Rowan's Equestrian Blog

moved...

2010-11-10T21:00:03Z

To anyone who reads my blog, please note I haven't given up, it's now moved to http://rowancaley.wordpress.com/

Birthday greetings....

2010-09-15T20:13:50Z

I haven't been away since my last post, but I haven't given up. I've been training at home. I've had lessons with Clive & Kim Ratcliffe, & weekly lessons with Angela on Bernie. In fact Angela took B in his first Novice test a few weeks ago, we plaited him up & took him to the competition for her, I enjoyed watching him do his stuff & the class consisted of two tests, he got 61% (just over) in both tests, he was lkying 6th after the first one, but after his second they came third, we were all so proud & it showed how he'd really been learning everything, it's all in his head, he's just waiting for his body to catch up.

I've started having extra lessons in the week too, in my lunch hour I go for a lunge lesson to work without stirrups & strengthen up my core & work on my trot. Talking about working without stirrups, I was training last Thurs, without stirrups, cantering Bernie on his right rein (his worst one) he fell back to trot & it wasn't his nice trot it was his stupid bouncy one, so I got the giggles, and everyone knows when you start laughing your strength goes out the window, so by then, I was getting bounced so much, I was at the point of no return, so was looking for a comfy spot to land, I kind of slid off & Bernie managed to navigate his feet around me without standing on me & then stopped & looked at me as if to say, "what are you doing down there?" I clambered back on unhurt & still giggling & tried again, this time keeping B between me & the ground & we ended on a really good note.

Hopefully my next trip away will be in October, all though it could prove difficult because mum & dad are going to Australia for a month, to see my sister and meet their new grandson, so I may have trouble finding child/dog/lizard/horse minders.

It's my birthday on Sunday, big 3 0 so happy birthday to me, I was going to commiserate but I was reminded I nearly didn't reach my 20th birthday so I must celebrate my 30th!!!

The Fog......

2010-08-03T18:01:22Z

I've come to the conclusion that my trips are never quite uneventful, like my trip to Hartpury. I was meant to go to Manchester the week before the competition to try the horse I was going to ride in my class, but unfortunately he was lame, we weren't sure what was wrong with him & we hoped he would be better for the next weekend & arranged for me to try him the Friday before the Championships, but a phonecall on the Tuesday confirmed he was still lame, luckily the lady who owned him had another horse that she evented & said I could ride him as he'd be going there for another rider to compete. I went to the airport that morning to be greeted with mist as thick as pea soup, so after two hours sitting in the airport it was confirmed my flight was cancelled, I was able to transfer to a later flight to Birmingham with the rest of the IOM RDA group, but it meant I didn't have a confirmed ride for the competition, as understandably the owner of the horse who I was going to try didn't want me to compete him without trying him first. So back at the airport & with a two hour flight delay we managed to get to Birmingham & arrived at Hartpury at about 11pm. The next morning consisted of finding me a ride for my class, so another case of beg, steal or borrow!! The other two in my group were riding ponies from Crosby riding school, so I was offered one of them, a Highland pony about 14.2hh called Corrie, I thought I might need rollerskates being 5'9" but lucky for me he took up my legs & I didn't look giant on him. He wIas strong as an ox too, after I got on he decided he was going back to the stables & who was I to stop him, thank goodness there was someone on hand to grab him & lead him down to the warm up arena for me. After walking & trotting for a bit he soon learnt who was boss & it was test time. We have medium trot in the test but I decided not to try too hard for it as I wasn't sure where we might end up. I didn't do too badly though, I came 5th with 64.76% on a pony I rode for the first time 20minutes before my test, not too shabby. Then in the evening there was a bit of jousting by the Knights of Middle England & later a disco. The next day consisted of watching everyone else compete & soaking up some of the lovely sunshine before catching the train & plane home.

Two weeks ago I went back to Vale View to train with Julie & Ian, it was good to be back there & I went home with some more blisters!! I haven't ridden George & Fernie for a while so I went to train before the KBIS qualifiers which were held there on Sunday. Jimmy, Shayne & I took the car over on the boat on Thursday morning & drove down to our lovely B&B, Christine was away so her daughter Georgie looked after us. I had two lessons with Julie in the evening & I must say I slept well that night. On Friday my first lesson was at 1pm & after that we had to go get some new tyres for the car, as I said earlier my trips are never straight forward & we managed to run over a nail, so we had to go to the tyre shop, then we went for a wander round the town & back to Vale View for my second lesson. Saturday I had another two lessons in quick succession, then had to go shopping on Saturday afternoon as Shayne had some money burning a hole in his pocket so we had to go & spend, spend, spend.

