Toftegårdens Carisma
Stald Calle’s Bror Bally/Aleksander/DUX2
My junior horse, Toftegårdens Carisma (Karry) is experienced up to 3* level, and everyone apparently thinks that getting such a good horse is making everything a piece of cake … but actually, no! I’ve never tried getting a horse from someone else like this, and oh my god, it’s so difficult. Especially because Karry is bought from one of the best Nordic riders ever, Lærke Larsen, she really demands me to ride not just alright, but nearly perfect, if I have any ambitions on and above the 1*+ level.
And to confirm my “oh-it’s-so-difficult” we got disqualified for the Nordic-Baltic Championships on fence 7. We went training on the course afterwards, and she jumped everything because I rode without pressure from the fact of my ride being a championship and very determined compared to the “real ride”.
Of course it in many ways would be a lot nicer for me to have a stone sure junior horse, but then how would I ever learn how to be just that bit better than my competitors in my senior years? It will be a tough ride, but in just a few years from now I will be so grateful that I actually learned how to ride in such a young age. The hardest thing for me will be to chin up after every fall – also when the falls will be at important competitions.
My two biggest challenges so far has been getting up from my EUCH-qualification in Belgium and the Nordic-Baltic Championships. In the minutes just after I am not sure how I can move on, because it really rips off all kinds of confidence when your experienced horse doesn’t do the thing – and you really are doing it right. Oh well, but then you look into the eyes of a fantastic horse, and you smile for yourself and think: come on, buddy, we’ll take them down next time, right?
While I was in Portugal, Carisma was ridden by my trainer, Peter Flarup. Peter is an amazing rider, and when I got Karry back when arriving to Denmark, she was ready to rumble. We finished the season with two super competitions in Sweden, both CNC*.
Now we are just about to get started again after our winter break. She got it early this year, so we have more time to train and get readyuntil the first training with the national team in February.
