In this September 2019 members’ video, Michael Pendleton and his mentor Boyd Erik Martin give a detailed update on their eventing horse Steady Eddie. They review recent show‑jumping outings at Devon and the four‑star short at Plantation, describing specific rounds, faults, and the horse’s temperament on the course. The conversation shifts to dressage work aimed at calming Eddie, noting progress at home versus past difficulty at Great Meadows. They outline the fitness regimen—gallops on a custom track, hill work, and twice‑weekly jogging—used to keep Eddie in four‑star condition. Upcoming competition plans are laid out: a combined test at Morven Park, followed by the Fair Hill three‑day event in October, with expectations for the long, endurance‑heavy course. Throughout, they promote the Club Steady Eddie membership, encouraging viewers to join and promising monthly video reports. The tone is conversational and enthusiastic, mixing technical insights with promotional messaging.
Chapters
Hello, this is Michael Pendleton. Welcome to the club. Steady Eddy update for September. This is Steady Eddy show jumping at Devon around the meter twenties preparing for the four star short at Plantation.
It's Boyd Martin here, Michael's right hand man or mentor. And we took all the horses out for a jump. All the higher level horses out for a jump at Devon. This is about mid September and this is probably Steady Eddie's more difficult phase. And he's been a tricky horse through the combinations. And you see here, Mike gave him a beautiful ride, just slowing him down nicely for that combination. So Mike, what else you been up to in September?
We've just been working, trying to get the dressage to get him a bit more relaxed and he's been going well at home and he was a little bit of a wild man in Great Meadows, but hopefully he'll be a little bit relaxed at Plantation.
So Mike's big goal on this horse is obviously Fairhill three day event, which is in October. And so we try and use these jumping shows as a bit of a. It's always nice to have them jump clear like Eddie jumped clear there. But it's more of a practice go for when we jump at these bigger shows. What you're seeing here is Plantation four star short, which was last weekend, was it, Mike?
Yeah, this was last weekend. He was a little bit more difficult here in the bigger atmosphere at Plantation. It wasn't my best round, but as you'll see here, we kind of make it through 1, 2 and 3 and then I made a bit of mistake at 4 and then he got a little bit rattled through the rest of the course, but then he started settling down towards the end. So that's where I had the one rail and then the one rail in combination.
And it's often tricky jumping at Plantation. You're sort of right on top of a hill and it's a very spooky course and the crowd's up close to the jumping ring. We saw Taylor Harris Insurance, big sponsor of Plantation and old Eddie's. Usually he's a bit tough to the first fence and he's nice and keen at the beginning here, Mike, so it looks like you got your work cut out for you, trying to keep him steady.
He's a bit tricky because he's a bit keen at the first part of the course. And then I kind of misjudged him where he was kind of a little bit relaxed and I was kind of a little bit too off of this fence. So you see where we have a little bit of a casualty here.
You got all the rails down, Mike,
little bit of balling.
Well, lucky for Mike you only get four penalties for the jump. You don't get it per rail, otherwise you'd have a cricket score. Mike. It's good recovery though. Often when you have a bad fence like that, it really destroys the rest of the round. And you can see Mike staying composed here and taking a deep breath. And Eddie's a tricky horse like he, he wants to go and obviously in the show jumping you need them steady and, and relaxed. He jumps quite big behind and he's, he's quite hard to stay with in the air, isn't he, Mike?
Yeah, he is. And this is where a little bit my fault, my greenness comes into play where I was a little bit too backwards coming in. So he just hits the back of the oxer with his hind leg and then. But he finishes the rest of the course pretty well. A little bit strong at the end.
