Lalor's Blog – All roads lead to Aintree
By Stephanie Jones
All roads lead to Aintree Equestrian Centre for the Jockey Club RoR National Championships, and July was a busy month of practising our test - intro C.
Lalor has had three more outings since our last blog including the Pontispool RoR dressage evening where he won the RoR section and was also the highest scoring horse in the class! It was the first test we’ve done in driving rain, and he behaved impeccably, as always, scoring 70.22%. It felt like the best yet.
We’ve been enjoying getting feedback from a variety of judges and Lalor has become very consistent. We still have plenty to work to do and are lucky to have the help of Sophie Hawke teaching both of us; one day, I hope I’m able to ride him how she’s showed me in our lessons! Sophie is a top rider and does a super job of retraining former racehorses, like Lalor’s former stable-mate Enormouse who is also going to Aintree in the prelim and novice classes.
The main comments we have received from the judges are about him getting too deep and lacking suppleness through his middle. This is common for horses who have spent most their life galloping in a straight line, so it’s something we’re working hard on. The positive feedback has been his lovely natural paces, rhythm and willing attitude. He is trying hard, enjoying learning, slowly getting stronger and it’s lovely to feel the improvement in him.
Aside from the champs, we don’t have any August competitions booked, as it’s a busy time of year at Kayley Woollacott Racing with all the racehorses coming back into work. We’ve been mixing our arena work with some gentle cantering around the farm, river walks and some lunging over poles in a bid to improve that top line. It’s a slow process but it’s coming with time and patience. In preparation for the champs, Lalor’s been having physio, daily stretching, and he’s feeling well. His weekly heart monitoring with Arioneo has been all good too.
We’re delighted to have been invited to parade during the Members’ and Supporters’ Evening on Thursday 22 August at Aintree, so if you’re planning to come along, do come and give him a pat - he loves the attention! Unfortunately, we won’t be there with Lalor’s bestie Bella and my sister Kayley, as Bella has qualified for Bicton Pony Club Jumping with her own pony, so we will be cheering each other on from a far. She’s desperate to ride Lalor herself, so it won’t be long before I lose my ride.
I’ve dreamt of riding Lalor at Aintree for a long time, so I just hope we can get there in good health and he gets a chance to show off all he’s learnt in such a short time.
See you there!