Even More Photos from Massey ODE

More Photos from Massey ODE

These two photos are from a double log combination about 1/2 way through the course. Jack looks awesome in the second photograph. I might order this from the photographer.

Massey ODE - Sunday 1st of February

Phew, boy am I tired. Its been one long weekend.

The day started off cloudy with that annoying spitty rain that doesn't stop. I got there nice and early because I HATE feeling rushed at competitions. Apparently it wasn't early enough because I still felt rushed while I was getting ready. I had plaited the night before so I balled his plaits and saddled up. Our warm up was good and I got a nice working trot around the arena until the judge stopped me to ask me something about my number. Once I asked him for a trot again, it was not nice. The test was bad but it was much better then I expected. The judge thought it was bad too and we were placed last. I was really happy with him though because he was calm and responsive the whole time. The judge commented that once we "established our paces" we would do great.


It was onto Show Jumping. By now it was heating up, and I was sweating in my jacket. I hummed to myself before going into the ring to keep us calm. I probably should have been concentrating on the rider before me because after the 3rd jump I lost my way and acquired 23 time and "crossing your tracks" faults. Otherwise Jack was amazing and HE jumped clear. So once we sort out the pilot errors we'll be great! I was REALLY happy with him though. He jumped everything without hesitation... in spite of his rider.


Onto the Cross Country. We started off really strong. Jack was on fire and he DID NOT want to slow down. After the second jump there was a bridge that is supposed to be trotted on for safety and I couldn't get him to slow down until about half way over the bridge. The third jump was a ramp, which was quite steep and Jack ran out. I didn't think it was going to be a problem so I wasn't ready for the run out. He jumped it the second time and then we had to circle because I had caught up to the rider in front of us who was attempting the Pa jump which consisted of jumping up a bank onto the Pa and then spinning around and jumping down the other side. Heaps of people had trouble, including the person in front of me so once she refused I was allowed to ride in front of her and do the jump. I lost speed control after that :)


We hooned around the cross country course. My gloves provided a problem as they are goat skin leather and they got slippery on the course so Jack could pull the reins out of my hand easily. We had a second refusal at the Dog Box. I must have been looking at it but I was ready for a run out so when I felt him start to dodge to the left I jammed my left heel into his side and he thought better about it... and ran out to the right haha. Sneaky horse. Lots of other people had trouble at the Dog Box too. After the dog box it was a sharp turn into the next paddock. Jack was at a flat gallop by this point and I thought that he would be over on his side if I tried to take the corner at that speed so I circled him and took it fractionally slower and on the straight. It was all go after that. I was pretty much a passenger that controlled the steering and not the speed. We did the rest of the jumps at a nice fast pace and cleared them all with no trouble. I did, however, manage to get him to slow to a trot for some control on the water jump which he did without hesitation. Then it was out of the water and up the double bank and then over a staircase jump and that was it.


Jack's old owner came to watch the Show Jumping. She told my parents that Jack seems to be really happy and that Jack and I have more of a rapport with each other then Jack ever had with her. She also said that she can't believe how calm is Jack. Speaking of Jack being calm; sometime during the day I had tied Jack on a long lead so he could graze around his pen. I left him to graze and then came back a little while later. Jack had his head close to the ground, and his lips touching the grass but he wasn't eating. I thought he looked a bit funny but went on with what ever I was doing. When I looked at him again, he was still in the same strange position. Then I realised that he had got his leg caught in the lead rope and he was waiting calmly for me to come help him out. I really love this horse.

We ended up being placed 13th out of 22 starts. Lots of people got eliminated on the Cross Country so even after our massive penalties in SJ and the bad dressage test we got boosted way up! I was really, really happy with Jack all through the day. He tried his heart out for me. Once we get the pilot errors sorted out I think we'll be a forced to be reckoned with.

Our next competition is on Sunday the 15th. We leave for our new life in Palmerston North on the 16th so we are going to have to be mega organised. Once I receive the professional photographs I'll make sure I'll put them up here.

Just a quick note

Its our first One Day Event tomorrow!! I spent alllll day today helping to get ready for it at Pony Club which was hard, hot work and I got a bit sunburnt which is not very nice at all.

Jack is currently sitting in his paddock, washed and plaited. I washed him with some blackening shampoo to cover up his faded bits and he looks fantastic. We're riding second in our class so we'll be getting their bright an early.

The Show Jumping course is really twisty with lots of tight turns but I don't think we're going to have much trouble with that. Cross country is relatively easy looking. The jumps are all very small and they have moved the Dog Box to an easier position thank goodness because that was what I was worried about. It was previously positioned close to a fence and on an angle so you had to hug the fence and jump on a strange angle to get over it. Now they have moved it out into the open!