Sunday we were up bright & early, I couldn't eat much breakfast though due to nerves. My first test was on George who went lovely & then Fernie an hour later. I came 4th on Fernie 64.52% and 6th on George 62.86% It was my first time in the Open section so I shouldn't be too hard on myself, all though I thought my test on George was the best, it's funny how you think you've done a really good test & it actually wasn't. That night we travelled up to Knutsford to stay at a Travel Lodge before sailing back yesterday morning. The dogs being so happy to see us, well Rodney was only happy for a short while as she has developed a strange relationship with a cuddly toy pig, she thinks it's her puppy, so could only say a quick hello before going back to nurse it. It is now locked away in a cupboard so she can return to being a semi normal dog.

Road tripping......

2010-07-04T09:26:36Z

Well I qualified for the RDA Championships which are to be held this weekend at Hartpury. I'm riding a horse that I haven't riden yet, so fingers crossed it'll all go well, I've seen a picture of him & he looks lovely. My test is on saturday, I'm hoping to get away a day or so early so I can have a ride on him beforehand.

I've been to Hickstead, I went away a week before the competition to ride Polly who I was taking, she belongs to another Para rider who had qualified for the Championships at Grade IV, so it made sense that I rode her to keep costs down for both of us, she's a gorgeous horse & behaves so well, her owner, Lara, also competes her at Advanced Medium. It's really difficult for a horse to get used to a new rider, just as much as it's difficult for a rider to get to grips with a new horse, especially para as she has to get used to my different aids & balance etc, so I could have done with a bit longer with her before the competition so she could get to know me better. It took us 5hrs to drive down to Hickstead, all pile in the car, a great little road trip. We stayed, with Polly, at a B&B about 10mins away from the show ground, Mum & Angela met us there after a long drive down from Liverpool, passing through many of the counties in the country. That night we had a yummy picnic in the garden, Lara's delicious homemade quiche, then an early night before the competition.

When we got to the showground I went and had a look at the arena, to size up my circles etc, Lara warmed Polly up for me, grade 1 & 2 riders are allowed someone to warm up for them as long as the rider is on for the last 20mins before they go in the arena. It was my warm up test first, she went lovely for me, I was so happy with her & so was Lara. We then had an hour until my next test, again Lara rode her in for me but not for so long this time, I think I wanted to win so much that my nervous energy transferred to Polly & made her a bit tense so the test wasn't as good as the first one unfortunately, but I was still pleased because Polly & I don't really know each other, so we gave it our best shot. It was brilliant experience & the weather was gorgeous, so the tan was a bonus!!!

The weekend before I went away I had a competition on the island. I took Bernie in the Prelim & a para class had been put on for me which I took Buzz & Scrumpy in, Scrumpy is a gorgeous big chestnut who I've been offered the ride of, he's a show horse & has done extremely well in the showing world, but now his owner, Hannah, is re-training him to do dressage. I also took him in a Novice test. My test on Bernie didn't go great, there was too much going on around us & he hasn't been to anything in ages as I've been away when the competitions have been on, there were horses trotting up & down the road, other horses banging in the box, so he wasn't concentrating on me! Then it was my para test on Buzz, he was great as always, and strutted his stuff. I did the same test on Scrumpy, my first test ever on him & he was brill too. Pretty much straight after that I had to do my Novice test, so three different tests in one day was a bit much for my brain cells to take & I managed to forget it twice, and lost points by not doing give & retake, so I reckon 57% wasn't a bad mark with all the ones I threw away!!

I've had two lessons with Clive this week, I had one on Bernie & one on Scrumpy, Bernie has been great the last few times I've ridden him, I think (fingers crossed) we're getting there, at home anyway, will be good to take him to another comp to see how he goes.

So next stop Hartpury, good luck me!!!

Hmmmmmm Blisters........

