Coming out….
So last time I wrote I was about to step away from the computer for fear of buying either a pony or a puppy. Oh dear…. I had better waste no time in introducing Ehren, the new addition! I have gone over to the dark side, stepped out of the closet, announced myself as ‘bi’ and we say hello to the first Warmblood in the family. Shock horror, she has been bought solely for circle trotting. I shall demand private use of the school in the afternoons and anyone wishing to share will have to polish my Konigs first! Martin is disgusted and the dogs have threatened to leave home….
Talking of dressage divas, Morgan got a short write up in Horse and Hound for her success at Bedgebury. My turn too…in an article about people that left careers to work with horses in Horse magazine I seem to have declared that I now don’t go to the pub so often, uhum. It’s been a while since Debbie has had a mention but fingers crossed she is now back in the saddle and started her 2012 season with a cracking win overall at Eaglesfield BD with 73.21% in the Elementary. Oh yeh baby!
What with the dreaded white stuff arriving we had to cancel our XC schooling at Munstead but we did get to run the February Bedgebury jumping clinic. It was rather surreal schooling with snow in the background but the staff at Bedgebury had done an amazing job at making a safe route from the carpark to the arenas. We also took Tinka, and she jumped like a star which was really pleasing as she has barely been out since September.
Lily is still off sick. There have been some subtle changes to her way of going but she is still is not right. A few other checks have been ticked off as we work down the list. She sees the osteo again in a week or so…
Coming up we are XC schooling at LMEQ, Martin and Tinka have a lesson with Kenneth Clawson, we have the March Bedgebury jumping clinic, Tinka is off to the pre-season combined training at Munstead, then her first proper outing of the year at Tweseldown. In between all this I have a new pony and I need to work out where the controls are! Right, I’m off to the pub….
Smartie Pants
Crikey, it’s been a while.
Where to start? Well Lily is off work. She’s not a happy soldier. I have dragged her to the vets twice, and much to her shock she’s had an arm up her backside and a tube up her nose. No problem with either her stomach or her ovaries….shame she can’t talk, she could have saved me the vet bills! I am determined to solve the jigsaw puzzle that is Lily.
The osteopath felt that her pelvis was out and probably had been since we had her. We wait to see if he can work some magic or if we need to investigate things further. I may need to get bar work!
In the meantime I am really really bored. The weather isn’t helping but with no pony to ride I found myself looking at Irish geldings for sale on the internet….then decided to be sensible, I can’t afford all the costs. A few days later I am googling ‘Dressage horses for sale’, they must be cheaper to run right? Crikey they are expensive to buy though! Another couple of days pass and I find myself trawling the pages for ‘Lurcher puppies for sale’. Step away from the computer Janine!
We had a brilliant full clinic day at Bedgebury back in January. These clinics are going really well and I love doing them. We are hoping to be back there on Saturday, weather permitting. I have 14 riders with their names down but many won’t get out of their yards with all this ice. How disappointing.
Bonnie was delighted to get a mention in Horse and Hound for her 74% score and win at Bedgebury BD. Smartie Pants got four nines, including one for her riding. Just when she was in my good books she gives me my Christmas present….uhum? Who do we know that wears a red baseball cap?
We are supposed to be XC schooling at Munstead on Sunday, but with everything frozen and snow still sitting on the floor I can’t see it happening. Fingers crossed for our second date at LMEQ on the 25th Feb, or worst case scenario Bonfleur on 1st April. I have 21 names on the list for Bonfleur. Do you think everyone is having a laugh and I will be the April Fool sat there on my own?!
I have some new clinic dates at a venue nr Crowborough, Adds Farm. We will work through different exercises here and see how they take off. See clinic page for dates.
Morgan is now registered with BD and has the bit between her teeth. They headed back to Bedgebury BD in January, won the Prelim with Smurf 70.45% and came second on the little guy, 12.2 Henry, with 66.82%. She then went on to win the Novice on Smurf with 67.41% Even more pleasing, the judge stopped in the car park on her way out to tell Morgan how nicely she rides. They will now be trying for Regional qualification before their busy side-saddle season starts…how exciting!
Someone needs to do a sun dance, and soon!
Happy New Year!