The most techincal jump is the water combination. The first part of the combination is the jump into the water and then its a sharp turn into a double bank. I think the trick will be to keep him on a tight rein because he always makes really big leaps into the water.

Anyway I'll let you guys know what happens! I hope we do ok!

Cross Country Lesson II

Today was my second cross country lesson on Jack. On Thursday, at the Cross Country Schooling Night, one of our big problems (or should I say my big problem) was looking down at the jump. This again came into play today. Its a bad habit I REALLY need to break because it makes Jack unsure of whether to jump or not.

As always, we started off small. Focusing on rythm and softness we quickly moved up to higher, but simple jumps. Jack jumped them without hesitation and we worked more on my position then anything else. Sue did the old trick of sticking grass between my calf and the saddle which has always helped my with my position. I need to imagine grass there all the time, because sometimes my leg goes flying back over the jump.

We moved onto two logs set up as a double at the top of a hill. Jack refused first time and I'm sure I was looking down. Sue had me bring Jack 4 strides out from a jump and just stand there breathing deeply, showing him that the jump was no big deal and nothing to panic about. She told me to kick him on and jump it from a trot. Eyes up, eyes up, leg on, eyes up, soft with hands. This was my mantra the entire lesson. He hesitated but I drove him on and he basically crawled over the jump. The second time he jumped and we did the double easily.

We moved onto a log that was set up on top of a bank. A DOWNHILL BANK. He crawled over this the first and second time and then refused the third time. Sue pointed out that often I will drop my eyes at the last second which makes him not sure about whether its okay to jump. He refused another time and then we managed to get two good flowing jumps over it. I was very balanced which I was proud of.

Next we moved onto the Dog Box!! Sue seems to think that they have raised the jump and instead of it being Pre-Training, it is in fact Training which is great! Again Jack ran out. He runs out to the left which is rather a nuisence because I HATE holding my whip in my left hand but I'm going to have to get used to it because he never runs out to the right. After the first run out we trotted by one of the ponies who was grazing in that paddock. Apparently she doesn't like Jack because she double barreled us a couple of times. The first kick got the underside of my foot, but thankfully didn't hurt. The second kick got Jack in the chest. I trotted him out and he seemed unhurt so we kept on with the lesson. I found a small cut on him later which I sprayed with iodine. He ran out a second time and tried on run out a third time but I kept my whip pressed up against his left shoulder and he scrambled over the jump. The second time he scrambled again and the third time I pushed him more forward into the jump and it rode very nicely! YAYAYAY I JUMPED THE DOG BOX! I've been wanting to do that for so long.

After we schooled some other jumps, Sue put together a course for me to do. One of the jumps in the course was jumping off a bank! Sue timed the course without me knowing and my time was 1.45min. She said she wanted it down to 1.30min so we did it again. I had to do the down hill bank fast and we rode it really well. I got 1.32min so she made me do it again and I really pushed him to go faster. The down hill went great again and we got 1.29min yus!

The funny thing about Jack is that he doesn't puff. He sweats A LOT and soaks his saddle blankets everytime he's worked hard but he doesn't puff at all. I don't know why he does this, maybe he just has really good lung compacity but its not like any other horse I know. But if it works for him, then why not?

It was good lesson and I'm really happy we did the Dog Box!

Cross Country Schooling

S and I headed to one of the local pony clubs for Cross Country Schooling. The course was opened at 4 to anyone who wanted to pay the $10 fee. Thankfully S had a meeting at 5.30pm (she is off to Show Jump Champs on Sunday) so by the time we saddled up it had cooled down a LOT. It has been really hot here recently and Jack and I were glad to be out of the worst of the sun.

We started off small (as always) and Jack refused the very first jump. It was a hedge and I'm pretty sure I looked down. Looking down is my worst fault when it comes to jumping and I constantly have to remind myself to look up. This came into play later when Jack refused a relatively easy ramp about 6 times. I was getting frustrated with it and so I left it and came back later once we were on more of a roll. He refused again but I realised I had looked down so the next time I came in, I clamped my legs on, kept my eyes locked on a point up the hill and was soft with my hands and he jumped! I will definitely have to watch that in the future. Jack took awhile to settle into the jumping which is strange for him but I always find he is a bit more difficult after a day off.