2010-05-16T18:38:21Z

Long time no write, very naughty!! Where shall I start?? Summer qualifiers I think. I went away with Angela, we got the boat & Angela brought her car, it was a lovely sailing & I got stuck into my book. Our first stop was Knutsford to try Pam Rigby's horse for the RDA qualifiers. It was a lovely day & we arrived at the livery yard in good time, I got changed into my jods & after watching Pam ride Pluto for a bit it was my turn. I found him quite difficult to start with & thought he didn't like me riding him, but eventually he let me in & was going nicely, he has a lovely trot but it took me a while to get used to it as it was quite big. We stayed at Pam's the night & I had another ride on Pluto in the morning, he was quicker to get into a nice shape, as I had a bit more of a feel for him. After my ride we were on the road again over to Market Rasen to have a ride on another horse, Polly. She is gorgeous & I'm hoping to ride her in some comps in the future. We stayed the night in a motel between Lincs & Leicstershire, before heading on down to Old Dalby the next day, for a couple of lessons at Vale View with Andrew Fletcher. I had a lesson on both George & Fernie & that put me in good stead for next days competition. It was an early start, I was first on at 8.30am on Fernie, the test went well & I had to jump off & get on George pretty much straight away to warm him up. I entered a warm up class on each of them & the qualifier on each of them, so I was seeing how I could handle 4 tests. I got 2nd on Fernie in the warm up & 3rd on George, the next class was George's time to shine & he won & Fernie was 3rd. It was nice to get my classes done at the beginning of the day as it gave me a chance to relax when it was all over. We didn't have to get the boat until the next morning so we stayed to watch until about 4pm then headed back up to Pam's to stay for the night before getting the boat home at 11.30am.

Last Thursday I was away again for some more training at Vale View, I went with my cousin, Simmy, for a few days. We weren't sure if we'd be flying as the airport had been shut the day before with the Volcanic ash, but all was hunky dorey & the airport was open again, so it was up at stupid o clock to catch the red eye at 7.05am. I had a lesson with Ian Woodhead on George & later on a lesson with Julie on Fernie. We had our tea at the B&B, I'm sure Christine's trying to fatten me up because she always gives us a lovely BIG pudding.....mmmmm!!! On the friday I had two more lessons with Julie & again on Saturday. I do actually need fattening up because I've got blisters on my bum from all this training so a bit of junk in my trunk wouldn't go a miss!! On Sunday I had training with Angela Weiss, it was really good & I learnt a lot, I hope I'll be able to have more training with her in the future. After training we went back to the cottage for a yummy BLT & pavlova, oh and scones, I was thinking I was going to have to be rolled home! We got the train to the airport where we ate some more & I got an Angus burger from Burger King for Jimmy & Shayne's tea (no BK on the Isle of Man) Safely home & back to work the next day, both work work & horse work as I had a lesson with Clive on Monday. Bernie was good & I've got stuff to work on at home. I was meant to be away this fri & sat at the RDA qualifiers where I was to ride Pluto, but due to unforseen circumstances it was off, so instead I had to video a test & send it off to be judged. I rode Buzz & it seemed to go well, he was really good, so I've to wait for the results of that. Yesterday I took George for a hack, I think he's forgetting who I am, he got a bit excited because he could hear music coming from the school fair, so he danced for a bit which was no good for my bum, but it was good to get back on him with his quirky ways.

Home from Home.....

2010-04-20T20:23:11Z

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter, I really enjoyed the break even if it was a bit chilly, the last week or so has been gorgeous though, I went away last week to Vale View for some training, we flew over on Wednesay evening, we decided to take the train this time instead of hiring a car, to save a bit of money, it was pretty straight forward & I enjoyed just being able to sit there & read my book instead of concentrating on the road. We got to The Cottage B&B at around 9.45 pm, back to my second home & greeted with a nice cup of tea. I had a lesson booked with Julie in the morning, so after a good full english brekky it was time to go & ride Fernie, I had a great lesson & then had another in the late afternoon on George with Ian Woodhead, we decided to play music in the school as George has shown us he's not too keen on it, it did get him a bit hot but Ian helped me to calm him down & we ended the lesson well. The next day I had two more lessons with Julie one on each horse, I had a canter on Fernie too, which I'd been dying to do. The lessons went really well & both horses were great, Julie gave me a couple of exercises to do which should help to strengthen my right leg.

