Sunday Riding

Not a good photo but record of day 1 Cruise!!

Just little L and me but boy did we get some horses ridden!! Started out with Bo and L on Sun. Had a fantastic plod round the 8k block. Manged to keep Bo's head all the way and no jogging home - very pleased with that as it has been my pet hate for years. Not to say he won't jog next time but if we can do it once....
Had some spaghetti, hash browns and bacon for lunch to give me strength to do some hooves. Did a tiny tidy up on Bo and took a pile of bar out of Cruise. He has good feet just (IMO) too much bar.
Saddled up Cruise and Minty, just a doodle round the farm block. P came with us on JJ. Have a wee way to go with Cruise - some communication issues - my right is his left so we has some trouble understanding each other. Something to work on in the evenings in the arena. He was good on the stones which impressed me. Will take him a wee bit to work out he feels better with out the bars and that we can play together nicely. Looking forward to our next ride!!
Last but not least we saddled up Lady and put L on Ayla. L has done such a good job of getting Sun back to a ridable horse I thought she could start on Ayla. Had a lovely doddle round the farm block. L started out a bit nervous but figured that when she had trouble getting Ayla to even walk out that she was not going to have too much bother. Good start to their partnership!! Lady good - have bid on a smaller saddle for her. The big ones are way too long in the back for her. Something I have thought about for a while...

Fantastic Riding weekend

Might be missing S but have kept busy. Brother and SIL down from Auckland came out to visit and meet new horse Saturday affo. Had a plod round the block. I was on Bo. SIL on Solly the mountain - who has an new admirer, L and her friend on Minty and Sun. Good ride. Came home and had a play with Cruise the new boy - interesting!! Then bought Lady in while Bro and SIL visited the girls next door. She went well, Mum (taxi for Bro) thought she was coming along well and hopped aboard. Very privileged, thinks our Lady might hold her own in the cob ring next season. Plan is for me to take her to a few and check out the young horse then Mum has promised to think about taking her on and doing a few shows with her. Gives me motivation to make an even better job of her. Would be delighted if all comes out in the wash and my Mum was happy to show one of my horses. Go Lady!!!!

BIG Weekend!!

Friday night was Mum's 70th birthday, good time had by all. First time the whole family has been together in a long time. Good to catch up the ones from Auckland!! Did not stay as long as we could have as had to get home to finish getting S ready to go to Singapore.
Got him away - very pleased he can text and ring me, am missing him quite a bit. We also have a new camera and I understand I have some fancy jewelry ... tax free day in Singapore and the jeweler had a half price sale..... go the credit card!!!
Unfortunately - or otherwise there don't seem to be any saddlery's over there... bugger.
After dropping S off I picked the a new horse. Yes friends and supporters I can hear you from here - another one!! Bought him from the same lady as Bo and while this one is in no better condition he is still rather nice. He had my vote when we loaded him on the side of the road in the rain and he felt like he was going to run me over to get into the float. S has the camera so have taken a pic on my phone. Will try to get it on here. Bought him without seeing him - got bitten last time so a bit wary when I went to get on him - figure he might do for A and / or her boyfriend - now I have ridden him I have created a family feud. I think he feels a 'possible' with a bit of feed and some muscle tone. As I understand it he has not been ridden for 6 months...

Lady update

Have been riding Lady lately. Is good to be able to get on her and she copes with my weight. For a start she struggled with my weight and her being so small (150cm at October measuring). Compared to the others she is soooo small. Anyway I have found our issues were mostly caused by me not using a wide enough saddle on her so we now have the same gullet size for her as we use on the 17 handers - she is VERY wide for her size. She loves to hack out - does a 4km hack no trouble and ponies off the big ones for a 10 km hack.
Her schooling in the arena is mixed. She is much happier out hacking. Mostly we have a good session in the arena but her stubborn moments are slightly more frequent in the arena.
Pretty sure she is ready for more and have booked P to do a bigger hack with us as soon as we get a fine free weekend. Probably not this weekend looking at the forecast!!

PC day at Hororata

Took Sun as a taxi to the PC day at the XC course while I instructed on Sunday. I love that old pooh of a horse!!! He thought we were hunting again - impeccably behaved while we did a warm up with the kids. Wandered along like an old pro leading out the ride. Did not miss a beat while I rode back and forth trying to help the kids figure out jumping.
Tried to lead some of them over the jumps. Suns thought he was in heaven!! First jump I looked down and he stopped for me - embarrassing but good for the kids to see the instructor make a mistake and then fix it. Had a ball. He did get a bit above himself once we started getting stuck into it. A few bucks and airs above ground. Had to laugh at the fool when he backed himself down a ditch and then into a tree. Either I am getting to be a better rider or he is getting soft in his old age. I had no trouble sitting the nonsense and just laugh at him. Such a good day. No sign of soreness / puffiness the next day and he had risen up the paddock rank to top PITA over night. Think he felt good to be out and having fun. Quietly have my fingers crossed we can manage a few hunts next year - felt so good to be out and about JUMPING!!!

Bo

What is it about me and cheeky chestnut horses!! Bo wanders in and out of the tack room at will. No stress no bother. P left the door open and the pooh trail says it all as does the carrot snot on the internal door beside the feed room. Thank goodness I had too much junk in the door way and he could not get right into the feed. He was right it was tea time, he was long gone by the time I found the evidence. We now have to tie him up or open and close the sliding glass door as we walk in and out with saddles and stuff as he has learnt to push the door open if it is just a little open. He does love to have his head in the door while I make up the feeds. He and Sun make a good pair. A lovely friendly horse - fantastic nature.

Ellesmere Dressage day

Well I have bit to catch up on. Had the Ellesmere dressage day way back in May sometime. A good day had by all. A few pictures from a friend as we all forgot cameras.

Sun had a blast being side saddle pony for the day. Rach really looked good in all her gear. Sun did her proud with a 3rd or 4th - knew I should have done this closer to the day!!

The 3 orange ponies are Sun, Bo and OT. The handsome man standing next to me is my darling. Would be lost without him. WE missed photos of JJ, Minty and Connor. Mum had a fantastic day on Jacky - won both her classes. P had a good day on both hers with some nice placings. Little L had a good day on Minty with a 2nd and a 3rd. Had entered a couple more but they have been called off due to the rotten weather. Will give me just a wee bit more time to get ourselves sorted!!