My favourite moment of the session was the banks into and out of the sunken road. Up until my last Cross Country Lesson I had never done down hill banks. The technique that is supposed to be applied on a down hill bank is basically sit back, eyes up and let the horse take the reins through your hands. For some reason, when I try doing this I always feel really un-balanced and feel like I have no control as Jack would take off after the bank. When I rode up to the down hill bank, I leaned forward, looked down and put my leg on. Jack jumped and I felt perfectly in balance and control. I tried this a couple of more times and it worked great. I think that this will set me up for trouble in the future on larger banks and so I will keep trying the correct way but at Pre-Training it hopefully shouldn't matter too much. Doing the whole combination felt great and I was really proud of Jack, he jumped even though I was looking down.

We had one more refusal at a reasonable sized picket fence. I think I was looking down again so I cantered up to it and when he slowed down to a walk, I pushed him on and he jumped it from almost a standstill.

The rest of the night was so so. We did some Training size jumps which I haven't had the guts to do before without having my "safety blanket" instructor with me. I think I need one of those Sports Psychiatrists Beckz was talking about. I have confidence issues when it comes to jumping which I can mostly talk myself through but I find that having an instructor really boosts my confidence.

I have a cross country lesson with Sue tomorrow which should be good. I'm planning to jump the "Dog house" which I've been wanting to do since I saw it. Stay tuned.

Using Studs on your Horse: Part II

Part I
Part III

Like everything else horse related, using studs on a horse involves a plethora of gear if your going to do it correctly and safely. Listed are the basic items you need.


A Selection of Studs

A selection of studs are needed for different conditions that may be ridden on. Different shapes and sizes are avaliable and need to be used correctly to avoid injury. More on this later.








A Tool Box

Containing:

1. A couple of different size wrenches. Used to loosen and tighten studs when putting them in and taking them out.

2. A "Tap". This is used to clean and re-thread the holes in the shoe so the stud screws in correctly. A tap doesn't need to be used if you keep "keepers" in the stud holes when they aren't being used.

3. A stud hole cleaner. As the name says it is used to clean the stud hole. Again, it doesn't need to be used if a "keeper" is kept in the stud holes.



Protective Boots

This is a must as mentioned in Using Studs on Your Horse: Part I horses can easily stand on themselves and cause great damage to their legs. JJ mentioned this story in my comments which shows exactly what can happen if a horse has been studded with no boots, and trailered with them in:

"I don't use studs, but I know a girl who left her trainer's horse's studs on while they trailered him to a show. The show was only twenty minutes away, so I guess they assumed that he would be all right. When they got to the show his legs were pretty much torn up. The vet said put him down. He ended up recovering a few (long and painful) months later, but never enough to go back to work. I agree that boots (for the horse) are ABSOLUTELY necessary. If it kicked itself just a bit, it could tear its leg up"



A Stud Girth

The stud girth is used instead of a normal girth and is used to protect the horses chest from being pierced by the studs when jumping.

Usually made out of a tough leather, the stud girth is a must for any horse wearing studs. Another option is to buy a stud guard that slides onto a normal girth, this is often the cheaper
option but works just as well.



Lubricant

There are lots of different brands that can be used for this . This keeps the studs in good condition and will keep them usable for longer. Cleaning studs after using them is a good idea.

Have you got something else that is great when it comes to studs? Tell us.

Part III: What studs to use where?

Using Studs on your Horse: Part I

Part II
Part III

Up until recently I haven't seen the need to use studs on my horses. Intro eventing doesn't involve much technicality or speed as the higher levels and so horses can be ridden on most surfaces without too much trouble. But as I start moving up I see more and more that studs would be useful for bad grounds, especially after a number of other riders have chewed up the ground on the course before me. In this series we will learn all we need to know about using studs on a horse.

Studs (or caulks) are small metal devices that are screwed into specially made shoes. The studs grip into the ground to give better traction on muddy, slippery or hard ground.

Basic Rules for Using Studs:

1. Always wear strong, covered footwear when using studs on a horse. You know how much it hurts when a horse stands on your foot without studs, imagine having a stud stabbed through your foot.

2. Always use small, blunt studs on the inside of the shoe. A horse can easily stand on itself and large pointed studs can rip the leg up pretty badly.

3. Horses must wear protective boots when wearing studs. As above, a horse standing on itself with studs in, is not pretty.

4. Put the studs in just before you ride and take them out as soon as you are finished.

5. Use the smallest stud possible for the job. While slipping can be dangerous, a little bit of slipping is better then jarring your horses legs with over large studs.

6. If your horse kicks other horses, or humans you need to limit the time a horse has studs in greatly. Studs may not be an option for you.

7. Never travel, turn your horse out, or stable your horse with studs in.

8. Be sensible and don't use studs if your horse is lame.

Do any of you use studs on your horses? What other rules do you consider are a must to know?

Tomorrow: The Basic Tools and Gear needed for using studs.

