News Archive

Four events this month starting with Strathallan. Heavy rain in the run up to the event made for challenging conditions. Newt ran in the pre novice but was harshly marked in the dressage before having one down in the showjumping and a clear in the time cross country to finish 11th. Oz and Uno were doing their first intermediate novices. Both were unimpressive in the dressage but Uno’s behaviour improved with a double clear. Oz had a couple of showjumps down before ducking out through my dodgy side at an angled combination then getting much too onward for the remainder of the course. A change of bit was planned for the next outing. Zak went the following day for the four year old class. He did an improved dressage test but went very green in the showjumping and had a couple of looks but improved as he went on. A bit disappointing given the lovely clear he had jumped on his last outing but that’s what happens with youngsters sometimes. I withdrew him from the cross country so as not to knock his confidence- there is always another day especially at his age.

Hendersyde the following weekend was a quiet event for us with only Uno in the intermediate novice and Oz in the novice. Uno had challenging conditions in the dressage as a heavy downpour had made the going very slick. He slipped a couple of times and had the added distraction of the judge flashing her car lights at him in an attempt to find the windscreen wipers! He then had one down in the showjumping before going clear cross country. Oz did a good dressage to be in the top few after this phase but wasted it by having four showjumps down. I decided to run him cross country to see how he went in the change of bit (obviously not a success in the showjumping!). He started off quite green and whipped round on the approach to a combination after getting away from me going down a steep hill so was given 20 penalties. He improved as he went on but the bit wasn’t really to his liking. Despite his problems he managed a rosette for 10th place as it seemed that other people had a worse day than he did.

At Scone the following weekend I decided to drop Oz down to the open pre novice to give him a confidence boost. He did a good test to lie second and finished on his dressage score to win the section which was an unexpected bonus. He is still strengthening up from his time off last year and as I am not yet at full strength either I will need to be patient with us both for a while longer. Tom, Rod and Uno went the following day. Tom and Rod were in the CIC** and Uno was contesting his first intermediate. Rod needed a qualifying result for Blair so we went fairly carefully to finish 8th and gain our qualification. Tom was delighted to be out for the first time since the beginning of June and added a few time penalties to his dressage score to finish outside the top 10. Uno did a reasonable dressage test, jumped a good showjump round and set off meaning business cross country. Unfortunately he misunderstood the 5th fence and ducked out to the side and having done it once he did the same thing at the second attempt, jumping through an overhanging branch. At this point I retired as he was genuinely confused by what is a fairly tricky fence.

Onto Blair and again the weather wasn’t very kind! Uno was doing his first three day and Tom and Rod were doing the CIC**(Rod’s first attempt at this level). Uno didn’t try particularly hard in the dressage and dropped behind my leg, getting a mark in the 60s. Tom tried his best in the deep going (not his favourite) and wind (also not his favourite), keeping it together until the last three movements where he started to go sideways, getting a 64. Rod had even deeper going to contend with and he got progressively more annoyed as the test progressed- not helped by me forgetting a rein back and the ground jury not noticing I hadn’t done it until five movements later and sending us to redo the test from the rein back. He got a 72 which is the first time Tom has beaten him at dressage. Rod then jumped clear round a testing showjumping with Tom not liking the ground and having one down. Rod was out second on the cross country and was storming round until the second water. I took the direct route in which didn’t ride too well and he lost impulsion and he just caught a knee on the jump out as a result and I tipped out to the left. I had the wind knocked out of me by my air jacket as I had leant it to someone in the one star who had accidentally set theirs off just before they had to start, what I hadn’t realised was that they had altered it from my setting so I had a bit of a shock when it went off! Rod was fine except for a small scrape on his knee. I was frustrated as he had been going brilliantly and made the course feel easy. Having gone out early I didn’t get to see how the fence rode and as it turned out hardly anyone attempted the direct route after a few uncomfortable looking jumps at it. I had to be passed fit to ride before taking Tom round. We took the alternative at the second water but he nipped out to the left at the following corner combination, yet another cross country penalty caused by my lack of power in my left arm. Uno coped well with the longest course he had attempted to date. I took all the direct routes but didn’t hurry him for the time as the ground was deep in places and he wasn’t in a competitive position after the dressage so I decided to save his legs and give him a confidence building experience. He finished full of running and wasn’t bothered by step up. He showjumped clear the following day to finish 35th and left me feeling very positive about his future. The rain and mud made the week as much a test of endurance for support teams as it did for the horses and riders, my grooms did a super job of turning the horses out to a high standard and remaining upbeat despite the conditions which made my job much easier.

