I have always wanted to attend a blessing of the animals or pet blessing as they are often called, so when a village local to the yard announced one, I was keen to take Diva and Flora. One problem was that it would involve a 40-minute walk along lanes and I would not be able to lead both the Shetland pony and the dog.
Luckily Charlotte planned to lead her mini Shetland, Tilly, down and her children volunteered to lead Flora for me. So our little posse set out for the service: a standard Shetland, a miniature Shetland and Flora the dog.
Luckily the weather wasn’t too hot and the threatened rain did not materialise. The ponies were delighted to find the service was being held on the field near the village hall and set to having a good munch on the grass.
The organisers were thrilled to see the ponies, as otherwise the pets present were all dogs of various shapes and sizes. A couple were as tall as Tilly!
Bishop Jonathan Meyrick led the service, which included hymns and some readings. I am not a religious person, but I liked the thought of blessing the animals whom we love so much and who are such a part of our lives.
Through most of the ceremony, Flora was playing with the children in the park behind us, and at one stage Tilly got down and had a roll! But we beckoned for Flora’s return when the individual blessings were starting.
Flora is the friendliest little dog and enjoyed the fuss the bishop made of her when he approached. He also asked if being splashed with water would upset her, which was a nice thing to check. She wasn’t worried by it and soon the bishop turned his attention to Diva. Thankfully, Diva stood like a rock and didn’t try to eat the sprigs of rosemary that were used to flick the water on her. I have to confess to welling up a little as he recited the blessings for my animals.
Afterwards the humans enjoyed tea and cakes, the ponies more grass and Flora convinced the children to share some cheesy Wotsits!
We walked back to the yard together and I think ponies, people and pooch were a little tired by the time we got home.
If you get the chance to attend a pet blessing, I would recommend it as the sentiment for thanking our pets is a lovely one.
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.