We've been waiting for some videos this week then like buses they all come at once!
First up Isla and Paige going clear around the 80cm arena eventing at Eland Lodge on Sunday, Paige was trying to go a bit slower after going too fast last time out. Lovely calm round, unfortunately a bit too slow but still came 10th in a big class. Thank you Meadow Productions for not only producing the nicest video, you definitely won the processing race.
Next up Mango's round from last Thursday at Oasby BE100. His first 100 run in 2 seasons and by far his best effort.
And finally an old VHS I've had digitalised thanks to Total Recall. This is Isla doing her thing at Hambleden pre-novice (BE100) in 2006, went double clear this day on hard ground despite it being the first day I realised she had problems with her front feet. This course was huge, as usual Isla makes it look like nothing and went well within the time despite looking so laid back.
It's been all go here to work out why I wasn't quite my normal cheeky self the last few weeks. First up was Sarah, she usually come to see princess but this time she looked at me too. She did lots of things to my back and shoulders and said they were very sore, she's not wrong! I didn't really enjoy all the prodding and had to be bribed with sweets to stay still but in the end it all felt a lot better.
On Saturday we had a visit from Steve he watched us walk and looked at our hooves, mainly we just stood around whilst they talked about feet and mum moaned about how ugly mine are - humph, well I can't be perfect can I? Mum says I'm to be grateful he came a very long way to see me as I'm so special and she doesn't trust anyone else to look after my feet.
Mum gave me most of the week off but when she rode me on Monday I was very stiff again. On Tuesday we had a lesson with Nic I was moving much better, apparently this shows that time off is not helpful (damn). Nic noticed I kept knocking a trot pole with the same leg and wasn't pushing off the ground properly so now I have to do leg stretches as well as touching my toes....honestly, they'll have me doing yoga next!
Wednesday we went for a slow hack then Thursday we got up early and had a wash before heading off in the horsebox. We arrived at a smart little yard and met Debbie my saddle fitter. My dressage saddle has been rubbing a little and she soon worked out what was wrong. I have my girth straps on one side slightly off set, as I've straightened up I wanted the other side the same. I've also filled out a bit so she softened the flocking a little to compensate. After a bit of re-stitching and bashing it felt much better so I got to stand in a stable for bit whilst she had a catch up and tea with mum.
Back on the box then we pulled up at Oasby, mum plaited me in the box and I stood very still which apparently was a miracle. I was a bit grumpy in the dressage, you can seen the cross country from teh warm up so I wanted to do that instead, I did a bit of bucking but actually did quite a nice test in the end. Slightly disappointing mark of 35.3 but mum is still going a bit easy on me so hopefully we can improve on that.
I had a long break while mum walked the course with chief pony holder (polo lady was busy apparently). Then we went to the showjumping. There was only 2 before us so we did a very quick warm up that went great. Mum only missed one stride into the first big upright but the spread was ace. We went in and it was a bit bigger then usual, I have yet to jump a clear at Oasby so this didn't bode well. 1,2 and 3 went well, 3 was quite square so I had to make a bit of an effort, 4 was good but somehow the rail fell off, oops, must pick my back feet up. Jumped into the double well but then mum froze and I had to chip in an extra stride so went through the second part and landed in a muddle. We had a bit of a discussion around the corner, mum wanted to sort my legs out but I just wanted to get on with it. Sorted it out and came down the related distance on a perfect four strides which caught mum out a bit. Disunited round the corner to the big oxer worried mum but she kept her leg on so over we went and the last too. We were really pleased with only 2 down in our first 1m on grass in nearly 2 years. Mum says the rails don't matter for now, it was just good that I took the course on and didn't back off anywhere, cue lots of polos although these stopped when I tried to roll in a muddy puddle on the way back to the box - it was warm and I was thirsty.