Well I cannot tell a lie, I will be jolly pleased to see the back of 2011. We lost mum’s pony Truffles, our foal Lucy and my boy Harry. It is just as well everyone else has done so well!
On the dressage front we have seen some fantastic results – winners at every level from Prelim to Medium, Regional qualifications, several new entries to the 70% club and some great improvements in scores. Debbie has barely competed Jazz but qualified for the Regionals, won at Novice and Elementary and also won his unaffiliated debut at Medium. There is always something special about seeing a horse you have trained from scratch going so well. Janet won and qualified for the Regionals in the Novice Freestyle to Music in their first year at Novice. Jasmine made big improvements to Kevin’s scores, won at Novice and was placed at Elementary. With Reggie she was placed at the Area Festival, had several wins at Novice, joined the 70% club and made their debut with a third at Elementary. Oh yes! Louisa and Strider did their first BD Novices gaining 67% and winning last time out, hopefully we will try for Regional qualification next year. Bonnie too had a light year with Oliver but won at Elementary and got a magic 74% and win at Novice after his injury forced a break. You don’t see scores like that every day! Morgan made her BD debut with scores of just under 70% and a win at Prelim. Gail too won at Elementary, the first since 2007 (now I am in trouble!) However ‘Improver of the Year’ goes to an unaffiliated rider Sue Wheble. She improved her dressage scores by almost 9%. Wouldn’t we all like to do that?! What an amazing achievement!
From the Pony Clubbers there were C+ test passes from Ellie, Morgan, Sally and Elize, a B care pass for Lilly and a B riding pass for Sophie. Sophie qualified for the Novice SJ champs, Ruby qualified for the Open SJ champs, Sophie was placed in the Novice Horse Trial qualifier, and Sally was placed in the Intermediate Horse Trial qualifier. Wow! 2011 also saw Hannah start her first BE100s including some placings at Nurstead and Keysoe. Morgan bettered last year’s achievements by winning Junior Rider of the Year at the National Side Saddle Championships. I remember them on their little ponies!
Martin no longer has time to help with Otto but his efforts were rewarded with Best Dressage and a 4th place in Otto’s first ODE, and Donna went on to achieve 5th in the Open Novice section at the BD Summer Regionals. This horse has truly been transformed and should give those struggling real hope.
Tinka joined us in January barely able to canter and was 2nd in her first ODE in April! She did a few BE90s, and was 8th at Brightling Park in appalling wet conditions when only a third jumped clear. She then finished the season with her first BE100 at South of England where she ended up 14th. This winter she made her BD debut at Prelim with a win and a second. A good year for Tinka!
With very few outings Harry qualified for the Hickstead Masters SemiFinal and was starting to see 70% scores more consistently in his novice dressage. His SJ technique had improved beyond all belief and he had a great winter as Martin’s hunt horse. It is always horrible to say goodbye to such a capable young horse but it is good to remember what we achieved. My prized possession is a sheet with three nines on it, unheard of!
Lily has started her XC schooling and has had a few days out hunting. She is now schooling round SJ courses indoors and won and was placed in her dressage outings. She has been a little uncomfortable and tetchy as some five year olds can be, but hopefully we are coming out the other side of that now…she is proving herself more than capable and is hopefully one for the future.
Ivy is still with the Reeves happily in semi-retirement. Rosie and her first colt Luke have moved to a private home down the road. Tiny is still doing a bit of everything with great success for Clare and her sharers. Lexie is happy at stud where we hope she will have a foal next year by Groomsbridge May I, father of Tinka and Lily.
The jumping clinics continue to be very popular. Seeing the change in some of the regulars is brilliant and makes it all very rewarding. We held our first adult camp at Bedgebury this Summer – what a ball! Not only did we all thoroughly enjoy ourselves but people went away saying ‘I can’t believe what I’ve achieved this weekend’. It really was great, although big thanks must go to Martin and Louisa. I couldn’t have done it without them.
Well done to everybody. I hope that 2012 can be every bit as successful!
Happy New Year!
The dog’s doodahs
Saying goodbye to Harry was horrible as you would expect. He was quite the character and rather a large presence on our part of the yard. He is somewhat noticeable in his absence! Fortunately I can rely on my clients to keep my chin up….