So before Fair Hill three day event, I think Michael take him down to Malvern park, which is actually next weekend, and he won't do the cross country, he'll just do the dressage and show jumping to sort of practice doing rounds of jumping. Because Eddie does change a bit in the ring compared to at home. Like he gets a little bit nervous and a little bit fiery. What we're seeing here is the cross country got great footage from Plantation. They had a live feed. And my instructions to Mike was just to get him around safe and sound, not to, not to worry with the time because we know he's a very, very fast horse, but we just need to look after his legs and we're fast tracking this partnership so it's important that we don't try and break any speed records. But. But yeah, one thing I'm very confident with Mike is his ability to gallop. So you rode to the orders, Will?
Yeah, no, this is him on the Forsar short of Plantation. But I thought this was actually one of our best rounds. He was a little bit quieter and wasn't such a wild man. He was letting me ride him through all the fences and I thought it was one of our smoothest rounds to date. Especially since I don't have the most experience going around the events and he's.
Yeah. And thank you for everyone that's joined up to Club Steady Eddy. We've had a great response. We sort of put it, put it out there last month and we've had an incredible group of people join up to the membership and if you're watching this video and you're not a member, please join up. We've still got some spaces available and you know, we're planning on doing a sort of a monthly report like this at the end of each month just to update everyone with his sort of training and a bit of his footage for the competition. And so what have we got next? What are we coming into October, Mike? So what have we got coming up in October?
Yep. So he's just got the Morven park next week just to do the combined test, the dressage and the show jumping. So we both get a little bit more practice in there and then we'll be off to Fair Hill at the end of, in the middle of October to do the four star long.
And that's an epic competition. It will suit Steady Eddie down to the ground. It's a long, gruelling test of endurance. It's about 11 minute course and half of it's uphill. So all the fat, shiny, warm bloods that do well at these shorter courses all of a sudden will be struggling and the old. Oh, sit up there, Mikey. All the, all the rugged, tough thoroughbreds like Eddie all of a sudden seem to shine and
just jumped a bit awkward into this first water.
But he sort of leaps into the water, doesn't he? And almost belly flops.
But then he was really good to this coffin
and he's doing, he makes it look easy, Mike. He's, he's a fast sort of keen horse, Eddie. Cross country. And he's a little bit, you know, dodgy at the corners sometimes. I had a bit of trouble with him on, on the corners and I was terrified for Mike. There's doubler corners about to come up and so I haven't actually seen this but obviously he got through it unscathed. Talk us through this one, Mike.
Yeah, unfortunately I think that they clip off and they go to show, they go to show them on the back.
Tell everyone you did it beautifully.
But he did it awesome. He did the three shot double corners beautifully in the back part of the course. I was really happy so because I was kind of planning on adding to do it in the four. And then he kind of was right there for me so I could do it the direct in the three. So it was nice for him to be right there for me and reading the questions. And this is him on the back part of the plantation.
Tell you that's a, that's some gallop there. Anyone watching? I mean this is a beautiful thing to watch is a horse that gallops so easily and you're not even pressing him there.
No, this is his. Him over the little dracaner angled thing.
And I mean, this is. We threw Michael in the deep end pull putting him in this competition because this is by far Michael's biggest test to date in his whole career, really. This forced short at Plantation. It was designed by Mike Etherington Smith, who's. Who's the best in the business. And I actually fell off at the jump before, so Mike's made it further around this course than I did. Bit embarrassing.
This is him jumping into the ruins.
And fitness wise, Mike, tell everyone what you're doing gallop wise for Fairhill.
He's just been galloping up the track three times, slow up the hill at home. And we're lucky enough that Boyd built a nice gallop track that we can kind of gallop on really nice footing. And he's been jogging twice a week besides that. And so that's all the little wildman needs to get fit for a four star because he's kind of had the base fitness from last year where he's going around five stars.
He's eternally fit. So we're very thankful and grateful for everyone that's joined up to the club and we're very, very happy to see Eddie trot up.
Yeah, this is him trotting up the day after Plantation.
Mike. Well, guys, we're going to keep working away with Eddie this month and gear him up towards his big goal for this year, which is Fair Hill. And again, thank you for everyone that's joined club. Steady Eddie.
