In this video, the rider provides a detailed post‑event analysis of his horse Monty’s intermediate‑level competition at Morven Park. He begins by noting the favorable conditions and Monty’s improving flatwork, especially trot quality, while acknowledging ongoing challenges with canter‑to‑walk transitions and collection. He discusses dressage performance, highlighting smooth trot work but difficulty in transitioning from big canter to collected canter, and predicts a higher placement with better transitions. The rider then reviews show‑jumping, describing Monty as a champion jumper with improved scope and consistency after switching back to a traditional snaffle bit. He recounts a rider error on a water jump during the cross‑country phase, noting a four‑time‑penalty but praising Monty’s recovery and overall fitness. Future plans include a three‑star short at Fair Hill in two weeks, followed by the Jersey Fresh three‑day event, with the goal of moving Monty to the advanced level after a brief rest. He credits assistants Eric Devander and Peter Wild for their support and emphasizes the importance of steady, incremental training throughout the year.
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Hello. This is a video intended for the Monty group, the Wabanaki Group. This morning we had an early start and took Monty down to Morven Park. He's been back in Pennsylvania for a week and decided we wanted to give him another run here at the open intermediate level. And we were very, very lucky with the conditions. Monty's been getting better and better on the flat. I feel like I've got his trot work pret. He is starting to get a little bit smoother and a little bit more steady with his contact, especially in the trot work. And I feel like I can sort of open him up and free him up a little bit in the trot. We've been working quite hard at trying to get him to sit back and rock back in the can of work. And that's still a little bit of a work in progress, as you'll see a little bit later. But here in the trot work he sort of presents quite a nice picture. Obviously he's a long horse, which makes him great in the cross country. He's got a big, big step and gallops really well. And in the dressage and the show jumping, it's a little bit of a challenge balancing and collecting him. Saying that I was pretty happy with the first part of this test. I feel like it's getting more and more and I think the part that is really tricky on Monty is the transition. So with all this trot work, it's quite seamless and I can get through it pretty well. And then when we go to the old canter, the canter walk transitions and the water walk canter and then the big canter to the collected canters. Physically just hard to sort of allow him to get big and then short again. Monty's going to run again in two weeks time in the three star short at Fair Hill. And then sort of big goal for the spring is the New Jersey three day event. The Jersey Fresh three day event. I think we're going to do the three star long and he's already done one three star long at Kentucky last year and he did really, really well. So he should be just further along now. That Holt rein back wasn't perfect, but it's actually getting better. It's actually hard to keep him quite or round in the neck when you step him back. And he was almost perfect then, but he still sort of wants to push his chin out and get a little bit long and braced. You'll see show jumping in a minute. He was a champion in the show jumping. I feel like the show jumping and the cross country has really gone up a level now. Remember I told you guys last start that I tried a nice soft kind of bit on him cross country and it was a disaster. And this weekend I went back to the old twist snaffle and he was an angel. This is the part that Monty sort of finds hard as this sort of eclectic Canada walk and then walk canter. We must have done 300 of these serpentines this week. He's still sort of on that moment where he goes canter to walk. He loves to push his nose out. So it is getting better, but it is tough for him. I'm pretty sure we probably lost a few points in those transitions. Not too bad. He was, I think he was placed about midfield after the dressage and I think once I clean up those transitions a bit, he'll be, he'll be in the top few. So he's show jumping in a moment. He jumped like a champion. And then cross country I didn't go full pelt on him. The ground was very, very good. But I know that I've got to run him again in two weeks time. So I just sort of didn't want to sort of go to the world this weekend. I'm trying to keep him fresh and energetic and he's very sound and trotting up well at the moment. So. Those transitions, it looks alright. It's quite a lot of work for him to sort of sit back and rock back from that big canter to the short can and keep him steady in front. So basically we got this event which we did well in, we finished fourth. Then again in two weeks time we'll run him at Fair Hill and then we're going to really go for it there at the New Jersey three day event at the Jersey Horse Park. Then I plan to give him a couple weeks off and if he comes through that alright, I think he's ready for advanced. Obviously the dressage is his weaker phase and the show jump jumping in the cross country is starting to get really, really solid. So the good thing is that's the make and break of the sport and I sort of wouldn't mind getting him around a few of the easier advance this year just to give him a bit of mileage. Sometimes Monty can be a bit fussy with his mouth and his head carriage. I gotta say for some reason in the show jumping now it's gotten and I wish I could tell you there was some magic but he's, you know, just got a normal bit in his mouth and Just trying to sort of keep that even pressure to his mouth. And he's a great jumper. He's scopey, he's careful. There never feels like a jump that he finds big. And if you remember him jumping a lot last year, he was sort of running at the jumps and throwing his head in the air and I feel like we've got him just more trained now. You know, I just think consistent training and over time it gets better and better and it's given me some nice fences. Eric Devander's been sort of helping me every couple of weeks and Eric's been helping me with Monty, as is Peter Wild and both those guys quite like Monty, which is sort of, sort of good. You know, the day to day work, especially this year, is just gently improving his education and his training throughout the year. Cross country is good now, unfortunately, my cameraman here videoed me at my worst jump. This is the water jump coming up and I didn't have a good distance coming into it. I went to go for a bit of a long one and then you see Monty sort of chipped on me there and that was rider error. I should have steadied up and added one stride a little bit further on, but he recovered well. This is towards the end of the course and he ripped around the course really, really well. He was, I think four time penalties and he's quite fit and strong at the moment. So we'll give it an easy day or two and I might get Silver to help me a bit with him on the flat these next weeks. Coming up to Fair Hilton.