After a fairly long break (Oliver had trashed his fetlock by getting stuck in the field gate), Bonnie went to Essendon & Epping Forest BD to do a Novice test and see if they were back to form. Oh yes, finally made it into the 70% club and won the Open section! Top effort. It is always rewarding to see the underdog do well; you do not need a warmblood to succeed!
Lily has been trying out a different bit, the Sprenger Duo. Harry loved the Nathe as a five year old but Lily just chewed through it like a crocodile with a baby buffalo. However…the Sprenger is three weeks old and is still intact! She feels much less fragile in it, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. We headed off to Bedgebury last Friday to school around the SJ course, the first time out show-jumping in seven months. When we arrived she was convinced we were hunting and was shaking so much her legs were wobbling! I did wonder how she would be after all her recent ‘Daddy Days’ (time with Martin sends us all a bit crazy…) but once we started in the arena and she realised it was a boring ‘Mummy Day’ she relaxed and jumped really well.
Tinka schooled at Bedgebury too, but on the Saturday. She was absolutely beside herself with excitement; grunting like a piglet, and snorting and bucking! She is hilarious. Eventually she calmed down and ended up popping round a course set at 1.10m as if she did it every day of the week. She looks really promising for next year. At 5 years old she is such a cocky whatsit, I swear you could put something quite ridiculous up and she would give it a go. She thinks she’s the dog’s doodahs.
The rest of Saturday was a busy Bedgebury clinic day – we were full to the brim with loads of spectators too. As it gets colder the free tea and coffee that Bedgebury provide is very much appreciated! There were some noticeable highlights – Jules and her young mare Libby came to their first Carmen Court clinic in September and were really green. At Bedgebury two months later Libby jumped like a star. Jules has made a huge improvement to the canter which meant Libby was far more rideable between fences, and wow did she get up in the air! The other one to catch my eye was Lara’s Finley. He first came to Carmen Court last year as a young horse and although very genuine he was a little lacking in power and strength. He looked amazing on Saturday. He has found his springs!
On Sunday Louisa and I headed off to Hartpury for the BD National Convention with the Bartels family. This is always an interesting weekend and this year very much reminded me of fellow Dutch team rider Anky van Grunsven’s convention. For slow down, pull. For go faster, kick. Never give two aids at the same time. Get the horse relaxed. Is it straight? Is it off your leg? Seems like a simple approach but I can assure you it wasn’t easy for the guinea pig riders. Tineke (Mummy Bartels) was seriously disciplined – ‘Do it again’ and even ‘I am the bitch’!! A circle needed precision riding and she did not settle for almost round ‘I want a circle not an eclipse’ and heaven forbid if you lost the shoulder! I wonder what my clients would make of this approach……?!
Monday this week we headed off to Duckhurst, somewhere Lily has never been before. She was more relaxed than at Bedgebury and I was surprised that she wasn’t even vaguely spooky in the arena. We finished up jumping around a course of little fences on a lovely light contact with a super rideable canter. I became aware that I was smiling. Unheard of!
Coming up we have some dressage practise for Lily, a trip out to visit Rosie and her son in their new home, another schooling session over the coloured sticks at Duckhurst, and the next Bedgebury clinic. Pleeease, no snow….
Only five more minutes
Harry has been to the the vets for his nuclear scintigraphy (bone scan). It confirmed the diagnosis of sacroiliac pain as well as hindleg proximal suspensory desmitis. As it is the sacroiliac pain causing the majority of his issues we are trying to treat that first. We are to return to the vets for another assessment after six weeks of lungeing and physio. It all looks rather bleak but we are going to do our best to see if we can get him back into work. I hope the Irish boy has a lucky clover hidden away somewhere.
On a more positive note Janet Crumbie and Drummer won their debut BD Restricted Novice Freestyle to Music class at Oldencraig – top banana! Not to be outdone Jasmine was out last Tuesday at South of England BD and got the top spot with Reggie in her Novice class. Frankly I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had lifted her Timbertops hoody over her head and run through the car park whooping and waving her red rosette. Imagine her disappointment when it turned out to be dark blue!