While we were there, of course, the Volcano had errupted so we didn't know if we'd be able to fly home on the Friday, I thought it'd be best to try & get tickets for the boat on Friday night from Liverpool, instead of hanging around the airport to see if the planes would fly, so I got Lizzie to book us a couple of tickets & we trained it up to Liverpool & got on the boat home, it was a lovely flat crossing & there was a really pretty sunset. I managed to get through my book too, which totally isn't like me to read a whole book, but when I get into one I can't put it down. Good job we got on the boat or we'd probably still have been there, getting fat on Christine's yummy breakfasts.

Last night I had a lesson with Clive on Bernie, it was really good, Clive said it was the best he'd seen us both do. I'm away on Thursday, I'm going to try a horse to see if it'll be suitable for the RDA qualifiers in May, and then have a ride on another over in Lincs, then we're off down to Vale View again for the summer qualifiers, luckily we're booked on the boat so we don't have to worry about the plane situation, I just hope it isn't windy!!!!!

Winter Championships......

2010-04-01T12:40:43Z

Well I've not posted for a while, but I've been away at Vale View, training & at the Para Winter Championships. We went away last Monday evening & a full week of training lay ahead before the Championships on Sunday. We arrived at our B&B, or our second home as it is now, at about 9pm & had a good cup of tea, then an early night to prepare for the training. It wasn't such an early start so we had time for a nice full english to begin the day. I had a lesson with Julie Hyslop on Fernie & then a lesson on George later with Peter Storr, it was a difficult lesson on George as he was very tense so I was learning how to get him listening to me. After a few days of lessons my knees were looking a bit raw, they'd been rubbed the thursday before I went away, at a lesson with Angela on Buzz, where I'd been practising my sitting trot, so it was to the shop for plasters for me.

Mum found it a difficult week as her sheep were lambing at home, so she was worrying about them, dad found it even more difficult as he was left lambing the sheep & up all hrs through the night delivering mums little woolly friends. I think dad will volunteer to come with me next time, so he can enjoy the full english breakfasts & a bit of a rest. Jimmy also stayed at home, he was left in charge of Shayne, Lupa, Rod Rod & Ziggy, everything was fine until I phoned him on Friday night, he didn't sound very happy! The reason being Ziggy had decided to go AWOL, we leave the door of his tank open as he likes to be free range & we close the living room door so he can't go anywhere else in the house if he does decide to go for a wander, however Jimmy couldn't find him anywhere in the living room, which then made him wonder did he shut the door when he left. We usually find him hidden in the dark corner behind the TV, but not on Jimmy's watch. He hunted all around the house for hrs with no joy, & text me at 10.40pm to say he was going lizard hunting again, eventually at twenty to one in the morning I got a text saying Ziggy had been found, sleeping behind his tank, because it's a converted wardrobe he'd forgot the back was hollow & Zig had crawled in & gone to sleep, thank goodness he found him or I'd have been worrying all weekend.

On saturday, my sister Lauren, aunty Kath & friends Becky & Lizzie arrived to come & watch the competition, we watched some of the Dressage that was on at Vale View & then went to the pub for our tea. Sunday arrived & I was nervous, I just about manage to stomach a bowl of porridge, my first test was on George, he worked in beautifully & I was ready to do my best, however, when we got into the indoor he tensed up, I did do the best I could but it was really difficult & he was very tense throughout, doing a bit of canter where we should've been trotting, I was lucky enough to be entered on Fernie as well, he also worked in well, nice & forward going, we went in the arena & he did a lovely test, after a bit of a nail biting wait our mark was put up on the board, we won with 71.43% I was over the moon, especially when I realised we got overall restricted Champion too, it was just amazing, I was so pleased.

I'm away again the middle of April for a couple of days training, then again a week later for the summer qualifiers back at Vale View.

Ride em cowboy........

2010-03-09T19:57:12Z

Not long now until the Para Winter Championships, I've booked the week off work so I can get some intense training off Julie at Vale View beforehand, to get the best I can out of me & the horses, Julie knows her horses really well so it's great to learn from her.

Tomorrow I have a lesson with Janet, Bernie's a bit unfit at the moment so it's time to get him to the gym & get him back into his routine. I entered an unafilliated competition on saturday to get back into the swing of things, however, my shoulder was painful after a bit of fighting with B the day before, he was being as awkward as he could when I schooled him, so I thought it'd be best to sit it out & I asked Angela to take him in it H/C. He went really well & she got 65.6% we were really pleased with him, I told Angela it must've been my schooling the day before that sorted him out, ha ha!

