Just before Christmas last year I was lucky to find a beautiful home for my lovely Grand Prix mare. Spider and I have had some incredible competition results from the beginning right through to Grand Prix. I adore and love her for allowing me to share that journey.
Spider is giving her new mum amazing rides and she is completely adored and loved. They will be out competing very soon.
Spider (A Spider Bite aka CC), Sally and Peter
A Spiderbite and Sally at the QLD State Dressage Championships 2019. Photo: Oz Shotz
Our results from the Queensland State Dressage Championships in Sep 2019:
Third in the intermediate 2 and fourth in the Grand Prix.
Spider starting to come to terms with being a Grand Prix pony now…
A Spiderbite and Sally at the QLD State Dressage Championships 2019. Photo: Oz Shotz
A Spider Bite and Sally Evans at the Brisbane CDI 2019.
After arriving home from Hartpury CDI (UK) and visiting Germany for three weeks, A Spider Bite, with not much preparation, did really well at the Brisbane CDI 2019. She came second in the freestyle and third in the Inter B.
Then… I backed her up with her very first start at Big Tour at the Dressage Championships at Bangalow, Northern NSW of Australia. She went super. Certainly another consistent Grand Prix horse develops.
A Spider Bite and Sally Evans at the Brisbane CDI 2019.
A Spider Bite and Sally Evans at Willinga Park, Photograph: Stephen Mowbray
Had a super event at Willinga Park. We were very pleased with Spider Bite.
Willinga Park is a very beautiful place to compete.
Looking forward to Sydney CDI and stepping up to the Medium Tour.
A Spider Bite and Sally Evans at Willinga Park, Photograph: Stephen Mowbray
Sally Evans and A Spider Bite, Sydney CDI 3*, April 2017. Photo: Amy-Sue Alston
We were just thrilled with CC at Sydney CDI – just amazing considering our lead up training to this show!!! I have been mostly working in a paddock on a slope at our new home. Not the best preparation, but CC just put it together.
I had some wonderful help from Sue Hearn at the show. She really helped CC put on her dancing shoes!!!!!!
The old team is back together to prepare on competition day – Peter and Sally. Except Charlie had to come with us… But after a day or so he just fit right in with the top dogs… He had a gangster jacket on and a diamond studded collar.
Here our results:
FEI Intermediate Freestyle (CDI 3*) 68.17% (second)
Prix St Georges (CDI 3*) 66.66% (sixth)
Sally Evans and A Spider Bite, Sydney CDI 3*, April 2017. Photo: Amy-Sue Alston
Sally Evans and A Spider Bite, Sydney CDI 3*, April 2017. Photo: Amy-Sue Alston
Sally Evans and A Spider Bite, Sydney CDI 3*, April 2017. Photo: Amy-Sue Alston
With CC at Rodrigo Matos Clinic at home at SDS, 11.9.2016
Riding my beautiful mare CC is what keeps me going through these difficult times. These are our last few weeks here on our Equestrian Centre that we have built up over many years before it is being taken over by the Roads and Maritime Services. All will then be bulldozed soon to make way for a new highway. Our focus now is on this mediation and court process, to have our life’s work Sally’s Dressage Stables valued for what it is: a working Equestrian Centre where we have trained FEI level dressage horses, where we have bred Warmblood horses, where we have trained students and their horses for dressage, and where we have prepared some Thoroughbreds for racing as well as retrained them for their careers after racing. We will be moving this month to temporary premises before we can start anew and rebuild in 2017.
CC at Brisbane CDI 2015, Emma Morley Photography
Wish I had some pics of CC as at the Tweed dressage Championships last Sunday. She won the Inter 1 with a 67%, that is her PB. I was very happy with her. And Penny did a 68% in the medium for a very close second place.
I am coaching this weekend at Nana Glen Eventing Clinic. I am taking Peter with me as they have me booked in to a Winery to stay Friday and Saturday night, so I am forcing him to have a break!!! Poppy is coming here to look after SDS. She is bringing her young horse Spida. She came last weekend for a mini boot camp with him. He is a lovely boy, she will have a great future with him.
Penny in training at SDS
Last weekend we went to the Far North Coast NSW Dressage Championships. I competed in the Advanced with Penny and did the Small Tour with CC. The girls went really well and Pen came a close second and third and C of course won both her classes. She did do a really good PSG, even scoring a 9!! and she got some supa comments from the judges.
This Sunday we have the TVEG Power of Pink Day, a day to remember Sue, as she always did this event to raise money for breast cancer. So we are taking the 2 girls again and doing the same classes. And the EA has given an excemption so we are allowed to dress up in our pink outfits and compete!!!!!! This will be good fun.
Sue, Sally and CC
It is with a very deep and heavy dark heart that I have to say a final goodbye to a very dear friend of mine, Sue Macdonald. Sue was the co-owner of our beautiful FEI mare CC, who competes under the name of A Spider Bite.
Sue absolutely loved CC and came to every competition with me for the last 5 years. In 2012 Sue bought into a half share owning CC with me. Well, that was just the beginning of a tremendous lovable journey for Sue, CC and me, and it also included all of my team of horses here at SDS. Sue helped me to transport and prepare the horses for all the shows and CC was a major part of this production.
I will miss Sue very very much. Sue gave us all the will to be positive and just Go On!!!! with LIFE.
