E's Show Jumping Lesson

My friend E had a show jumping lesson this morning and I decided to tag along to watch. Her horse Tom is a cool guy, this was the first time I really saw him in action.

Here are some of the photographs I got from the lesson. My camera is old, and pretty lame. It takes the photo a second after you press the button, so timing a jumping photo is a art. It's also a gamble whether you get a fuzzy action photo or not. So some of these are a tad fuzzy. Isn't he awesome though? The very last photo is E and Tom jumping 1.35m and the corner in the 2nd photo is 1.3om.






On the way home from the lesson, E let me drive the float home! I was stoaked as I've been wanting to learn how for ages. I went nice and slow and drove nicely. E said I did great! So now I feel pretty confident about driving a float when I get one :)

Bucks and other stuff

Wow, I have never been so busy in my life. Uni is obviously taking up a lot of my time, and juggling Jack and my social life is a massive feat but I'm doing it. I'm living in a Hostel with 30 other (mostly) first year uni students so study is based on pure will power. The temptation to leave my room to join in the interesting coversations in the corridor is big, but I am determined to get high marks in my course.

It poured on the weekend so I didn't ride for two days. This turned out to be a mistake because I also started Jack on twice daily feedings at the same time. When I got on him on Monday night he had turned into a monster. He bucked, he reared and he shyed A LOT. My well-behaved horse was showing his bad side. I'm the one to blame though. It was a fun ride anyway, we jumped for the first time since coming here and I didn't fall off. Jack did drop two poles which was very strange for him. I really must get him back into regular work for both our sakes.

Life is good, I'm really hoping to get Jack to a couple of one day events in the Hawkes Bay in April but we'll see whats happening with my finances. I'll be looking into Show Jumping around the area too so maybe I'll finally meet you Beckz?

Even More Photos from Massey ODE

YAYAYAYAYAYAY

I've been busy getting ready for University and haven't been riding.

However, last night I found out that at the Dressage and Show Jumping Night last week that Jack and I placed 5th equal in the Dressage and 3rd in the Dressage! These are the first Rosettes I have ever won so I am really happy! Jack got a big pat when I found out.

We leave for Palmerston North next week so keep checking back to see how we go.

Dressage and Show Jumping Night

We had a dressage and show jumping night at Pony Club tonight. The test was a Open level one and required fun things like extended trot and change of rein through canter which I have never done before.

Even though I was expecting our test to be as bad as the one on Sunday Jack proved me wrong by trucking along with an awesome trot. He was forward AND on the bit. We got a bit of extension on the second trot and our change of rein through the canter was shocking but otherwise I was really happy. I love it when he gets into his trucking trot. He just gets on the bit and stays there and moves along at this really nice pace.

Our show jumping was fantastic. They had banged the jumps up so I was doing Training Level and we both flew over the course without hesitation! I even went the right way on the course. We went clear and I was soo happy. I think I'm finally gaining some confidence. We got heaps of yells and cheers and kind words from people after the round.

I am VERY happy with my boy.

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!

Show Jumping Lesson

When I first went to try Jack out his previous owner told me that Jack was a horse that you had to have a special bond with otherwise you would end up hating him (don't worry, this is not a story about hating him). When she said this I was a tad worried. I mean although she said I could sell him back to her at anytime, I really didn't want to do that. He seemed like a great horse that could take me places and he was well in my price range. But what if we didn't have that special bond? What if I ended up hating him? I would have to sell him back and would be horseless. I wouldn't be able to afford another horse with his amount of talent.

Thankfully I didn't need to worry. Somewhere along the way Jack has come to trust me and we've created a special bond. I think part of the reason was all the ground training I put into him after he tried to kill me a couple of times. Sue noticed this too during our lesson. We had just flown around the course and I trotted over to Sue and said "This horse is a real confidence builder." "I wouldn't say he was a confidence builder at all" she said "Oh well, I think hes a confidence builder" I said "He's a confidence builder for you because he trusts you but if anyone else got on who couldn't ride he would terrify them." I was pretty pleased with that and we got on with the lesson.