At the recent Carmen Court jumping clinic I took the opportunity to pop Lily around the course, something I haven’t done for ages while her mouth has been so sensitive. Oh boy wasn’t it obvious – I think it’s time to get some lessons organised again. Not enough canter Janine (as if I don’t spend my life saying that, you’d think I would know better!) She was a little green having not done much all summer but jumped well despite her mother…
Talking of lessons Martin was balloted from Munstead and a last minute lesson with NZ Olympian Joe Meyer became available just down the road so we rerouted to that. He is a lovely guy and it was really interesting to watch. So often lessons concentrate on how the horse is going but this lesson was definitely about how Martin was riding. Joe has a lot of empathy with the horses and this session was all about keeping Tinka relaxed, riding her with less contact and keeping the canter energised (noticing the theme?!).
Then on the Sunday Martin took Otto and Tinka up to Bedgebury where Emma Whittington was attempting to set a World Record by riding continuously for 28 hours in aid of Cancer Research and Hospice in the Weald. Martin had decided to lend her Tinka and ride Otto alongside to keep her awake. He had the 9am shift and by then she had been in the saddle for 24 hours. The thought of riding in Martin’s saddle after 24 hours is quite hideous, it takes the skin off my backside after 5 minutes! Apparently she was rather tearful when he arrived (perhaps she had heard the rumours about his saddle) and when the Stinka and Ottoman flew off the lorry ramp snorting and boinging her mother nearly had a heart attack. However, ten minutes later Emma was hacking through the Bedgebury Forest with her feet out of the stirrups and the reins on the buckle (phew!). She did it, and raised a lot of money, but I think she must be bonkers!
On Tuesday last week the wonderful Nick Coles came to do the horses’ six monthly teeth check. Lily spent longer in the dentist’s chair than the others but she was a very good girl and we rewarded her with a sugar-free lolly pop and a smiley sticker….
Then on Saturday Tinka contested her first BE100 at South of England. It was a 4am alarm and the first time we have ever arrived at a horse trial in the dark. As I was reminded at regular intervals throughout the day, it was all my fault, I had asked for early times. I didn’t mean that early! She did her best dressage test so far for 36.5, had one rail down in the SJ and stormed the XC like an old campaigner to finish up 14th. We are absolutely delighted. To achieve this in nine months is really something. What a good girl!
Then on Sunday Lily went to Stilebridge for her first competition since the Spring. She was on her best behaviour and finished up 2nd in the prelim qualifying for their Championships. Unfortunately she got cast earlier in the week and has obviously tweaked something as she was skipping a bit in the canter. I hadn’t really picked it up before the warm-up and knowing how sensitive she is, the slightest discomfort can cause a meltdown so as I trotted down the centre line I was singing in my best judge can’t hear voice ‘there’s a good Lily, only five more minutes…’
So we have the chiropractor for Lily this week, and the chiropractor for Harry next week. Just myself to organise then!
Harry Rasta
It is ages since I updated you. My apologies, after the chaos of summer we escaped to Portugal for a lovely relaxing holiday in the sun. I’m not sure what happened to the weather while we were away but we seem to have come back to winter.
The August Carmen Court jumping clinic started with a group of three very nervous jockeys who between them hadn’t left the floor in years. They were all somewhere between grey and green to look at, but they jumped around a small course of fences in fine style. And no Donna, Janine Lamy branded sick bags is not what I call good marketing!
We had two groups XC schooling at Bonfleur, including some four year olds having their introduction to XC jumps. They were all really good and took it in their stride, going away full of confidence for next time. Bonfleur is ideal for mixed groups as there is something for everyone and means I can have lead horses for the younger ones without interrupting the flow of the day.
Great news from the North West Kent pony clubbers, Lily Ward passed her B test care and Sophie Etheridge her B test riding. Well done girls!
I have been helping Mark Powell and his huge dude of a horse Harvey. We are starting to see where Laura gets her competitive streak and recently they were 2nd after the dressage and posted a double clear in the Sevenoaks RC ODE. All we need to do now is get the big boy (Harvey, not Mark) cutting some tighter lines to get home inside the time. Watch out Laura, your father is nipping at your heels!
Jasmine was delighted to be placed at the BD Area Festival at Pachesham on Reggie. I think the photo says it all! They have Regional qualification in their sights, fingers crossed.