Sue Macdonald
Sue, Sally and CC
Michaela on Sydney, Sue and Sally on CC
Sue, Sally and CC at “Power of Pink Dressage” of the Tweed Valley Equestrian Group in 2013
CC and Penny with Micha and I at the beach yesterday afternoon
CC and I with Penny and Micha at the beach yesterday afternoon
CC and I with Penny and Micha at the beach yesterday afternoon
Have to start concentrating on CC to prepare for the Sydney CDI 2015. We are in the Small Tour classes, and Boy what a strong field!!! Apparently record entries again for this year’s event. So pack your bags and come down for a little hol and watch all these wonderful riders and horses. It’s an exciting event!!! 7-9 May at SIEC Horsley Park, we compete on the Thursday with the Prix St Georges and the Intermediate 1 on the Friday and then we have to qualify to get into the Intermediate Freestyle on the Saturday night.
Sue and I were impressed with CC for this trip as she seemed much more mature, with the whole experience and competing. Although at times she does get a bit overwhelmed with the event and the atmosphere and unfortunately that is reflected in her scores, as a few tiny mistakes crept in. But it was only her third Intermediate 1. We will post some photos of C at Orange as soon as we get some.
So we are back home and already working on our areas to improve.
We had a day of beach riding this morning… meditation for CC and going really fast for Penny…!!!
The two girls are off to Grafton this Sunday, CC to do the Small Tour and Penny is going Medium.
CC meditating on the beach, 13 February 2015
We took Spider Bite to the beach this morning for her to have her meditation time before we head off next week to compete at the Orange CDI.
Micha rode Penny and the girls had some fun (no sharks !!).
Michaela on Penny, 13 February 2015
Michaela on Penny and I on CC, 13 February 2015
A Spider Bite (CC)
We are off to Orange CDI with CC in a week’s time and CC will be doing the Small Tour. We went last year and really enjoyed ourselves and CC placed in the Advanced classes. This year, they have record entries with very strong fields in the Small Tour and the Grand Prix.
We will leave on Monday and arrive there Tuesday, give her a work out and then on Wednesday is the official Trot Up for the International classes. CC will be ‘dolled up’ in her beautiful led bridle, as if she is being taken to the Royale Show… Then the next 3 days we will have a class each day!!! The first is the Prix St Georges, then the Intermediate 1 and, fingers crossed, we will qualify for the Intermediate Freestyle… then Sunday we will drive home.
The following weekend we will be at Grafton competing on CC and Penny.
A Spider Bite 2014
We are off to a three day clinic with Rodrigo this weekend at Grafton, with the two girls. Looking forward to working on the piaffe and passage and the flying changes with both of them!!!!!
The Far North Coast NSW Dressage Championships held at lovely Bangalow was on three weeks ago and we took all 3 of our A’seduction progeny. We came home with two Championships and a Reserve.
A Sydney Boy won both Preliminary classes with over 70% tests. He even got a “9” from a Grand Prix judge from Sydney!!! She loved him!!!
A Heaven Sent came second in both the Elementary classes. It seems she is always the bridesmaid!!!!
A Spider Bite came second in the Prix St Georges. Yes she was a bit cheeky and had a few breaks of pace, ooppps!!, and then she won the Intermediate 1 and got the Champion.
The weekend after that, we took Spider Bite up to the NADEC Gold Coast Championships. We did the two Advanced to prepare her for the Nationals at the end of October. CC did two nice tests and won both with 70% and 71%. She brought another beautiful woolen championship rug home.
Sue and I are very happy with her and in fact, all three of them, they are supa horses.
Sydney CDI 2014 Advanced Freestyle Presentation
Well we had a great Sydney CDI this year. The classes were very strong with lots of wonderful horses.
The highlight of the whole CDI for us was CC finishing 2nd in the Advanced Freestyle with 69%. (Her Dad won this many years ago). In the Prix St Georges CDN, she finished a very close 7th with some silly little mistakes. But in the Advanced class of 35 horses, CC put together a supa test to finish 5th place. But then she got a bit tense in the other one, oh … well.
Our little girl Penny went to this event to accompany her big Sister. She ended up with a score in equal 6th position and was awarded 7th place with a huge sash.
The year is really moving now. CC and Penny they both just try so hard to get it all right, we were so impressed with them. Good Girls!!!
We took CC to the Qld event held at QSEC run by the Qld Dressage Committee on Easter Sunday. It was a huge day as it took about 3 hours to drive up there and then back again, plus calling in to get a special racing feed for Vilayet at the Gold Coast, so the day was a very long one. The day before, Good Friday, I had caught Peter’s cold that he had gotten from working way too long hours (the poor man is addicted to his bosses and his work).
I got it soo bad that I could hardly ride CC, I felt like I was going to be sick all over her.
Anyway, it must not have been so bad for her ’cause she did a lovely Advanced test and we won it on 68%. Sue was very excited. It was a super confidence builder for the Sydney CDI.
We also came 4th in the PSG.
Long day but good fun.
Sue and I drove 14 hours to Orange CDI in February, the ThinLine Dressage with Altitude International event. CC competed in the Advanced classes, the Freestyle and the Prix St Georges International class. We were very pleased with her results. She came home with some ribbons, placing very close scores in the Advanced. This was a really big show for her, especially first up for the year too, after a break over the Christmas period.
What is the lovely thing, when you take these journeys to these big events, you get to meet the great people and other competitors and you become friends; and the funny things that happen and the great experiences that form your relationship with your horse.
I was given a chance to be on media with the Live screening TV for the event, I commentated for the very first class, the brand new Intermediate A, there were about 9 competitors, with Brett taking home the purse. It was fun though, I had a ball doing this, and I ended up even doing some on the spot interviews with some riders.
An interview with Eurodressage.
More photos of the event.
CC and I at ThinLine Dressage with Altitude International event at Orange