Unfortunately my personal photographer (aka Dad) was unavaliable so there are no photos of the lesson. The lesson was pretty basic. I really just wanted to get in a bit of schooling before the ODE on the first. Sue just set up a number of different jumps and gave me tips as I rode over them. Jack was fantastic and we did really well. He started getting tired towards the end of the lesson and dropped a few poles. We were both sweating like pigs when we finally finished. My bright purple polo has very attractive sweat marks all down my back thanks to my back protector and Jack's saddle blanket was soaked through.

I really, really have fallen in love with Jack. He is such a fun horse to ride. I love that he doesn't bolt off if I give him the rein and that I can slow him down by thinking it. When we're cantering around the SJ course it feels like magic. I was talking to one of the parents at Pony Club a few weeks ago and he said to me "Sometimes I don't know why you riders put yourself through all the hard work only to be heartbroken when your horse doesn't come through for you on the day." I thought about this for a moment and then said to him "That can be true. Riding can be full of disapointment sometimes but then you experience that one moment when everything you have been working towards just falls into place, and that makes everything you have to put up with, finally worth it." I felt that moment today.

Thank God for my boy, Jack.

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.

2008 in Review

I came onto the computer intending to review 2008 in terms of horses and riding. Before I started this post however, I updated myself on some of my favourite blogs including The Eventing Percheron. It turns out that Daun has had the same idea as me. Check out her "The Year in Review" post because it really is amazing to see how far she has come.

I started off the year with my old horse Red. Good old Red. We had our problems but he taught me a lot (read: stickability). At our last ODE together Red finally clicked what Cross Country was all about and he was a hooning monster. I could barely control him, it was exhilirating (although I was swearing the whole time). A great way to end a ride on a beautiful horse.


Then I moved to Taumarunui where a lot happend. I started off riding the little pony called Ghost. After only a couple of rides with her, and had never jumped her in my life we competed at my first Pre-Training ODE. We came dead last in dressage and were eliminated in Cross Country but it was amazing.


Soon I moved on to the gorgeous Toby. He was fantastic and I spent many fun hours going for long rides on the farm with him (often bareback and without a helmet) by myself and with friends. I did my first real release on him.


Then it was back to Auckland where I decided to give riding a break but then couldn't handle not having a horse. I acquired an awesome horse who almost immediately went lame. Finally he is ready to go and I'm looking forward to a very succesful relationship with him.

Goals for 2008

• Compete at Training Level - Well that didn't happen but I did compete at Pre-Training which was one level down.
  
• Learn how to release - After years of not being able to release and having to hold onto the mane, I finally did it. It just happened one day.
  
• Get Red to canter consistently on the right lead - He didn't canter consistently on the right lead but he did canter on the right lead in our last dressage test which is good enough for me.
  
• Get fit - Well I went running on and off throughout the year but now I'm consistently doing it. My thighs, abs and arms are toning up beautifully.
  

Goals for 2009

• Compete at Open Level
• Compete at 1.10 Show Jumping
• Compete at Pony Club North Island Show Jump Champs 2010 (its not 2009 but you qualify for it in 2009)
• Compete at my first Horse Trial

Happy New Year to you all. I pray that you have an amazing year and that it will be your best one yet.

Back in the Saddle

I am FINALLY back in the saddle! Thank God! D, the farrier, arrived right on time and had Jack fixed up within half an hour.

First he fitted the shoe to the hoof. But that was a tad too big so he had to go a size smaller.


Contrary to what I said last week about Jack having 3 size 4 hooves and 1 size 3 hoof the farrier actually found that he has two size 4 hooves and 2 size 3. His right side is smaller then his left.

Then he cut the pad to the correct size.


He then pasted the underside of the hoof with a concoction of special things that help heal and harden the hoof and keep all the naughty little stones that like to get in there out. I can't remember the name of the stuff but it has eucalyptus and pine tar in it. It smells really, really good and is incredibly sticky.
He then positioned the pad and nailed the shoe over top.


