary sloppiness was made, resulting in 57.2% and thus 68.44 penalty points.
The cones test was then driven clear, but with a considerable time penalty partly due to riding a course fault, 20.05 penalty points.
The second day was followed by the marathon. The A-route, the road course, was run tightly within time. The B-route, with the obstacles, was run a little too fast, resulting in 3.8 penalty points. Overall, the obstacles were run too slowly, especially the last 3 obstacles, including the water obstacle, resulting in 170.65 penalty points.
The match sequence could have been better, but with the necessary learning points and pleasant and good support from Lynley, we returned home satisfied.