Cross Country Lesson

Jack suprised me today by behaving nicely for the lesson today, even though he had the past couple of days off due to New Years. Sue, who helped me a lot with Red, was my instructor.We started off the lesson by doing lots of transitions. First it was 8 strides of trot, then halt and repeat. Then 4 strides of trot, 4 of walk. Then 8 of canter, 8 of walk etc. She wanted him to get much softer in his transitions and soon she had me try getting downward transitions by breathing out and not using the reins. It took him about a minute to grasp what I wanted but he was soon doing it perfectly. He is a very, very sensitive horse and responds beautifully to the lightest aids.

We started off small and went bigger. I had my faithful dad following me around with the camera and part way through the lesson my mum and "auntie" arrived to watch.

It seems that Jack hates having his head interferred with from about 5 strides out of the jump and 3 strides after. As soon as I let him have "his strides" and sung to both of us to keep an even rythm he jumped very nicely. No galloping away after the jumps and no head tossing.

Sue had us jump a ditch during the lesson. I've jumped a couple of ditches before when I was living in Taumarunui but I really don't know much about them. Jack refused the first time but on the second time he jumped it. Really, really big. Even though it was a massive jump I felt really secure and not at all un-balanced... Thank you Red! Sue told me to stay sitting up over the jump, that I don't need to lean forward for it. It looks like I didn't listen to her very well if the photos are any indication. (Click to see the bigger version)

Next it was onto the Water Jump. We all remember my unfortunate incident with the water last time. He jumped into the water like a star and would canter through the water as fast as he could. The cool water refreashed us both I think. One time when we jumped into the water he cantered straight towards a massive bank. I don't know what he wanted to do but I pushed him the other way at the last minute and my knee was almost taken out on a wooden post.

After schooling a few more jumps we stuck most of them together for a course. Jack was a star and jumped everything without looking twice.

I don't know if you noticed but I've got some mean man muscles coming through on my arms. Which shows especially on this photo. They are getting pretty big haha.

We finished off the lesson there since it was our first Cross Country Schooling together. I learnt a lot about Jack in this lesson. Sue really likes Jack which helps a lot. She says he has "unlimited potential" which is very encouraging.

There is an ODE on the 1st of February and I think I will compete at Pre-Training lesson. Hopefully I can fit one more Cross Country lesson in and then we should be good to go.

I am a bad blogger

The title says it all. I haven't posted in a long time. So heres the gist of whats been happening with Mr Jack and I.

Jacks ground manners were well and truly sorted out by S who came to help me with him. Basically she showed him that she was more dominant (which apparently was hard and tiring since he is a very, very dominant horse) and then re-taught him to lead. She then got me to come over and she talked me through getting him to see me as the more dominant one and at the end of the session he was standing relaxed next to me, licking his lips. He now walks beside me watching for my every move which means I have to be on my toes so I give the correct cues. Hes much more relaxed now and is a pleasure to know. I'm really starting to love him.

Hes a bit naughty under saddle. He's reared a couple of times but after a few good telling offs he hasn't done it again. He also jig-jogs a bit but will stop if I ask him to. I suspect hes just testing the boundaries. I took him into the water jump the other day and all was well until instead of stepping into the jump he decided to leap. I was totally unprepared and although I tried with all my will-power and strength to stay on his back, I fell in. The water in the jump is quite gross as horses poop and pee in there so I knew I didn't want to go fully in. I managed to grab onto another jump as I fell and I landed on my feet. I staggered a bit but managed to stay mostly upright. My thigh ended up hitting the jump really hard as did my arm and I have some nice big bruises to prove it. The water splashed up from below wetting my legs and butt. Jack stopped dead still so I grabbed him and jumped back on. We did the jump again and I held on really tight It was a really hot day so the fall into the water managed to cool me off a lot. Once my friends realised I wasn't hurt they laughed and laughed and then proceeded to tell everyone they came into contact with. I'm just thankfull I didn't fall in during the summer. The water gets barely any movement so theres this gross film that lays on the top of it and its quite stagnant. At least with all the rain we've been having it was a bit nicer.

Anyway I'm just working on Jacks fitness at the moment. I'm hoping to be able to compete him in December.

Out on the farm

For some reason the gods have decided to grace us with nice weather on two sundays running (why they choose not to do it on a saturday I'm not sure). Anyway we took advantage of the break from the rain and went for some nice hacks out on the farm. My friends took some pics and video of Toby and I doing our thing. The video will be published in the next post since I'm having trouble with Blogger uploading it. You can see in the video that Toby is fighting the whole way in, he was full of beans that day and he just wanted to "go go go!" I even got a few bucks out of him which was suprising.

