Since my last post, the weather has definitely turned to winter. The summer paddock is closed, the boys are in overnight, and the winter coats are well and truly out for all of us!
I have been making the most of the last few weeks, watching the nights drawing in and refusing to give up on Summer, with some lovely hacks with friends! I have also managed to rope in a good friend who wanted to get back into riding, to ride Ben weekly for me, this will be great at helping me keep both boys fit, and as I got Ben as my 'jumper' I am very naughty at skipping the groundwork, so knowing he is getting a good session every week is very much appreciated!
Travis has had an introduction to double reins (not quite double bridle just yet) and managed to not throw any toys out of the pram, so I am really excited to start training in a double bridle, and have some more lift for that heavy front end, but I am seriously less excited about Elementary! We have done another couple of Novice tests with BD and consistently scoring in the mind 60's, even with some very junior mistakes from us both, so now the aim for the rest of the year is just to go to as many as possible and gain the competition experience in Novice, while working on the harder stuff at home!
I took Ben to his first jumping competition a few weeks ago, having only ever jumped course twice with him before, and he got a 4th in both the 70cm and 80cm classes. The 70cm he cruised around, and I don't even think we noticed the jumps, for an easy clear,. He actually jumped the 80cm much better allowing the jumps more respect and making a better shape, unfortunately I allowed him a fast approach to an upright with a long run up and he defaulted back to racehorse hurdle jumping, so one unlucky pole. I am really looking forward to see what we have learnt since the last one this weekend.
As I type this I am also sat waiting for my BD results from Novice 37a today - which was a tough test, so hopefully lots to tell you next time!
Before bringing a horse or pony into your life, it’s very important that you understand what the costs will be and have a plan for how you will meet them. Let’s look at what you can do to prevent your equine galloping all over your bank account.
From Cheltenham to the Grand National, from Red Rum to Desert Orchid, a day at the races couldn’t be closer to the nation’s heart. And there are few roles more key to that experience than the professional jockey.
Well winter is on its way, the evenings are slowly drawing in and the mud has begun to appear, making my lovely green grassy paddocks resemble a mud covered swamp - like something out of Shrek 😫 (although I am loving the trees changing to the autumnal colours).
I’m pleased to say Autumn and I made it through our dressage test with the new riding club. We did have a few set backs along the way though – Autumn came up slightly lame on the Tuesday evening when we were practising so was given a few days’ rest.