After returning from Blair the lorry was emptied and cleaned up as much as possible to take three horses out the following day. Jay was going for her next scan and treatment, a new arrival was going for a check, and Harvey had his follow up visit to the vet school. A busy day was spent dropping off and collecting but the news was all good. Jay has been given the all clear to resume hacking and Harvey has progressed better than hoped for and will also have his work increased. The new arrival is a five year old from Ireland bred by William Micklem. Called Spirit he has some famous relations and he will be brought on over the winter with the aim of starting eventing next season.

The season wound down for us in September with only two events. Turnberry had to be postponed due to wet weather so the horses went quite a spell without a run, during which Newt managed to get himself a sick note so he missed his last event for the year. This was fairly typical of his luck in 2009 as he was fine within days after the event! Oz was the only runner but he had a disappointing day as after leading the BE100open dressage and showjumping clear he ran out twice through my weaker left side. He wasn’t hugely popular as there wasn’t any justification for it other than him taking advantage of my current lack of strength.

Earlier in the month Rod had made the trip to Blenheim for the 8/9 year old CIC***. His test was 15 marks better than his Blair effort but that was mainly due to firmer going which he prefers and meant best behaviour. His changes weren’t brilliant so there is still scope for considerable improvement for the future. I was slightly disappointed with his 2 show jumps down as he was distracted by the crowd and atmosphere at the start of his round and this also meant we clocked up 4 time penalties. He jumped much better in the last two thirds of the course when his concentration improved. Cross country was also a mixed performance. We clocked up three run outs on course so had to walk home from the second last which was disappointing. He ran out to the left at fence 7 and then realised this was an option, which he took advantage of coming out of the second water and the corner two from home. However, he did jump easily through some of the other testing combinations so I know I have a potentially very exciting horse for next season and he will have learned a huge amount from this competition due to the crowds and atmosphere.

With a fewer events I had time to go to collect our homebred 2 year old. He has spent the summer in the Borders having left the stud he was born at earlier in the year so I have only seen him a couple of times previously. His competition name is Master Opulence (his dam is Miss Opulence and sire is Mill Law), which is shortened to Mop in the stable.

I decided to finish the season early this year so I could spend more time getting my arm sorted out in preparation for next season. An operation at this stage was ruled out as it was as likely to lead to further complications as possible improvements - a bone graft would need to be taken from my hip which I was less than keen on! This means that I am doing a much more intensive rehab and physio programme instead which I hope will mean I will be back to more or less full strength by next year.

I attended the next three days of my UKCC Level 3 course at the end of the month. I find it quite challenging being back sitting in a seminar room or standing at the side of an arena for extended periods as I am used to being on the go most of the day during the event season. There seems to be quite a jump from Level 2 to 3 but I am now looking forward to the next couple of days in December then getting ready for the external assessment.

Due to an increasing number of horses on the yard we now have space for a working pupil with their own horse. The key requirements are reliability, enthusiasm and willingness to learn in return for good pay, conditions, training and tuition on own horse. The advert had a huge response within 24 hours and we are still accepting new applications so we are looking forward to welcoming someone new to the team over the next month.

The youngsters were the centre of attention this month with three outings in as many weeks for Spirit and Zak. They are hugely different in temperament and experience and their work to date has also been different. Zak is a year younger at 4 and had done very little until getting backed a year ago but has spent the summer in work and been to a couple of clinics. Spirit is 5 and hasn’t had nearly as much experience of the outside world. He is also bigger and weaker than Zak so currently feels like a three year old in a five year old body. The good thing about spending time on the young ones at this time of year is that you can really build a partnership with them which will make taking them out eventing next year that bit easier. Trips out were to Inchcoonans and John Ledingham and David Gatherer at Gleneagles. They are now having a couple of weeks at home to consolidate before more outings next month- hopefully showing an improvement.

The older horses have had a short break and having had an early finish to the season are now back in work. Jay and Harvey are continuing to progress on their controlled exercise programmes with Harvey being ridden for the first time since June and Jay doing increased trotting.