Anywhere heres a picture of us doing the little log. Toby is a mess at the moment with his yellow tail and shaggy fur but he still looks cute.



And one of us doing one of the big log

Timberlands ODE - Sunday 16th March

Well my first Pre-Training went great. Not result wise at all but I had a whole heap of fun.

We went to Taupo on Saturday for Dressage lessons with Linley. The horses were groomed to perfection, with their tails silky smooth and their manes pulled. Linley makes a big effort to keep the horses on her property looking great.

After a broken nights sleep on Saturday, mostly due to thinking about show jumping, we were up early on Sunday morning. While we were booting up the horses, Ghost got her lead rope caught on the hinge of the gate and went absolutely nuts. She hit her face a bunch of times and by the time I managed to calm her down she was bleeding from half a dozen places on her face. She also had a bleeding nose. Thankfully it was all superficial and she went back to eating almost immediately. It shook me up a bit though.

We arrived at the show in good time, I went off to walk the cross country course by myself which wasn’t ideal but couldn’t be helped since Sarah-Anne’s course went the opposite way. Most of the jumps looked fairly simple except for a corner, which I and Ghost have never done, and a big hedge at the end. I was also worried about a large, but narrow roll top jump down a bank because I’ve never been taught how to jump onto a downhill slope. I discussed the corner with Sarah-Anne when I got back and we figured out the best course of action.

First up was Dressage. I was riding 22nd so I had a while to wait. I went into the arena feeling totally at ease and not worried at all. We did an adequate test in my view. But ended up coming first at the wrong end i.e. we came last. I laughed when I heard that. Our score wasn’t even incredibly bad, everyone else was just better. I also got comments about my nice position which made me happy.

I went almost immediately into show jumping. I repeated my affirmation over and over again as I cantered around the ring waiting for the bell. We flew around the course like it was nothing, Ghost was amazing. Unfortunately we did have a run out at jump 6 because the ends of the reins kept getting caught under the saddle and I was trying to pull them out as we were coming around the corner into the jump. I was a bit angry at myself for that. We finished the rest of the course off with ease; even the large double which I thought was going to be a problem. Ghost barely batted an eyelid at it. I was ecstatic as we trotted out of the ring. My confidence was back.

We had a while to wait for Cross Country. Ghost sailed over the first 5 jumps and then refused at the double. I badly needed a whip to give her that extra push when she started backing off. Next time I’ll have one. A couple more jumps and then came to the roll top. As I cantered into it I remembered the picture in my cross country book of a similar jump so I copied the position of the rider and we landed and went beautifully, it was truly my favourite jump in the course. Straight after that was the corner. I did everything Sarah-Anne told me to do, but unfortunately I needed the whip again. My legs just couldn’t get her to move when she backed off. I tried again and she refused again. Another rider on a grey pony about Ghosts size had caught up to me by then so I had to let her pass. Her horse refused also but she got her over the second time. I decided to do the option and then we were on our way again. Next it was the ditch. The rider who had over taken me was having trouble with it and had to stand aside to let me pass. Ghost was reluctant to go over it (I needed to whip again) but I was not having her stop again and so kicked my little legs as hard as I could and she over she went. The rest of the course was going well until we got to a raised log just before the water. Ghost refused and ducked out, I tried again and she did the same. Soon the rider caught up to me and her horse refused too. We had a quick chat about playing leap frog and then I tried again, and got another refusal. I was well and truly eliminated. The girl on the grey tried again and also got another refusal. It was quite funny. Another rider had caught up to us by then and also got a two refusals before she was over. In the end there were about 5 of us at the jump with only one getting over the first time. I finally got Ghost over and down the bank into the water. Straight after the water was the large hedge I was worried about. We had no impulsion as we trotted into it (I reallllly need a whip) but somehow my super little pony jumped it. We then cantered into the last jump and were finished. Even though it was a truly bad ride, I didn’t feel devastated as I had before. I thought we had done alright on our first cross country, with little practice and at a higher level then I had competed at before.

We left soon after as we had all finished the day and none of us were getting prizes. The trip home was good, we were all tired and thirsty though since we had run out of human consumable water. We found a little gas station in the middle of no where and each got a drink and an ice cream. Then it was off home. We unloaded the horses and cleaned out the cab off the truck. I was exhausted so had a quick shower and was off to bed by 9.30.

I had a great day and can’t wait for the show jumping competition this weekend. Its going to be a lot of fun.