D's dog Cruise "as in a Cruise Missile not Tom Cruise" hung out with me (between my legs) while I held Jack (dad took the photos).


Once D was finished I finally got on to ride. 30 mins of walking, walking and more walking. Actually Jack decided to have a bit of fun with a few rears but most of the time we walked.


You may notice that Jack is looking a bit on the heavy side of the scale at the moment. He's put on a whopping 30kgs in the last 2 months! I know! Until we weighed him, I didn't think he looked fat at all bit now when I look at him I can see the massive crest on his neck and his huge belly. And its not like any of the weight is muscle. He's been sitting in a paddock for the last month and a half. Its pure fat. What a chubster! Hopefully it will all tone up fast now that we can ride again.

Jack is also a master at ripping and demolishing his cover so he went for a week without a cover and he's faded a bit. I got him a new cover today and as soon as I put it on my friend's horse Rocky, started trying to pull it off. I shooed him away and then put Jack's fly mask on. I ended up tying it to his cover so I would be able to find it easier if he managed to get it off. He looks like a donkey cross mouse with this thing on. Thats Rocky at the side, waiting to pounce.


A couple of minutes later, as I was driving past the paddock on my way home, I saw this...



I had always wondered how Jack got his mask off so quickly and now I knew. It was Rocky. The little mongrel. I yelled at him from the edge of the paddock and he dropped it instantly, looking innocently over at me like he hadn't just been caught in the act. (You can see the peice of bailing twine trailing from Jacks cover to the mask on the ground. In hindsight it doesn't look very safe haha.)


Rocky then picked the mask up off the ground and ran off with it in his mouth. That rascal. The elastic snapped on Jack's mask so it was no longer attached to him. I didn't get any pictures of that as I was too busy laughing at him. I went and recovered the broken mask and then cut the bailing twine off Jack. I'm going to have to come up with a sure fire way to keep that mask on Jack. Any ideas?

So now we're starting from day one with the fitness regieme. For the next three weeks it will be mainly walking with a few trots thrown in the third week and gradually building up from there. I hoping to compete in a Show Jumping competition on the 4th of January but we'll see what happens.

I am FINALLY back in the saddle.

Lameness, Show Jumping and more

Again, I am very sorry for being a bad blogger. I promise to be better in the future.

A couple of weeks ago Jack went un-explicably lame. I was warming him up in the arena at a walk and he was fine but as soon as I put him into a trot I felt a hopping motion. I got off him straight away and trotted him out and there it was... a big fat limp. Something was obviously wrong with his right hind leg and as I walked him back to un-saddle him it got worse. He was really lame at the walk when just minutes before he had been fine. I searched his leg up and down for an obvious problem but I couldn't see anything. There was no cuts, swelling or heat and no muscle pain when I pushed and prodded. I decided to give him a day and see if it improved since he was still eating alright and I couldn't see an obvious cause to his lameness. The next day he had improved a lot and it got better everyday after that. I gave him a week off just to make sure and then started riding again. We did Show Jumping at Pony Club a couple of days after coming back into work. We started off with flat work which Jack hated and told me so in no uncertain terms but I did manage to get him to do a nice big trot when I over exagerated my rise. He also took the contact which I was very happy with. Usually when I ask for a large trot he bowls along with his neck scrunched into his body and his head in the air. When we went on to jumping he was just spectacular. You could tell he loves it. We flew around the course and his listened to me the whole time. I was really proud of him. I didn't work him too hard though due to the fact he had just been lame and he is still unfit.