We went straight down to the cross country but there were a few waiting so we stood around for a bit. I warmed up well and actually jumped the practice jump properly for the first time ever. Mum asked the steward if we could not go over too early in case I was naughty, no idea what she's talking about I was perfect at Osberton. I walked over and calmly around the start box then...ooh, jumps, lets go! Apparently I have to wait for the countdown which rapidly got quicker (thank you nice starting lady) then we were off.
Number 1 was a touch bigger then expected so I rapped it a bit, 2 was little and easy, 3 was a bigger hedge which again caught me out a bit. Into my rhythm I managed not to spook at the scary novice fence on the approach to 4 (did give is a sideways glare to warn it though), 4 was easy, 5 mum went to set me up which made me a bit suspicious, turned out it was just a trekehner which mum hates but I don't know why, once I knew what it was I took over and flew it nearly loosing her off the back in the process.
Onto the water, roll top before, cantered into the water before I remembered I only trot through water, once mum pointed out the big jump on the way out I decided canter might be wiser which worked much better. Mum mucked up the corner a bit but I was a good boy and sorted it out, it was a bit scary with narrow flags and apparently caused a lot of trouble but we got over it and as we landed in a muddle managed to pull off a tight turn to the next which will have helped out time a bit. Galloped down to the brush, got a bit close so I decided to clear it by a foot to compensate. Downhill again to a big log, I got a bit confused and put and extra stride in before the step then managed to get to the next log on the correct one stride, nearly loosing mum out the back door again in the process. Must say the bench jumps a lot better in one rather then using the seat as a take off pad (who knew?). I wanted a breather by now but mum make me gallop along the top of the valley then nearly missed the turn into the woods. kept my momentum around the tight turn and flew over the drop. She then missed me into the biggest fence on the course, luckily only a rail so I sorted it out then galloped over the house and pheasant feeder. I was feeling pretty cocky by now so was a little surprised how wide the sheep feeder was off a long stride I had to stretch for it then flew the last and home. We were so pleased with ourselves scores didn't matter but only 3 seconds slow round a BE100 was certainly a bonus. We came 10th out of 19 with a fair few pros in the section.
I've been very excited since Thursday, done a couple of high speed short hacks over the weekend with lots of bouncing so hopefully the mojo's coming back, got a dressage lesson in a bit so we'll see if my legs are up to working hard again yet.
After Field House mum went a bit crazy, we had a lesson with Tim on the Wednesday which mainly consisted of canter, big canter, bigger canter, sideways big canter, phew, how on earth am I still on a diet? Apparently the dressage test at Badminton doesn't have any fancy tricks in it so I'm going to have to wow them with my paces and obedience, mum is sceptical, how rude!
The next day we went out on the box to something called "the gallops" this was great fun, Isla let me think I was winning most of the time which I really enjoyed. It was a bit wet and we got filthy, unfortunately this meant we had to steady for the deep bits which was rather boring. We had a medium trot race up the hill though which was very cool, why can't all schooling be this fun?
Then on Friday we had a jump lesson, to be honest I was knackered. I still tired very hard and jumped 105 but I just couldn't get my big canter right and the related distance wasn't happening. I did discover a new trick though, when you're on the wrong stride and you're too tired/don't want to go for the long one then you just put a short one in 2-3 strides out and you end up back in the right place to take off, and it catches mum off balance which is funny.
I got a couple of days off, a quick jump on Monday and a hack Tuesday. I had another lesson with Tim on Wednesday and mum was getting really frustrated, I wasn't happy and she rode like a muppet. Somehow Tim got us through it and by the end I managed some of my most consistent lengthened trot strides so far. Afterwards though mum poked my back and it really hurt, ouch! Think all that galloping in mud didn't do me much good.
So the last few days has been spent with mum rubbing my back twice a day, putting some strange pad thing on it and teaching me to touch my toes for treats, are all humans as weird as mine? It's still a bit sore but it does feel much better then a few days ago so hopefully I'll be back on form soon. Meanwhile someone called Doris has rearranged out paddocks.