A Quick Update

My Apologies for not writing sooner. Life has been one hectic bundle of everything lately what with trying to get ready for the move and tying up my loose ends. Things have been progressing smoothly (apart from the small matter of my car breaking down... complete with a hefty price tag to get it fixed). The big move is on the 3rd of March, I start work on the 4th. Yes I know, its ridiculous. If I could change it I would but unfortunately my current work is being difficult.

I'm having a goodbye party on the first of March which should be awesome. I'm inviting quite a few people so its to be held in my backyard. I'm praying earnestly that it doesn't rain (please pray with me!) because there no way everyone will fit in our house, and I have no back-up plan.

Things with Red are going good. My Auntie is looking for grazing at the moment. We had our second to last Pony Club Rally last night. We did a lot of work without stirrups and my thighs ached the entire time but Red was going beautifully. When we moved onto Cross Country schooling Red turned into a monster. Well not really but hes starting to get really strong in Cross Country, and I wasn't wearing gloves last night so my hands got ripped to pieces. Hes certainly loves Cross Country now and is so much more bold. If I was still going to be competiting him I would get him a stronger bit. Here are two pictures from last night. The light was fading fast hence the blurry shots. If you notice in the last picture Red is jumping incredibly high compared to the fence, that was the last jump he did and he was going so fast I'm really not surprised. I love the first shot though, I'm working on my releasing and it shows nicely in this pic.

Some of my friends and I are having a photoshoot with our horses at Pony Club next week. I recieved a voucher for a shoot for my birthday and I decided to include all my friends. They are to be beauty shots, as opposed to action shots so keep a look out for those.

Well thats about it. I'll keep you updated!

Massey ODE - Sunday 3rd of February

The ODE started off hot and muggy. I was riding 5th in my class so I didn’t have to get up REALLY early. I had gone to Taumarunui on the Friday and arrived back in Auckland on the Saturday afternoon. As soon as I got back I had a driving lesson and then I had to pick up my new car. Then it was off to the course walk which was I late for, and as a result was late finishing. It was almost dark by the time I had counted my strides for the last show jumps. Although I’m usually a stickler for doing ODE’s properly i.e. plaiting and a full grooming I opted not to plait for this one. I was too tired from the long drives and late night Friday night. I also still had to go home to get all my stuff ready so Red was just given a quick bath.

Dressage did not start well but it got better. I forgot the second movement and got a course error. I’ve done that test at a lot of other ODE’s and so I didn’t go over the test just before I entered the arena like I usually do. I thought I would be fine, but I wasn’t. So next ODE I will stick to my old ways. We did however CANTER ON THE RIGHT LEAD THE FIRST TIME. I know! Amazing isn’t it? In my opinion it more then makes up for the course error. We actually did the best test we have done (minus the course error) so I was very happy.

A sudden downpour drenched everything before show jumping. It also made the ground very slippery. We hadn’t had rain for a few weeks and the ground was very hard and couldn’t soak up the water. Our show jumping was going before Red decided to refuse at a basic upright for no apparent reason… sigh. We tried again and he flew over it without a care. He refused again at another jump a little later. This time instead of just stopping he skidded on the wet grass and fell into the jump, demolishing it in the process. I was on the ground before I knew what had happened. To the cheers of my family and friends (thanks guys) I got back on and trotted around while some helpers rebuilt the jump. We finished show jumping with no further mishaps.

Cross country was an exhilarating, heart in my mouth the whole time, blast! Red usually walks calmly into the starter box and will wait calmly in there. I knew something was up when he started jogging as we moved towards it and wouldn’t settle once we were in there. As soon as we were given the signal to go he tucked his head down, took the bit in his mouth and was off. I was a passenger and really not much else. A very scared passenger! We soon caught up with the rider in front of us. She started speeding up when she saw me coming which really bothered me because she was just going fast enough so I couldn’t over take her which meant I had to try to make him a little slower. This did not bode well with him and he fought me the whole time. Unfortunately he ran out on a jump while he was fighting and I managed to battle him down to a trot so we could turn around and try it again. After this I managed to get him into a controlled gallop and we moved along nicely. He did however refuse for no reason at a ramp he has done about a million times. I was annoyed. We finished in good time!

I was cooling Red down in the arena when my friend Sarah galloped past on her Kaimanawa pony Charlie. I was cheering for her when she turned a corner into one of the jumps. Suddenly Charlie’s legs had flown out from underneath him and they were on the ground. They went down hard and fast. I kicked Red into a canter and went straight towards her. I saw my mum standing a little way off so I got off and gave her Reds reins. Charlie was standing near Sarah who was lying on the ground with her eyes closed. People were running from all directions. She talked when people talked to her and after awhile could open her eyes. She had hit her head pretty hard and had got concussion. I held her hand the whole time the nurse talked to her. Soon she could get up, and she was walked to the clubrooms. I took Charlie and Red and walked them around until they were cooled off. I had no idea where Sarah’s float was so I tied him next to Red. Unsaddled him and gave him some water. Sarah came a little bit later to get him and take him home. Thankfully she was alright.