The next day Jack was lame again. It was the same leg but this time his whole leg was hot and he refused to put any weight on it. It happened that a nice (and rather good looking) farrier was shoeing a horse at the Pony Club so I asked if he could take a look at Jack's hoof. He did some pincher tests and came to the conclusion that Jack had a stone bruise. So off I went to the supermarket to get some Epsom Salts. I soaked his hoof once a day for 20mins for about 5 days and now he's back to being sound again. Jack is currently un-shod. He arrived that way and his previous owner assured me that he had very strong feet. So i didn't get him shod immediatly thinking that I would do it when I started competiting and doing harder work. But it seems Jack does get rather ouchy when walking on stones and two lamenesses in as many weeks seems to indicate that he needs shoes. Unfortunately the earliest I could get him booked is the 14th of November (my birthday) since the Farrier Nationals are on this weekend and according to my farrier anyone wanting a farrier this week will find it very hard. I've never used this farrier before but my friend who is a great eventer uses him and I really like his work. Hopefully he'll be right for us. He was also very friendly and assured me he wouldn't be late. In fact he said "I am never late. If I don't show up, watch the 6 o'clock news and you'll see that a farrier has died in a fiery car crash." He seems like a decent bloke and I have high hopes for him.

Unofficially our first competition is tonight. We're having a show jumping and dressage night at Pony Club. I only found out about this last night and I distinctly remember this same thing happening last year. So today I'm going to be learning a very difficult dressage test and getting ready for it. Jack will probably need a bath too.

As I said earlier my birthday is in a couple of weeks. I'm not really feeling like a big birthday this year. I'm thinking of going to Woodhill Forest with my riding friends for an awesome ride and then a picnic once we're finished. It will be Jack's first outing with me so it will be interesting to see how he goes. I have no idea what I'll do with the rest of my friends.

Questions and Answers

Misha commented my one day event post and I thought I might answer it as a post here since its a relevant question for all horse riders. If you have any more advice stick it in my comments :)

Misha: That's awesome that you have so much fun riding! Don't you ever worry that you'll fall? When I go trail riding the thought of falling barely enters my mind, but I've never jumped before. I would like to learn how to jump someday, though. That sounds like a really super ultra amazingly awesome day! lol-that's alot of adjectives!

Hey Misha

Thanks for your comment. I believe that having a healthy fear of riding is a good thing. Horses weigh hundreds of kilograms, are fast, agile and strong and worst of all… they have a mind of their own. It’s dangerous not to have some kind of healthy fear, call it respect if you will, of horses. I’ve experienced fear many times on the back of a horse. Fear of falling being one of them. But really if I let the fear of falling get to me, I’d never get on the back of a horse again. As Katherine Patterson once said (I have no idea who she is) ‘To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you and swing you around by the tail is another.’ Which is totally true.

And so ‘Risk Management’, as I like to call it, comes into play. You’ve probably heard of the old barrier at the top of the cliff, ambulance at the bottom analogy. My barrier is my balance and independent seat when I am jumping and also riding in general, which will hopefully keep me in the saddle rather then on the way to hitting the ground. For my ambulance I, as a rule (which is only seldom broken), jump wearing a helmet and back protector. Back protectors were the norm at my previous pony club and competitions in Auckland although I seem to be one of the only ones to wear them down here. But really, I would rather be safe then worry about whether I looked cool or not. I also think the horse you are riding can boost your confidence a million percent. My old horse Red was a terrible show jumper in competition and as a result I went into the show jumping round on Ghost feeling worried but I needn’t have been. She flew around like it was nothing and I felt secure the entire time.

If you want to learn how to jump make sure you get in contact with an experienced instructor that will be able to teach you all the basics. An experienced, safe horse is also a must. I hope this answered your questions and one day you have lots of fun jumping too!

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.

Pre-Training... here we come

I’ve been working towards Pre-Training for a long time. It may seem silly but Intro has always seemed just that one level too low, like somehow it wasn’t respectable for someone my age. I know horse riding isn’t about the age of the rider rather the rider’s experience but still, I always felt like I was just too old for Intro (probably because I always see a lot of younger children riding at Intro level).

Red never seemed up to doing Pre-Training in competitions. I could jump pre-training height easily in training and my dressage was respectable at that level but competitions were always our downfall. As you know something always went wrong in the Show Jumping. And I know that it wasn’t all Reds fault, obviously my nerves were getting to the both of us in Show Jumping which is probably why we performed worse then in training.