Today I've been crunched by my physio, she got right into my achy shoulders, I'm like a grizzly old hen with all the knots around my neck & shoulders, all popping around. I haven't been up to a lot lately, just taking George out hacking & trying to come down off cloud 9 after my talent spotting win.

It was my boy Shayne's 12th birthday the other week, he got his ear pierced with his birthday money, growing up far too fast!! Let me tell you a funny story about his Granddad, all though I'm sure I'll get in trouble for it! Mum & Dad were doing the sheep's feet or something along those lines, & mum had a hold of the tup, anyway, he escaped & started running towards my dad, he ran between his legs & dad got stuck on his back, his feet couldn't touch the ground & the Tup took him for a ride backwards along the yard, mum couldn't do anything because she was laughing too much, if only we had CCTV!

I did it.......

2010-02-25T21:58:54Z

I made it onto the boat, just, because it's quite a walk from check in to get on the boat I asked if I could get in the assistant bus, I was sitting waiting for a while when someone asked was I a passenger, apparently the assistant bus wasn't coming back so I had to get in the luggage van, I was then sat in that for what felt like ages & was worrying the boat would leave without me, I got on though, mum & Shayne wondering where I was. I found them & we went & settled in to our cabin. The plan was for Angela to pick us up at Heysham, she was flying to Blackpool where she'd left her car a few days earlier, but when were close to dock I got a call from Angela saying her car wouldn't start, uh-oh!! Luckily the RAC came to the rescue & it was just a flat battery so she was with us in no time & we made our journey down to Leicestershire to settle at our favourite B&B.

After a good nights sleep & a big bowl of porridge it was time for a lesson with Ian Woodhead. We'd decided I'd ride George in the talent spotting as I knew him better than Fernie. Ian gave me a great lesson & lots to think about. I had another lesson later with Julie, who gave me even more to think about. Julie was going away for a few days so she'd arranged for me to have a lesson with Andrew Fletcher, I'm really enjoying learning from all these different people, everyone has different things to add & I feel I'm really getting a lot out of it!

Saturday was competition day, I wasn't on until 4.55 but went up to Vale View early to help a new friend out. Lara competes at Grade 4 & has lovely horse calle Polly who she's kindly letting me have a ride on. She has the most amazing walk big long strides & nice expressive paces, and she has a lovely nature. Lara did her bit & then left for her long drive home, so we went back to the B&B to put our feet up for a little while, before returning for my turn in the arena. George warmed up really well & I tried my best to keep him trotting forward, I didn't want to look boring, I wanted to make the judges sit up & watch. My test felt like it went well, just a few accuracy issues, I even managed a medium trot. I then had a 20 minute training session with one of the judges, we had a nice chat & she gave me exercises to do. I then eagerly awaited my score, I was gobsmacked, I was in the lead & only one more rider to go, it was the longest wait ever, eventually the last riders score came out & it was official, I'd won. I got a lovely big trophy & Angela got a prize too for being my trainer. Now it was time for the journey home, three hrs driving & four hrs on the boat, then when we got home (at 6am) we were met by the white stuff, we had a good old 4 x 4 to get us home though, to say I was ready for my bed on Sunday night is an understatement, I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!!! The back of clou 9 & back to work.

Today I had a lesson with Clive on Bernie, he hasn't done much for a while so we didn't ask a lot of him, just long and low & keeping him (and me) relaxed, my next trip away is in March for the winter championships, back to Vale View, lets hope I keep up the good results, I've got a taste for it now!!

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/news/show/710-new-faces-shine-at-2010-para-talent-spotting-day

A into G........

2010-02-11T20:17:28Z

It was nice to have a few days off work last week, catch up with my George & go for a few good hacks, I had a lesson with Janet on Tuesday, I wasn't sure how it'd go as I hadn't been on Bernie for a while, but he was pretty good, more good bits than bad. He could be a bit more in front of my leg, but at least he wasn't going against my hand as muh as usual, I was told to get my A into G before the talent spotting, I wasn't sure what that meant, but it was made clear to me, I like a bit of straight talking! Angela gave me a lesson on Buzz on Thursday, to practice medium trot, I didn't quite get medium but I did manage to show a difference, a bit more work needed there!! I took B to his first outing in ages on Saturday, my first test was a bit of a nightmare, he wasn't supple at all to the right & was totally ignoring my right leg, which makes it a hundred times more diffiult for me because that's my weaker side, we got 59% & in our second test I felt he went a lot better, I'd got him more supple by doing a few turns on the forehand & trying to get him more forward off my leg, it was a different judge in the second class & we got 57% but I was happy because I felt the difference in him, even though our perentage didn't reflect it. We decided B must've had a bit of a muscle strain as he was so unwilling to bend right & mum thought he didn't feel 100% the day before out hacking, he seems better now as he was full of himself today out riding.