Tomorrow I drop Harry to the vets for a bone scan. I am not expecting good news but after all this time a diagnosis would be good. He now has a rather long mane and is starting to look more Bob Marley than Michael Flatley.
Otto does good
Well a busy few weeks. There’s been lots of Pony Club rallies and Area Competitions, most recently the Horse Trials which was held at Coombelands, Pulborough. NWK pony clubber Sophie Etheridge was delighted to finish 7th in the Novice with the young Murray but the highlight of my day was Sally Stoddart finishing 7th in the Intermediate. Poor Sally was grey before she started, and utterly convinced she was going to die! With very limited mileage cross country it was a big ask to jump around the BE100 course. Top effort with gutsy riding rewarded!
Meanwhile the dressage divas have been to the BD Regionals. Donna and Otto did Carmen Court proud and came 5th in the Open Novice. This is a truly amazing transformation and all credit to Donna for sticking with it. Round of applause to Team Otto – it can be done!
I mentioned in my last update that I didn’t feel Harry was quite right behind. Two trips to the vets later we still don’t have a diagnosis. Initial investigations suggested kissing spines, but that was later ruled out and we are now thinking possible sacroiliac pain but need more tests to confirm it. Although most of the time I wouldn’t want Harry to talk, it would be easier and cheaper if he could explain what the problem was….“Feckin’ back ache! Arse!”.
We have had a couple of trips out XC schooling at Lodge Farm and Bull Farm. Given the opportunity to show off in front of many (including her breeder, u-hum) Pigtails made an appearance at Lodge Farm. A fair amount of Lily hysteria was on show for all, yet at Bull Farm with no-one about, Lily left Pigtails at home and came as herself. The perfect pony, even leading the other horse over the ditch and into the water…. Those who were at Lodge Farm will understand that I would have found it hard to concentrate on the Ginger Ninga and teaching the group at the same time. So it was Martin who did the deed. We have struggled with Lily’s ultra sensitive mouth this summer and have been having a play with bits. At home we are making progress again but at Lodge Farm we decided to give up and attached the reins to the noseband. Worked absolute wonders and she finished on a much more positive note!
Good news from Groomsbridge, Lexie has been scanned in foal. Obviously we wouldn’t expect it to be entirely straight forward and it started out as twins…but now has been narrowed down to one pregnancy. I hope they chose the right one!
Fantastic news from the National SideSaddle Championships – Morgan Schive won Junior Rider of the Year, and got a write-up and picture in Horse and Hound. Morgan works really hard with Smurf and thoroughly deserves her success. What a way to leave your Junior years. WINNER!
We have a Carmen Court jumping clinic today, XC schooling at Bonfleur next weekend, and I start life as a probationary B test examiner…must get a clip board!
Plan B
Well the weather goes from one extreme to the other. Martin and Tinka were at Brightling Park for the BE90 in the worst rain and mud I can ever remember being at a horse trial in. We were towed into the lorry park which is never a good start, but the rain that fell at lunchtime was something else. It came at you sideways! Tinka has never even cantered in mud, let alone jumped out of it, but was totally unfazed. In two wheel drive (she doesn’t even wear hind shoes!) she jumped a super clear round SJ (Horse and Hound reported only 27% jumped clear in the BE90) then went on to jump a really confident clear around the XC with only a few time faults leaving her 8th. Top banana!
On the Sunday I took Harry to Royal Leisure BS as he has been feeling on fine form. He was delirious to be out again, behaving more like a four year old! The plan was to test-drive him SJ, then XC school and if all OK get him entered for Smiths Lawn. However, with horses it’s always good to have a B plan….although he felt fine at Royal Leisure, he doesn’t really look his usual happy self in the pictures and now I am not sure he is quite right behind and so he has not been worked since. We shall investigate further….
So with Lodge Farm booked for XC schooling I decided to take Lily instead. Unfortunately with Harry off games and Martin away there was no lead horse or companion. She coped with that pretty well, jumping like a star until the only other horse at Lodge Farm left the course, loaded and went home. This did prompt a little ‘Pigtails Moment’ but in fairness we would not usually school a young horse on its own and Lily rarely even hacks on her own so not entirely unexpected. She got over it! Lots more schooling planned in August and with Harry off I reckon I know who Martin has his eyes on for this season’s hunt horse!
