TIME TO THINK
Louis was out on Jaguar again today, and the real Jaguar was back! He somehow knew what was going through my mind, and set out to prove a point. I'm not going to retract what I said earlier, for although I was told today that the horse doesn't make that much difference at this level, it obviously does, for I've also been told to forget any ideas of trying to enter Jaguar in the All-Japan Championships - maybe at Children level, but certainly not Juniors. Louis and Jaguar are currently competing, without any handicap, against all-comers in the fiercely-contested Chiba Prefecture Championship, just one grade below what's used in AJC events, so there obviously is a difference. Secondly, Louis rode no better and no worse than Saturday, but his score went up by a substantial margin because Jaguar was in the mood. If it's all about rider skill and little to do with the horse (there were no real mistakes made yesterday after all said and done), explain that for me...

Anyway, although sixth (last), at least today he was in contention, and that's fair enough. Moreover, in my overwhelming disappointment at seeing yesterday's scores, I'd forgotten a few things, or failed to weigh them up properly. Firstly, Louis had jumped two classes, and this was only his second outing at the new level; secondly, this was Jaguar's debut at this level (Tenn-chan is a real veteran and a lot less temperamental), and thirdly, after numerous niggling problems, Jaguar hadn't been in competition for nine months. Taking these things into account, plus a remarkably short career in the saddle, 55.1 gives us something to work on - yesterday's 51.2 (slightly higher than I heard over the speaker) was frankly heartbreaking and unjust. As far as I'm concerned, it was taking the mickey at the end of the day! Time to think now, but 55 for a 12-year old riding a notoriously difficult ex-racehorse is something to be happy about by any stretch of the imagination. The 56.5 on Tenn-chan is within reach.

No pictures I'm afraid, because there was no space in the car for a big camera (it was pouring with rain anyway, so I wouldn't want a good DSLR getting soaked), and my pocket camera has died. RIP! Sophie, with her perfect camera for the job (waterproof, shockproof and sealed against sand and other dirt), failed to tell me that she'd filled the memory card before setting off for Narita until teatime this evening. Kids - gotta love 'em!

Perhaps the highlight of the day was Yoshimi's outing on 'Twister'. As always, the youngest of the Bamba sisters rode superbly, but there was something a little special for her fans this time around - a piece of backing music entitled 'Cure' created especially for Yoshimi by the hugely-talented composer and musician, Shinji Inamura. Without doubt, both of them have a bright future ahead of them in their respective fields.