Angela is away this week so no lesson today, it's up to me to get Bernie ready for the competition on saturday, just an unaffiliated Dressage comp, I'm taking George too for a go in the intro, see if I can get a better leg yield down the centre line than last time. I'm going to try & keep him calm, all though that could prove difficult as he's been quite fizzy out riding over the last week, we went out on Sunday, four of us, & he decided he didn't want to be at the back, so bounced his way past everyone else & then thought he' walk like a tortoise, so we endded up at the back again much to his discust, so on the railway line, he bounced past again, in canter this time, but I was just happy he cantered on his right leg, then he proceeded to walk like a slug but with his grouch face on so the others didn't dare go past, I think maybe he's getting a taste of the spring grass, or his magnetic rug is making him feel super duper.

I'm on the boat Wednesday morning, I've booked a cabin so I can just lie down if it's a bit breezy, I'll have a bit of luggage I reckon, all my competition gear & I'm also thinking of taking my saddle with me to see if it'll fit George & Fernie, as it has a block under the flap on the right side to keep my leg a bit more stable. I'm looking forward to a couple more lessons with Ian Woodhead too, he'll get my A into G, as Janet says :o)

Time flies.......

2010-01-31T17:30:43Z

I've had a very busy few weeks, back & forth to the UK. I went to Vale View on the 20th to prepare for the para winter qualifiers, I had to leave mum with instructions for feeding Lupa, Rodders, George, Ziggy & Chunk, we've never been away & left Ziggy, but everything was fine as he was hibernating & didn't come out of his cave while we were away, so mum didn't have to worry about feeding him, she just had to make sure he was peeping & still alive. We had an hour to get from the plane to the equestrian centre for my lesson at 8.20pm. We got there just in time & I threw my jods on & climbed on board George. Julie had got some split reins for me to use as I find it a bit difficult holding the double reins, they were a great help & I had to get in touch with the RDA the next day so I could get my dispensation certificate changed to allow me to use them in the competition. Para riders are given a dispensation certificate from British Dressage or the RDA so we are able to use special aids to help us, for example I am allowed to use my voice & a whip in each hand if I need to, amongst other things. I got that all sorted & my certificate changed so that was all hunky dorey & I could use the new reins on both Fernie & George. I had a lesson on each horse on the 21st with Ian Woodhead, these were very helpful & I really enjoyed them, hopefully I'll be able to have a couple more next time I'm there. I had two more lessons in the morning of the 22nd to get more in tune with the horses & had the afternoon to chill out & think about my test the next day.

I wasn't on until the afternoon, so didn't have to get up at stupid o clock, I had time for some scrambled eggs for breakfast from our super B&B, then we went over to the equestrian centre to watch the other classes. Suddenly it was time to get on, George was thought to be lame in the morning so I just had Fernie to ride, or so I thought, the farrier came to check George out & couldn't find anything wrong & lucky for me he was trotting sound again so I was able to ride him. I took Fernie first, my belly doing flips, we got through it, with a couple of my mistakes but I was pleased. Then I had George to take, I remembered the mistakes I'd made on Fernie & made sure I didn't repeat them, unfortunately I didn't get a medium trot on either of them so that lost me a few marks. I was so pleased when I won on George with 64.29% & 2nd on Fernie with 60.95% I've now qualified for the Para winter championships in March which is ace!!

I've been away over the last couple of days too, having a ride on a horse that I'll hopefully be able to compete, she's a beautiful horse with lovely paces & she gave me a great medium trot, I'm really looking forward to getting on her again.

I'm home now for a couple of weeks without any travelling, I have a lesson on Bernie on Tuesday with Janet & I'm going to have a ride on Buzz at some point to practice medium trot, to really get the feel of it. I have a prelim competition on saturday, I hope it goes ok as I haven't been on Bernie much over the last couple of weeks. My next trip away is two weeks away, where I'l be travelling back down to Vale View for the Para talent spotting, we're going by boat this time so I'm hoping there won't be any gale force winds, bleugh!! I'm of work this week, so it's time to relax & recuperate after a hectic January, it was also 10 years yesterday since my accident so it's also time to celebrate life & how much I've recovered since that awful time.