There has still been plenty to do on the yard and I have been fitting in some teaching. The yard team had a quieter time at the start of the month but it’s now fairly full on with horses to clip and other jobs to prepare for winter. As everyone is happy to muck in and work together as a team, we are ahead of where we were at this time last year. A new working pupil is joining the team at the start of November so they will be a welcome addition as there are eleven horses in and a couple of new boxes being built. I was inundated with applications for the placement. The standard was very high and I found it difficult to narrow down to interview the most enthusiastic and then even harder to allocate the job.

Despite being the eventing off season there was still plenty to do this month. The youngsters have continued to have educational outings with Zak, Spirit and Newt doing the combined training show at Gleneagles at the start of the month. This was Spirit’s first show outing so I made sure to arrive in plenty of time to allow him to settle in the atmosphere. I had only entered him for the jumping section as I didn’t want him to have to try to wobble through a dressage test at this stage. I rode him around twice before warming up for his round. This seemed to help as he insisted on vocally introducing himself to any horse that would answer the first time he was out but when he came to warm up prior to jumping he was relaxed and focused on the job in hand. He jumped a nice round but tapped a couple of poles so I was happy with the way he had gone. Zak was entered for dressage and jumping. He warmed up well for his test but found the arena spooky as it was next to the road so after doing the first few movements sideways he did settle but was in last place after this phase! He did a lovely double clear in the showjumping so managed to redeem himself. Newt was having his first outing since August and was delighted to be out. After some high jinks in the warm up he did a pleasing test then went double clear. He managed to claim 4th place in the jumping and 6th overall which was a pleasant surprise. He has taken a while to get right physically after his field accident but after some tweaks from the vet and farrier 6 weeks ago he seems to be on track and looking very promising. However, he is something of a ‘sick note specialist’ and never been the luckiest of horses so we are hoping that his current good form continues.

The other competition outing this month was BSJA at SNEC. Rod, Tom and Uno went on day one and all jumped well. It was their first outing since August/ September so Uno in particular was very fresh. He jumped double clear in two classes, just missing out on placings, and was much more civilised after four rounds. Rod jumped really well with one down in the jump off in his class which was quite respectable for him. Tom was hyper to start off as there was music playing in the collecting ring (he can’t stand music in indoor schools for some reason, he doesn’t mind it in the yard or outdoors but this is one of the eccentricities he refuses to change) every time he went under a speaker he shot sideways then stood shaking until it got turned down. He jumped well considering the shaky warm up but had one down in the second phase. Newt went on day two and continued his good form to jump double clear to finish second. Being on a ticket he wasn’t eligible for the awards but was allowed into the prize giving (his first!) to collect a special rosette. I am tempted to affiliate him but fear that will prompt another sick note.

The eventing outing of the month was the BE Scotland dinner at Dunblane. Tom had won the arena events series earlier in the year so I was awarded the trophy for that.

While there were fewer competitions this month I was still busy with horses at all levels. Zak and Spirit went to a jumping clinic with John Ledingham and he saw an improvement in them from the previous month. I have also been trailering the horses over to a local forest to get in some longer rides up hills. This is part of Jay’s exercise programme so she has gone most often but Newt, Zak and Spirit have also gone to build their strength without putting pressure on their legs. The two year old, Mop, has also been getting some attention. He has had a roller and tack on again and has progressed to being leant over and has taken this in his stride. I am waiting for the weather to improve before starting him on the lunge again and sitting on him as I don’t fancy trying this for the first time in gale force winds.

A month with a full on start then a weather enforced break. I had several outings planned in the first three weeks of December so plenty of good intentions. The youngsters, Spirit, Zak and Newt, went to a jumping clinic with David Gatherer at SNEC early in the month. The aim was to do some longer courses than I can set up in the school at home and work in company. All three went well, with Spirit and Zak showing an improved attitude since their previous outing. Spirit hadn’t been to SNEC before but jumped all the fillers first time which was impressive as he hasn’t seen a huge amount to date. Newt thoroughly enjoyed himself and was particularly enthusiastic.