So that was my last ODE on Red, it was good fun. Heres a picture of us doing the show jump that Red demolished the first time around. The other one is off us doing Cross Country... goodness me my buttocks are defined. I thought I'd mention it rather then having you all think I was oblivous to the fact.

Henderson ODE - Sunday 16th of December

I was up at 6 on the morning of the Henderson ODE. I had to be at the Pony Club at 7 to get Red and Harlequin (my friend’s horse) ready to be loaded at 7.30. This proved to be a tad difficult as Red doesn’t like Harlequin much and would attack every time she came near. I got them down to the clubrooms, with the help of another grazer. We then loaded them and off we went.

Massey Pony Club had been designated a special place to park so we could spend the day together. It was quite nice having all my friends at easy distance. Red and I were about ½ way in the class. I thought we would have ages to get ready and warm up but as it happened we were on sooner then I thought. Our warm up was hurried and for some reason Red didn’t do his usual warm up in the trot cough. I should have known he would do it later. Once the previous rider had come out of the arena we started trotting around waiting for the starting horn. That’s when Red started coughing. He coughed all the way down the centre line and into our first movement. I couldn’t get him settled after that so our test wasn’t the best.

Show Jumping was next. Our warm up was amazing. Red was jumping beautifully. Unfortunately this didn’t go on to happen in the actual round. He refused jump 1 and 2 once each but we completed the rest of the course with no other mishaps. I was still quite happy with him.

Cross country was amazing. Red zoomed around! I almost came off over one jump when he did one of his HUGE jumps. My friends were by that jump and they were all yelling encouragement to sit back up and keep going. But he was so good the rest of the time. He took everything without batting an eyelid… that is until we reached the last jump. The jump happened to be immediately after a pretty sharp corner and I almost missed it as I was thinking it was a bit further up. I must have looked at the jump as we were coming up to it because Red slammed on his breaks. You won’t believe how frustrating that was! He went over it fine the second time. It was a brilliant course and I had so much fun on it so I was very pleased with him anyway.

All in all it was a good day. I felt much better about it then I did after the last ODE. We have a break until February. Then it’s another Massey ODE. I’ll be working on doing some consistent Show Jumping courses in the mean time. I’m determined to go double clear yet! Here are a few pictures Peter took. The picture at the top of this post is my favourite. My dad also videoed all my phases so if I can find the cord I’ll put a short video clip up sometime soon.

Moving on up

Well we did, Red and I passed our C certificate Exam. We are now the proud holders of the C level badge (well not really, I haven't recieved the actual badge yet). Every wednesday night I would drive an hour to Sues house in the whop whops. I studied the theory side of the exam with a couple of other girls there. We discussed, we talked, we ate some chocolate cake and we revised all the particulars of the C exam and finally last night we sat it.

Sue didn't give us much warning about when we were going to sit it. In fact she only gave us one day. She also neglected to tell me until lunch time yesterday that Red needed to be plaited. I had work till 5.30 and the exam started at 6.10. and I can't get up to PC till 6. Luckily my amazing friends came to the rescue. When I arrived at Pony Club last night Red was standing tied up in all his plaited glory. Stephanie, one of the older riders had even plaited his tail for me.

Soon we were in the arena, following the direction of the judge. All was going well, its a relatively easy exam, until the judge said "Take your feet out of the stirrups" and then "Cross the stirrups over please, we're going to do some sitting walk and trot". Now I can bareback as well as the next person, it took me awhile but now I feel completely secure with no saddle on Red. But sitting trot in the saddle is a completely different thing. I combed my brains for all the information I had ever heard on sitting trot in the saddle with no stirrups. I relaxed, put my heels down and low and behold TROTTED! And I didn't fall off.

Next it was the show jumping. You might remember that last time I show jumped it didn't go quite as planned. I tried not to think about it as we trotted around the jumps. "We are going to go clear" I chanted over and over to myself (in my head). "You may do some practice jumps" the judge declared. "Here we go" I thought to myself as we cantered towards the jump. SLAM! Red threw on his breaks. He did it twice more before I got him over. Teresa was first, her horse Copper refused at the big barrel jump but was fine after that. Then it was Red and I. The first part of the course was simple and we did it with no trouble, but then we reached the barrels. I rode Red in, legs on, eyes up but he refused. I turned him around and rode him towards its again, he refused. We tried again and again he refused. Now I was getting angry, I turned him around, determined to make it over. He cantered in and I felt him hesitate so I put my legs on hard. He came almost to a standstill and then took a leap. It was one of his huge jumps that clears the heights by miles. I came flying out of the saddle and landed with a thump on his neck, my jaw wacked hard against his head. I felt myself slipping so I monkey grabbed around his neck with both my hands and legs. I then managed to wiggle myself back into the saddle. And with my head pounding Red and I finished the course with no other mishaps.