We had a great jumping clinic at Bedgebury. I somehow managed to persuade Louisa to take Strider. In recent times her feet have been firmly planted on the floor, in fact she hasn’t jumped a course of fences in over 12 years. Strider on the other hand, has never jumped a course of fences in his life and yes, you guessed it – they jumped a little course – Woo Hoo! I was so chuffed!
The dressage winners have been out in force again. Emma Pearce and Kathryn Nichols were first and second in the Chelsfield Prelim Championships – go girls! Tiny and Clare won their arena at the RC qualifier and are off to Lincoln for the National Championships. Janet Crumbie and Drummer have only recently started competing at Novice but won their test at Speedgate. Zalena who we restarted and sold to Claire Carter won her Novice test at Stilebridge. Jazz and Debbie won their first attempt at Medium – now that’s just showing off! On top of that our North West Kent Pony Club girls Sophie Etheridge and Ruby Fryer qualified for the Novice and Open PC Showjumping Champs. What a few weeks!
I was also delighted to see that the August edition of Local Rider has a double page spread of our Bedgebury camp pictures. It looks amazing and is fantastic advertising. My only problem is how to accommodate the number of people already showing in interest in camp 2012!
Lily, NO!
“Maybe someone needed a granny” turned out to be rather prophetic . On Sunday 26th June we made the horrible decision to have Lucy put to sleep. There was nothing else that could be done, she had fought hard for her short three weeks of life and it was time to call it a day. To be honest this year has been pretty rubbish so far and I can only hope that the second half is an improvement on the first.
Who’d have thought it? Martin being mentioned in the Dressage pages of Horse and Hound! Written up as a bit of a Guru in ‘Against the Odds’ last week, it says “Martin doesn’t get into confrontations; he just quietly sits out the tantrums.” This is very true and probably why Lily so gently placed him on the floor before laying on him. Respect!
I have now discharged myself and the horses from the chiropractors for a while. We are taking very gentle steps between the three of us but I feel like we are making progress. Lily is improved but it is still rather fragile and I think there are also bitting issues that I need to resolve. Harry on the other hand feels like a totally different horse. He is having very few angry moments and is generally much looser than before. I jumped him this week and he felt amazing, really up for it and stretching his head and neck. Quite bizarrely he has also enjoyed being groomed for the first time ever, pulling nice faces and saying ‘ooh yes, just there’. Totally unreal, we’ve been fighting with him for three years! But then the third time I saw my chiropractor I was so wiped out that I could barely put one foot in front of the other for two days. Half an hour of gentle tapping and tweaking and I felt like I had the flu – I don’t really understand it so I’m starting a rumour that they cut up frogs for the cauldron….
Jasmine and Kevin continue to improve their scores with a 64 and 66% at Step by Step BD last week. They had been stuck in the 58-60% doldrums when I started helping in November last year and I am really pleased that we are starting to see the benefit of our work. Her other ride Reggie has also pulled out all the stops and recently produced a personal best for Jasmine of 68% – happy faces at last!
Tinka and Martin went to Eridge last Saturday for the BE90. She was a little excited about the dressage but it was improved on the last test, jumped a fantastic clear SJ and was going great guns on the XC when she lost a shoe and missed the turn to the second last fence. Bless her, she didn’t even realise she was supposed to be turning let alone jumping. To add insult to injury she would have been third! So although a little disappointing we are really pleased with how she is coming on. She seems well up for the job and is really smart!
Louisa was at the Stilebridge dressage championships last Sunday and despite it only being their fourth Novice test, they came 3rd with 67% Top effort, he is really starting to look the business!
Then yesterday we had a Carmen Court jumping clinic. I took the opportunity to jump Harry and Lily, mostly as an assessment of how they are feeling after two months off. Harry, although as fat as a house after the break, felt well up for it and was really keen which is very unusual for him at home. I needed to stay behind him and allow him his head more. I admit to being a little rusty! Lily seemed pretty relaxed, perfectly confident and although she had lost a little technique I know this will come back and was really pleased with her. However I was reminded of how quickly she reacts and how I need to think ahead (they are so different!). We had a breakdown in communications on turning to one fence, she saw it at the last minute and skipped past it, then had a red-headed angry with mother moment “How dare you put me in that situation?!” There was much bucking and leaping and boy it came up thick and fast. At one point I swear I could have touched the sand with my tongue I was that close, eventually I found myself sitting on her neck holding onto the throatlash with both hands! Fortunately she didn’t like that very much and flipped her head back, boinged again and hey presto I was back in the saddle. I had no idea which way was up, no stirrups and was manically grabbing at bits of leather in the hope of finding some reins when she saw what she thought was the next fence….”Lily, NO!”