Osberton
Today we went to Osberton to do the East Midlands Dressage Group one day event. Mum and Paige got increasingly cross with my jumping around and I got a few smacks so I went to talk to polo lady, that went fine until I bit her...oops, it was an accident, honest! It was all very exciting being plaited and working on grass again, I said hello and goodbye to everybody in the lorry park. I managed a reasonable dressage test, nothing special but better then I'd been going earlier in the week so everyone was happy and there were a few polos.
Straight onto the jumping and I played around with my new trick some more, that was fun, mum never new which stride I was going to pop the short one in on but we consistently ended up in the right place to take off and I left them all up. Into the ring and apart from getting a touch close to a few it was going really well. We turned round to the double and holy shit what's that, someone put a scary filler there, I know I'll go round it....ok no I won't, mum sounds like she's going to kill me so I better jump it, and the second bit. Ok, get it back together, hang on mum bossed me around there, better buck to tell her off. Now that's out of the way where's the rest of the course? Yep, easy peasy we went clear!
And over to the cross country. There was someone being very naughty at the start so mum kept me out the way in case I got any ideas. We went and did a few jumps but it was really difficult jumping into the gale force winds, when mum jumped them on the angle it was much easier. We had to wait a minute by the start box but I was very clever and kept my feet on the floor for once which went down well then we were off. The first three were fab, hit them on perfect galloping strides and ran like the wind in between. four was a bit scary as the straw under it was blowing towards us as we approached but I got over it without any drama. Back in our rhythm and we were having fun, started getting a bit close to a few half way round then mum brought me back a touch and set me up. What's this about? Oh, corner, ok bounce, bounce, jump - that was cool! Back to gallop, hand on I'm a bit tired can we slow down, no, apparently not, ok. We had a couple of little hiccups when mum decided long ones were appropriate at skinnies and I thought otherwise but we went round clear and at a good pace. To be honest I wasn't really out of breath at the finish so maybe all that fitness work and dieting is paying off?
So now I'm a clever pony who can do all three phases and walk back to the box without leaping in the air. I get lots of polos and even managed a rosette - 9th place - we finished on 30.8 which is pretty good really.
Here's our videos from Saturday, huge thank you to Nick for getting them to us so quickly. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend Meadow Productions, good quality videos, well edited and fantastic value for money. So good we bought three!
Sorry people, it's been a bit too wet this month to use the laptop from my field! It's snowing now so I'll sit down and type in the shelter.
We finished off our busy week after my last post with a jumping lesson. A nice lady called Nic came to visit us to give mum a few pointers. She got us jumping confidently, not getting too bogged down in the detail and managed to be encouraging when mum announced her somewhat ambitious plans for the start of the season.
A few days later we had a visit from the dentist, again someone new but highly recommended. Sophie was kind to us and knew what she was doing but unfortunately her visit coincided with the builders starting work on the barn foundations so even I needed a sniff of the happy drugs. Obviously the girls are not as brave as me and had to have rather a lot of sedation, to be fair poor Emy had a broken tooth which was a bit sore but Sophie soon had it sorted out.
We've been doing our usual boring hacking with Isla in tow, a bit of schooling on the flat and over jumps the last couple of weeks. Nic told mum to practice transitions which is hard work and mum has decided she needs to be braver so is putting the jumps up bigger then usual at home. All this and she still has me on a diet, life just isn't fair! I may have got my own back by pretending to be scared of a motor bike the other day, apparently I am not allowed to rear, spin, bolt or run into walls on a single track road whilst we're leading Isla but as mum didn't have a stick with her she couldn't do much about it.
On Friday we all got our manes and tails trimmed and washed. Whilst I was supervising Emy's tail wash Isla disappeared so I cantered up to and around the school desperately looking for her in the dark. Apparently this didn't help with auntie Paige's attempts to ride Isla who was already spectacularly hangry, oops.
Yesterday the horsebox came out despite the snow, I was not at all sure it was safe so legged it up to the field as soon as I'd eaten my tea then refused to be caught.
We set off with Paige and Isla but despite the forecast the weather got worse the further we went, we arrived at Field House to this...