Cross country was next and we went clear with no problems what so ever. After a bit of theory with the judge we were told we had all passed!

So congratulations my darling Red, thanks for helping me pass. I'll love you forever no matter how many times you refuse :)

Massey ODE - Sunday 11th of November

I just got back from the ODE, in fact I'm still in my cross country gear. I'll go have a shower soon :P The ODE was not a great success overall. We were first in for Dressage in our ring. We were a little late getting to Pony Club so I had to rush to get him ready. My friend Brooke balled Reds plaits for me while I did the rest, but we still only had 10 mins to warm up. As a result our dressage wasn't the best! I coudn't get Red to bend and he went a bit wonky down the straight lines but otherwise it was alright. It was also boiling hot even though it was only 8.30am in the morning and I was sweating profusely under my dress jacket.

Reds head is up in this picture but I still think he looks gorgeous.

Then it was Show Jumping. We had a lonnnnng wait between dressage and show jumping so I unsaddled Red and parked him under a tree with a bucket of water and watched some of my friends doing Show Jumping. Then it was our turn. Heaps of my friends turned up right before I started warming up and I got a bit nervous which didn' t help my jumping at all. We also had a bad warmup. Over one of the jumps my stirrup dropped off my saddle but I managed to stay on. Then we went into the ring. Red was doing a beautiful canter and after we the bell went we cantered through the flags and came up to the first jump. Red did one of his HUGE jumps over the first one, which was alright because he always starts off bad. The second jump he did the same thing and as we were coming around a particularly sharp corner my stirrup fell off a second time and I went off with it. I got up, dusted myself off, put my stirrup back on and got back onto Red. We then went on to refuse three jumps and I was eliminated. Only my pride was hurt but all my friends were very comforting when I walked out of the arena.

I opted in for the cross country because both Red and I love zooming around the cross country course. He went beautifully, although he did refuse one jump which was entirely my fault. I hesitated at it and then I let Red duck out. He sailed over perfectly the next time. I came through the finishing flags to a ovation from my friends. Luckily I felt so good about the cross country that I forgave Red and myself for the terrible Show Jumping phase. I also got lots of compliments on my new cross country colours so that was a bonus.

Coming into the finishing flags, a bit fuzzy but you can still see
how cool we are!

My trainer Sue told me not to invite my friends next time because it makes me a lot more nervous and she also said to warm Red up longer in Show Jumping because he needs a lot of time to work in for it. So next ODE, which is at Henderson, we are going to do a million times better. I'm also going to ask Sue to help develop my warm up for Dressage so I can get Red supple and ready for his time in the arena.

The photographer wasn't there today so mum took a few photos but they are not the best. Have a look at the set of them on the link in the sidebar marked 'Massey ODE Nov 07'.

The Event Shirt

Here it is!



Awesome isn't it? Thats me on Tonka... our resident horse since we can't keep a real one here. I named him after the Wild Horse in the Movie 'Tonka' Which is a great old western movie that you should watch if you haven't already. My standing vault technique is actually derived from Tonka so it really is a special name.

Anyway there it is :)

Since I have nothing too exciting going on with Red at the moment I thought you might wanna have a squiz at some of my old show/riding pics. Please note... most of these pictures were taken last season when my jumping position was shocking and I had no clue about what I was doing, next season I'm sure I'll have better pics lol

This is Red and I at the Waitangi Day Rally, it was heaps of fun!

Another waitangi day picture

This piccy was taken at the last ODE of the season. Please observe how I am leaning to one side, I had lost one of my stirrups half way through the phase and I was trying to stay on my horse which I sucessfully did :)

In case you don't realise from our amazing costumes we are Pirates with Pirate Horses. Our idea stemmed from Emilys pony Wuzzle who unfortunatley lost an eye to a growth last year. She had a patch lol

So this is us in the water jump at PC. If I remember correctly you are looking at (from left to right) Captain Mayhem, Mad Dog Molly and Scallywag Sally aka Nicola, Emily and myself.

Another pic from Henderson Valley ODE. This is the last jump of the cross country.

Yep so there you have it! Next seasons going to be my best season yet so some awesome pics are defintley going to be on the way.