Winter wonderland.....

2010-01-18T20:25:50Z

I never got to go away on the 7th due to all the snow closing the airport & my competition was cancelled on the 9th because of the snow & ice, I did, however, manage to go sledging on my feed bags though, which was lots of fun.

I got to go away last Wednesday instead, I was worried we'd have to cancel again because Birmingham airport had to shut in the morning, because of the snow covered runway, luckily for us it opened at midday & we got our flight at 6pm. We drove straight to our cosy B&B and settled in for the night, the roads in the village were a bit scary with the ice, but we got there safely, without any drama. I had a lesson in the morning on George, which was great, he's such a nice horse to ride, then in the afternoon I rode Fernie, who is also lovely. It was hard work because I hadn't done much for a couple of weeks as it's been to dangerous on the icy ground & also our paddock has been rock solid, so I haven't been able to do anything, it doesn't take long at all to lose your fitness, so when I'd fiished my lessons we went for a bite to eat & then back to the B&B for a soak in the bath to ease my muscles for my next couple of lessons. An early breakfast on friday, then out for my first lesson, I rode George for both my lessons on the fri, he takes a bit more getting used to as he's so sensitive to me & his surroundings, we finished on a good note though. Julie would've liked me to stay longer so I could get to know George better, but unfortunately I couldn't as I had to get back for work, it would've been great if I could have stayed but if I didn't work I wouldn't be able to do any of it. We caught the plane home on Friday night & I must've looked a right sight walking through the airport like I don't know what, with my aching legs. I'm back at Vale View this week, my plane leaves here at 6pm & I have a lesson booked for that evening, I'm planing to have two lessons on Thursday with Ian Woodhead, one on George & one on Fernie, then two more on Friday with Julie, on both horses, & then the competition is on Saturday. Wish me luck!!!

I had a lesson today with Clive on Bernie, he hasn't done any schooling for what feels like an age, so he was a little green. He's been hacking over the weekend but that's all he's done for a few weeks. The lesson was good, I need to learn to be less tense with him when he beggars off with me, the less I fight the easier he'll come back to me, it's easy when I say it!! My George is great, I hacked him out twice over the weekend & had a good canter, still not managed to get him to take a right lead though. Mum will have to keep him going for me whilst I'm away, the maybe I'll enter him in the next local dressage comp.

Start as we mean to go on.....

2010-01-03T20:18:34Z

Happy new year everyone!!

I've had a lovely Christmas, nearly two weeks off work, lots of food, drink & chocolates, family fun, it's been great. Back to reality tomorrow, up for work, no more lie ins, never mind we all have to get back to normal at some point. I'm off to Vale View this week too, I'm a bit nervous beause of the weather at the moment. The snow has managed to miss the Isle of Man, we've had some frost & Ice, but we haven't had the feed bags out for makeshift sledges yet, maybe we'll get a bit next time there's a flurry!? I've got four lessons booked this time, three with Julie & one with Ian Woodhead, so I'll be working off all that turkey & Christmas pudding. I'll be home on Friday night & taking Bernie to a local comp on Saturday, a good active start to the year.

We had our Christmas day ride, it was cold but the sun was shining. I've had a few canters on George now when we've been out hacking, I forgot how comfy his canter was. He always seems to favour going on his left leg, so I'm going to try & push him into right canter some time to see how he copes. He's never really been great in right canter, he always used to put his head down as if to buck when I cantered him right, so it will be interesting to see if he still does that. If I get his canter back to normal I'll be able to compete him in the prelim, with a bit of calmer, he does get a bit too excited which ruins his test, especially in prelim where you aren't meant to half pass down the centre line. We'll see how he goes, it'd be nice to take him in a few things as he likes to show off & he's ever so handsome if I do say so myself!

one extreme to the other.....