I had been at SNEC the previous day to do a couple of dressage tests with Rod and Uno. I had entered then in both novice tests so was fairly busy. Uno bounced around the collecting ring before settling down. He did save some large bounces for the first test and did exit the arena during the first canter but was much more civilised in his second test. Rod did his best to swank round the first test to win but was miffed to find he had to perform again, convinced he had already done enough. He was also disappointed that flying changes were not required so did offer to throw some in. He did enough showing off to win this test too. I was pleased with the way he went and it was good for him to get back in to doing tests confidently at a lower level after the pressures of the event season. Uno was much more forward than his last test at Blair which is encouraging and I tried a different warm up strategy with him which seemed to help (the lack of show jumping and cross country no doubt also helped!) so the plan with him is to keep getting him out to do tests over the winter.

I took two days away from the yard to complete the last days of the UKCC Level 3 course. We had a mock assessment on the second afternoon and I was happy with the way it went, having made some of the suggested improvements. Just the portfolio to complete and the final assessment day to go.

Also getting some attention this month was the two year old, Mop. After lots of quiet handling, he went on the lunge again before being leant over, sat on, then finally ridden on the lunge. He took all of it in his stride so that is all he will do for now and it will make the task of starting him off next year much easier. He has grown a lot since the summer so he will have a lot more strength next year hence this year’s quiet backing.  If he had followed the career path of the others he ran at the stud with he would have been completing his first year in racing. His half brother won a maiden hurdle race last month so he may be in the wrong job!

The intended BSJA outing for the older horses was aborted due to snow. It wasn’t essential that they had the outing so we decided not to risk taking the lorry out thinking we would be able to re route as the snow wouldn’t last long. It still hasn’t gone more than two weeks later. The one drawback to having an indoor school and being able to ride in just about all weather is that it is absolutely freezing when most other people have surrendered to going inside to the warmth. We were able to work the horses most days in the run up to the holiday period to gradually wind them down. I went away from Boxing Day to New Years Day to meet up with some American family friends in New York, thinking the snow would be gone by the time I got back- wrong. In my absence the path to the school had transformed into sheet ice so the horses are temporarily confined to the yard as there is no way to safely get a horse out, let alone ones that will no doubt be a tad fresh.

The first part of the month was dedicated to shovelling snow, chipping ice, carting water buckets and steaming hay. With the indoor school fully accessible after a lot of shovelling and salt scattered the horses’ exercise programme wasn’t disrupted even though the yard work took up a lot more time than normal. With all the extra physical jobs required to get the day to day tasks completed my personal fitness hasn’t needed much extra work!

The first outing for 2010 was to the BSJA at SNEC. Not knowing how busy it was likely to be after the snow I didn’t arrive too late to find that there was still ages to go before my classes. Uno did the 1.05 open and Newcomers, with Rod and Tom also in the Newcomers after we decided not to hang around waiting for the bigger classes but as the horses hadn’t been out for a while height wasn’t really an issue. Uno was wild in the first class and stopped at the water tray, insisting it was going to eat him and he had never seem one before- he seems to have forgotten he is an eventer who jumps over much scarier obstacles so cross country schooling may be interesting this spring! He behaved much better in the next class (jumping the water tray without batting an eye in both rounds!) and finished third. Rod jumped a good clear in the first round but I didn’t give him the best ride in the jump off so he had a couple down. Tom had a shaky start as he again reacted badly to the loud music in the collecting ring, luckily it got turned down otherwise he was exiting the arena. He jumped well and won the class before having to leave the prize giving as it was far too exiting- at 18 he really should know better.

The following weekend the same three plus Zak and Newt went to the first arena event at Howe. Zak and Newt were in the intro and pre novice, while the others were in the novice and open. Zak found the collecting ring quite challenging but jumped a good round in the showjumping before going very green on the cross country section. He found the water tray terrifying even though he had jumped one the previous day and also earlier in the week- this one was different! He went better in the pre novice so some progress was made. Newt did the opposite, he went well in the intro with one pole down but thought he would take charge in the pre novice as he considered himself to be quite the expert having already been round. A few more poles ended up on the ground but his enthusiasm is encouraging as he used to be somewhat lacking in boldness. Uno was much calmer this week but we had some steering issues so no placings. Tom was enjoying himself in the novice but he tapped two poles out through not quite paying enough attention, he redeemed himself by winning the open with a better performance. Rod only had one pole down between the two classes which is something of a record for him and he came away with a third and a sixth.

