It’s here, 2024, with a rising four-year-old on my hands, ready to be ridden away! I have patiently waited three and a half years for this!
I lightly backed Django last year (best moment ever), but sadly only at the end of the year due to him not being physically ready. So I only got as far as sitting on him, doing lots of walking and a couple of light jogs before turning him away for winter and allowing him time to develop.
Frustratingly, with what feels like rain since before the dawn of time, I have been unable to finish my arena. With my total lack of knowledge of breaking a horse Western, no facilities and very little help around, as I keep the horses at home, it made sense for me to start looking for schooling livery.
Django is now booked in for four to six weeks, where I will be visiting every weekend, so I can be a major part of his schooling, learn the very basics with him, bring him home and continue his education. I will also keep having lessons on schoolmasters in the meantime to keep learning as much as I can about this discipline. I will spend the next two weeks getting Django long reining in his tack, and lightly sat on, so he is ready to go.
I have to admit, despite knowing he is going to a very experienced yard, and I will be visiting every week, this will be the longest I have been away from him and it definitely feels a little odd. But I also know that it is OK to ask for help sometimes, to give myself and Django the best possible ridden start together.
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.