2009-12-20T18:16:50Z

Today was my lesson with Maria, it had been very cold last night & some snow had fallen, only a tiny bit at my house but quite a bit on other parts of the island, so I had to make sure my lesson was on before we made our way to the venue. Luckily it was still on & it was only down the road from the farm, about a 15 minute ride away, so mum hacked Bernie down there for me, I don't like the thought of riding him down myself on my own, just inase he's naughty. We wouldn't have gone if we had to take the trailer as I don't think it would've been safe on the road. Bernie felt well conected from near the start of the lesson, he doesn't usually connect for me until at least 20minutes into work so I was really happy with him. We started with some walk & trot & then did a lap of the school in canter on both reins, without breaking & with a bit less effort on my part to keep him going, phew! We then did some three loop serpentines in trot, & then tried some four loop ones first in walk, then trot, to work on my accuracy & B's balance. I really enjoyed the lesson & was very pleased with the way Bernie went, he was ace. Maria said she noticed a difference in both me & Bernie, she thought B was a lot stronger than last time, so that's great progress in a month.

Last Monday Janet was over, I had a lesson with her after work, it was such a cold miserable night, I was glad to get in the indoor & get working to warm up. We worked on getting a more forward trot, which is beginning to get easier to get, not quite there yet as his first & fore most trot, but we're working on that. We also did some walk to canter transitions, trying to get Bernie's walk more active was hard work, but it was lovely when he did it, then into canter with a buck, I think we woke him up a bit, he did a nice connected canter, when I got on the right leg that is, Janet soon sorted that though by telling me it'd cost me an extra tenner every time he went on the wrong leg.

On the 10th I had a lesson with Clive, it's been all go, go, go lately, the lesson was great but mum & Bev didn't get to watch, we had a bit of drama with the trailer & they had to take it home without B in it ,& borrow another one whilst I was riding, otherwise he would've had to have been hacked home & it takes over an hour from where we were & we were worried it would get dark. So luckily my friend Lizzie lent us her trailer.

I organised a car boot sale yesterday to add some funds to my dressage account, sold a few tables & we had a cake stall, with lovely homemade cakes, lemon drizzle & swiss chocolate cakes, plus shortbread & flapjacks, we didn't get as many customers as we'd of liked because it was an icy day, & I don't think people fancied leaving their homes, but we still sold most of the cakes, so all those that did make it appreciated the delicious cakes & a nice hot cuppa. It was definately worthwhile & we enjoyed doing it, maybe next time we'll just have an afternoon tea or a coffee morning, everybody loves food.

Christmas is less than a week away & I have loads of wrapping to do, I got my tree last week, it's nearly as wide as my living room & we have to sit forward to watch the tv past it, but it smells all Christmasy & I love it, last year I had a sad looking twig of a tree, so I've gone from one extreme to the other, but there's plenty of room for prezzies under it, so Merry Christmas everyone who's celebrating, enjoy yourself, hopefully it'll be good weather so I can go for my Christmas morning ride, it's tradition!!

Party season.........

2009-12-05T18:32:58Z

My lesson with Maria Eilberg last saturday went really well, she had Bernie figured out pretty much straight away, all his cheeky evasions. We did a lot of trotting, getting him to be more forward, plenty of transitions too, my canter exercise was to push him on around the arena without him breaking into trot as he does like to do as little as he thinks he needs too, I enjoyed a nice bit of a speedy canter around the school, made me smile from ear to ear. I finished the lesson feeling really pleased with Bernie, there were far more good bits than bad, and each lesson I'm having lately I finish feeling like the good definately outweighed the bad, so hopefully it won't be long til we just click & we can get that nice forward trot for a full dressage test. I've got a lesson with Clive this Thursday, having a busy month as there's a few clinics coming up for me to go to, no competitions though until the new year.

We went to one of our local clubs prize givings last night, it was for the Dressage & showjumping, my sister Lauren got a first for one of the showjumping classes which she wasn't expecting so that was a nice surprise, I didn't get anything, not this yr anyway, maybe next year will be mine & Bernie's year, we have to be improving with all these lessons!! It was karaoke as well so Lauren & I were called up to do a bit of a sing song, Nancy Sinatra, These boots, a bit cringeworthy, I wouldn't usually get up without having a drink or two, so stone cold sober it was a bit scary, I'll bring my hip flask full of port next time for dutch courage!

Not long now til Christmas, all the parties are starting, my works do is next saturday, so I doubt I'll be on my horse on the Sunday, I'm not very good with a hangover, tend to get a bit wobbly on the old spider legs, no good to anyone, I could always stay sober I suppose........nah, where's the fun in that, then who'd they talk about in the office on monday?