August 28, 2007

Lambs!!

Looks like we now have lambs...


Found them, and no mummy, while I was riding Spice today. And speaking of riding - Pie had his first ride today, on Silvi - both of them did very well :)

The yards... again

Well the huge hole in the ground is starting to get filled! Still have no idea when I'll be able to use the yards - but it's got to be a start.

Naked day

It was naked day for the horses over the weekend and I got some pictures of them wandering around in the sunshine...
Dan (being a snob) and everyone else:

And all of the ponies together:

August 13, 2007

QEP XC training

The sun was out and shining by the time we got to QEP (yay) - So Silvi stood happily at the truck with her hay, while I took Spice out to see about this jumping thing. Mum and Swifty followed with the camera which was handy.
I really didn't know what to expect - as I hadn't jumped Spice. So I was a bit nervous warming up and cantering into the first fence - but she just hopped (okay, so we both look a bit ugly - but first fence! so I think that's okay) over it and seemed quite keen to go do more.
And then we headed up to the water jump which Spice just thought was the greatest thing ever - she didn't even hesitate at all.
So by this stage we figured she was probably going to be happy jumping pretty much anything - so I only did a few more jumps (not really fit enough to ask for too much more... I just wanted to do enough to work out her style and stride a bit so I wouldn't get left behind too much or anything like that). We did the ditch combo:
And just one other kennel-type fence and then packed up and headed home... then Mum took the truck back to Palmerston North for it's extreme makeover! Photos in a few weeks I guess!!

Lancers show 2

So after an eventful night (a power pole down the road caught fire and we had no power until about 2.30am) I dragged myself out of bed at 4.30 - and Mum & Swifty got themselves sorted too - so that we could head out to Foxton for the Lancers show, and then to QEP for some XC later. The weather yesterday was awful, so I'd been slack and hadn't plaited (luckily Mum did when we got to the show as we were there nice and early).

We popped Spice in the Novice showhack class, poor girl had to wear a jumping saddle as Silvi was already tacked up and ready to go in the very next class. We had quite a bit of time to warm up, which was nice (as I sure needed it - I was freezing! silly cold weather).
Spicey was good though - just happily went round in circles for a bit, got a ribbon (she came 2nd, which I was quite pleased with). She has been very consistent in the flat classes that I've taken her in.
And then went back to the truck to sleep.
And Silvi was a real dude, only got ridden yesterday for 5 minutes after months off - and then took all of 2 minutes to settle in the ring, and as she warmed up she just went nicer and nicer.
I only did 3 classes on Silvi - and I could tell by the 3rd one that she was getting a bit tired. I was really pleased with how she was going, and she was improving each class... but I think if we'd done a 4th class she might have started to get grumpy and needed a bit too much kick-kick to get going!
Very pleased with how both horses went - and the little angels even came home with a bunch of ribbons which is neat.
So then we loaded up and headed on down to QEP in Paekakariki.

update on the farm

Well - lots to update today, so I'm splitting it into a few different posts. There has been work done on the cattle yards, should I say - what used to be my cattle yards. It's now a gaping hole - but it's all in the interests of having healthy soil... can't wait for it to all be done and put back together so we can finally have our housewarming.
I've also been chasing kitten.. poor Minda kitten.
And Zakky has a new cover (after he ripped his old one to shreds). I hope he likes his new rug! Mum went down and took some photos of the horses having their evening snack and generally looking cute (Dan & Silvi are so cute together).

August 05, 2007

first ride on the new boy

I had my first ride on Dan today - he was really quite good. Well behaved to tack up, and unphased while I scrambled on from a nearby fence. He's very unsure of me and what is going on once I'm on board though - just seems confused by the aids at this stage. He was happy to walk down the driveway past spooky things:
And even went straight through the creek which some horses don't seem keen on (especially when it's running fairly fast):
We mostly went for a laid back walk and trot, and a very tiny canter. Lots more work to do before I get to use the jumpstands that Nick has finished making for me though (gives me time to get off my bum and paint them I guess!):
Spice was feeling camera shy today (I think she doesn't want people to see her new haircut! Pulled her mane yesterday). But Silvi and Zakky where happy to prance around for pictures.
Didn't head out to any shows this weekend... but that gave me some time to tear down some tables and structures that had been built in the old tractor shed. The next step there is to put up some hitching areas so I can use it as a nice dry place to tack up during winter. My yards have been temporarily ripped down for some soil testing, so it's all happening over here.