Luckily, or otherwise the snow gave way to sleet which improved the going before we were on. Isla went first and despite Paige's nerves and Isla's temper they pulled it together in the ring to go clear and into the lead in a very large class. Unfortunately they were just beaten by a late entry but still very pleased with second place.
Then it was our turn. Mum spent a few minutes getting me to stretch and warm up after standing on the lorry for so long then she was straight after me to do my big boy canter. Once she was happy with that we did a few jumps, it was quite busy so mum had to shout where she was going to avoid running into anyone, she's damn scary when she's focused! In we went and there was Isla...must go say hello...oops not Isla, just another grey pony finishing its round, how embarrassing. I managed to jump the first few really well, got the distances and kept my canter good. We had a little leg stretch after six then turned into the start of the cross country section, that caught me out a bit but by number eight I'd got it sussed.
There were some fences I'd not seen before and a few questions but apart from trotting through the water (it was snowing ffs) and over the big house (mum said to slow down and look where I was going) I did a very professional and quick round to go into the lead! Again it was a big class but we ended up a very respectable 3rd.
Back on the lorry for a bit then I got dragged back out and tacked up again. One cross pole then polo lady put the jumps up huge but I jumped them well and headed into the ring again. I had a few words to say in the chute this time but mum was ready for me so I didn't get very far. Mum seemed very determined about this class and I soon saw why, the jumps were huge! The showjumps went well, we just had a slight moment at the first part of the double so mum let me put 2 strides in meaning I had the second part down, no biggie. Onto the cross country and I nearly fell over the first one, must remember to concentrate on the easy fences too. Straight up the steps and out of the arena, I cantered through the water this time and back in over an upright just a touch too quick so that hit the deck too. Lost my canter a bit so mum had to slow me down a bit to correct it which seemed to worry her but we got it back quickly and she placed me perfectly at the next, which was handy as it was rather large.
Out the arena again then down the steps, swing right, over the angled double, s**t I'm tired can we trot now? Apparently not! I got a smack down the shoulder so threw in a little buck before we turned into the final section, wishing well is easy now I've seen it in the first class as is the green house then quick turn into a triple brush arrowhead, mum saw a long one so just kicked and I flew by which time I was off and she couldn't stop me, yee ha over the big table and collapse in an exhausted heap.
I got a really quick time thanks to my enthusiastic galloping, mid air turning and getting the correct lead every time for once but with two down no rosette. I think I might like a challenge occasionally, I got so many pats and polos from my fan club it's almost worth the hard work.
Hi folks, we've had a very busy week so far, after a few very quiet weeks it's a bit of a shock to the system.
On Sunday we went show-jumping at Speetley Equestrian Centre. We took Isla too and she jumped first, I was a bit cross about being left on the lorry but managed to contain my displeasure to talking to her across the show-ground between mouthfuls of hay. Apparently she was very good and jumped clear and fast but mum said her time would have been faster if she hadn't stopped to argue about which jump was next so I should beat her.
After a bit of walking around in the cold it was my turn, I was a bit excited and did some shouting and bouncing in the collecting ring. Then there was a tractor in the chute which was suspiciously quiet so I stood on my back legs a couple of times to make sure it knew not to try any funny business! Eventually we went in the ring and waited for the bell then I was off, one went well, I got a bit enthusiastic into two and mum had to have a quick word about control and outline, three and four were great, I even managed the related distance correctly but five was a two stride double with a wide spread in. Mum was determined to get the correct striding so she rode forwards in the middle but I got confused and went through the second part, oops. That unsettled me a bit so I got an extra stride between six and seven then it was into the jump off section which was great fun until the monster next to fence ten, I tried to get us away from it but mum got very cross and said I had to jump it anyway, 11 was big but jumped well and 12 was a big one stride double but I got it perfect. Somehow I was 10 seconds slower then the Princess who only went and won the whole damn class but as I was tacked up I got to go in and get her rosette which was ok until I had to canter past that monster again.