While we were jumping at Carmen Court four of our North West Kent Pony Clubbers (Ellie, Morgan, Sally and Elize) all passed their C+ tests – well done girls!
A brilliant weekend of fun
We’ve been so busy!
A pretty quiet Carmen Court clinic but as always it was great to see the improvement in the regulars, plus some new faces.
Harry and Lily have been slowly brought back into work, quietly tempting them off the naughty step. It’s been very tentative but Lily and I have had three sessions in the school without drama so fingers crossed that this is progress. Harry on the other hand is firmly in the bad-boy camp, and has thrashed about to the extent that now I am the one having my back treated! Before I go any further, you may know, is it normal to find your chiropractor with her head in her hands staring blankly at your notes after a session?!
Anyway both ponies went back to see Jose yesterday and while Lily was looking loads better, Harry still was very sore. Guess that explains things. I have stopped with his carrot stretches, his behaviour in the stable now verging on dangerous. I probably should have trusted my instinct and not even gone there, now I have a monster to tame (again).
He had qualified for the Hickstead Masters Semi-final but won’t be ready in time so was thinking maybe he can go to the Area Festival instead…it would be nice to think we will solve this soon and get out eventing again. This was not my plan this year!
Lucy lurches from one crisis to the next. Two days after my last post we made the awful decision to have her put to sleep. She looked really uncomfortable, was covered in horrid sores, so it was all arranged for the Sunday morning and the stud had started to look for a foster foal for Lexie. Much upset at White Cottages. The vet from Rossdales turns up that morning, she boots him, leaps about and says ‘no thank you, you will do no such thing‘. A reprieve! Two weeks later the fetlocks are off the floor but she still has some horrid sores…so this week she has been fitted with some heel extensions to get her standing properly. Another nervous wait as she was feeling so sorry for herself after a day of standing like this that they were worried she had an infection in the joint….I tell you, when my head eventually explodes it‘s going to be messy. Thank god there was no infection and we leave the story there…..come on Lucy, we are all rooting for you.
Last weekend we ran an adult camp at Bedgebury – wow, what a laugh! A fantastic weekend was had by all, I really could not have asked for it to go better. A huge thanks must go to Martin who did an amazing job of feeding us all, and to Louisa who took a million brilliant photographs. The facilities at Bedgebury were tops – anywhere else in that weather would have been horrendous. Even the BBQ was under cover and to have a very smart cottage to use made all the difference – somewhere dry and warm to shower, have a few beers and meet up for breakfast in the morning – Go Bedgebury! We had a great morning XC schooling at Hurstwood Farm on Sunday and wearily made our way home that afternoon. I still haven’t recovered!
On Tuesday, half asleep, I had my final UKCC level 2 assessment. Whether I find the time and energy to do Level 3 I don’t know….the amount of paperwork is a nightmare. My parents will be disgusted to hear that the years haven’t changed me. My homework not done, I was frantically scribbling my lesson plan out at the venue that morning. Don’t tell my assessors!
Then some very sad news. My mum’s pony Truffles had very suddenly gone blind over the last few days and there was no choice but to put her to sleep on Wednesday. A bright perky little pony, 17 years ago viewing her in the snow I advised mum not to buy her. With only hacking experience I thought she would be too much for her but mum was adamant. A special bond developed, many years of great friendship and fun. I got the call “Will you teach me to jump?“. Uh-oh. Tell you what, once you get a pony and rider into the middle of a willow tree it is almost impossible to get them out! They did Riding Club camp, Truffs introduced the grandchildren to cantering and jumping, they gave it all a go. Mostly, hours and hours of hand grazing, grooming and hacking. Mum has lost her soul-mate. She has gone to catch up with the others, sooner than we expected, maybe someone needed a granny….
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