Chloe Vell’s dressage blog: Roll on 2016
As 2015 has come to an end, I have been reflecting on my highs and lows throughout the year.
I had a great start, providing consistent results on Kaja in the junior tests which secured me a place in the Nations Cup team at Saumur CDI.
I had a great show where I was the best British rider in both the team test and the Kur, where I took a podium place of third with a score of 72%.
These scores combined with scores from squads and premier leagues allowed me to be selected for the junoir European championships for the second time onKaja.
This year, this competition took place in Vidauban. This achievement was the biggest high of the year. However, the championships came with some lows too. During the junior individual test, Kaja and I were doing our best work ever and were averaging scores of 72%, which would have taken us far into the lead. Then disaster struck in the last third of the test when Kaja decided she was too hot and bothered and added quite a lot of extra movements into the test, making our score plummet. This was the biggest low of the year and nothing prepares for you disappointment like that. It took me a long time to recover from the fact that Kaja had let me down and there was nothing I could do.
That was our last junior European championships and now I can look forward to competing in the young rider ranks where we have already scored 69.9% at the end of 2015, so I am excited to see what we can do in 2016!
Not only have I had some great achievements with Kaja, but my other ride, Santi and I have been competing at novice level and scoring 69% which is a great achievement for us considering where Santi started off a year ago.
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He wouldn’t go from walk to trot without rearing vertically, never mind trying to get him into canter! So for him to be doing a novice test without any naughty behaviour is all I could wish for. I’m happy that I have made Santi rideable after being unrideable for a long time. He is
such a talented horse with three lovely paces so it’s good to see him put them to some use now.
2016 will be another year of moving up the levels slowly with him and building his confidence in the arena and getting him to trust me more and more.
If anyone has a ride on an easier and talented horse please do get in touch!
After a busy year, I took time away from the horses to go on a family skiing trip to Chamonix.
This allowed me to enjoy a different sport for a change and spend some time with all my family which I don’t get to do very often. Unfortunately, my mum and valued groom broke her arm.
Once we get home, I will be continuing with my training on all three horses, looking towards A-level exams and then a year off to concentrate on my riding and modelling as a break from academia. Roll on 2016!
Chloe
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Chloe Vell is an up-and-coming dressage star who juggles school with representing Britain internationally at junior level and a part-time modelling career to help pay for her training and competitions.