Well after all that I’ll finally be competiting at Pre-Training this coming weekend on Ghost! I am so excited but slightly nervous too. Especially about the Show Jumping phase. She’s a great jumper and very honest so really I don’t have much to worry about but every time I think about Show Jumping at a One Day Event I think about the embarrassing rounds Red and I had… and these jumps are bigger. I’ll be doing a little praying before I go in for my round. Hopefully my dressage will be up to scratch since Ghost is off to Taupo this week for some dressage schooling and we are having a dressage lesson on Saturday. I would’ve had liked some more Show Jumping practice on Ghost but unfortunately that’s not an option because of the dressage schooling. Thankfully I am not worried about Cross Country at all because Ghost is a machine.

Check back next week for the account of my very first Pre-Training One Day Event! And pray for me, in case my nerves try to overcome me.

Congratulations to Michelle!

I was just want to say a hefty well done to my friend Michelle and her horse Gizmo over at A Moment in Time. Michelle trialed for Pony Club Show Jump Champs and came 4th in the last trial which is awesome! Shes not in the Hamilton Team but shes eligible to be a draft rider for another team if they need a senior. This is a great accomplishment! Well done Michelle! I'm so proud :) You can read her version of events at her blog.

Here are a couple of her pics:

Also congratulations to my friend Simone and her horse Rocky who made the West Auckland team. She doesn't read this blog but I thought I might put it in anyway.

Oh dear! Hes lame.

Well here I am. Sitting at my desk trying to figure out WHY RED IS LAME! Yes hes lame. When I was leading him in the paddock I saw it, but then again I always think hes lame in the paddock because of the un-even terrain. I walked him over to the rails, tacked him up and as soon as we walked off I felt it. That totally evil, time wasting, money wasting limp. I trotted him out for one of the instructors at the club and she said it was in his left fore. There was no heat or swelling otherwise I would have seen it when I checked him over while grooming.







Lisa, a vet in training who rides at PC, looked him over and did a hoof test but she couldn't find anything. She said it could be an abcess that will burst in the next couple of days. If he's still lame on Wednesday I'm calling the vet. Hopefully its nothing too bad, I hate him being sore!



It seems to be one thing after another with him lately. Last weekend he was bitten by a White tail spider (we think) which can affect humans quite badly. My poor guy was swollen up in patches all over his body and anytime I put my hand near the spot where we think he was bitten he attacked with menace. I left his cover off since the heat generated from it seemed to make the swelling worse and when I checked on him the next day he was fine.


Hes also been having trouble with jumping, hes refusing jumps that we did easily a few weeks ago. I don't know whats up with him but hopefully it all stops and he gets back to his normal soon.



Anyway heres a cool little thing that Maddie over at Pony Tail Club posted about... You upload a photo and suddenly your in a gallery! Check it out!

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 :)

Lessons with Sue # 2

I had my weekly lesson with Sue today and I'm pleased to say that we did a aprox. 90cm grid! I was so proud of Red. Once he settled into it he was the man! We had lots of fun doing it, although there was one scarey moment during the lesson. We had come out of the grid and I took Red up a little hill in the paddock, he tried to break into a gallop so I was pulling him up and he slipped. I heard Sue gasp as we started going down but he managed to recover himself at the last moment which I was very happy about. My heart was going a million miles an hour.

He also did these silly little things that weren't bucks but looked like them (pictured above). He would just put his head done when I was collecting him to tell him we were about to jump. It got quite annoying.

Sue also taught me how to pull a mane and plait! So i can cross 'Learn how to pull a mane' off my goals list! The perfecting of plaiting is still a long way off though :)

My dad was taking pictures so there are few in my 'Lessons with Sue' folder, the light was bad and our camera is bad so they are not the best quality. The pick of the crop are in the folder, and for some reason they are all photos of when the grid was lower! But thats all good.

Well my friends, happy riding :)