I told mum and polo lady it was time to go back to the horsebox then but they said I had to jump a big class to practice for Badminton so we went back in again, one to four went really well and mum let me put three strides in the double at five which made it a lot easier. Six and seven were starting to get seriously big and I just ran on a touch to seven and knocked it off. No jump off turns this time but the wider turn into 10 meant I got an even better look at the monster and decided we definitely needed to escape from it, again mum was not impressed by my efforts and I even got a smack which was most uncalled for! Apart from a missed stride at the last though we got round with just the four faults and mum was really pleased how well I'd jumped the big ones and maintained my canter.
On Monday we had a delivery from the builder, it was great fun, I got to play with the lorry and the builders hat! Then chief pony holder came to visit with him indoors' father. There was a lot of huffing and puffing but eventually the man with the big tractor turned up and moved our field shelter! It's quite fun where it is now, there's a better view and mum's put some wood chip in so I spent all night digging holes in it and making a mess but at least there's finally somewhere to have a pee and a lie down in comfort....about bloody time mother.
Tuesday we got up early again, this time to let lots of men in hi viz with cars and vans and weird remote control noisy things into the field. I was very helpful and introduced myself to all of them as well as checking out the driver-less vehicles to make sure they were safe to be let in. Eventually after lots of flasks of tea they started cutting down the trees under the power lines which I guess is sensible so I left them to it. Then mum caught me and put me on the box with no haynet. Turns out we were meeting up with my mate Prince from the Rockley Reunions to go for a ride around the Peaks. We were both very brave for orange ponies, we went past lots of scary things and only took our feet off the floor in response to a man in hi viz building a wall with flappy plastic around it, which obviously is far more suspicious then anything else!
Can't wait to see what else mother has planned to try and shift my winter belly this week, I'll try to keep you all up to date.
Guess it's time for an update, mum worked a lot of the festive period and Paige hasn't been very well so we've had a pretty easy time of it here the last couple of weeks. Mum has been trying to make up for it this week though!
Isla went hunting with the Burne Bloodhounds on Sunday, new pack for her and very welcoming, she came back filthy though which somewhat defeated the purpose of her bath the day before! She had a chat to our old friend Mark of emmelleff photography who was responsible for some lovely pictures of us back in Lincolnshire, he had his work cut out running through the mud and crouching in hedgerows trying to get flattering photos of princess in the rain though!
Today mum put me on the box and took me hacking somewhere different, she said the school was frozen and it was about time we did something about both our bellies. She'd worked out a route along part of the South Peak Loop and Pennine bridleways joined by a few quiet roads and permissive tracks. Unfortunately her carefully planned gallop spots had frozen solid and I had to pick my way along them so it took us 2.5 hours to do 11 miles in the freezing cold! I was very brave though and went past all sorts of scary things like quarries, a man with a gun and rocks.
It wouldn't be a new year blog without setting out some aims for the coming year.
I need to work on getting my jumping confident at 1m so even if the inevitable rain tries to disrupt us I can get round the championship course on grass without disgracing myself, with that in mind we are going to practice a bit more at home and try to get a couple of shows in before our first event which if all goes to plan will be the East Midlands Dressage Group 95cm at Osberton at the end of February. Hopefully followed up with a BE100 or two before probably the BE90 at Eland for a bit of confidence before the big day.
We need to do something about the state of my feet before then too, mum has no problem taking me to Badminton with no shoes but apparently my frogs are so rotten the vet might not even let me on site. The ever helpful Steve Leigh of Natures Way Natural Hoofcare has been recruited as part of the team to help out on that front, he's also very kindly paying our entry fees for the main event.
Hopefully we'll find time to get a bit of dressage in as well, we're going to aim at Area Festivals Novice Silver and Elementary Bronze, already got our qualification for the former, just one more outing needed for the later.
Not sure we'll have chance but some qualifying runs for BE regionals or the Yorkshire Challenge in the autumn wouldn't go amiss either but apparently after Badminton mum has to concentrate on "the wedding", no idea what this involves except no horses....wtf?