There were no outings for training or hacking due to the weather but hopefully we will be able to get going soon. Jay eventually managed to get to the vet for a leg scan which went perfectly so she has started jumping again and should be out competing shortly.

With the season fast approaching, preparation stepped up a notch this month. Outings, planned for every weekend, were all successful, quite surprising as the aim is only to school them round.

Jay, Rod and Uno went to their first dressage show of the year at SNEC to do some novice and elementary classes. This was Jay’s first time out since June but she behaved far better than she can do and won her novice and came third in the elementary. Rod did not feel his usual self but was fourth in both his elementaries. He had been very spooky the previous day when snow had been melting off the roof so seemed to have tweaked something during his acrobatics. Uno had a mixed day, warming up well for his first class before being so naughty I had to retire in the test and do a bit of schooling before leaving the arena. He came back out for his second test as if nothing had happened and went beautifully to come second behind Jay- quite what goes on in his head at times, I’m not sure, but progress is being made.

The next outing was the second arena event at Howe with five horses. Jay was having her first jump in public and she was entered after behaving in the collecting ring the previous weekend. Tom, Uno, Newt and Zak were also in attendance. Zak’s performance was much improved from the last event and he jumped round confidently without remotely bothering about the monsters he had seen the last time. Newt also went enthusiastically and managed to get a 6th placing. Uno had a couple of ‘moments’ where brain and body weren’t working together but a change of bit helped a lot and he proved that had also come on since the previous event. Tom enjoyed himself again to win the open and Jay had a good day to pick up a third and a fifth.

The next arena event at Ingliston had the added complication of a dressage phase so only the older horses went. Jay and Uno did the novice and were joined in the open by Tom and Rod. Their tests ranged from very good to very wild! Jay led the novice but was a bit too fresh in the open. Uno was settled for the novice then could have done with a further two days to have performed as well in the open! Tom turned in an acceptable performance and Rod was decidedly fresh, nearly bucking me off. All jumped well with three double clears and four placings. Jay won the novice and was 6th in the open, Tom was third and Rod was 4th in the open so a pretty good day in the end.

I had been asked to ‘guinea pig’ Tom at the BHS coaching conference on cross country riding with Eric Smiley at SNEC. Despite not being too keen on having an audience, he performed well and thoroughly enjoyed himself (no dressage required!). I intended to use this as a warm up outing for the first Sportjumping competition the following weekend but this was postponed due to Gleneagles being under an impossible amount of snow. Yet again we escaped the snow at home but the surrounding area had quite a few inches.

The lorry was away for a week to get its final set up for the season ahead (heating will be a huge plus in March!) so I was able to do more teaching and get stuck in to my UKCC Level 3 portfolio. Having the benefit of an indoor school in this weather has meant that lessons are pretty much guaranteed to go ahead so I have been fairly busy.
Newt has been doing his best to get himself another sicknote after being in consistent work for four months which is a record for him. On the wettest, windiest day we have had for a while he managed to remove his rug in the field so came in rather chilly. This didn’t have the desired effect so he repeated the performance the next day! Despite his best efforts he is still in work.

The horses are all looking well after such a hard winter, I feel this is due to having their diets assessed at the end of the season by my feed company as even the unclipped ones have a good shine on their coats. They also had the first of their bi-annual dental checks by David Brown of Equi-Dent, all behaved well except Jay who needed a repeat visit to be done under sedation. This is where a co-operative back up team is a weight off my mind as that afternoon we had the vet, dentist and physio in working together on different horses.

The eventing season got underway for us this month, the earliest start I have had for a couple of seasons after being injured in 2009 and waiting for the start of the Scottish season when the team were younger and predominantly novices.

The month didn’t get off to a good start as I made the decision to get Harvey put down. He had been back for another assessment at the vet school and this time they agreed that he wasn’t moving properly. On his previous visit I had to insist that they watched him work under saddle as that was when the problem became apparent as he was sound trotting up in hand. Six weeks on he wasn’t level when trotted up so a decision about his future had to be made. He had a super temperament for a competition horse as he thrived on work and being kept busy so he was never going to be suited to life as a hack and he was certainly not companion material. Since the operation last June he had become unhappy when turned out in the field and was also unsettled when stabled.  His welfare being the top priority, the decision was made to put him down. With his temperament it was the only responsible thing to do as it ensured he didn’t get passed on and end up in the wrong hands. This is the unpleasant aspect of owning or caring for horses but we owe it to them if they are unable to enjoy a good quality of life. Obviously this was very disappointing but he had the highest standard of treatment for the original injury and careful rehab but despite everyone’s best efforts he wasn’t going to recover to do the work he enjoyed so much.

