The big day had finally come, and after a lovely restful night’s sleep (not!) we went to the yard to load up and head off.
A quick flick over to remove the dust and shavings from the ponies and then tail bandages were applied before we loaded them up. Both Jackson (Melland Jackson Jive) and Diva (Melland Queen of Scots) loaded well and were tucking into their well-stuffed haynets before the ramp was up. We clicked Flora into her car harness and off we went!
With all the safety checks done on Bee (our horsebox) the night before, we could just set the satnav and drive away. There are several routes to Ingliston, all of which take more or less the same amount of time, so we opted to go on the A1 initially and go up the east side of the country.
Flora took no time at all to get back to sleep in her bed on the front seat, and before we knew it, we were halfway there! We stopped for a bathroom break, a leg stretch and a pony check. They were happy and had a sip of water when we offered it.
We didn’t realise the road took us through the Tyne Tunnel, so that was a new experience. Once we’d made it north of Newcastle, the countryside was beautiful and for quite some time we were driving close to the coast. Traffic was light, so I could sightsee a little as I drove and seeing Bamburgh Castle in the distance evoked memories of a trip there years ago, it is a simply stunning place.
The directions from the show details said to follow the signs for Edinburgh Airport and then the show signs from there. On arrival, we were given hi-vis waistcoats to wear when within the showground itself as it was still being set up. We found the ponies’ stables and got them settled in before taking the lorry out of the unloading area to park up for our stay.
Little did we know that the parking is literally alongside the runway! It was a tad disconcerting to spot a plane taking off out of the corner of my eye as I was driving the horsebox to the livestock parking. Once we had our spot for the week, we went about converting Bee from horsebox to camper van.
Before heading off to bed, we took Flora for a walk to check the ponies were okay after their long trip. I don’t think Flora appreciated that she had to share a camp bed rather than the usual double bed, but once she established that she could make me hang off the side to accommodate her sprawling out (for a little dog she can certainly take up lots of room) she was soon fast asleep.
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.