Me? I'm an Arabian
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Goodbye to Our First Horse
2 years ago
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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!
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
A New Beginning
In case you failed to miss this, but A Girl and Her Horse has been very quiet lately. HUGE things have been going on in my life and really this blog has been way down on my list of priority's. You might say a new chapter in 'The Book of Katie' is just about to start. You see, on the 3rd of March I am moving down to Taumarunui to live with Sarah-Anne and her family.
There I said it.
I thought about this A LOT before I finally said yes. Its been on the cards for awhile. And I made the final decision just after I got back from camp. Everythings been moving very, very fast from there (I take that as a good sign). And really its a bit scary. I mean I'm leaving the majority of my friends, leaving my home that I've lived in my whole life, striking out into the great unknown to be independent (well at least independent from my parents) to go live in a tiny little town in the middle of the North Island. Basically I'm doing this because it will take me one step closer to my dream. While in Taumarunui, which will hereby be known as Tamaz, I'll be riding and competing lots of the Riches(the name of Sarah-Annes famil) horses. I'll also have the opportunity to learn how to break in younger horses which I'm really looking forward to.
But what about Red you say?
Well in lieu of all this I've decided to semi-retire Red. Red will stay in Auckland with my Auntie who will take over his care and welfare. She has decided to leave the Adult Ride also and will ride him just as a pleasure horse. I know he'll have a lovely time doing easy, fun work and being doted on by Auntie Sue. I'll have him back at some point in the future although we are not sure when at this point. Although I'll be making regular trips up to Auckland I'm going to miss him with all my heart! He will always be my baby. At least I know he'll be getting the best care.
Well thats the gist of it. I'll still be doing regular updates on my blog to tell you whats happening in this exciting new time. Expect to meet a lot of new horses.
Heres to my new life!
There I said it.
I thought about this A LOT before I finally said yes. Its been on the cards for awhile. And I made the final decision just after I got back from camp. Everythings been moving very, very fast from there (I take that as a good sign). And really its a bit scary. I mean I'm leaving the majority of my friends, leaving my home that I've lived in my whole life, striking out into the great unknown to be independent (well at least independent from my parents) to go live in a tiny little town in the middle of the North Island. Basically I'm doing this because it will take me one step closer to my dream. While in Taumarunui, which will hereby be known as Tamaz, I'll be riding and competing lots of the Riches(the name of Sarah-Annes famil) horses. I'll also have the opportunity to learn how to break in younger horses which I'm really looking forward to.
But what about Red you say?
Well in lieu of all this I've decided to semi-retire Red. Red will stay in Auckland with my Auntie who will take over his care and welfare. She has decided to leave the Adult Ride also and will ride him just as a pleasure horse. I know he'll have a lovely time doing easy, fun work and being doted on by Auntie Sue. I'll have him back at some point in the future although we are not sure when at this point. Although I'll be making regular trips up to Auckland I'm going to miss him with all my heart! He will always be my baby. At least I know he'll be getting the best care.
Well thats the gist of it. I'll still be doing regular updates on my blog to tell you whats happening in this exciting new time. Expect to meet a lot of new horses.
Heres to my new life!
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