The weather held up attempts to cross country school before Lincoln but we finally managed to get J, Rod and Uno out for a practice session three days before we were due to travel. They all went really well but J had a swelling on the leg she had injured the previous season. A precautionary scan was hastily arranged which showed a perfectly clean leg but without the time to give her another canter before departure she was withdrawn as there was no point risking her so early in the year.

At Lincoln Uno was running in the open novice and Rod in the open intermediate. Neither behaved particularly well and Uno was particularly fresh on his first outing. Rod did an okay dressage but got a poor mark, was one of few showjumping clears before disgracing himself running out three times at a skinny on the cross country. Not a great start to the year and a long drive home! I schooled Rod over narrow fences in the school at home the next day and couldn’t get him to run out if I tried so he was certainly unpopular. He has had blips like this before and forgotten about them as soon as he’s discovered them so I’m hoping this is another of those occasions.
Witton the following weekend was cancelled so J didn’t get a run in March, her leg being fine after her next canter.

Also this month, we waved goodbye to Booboo the pony who had been in for a months schooling. He was great fun, having a much different mentality from my event horses so was antidote to some of the tougher times in March.

With Rod and Uno’s trip to Lincoln highlighting a few issues to work on, the pair were entered for the hunter trial at Hallyburton. The course was up to height and varied but without the same degree of technicality as a BE event so it was the perfect run for them to build confidence while still being challenged. They both went round clear but steadily so it was mission accomplished.

Kirriemuir took place the following weekend with Uno HC in the novice and Jay doing the same after filling in for Newt who gained himself another sicknote at the last minute! He somehow tweaked himself rolling in his stable but was back to normal within a couple of weeks, naturally after his intended outing. I tried a different warm up routine with Uno before his dressage which worked so well that he improved his score by seventeen penalties from Lincoln to be in second place. He then went double clear for a pleasing result. Jay was having her first outing since June last year and was impressively calm in the dressage. She had two poles down showjumping as she wasn’t paying enough attention, then set off on the cross country at full pelt slowing down eventually. We had a near miss at the water when she pulled a shoe off on landing, her head went under water and I was preparing myself for a swim but she found her balance before carrying on as if nothing had happened. A graze on her nose was the only damage done and she trotted up sound the next day.

The next weekend was spent cross country schooling at different venues. Jay went water schooling to make sure she hadn’t had a fright at Kirriemuir and it turned out she wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Uno, Zak and Spirit then went to work on other goals, Uno’s being corners, Zak’s was to see a variety of jumps and Spirit’s was to see a bit more of the outside world. Zak and Spirit had attended a clinic with Caroline Powell earlier in the week and were given plenty to work on after displaying their own styles of misbehaviour, happily the performed much better later in the week.

Tom had a rare outing to the new Sportjumping competition held at Gleneagles. Uno also did a class and came 8th after jumping a smooth round. Tom was flying but I didn’t quite have the canter right on the approach to the treble so he had two down (he hasn’t knocked down two fences in one round in years!) but his fast time meant he still managed to come 4th. It was a great new concept and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part even more so when I came home with a £100 profit, not something that happens very often with prize money levels in eventing!

A quick change round and we were off to Scone the following morning. Uno did another good dressage test in the open novice but was taken steadily cross country. Rod and Jay got identical dressage marks but their performances thereafter were at opposite ends of the spectrum! I was trying a different bit in Rod for jumping to try and keep him straighter. He went well in it at home but absolutely hated it at the event. He started the cross country enthusiastically, after only being allowed one practice jump as I had a rush from being the last to showjump on Jay to then go first on Rod. The ring steward demanded that I go on the cross country immediately on my arrival and was very reluctant to allow me a chance to warm up over fences as time was tight. I was only allowed the one after insisting that being sent out on the course without going over a single fence was a safety issue. Considering the rushed warm up he went really well until he ducked out twice at a corner close to home. He did jump it on the third attempt which means that progress is being made. Jay went double clear but went steadily cross country as the ground conditions had changed significantly during the class.