Still Sunny

Can you even believe this weather? It has been so lovely for quite a while now. Even had rain forecast for yesterday & today and it was still fab. A few farms around needing some rain by now for the grass to grow (how amazing to be saying that at this time of year). Swifty came out to the arena yesterday where I was doing a bit of schooling on a few and snapped some pics.

Gem was really soft to ride yesterday. I tried a different bit on her on Wednesday and she didn't like it at all, pulled quite a bit - so she must have been really happy to go back into her usual one!

We popped over a few tiny x-rails at the end of our ride, just because I haven't jumped her for a while. She is so much more confident with her fences now - and as a rider you just sit & steer, which is nice.

I was trying to get Neo working on moving forward today. Almost all just at a trot, and switching between a slow trot and a more forward trot. He was actually pretty tired at the end of it! I normally just let him do whatever he wants on the flat, so he wasn't sure what to make of this 'working' stuff.

Nothing special that I wanted to do with Orin today - just a ride for fitness, so I could have worked him at home... however the last 4 times he's been to the arena I've jumped him. So I thought it would be nice for him to go to the arena and not jump anything so he doesn't start to think of it as "the jumping place".

Coco & Xev have just been doing hill & paddock work at the moment. New shoes for Xev today though - so then I can get her out and about a bit more.

Season almost underway!

The season is almost upon us! I can't believe how many schedules are out already. Even though I have been riding all through winter, I feel a bit under-prepared for the season. I have been enjoying this run of great weather though.

I see all of my friends doing their start of the season rituals, like the 'spring clean' of horsetrucks, clipping and sending off registration forms. I have managed to break my truck (temporarily borrowing Mum's) - but I have got most of the horses clipped and myself registered. Need to sort out which horses to register this season. And measuring! There is a measuring day this weekend, which clashes with an XC schooling day that I'm going to. So will have to look for another measuring day as I want to get all of mine done (I swear Neo has grown, and need to check that Coco is a pony!).

No real news here though - so I'll just leave you with some pics of the gang today having snacktime:

Foxton Lancers

After much drama with trucks I was rescued by the lovely Tamara with the loan of her wee truck for the weekend. I thought I'd just take one horse for the flat classes today, because I already had enough damn stress this week! I almost didn't go, but I'm so glad I did. And thanks again to Tamara for making it happen.

This was the second of the three-show Lancer's series. Orin & I did the showhacks, which only had about 6 entries, but some real quality horses in there. There were a million pleasure hacks though, and more than one what I'm sure I've seen in open flat classes before too...

Having only one horse meant I had heaps of time. I even could have gone in the turnout.. but no, I wasn't that desperate to be busy! Orin went really lovely. Had a little 'moment' in a couple of his canter transitions till I realised his numnah was folded a bit funny under his shoulder.. so quickly hopped off and fixed that and he was an absolute doll for the rest of the day. He got a ribbon in absolutely every class! And even let me slide off his bum for 'best combination'.

And we had sunshine! The weather has been so fantastic lately. Next outing for us is more cross-country next weekend, and some showjumping up at Tielcey at the end of the month... then it looks like the show season kicks off proper. Must be time to send in ESNZ regos and do height certs.

Preparing for Shows

A blogger friend recently wrote about how she prepares for shows, and I found it really interesting to see how other people go about tasks like that. So I thought I'd write up how I tend to prepare for shows, and I'd be interested to hear how some of you do things differently and any tips you have as well.

I am a bit of a lists girl, and if you don't already have a good starting point I would suggest taking a look at the WEC Noticeboard's 'what to take to horse shows' list. It is a really good place to start, and of course you customise it for your own needs over time. I group my lists by discipline (what I'm taking to do flat classes at an A&P is quite different to what I'm taking for an eventing outing), and then make any little notes for special needs that particular horses might have - for example most of my horses don't showjump in bellboots, but Neo does - so I've made a little note under my SJ list to help ensure I don't forget.

Once you have your lists set for the season it makes things a lot easier. 2 days before a show I will flick through and check that everything I need is in the truck (and anything that isn't, I make a note to grab it and put it in the truck), I also use this as a chance to clean gear if it's needed, and run my eye over stitching and other safety checks.

Sometime in the week leading up to a show I will do some form of schedule for the day. It depends a lot on exactly what I'm doing and how much information I have as to what I write up - but here are some examples. This first one is a local single-day dressage outing. I had a late start, and knew where I was going so didn't put any travel info on. But I had quite a few horses in different classes, and sometimes with close times.. so I broke my day down by hours and noted where I was supposed to be (and on which horse!):

By contrast, this next one is for a 3-day A&P show that I was staying away for. I did not put times on, as I expected to get that info from the catalogue - but I put class numbers down so that I could quickly locate my starts in the catalogue. Due to riding in a number of different types of classes I also noted that so I could be sure to have the horses tacked correctly for their different starts.

The last example here is for a 1-day show with a reasonably early start. When I have quite an early start I like to put in some travel time information so that I can check off as the morning is progressing (make sure I'm loaded by the time I thought I would be!). This also helps me plan just how much time I will need to get ready before my first class, as it's far quicker to get ready for a showjumping round than it is for dressage - so I ensure I plot my times accordingly.

The night before a show I gather all of the 'non-truck' items and pop them in the truck, or put them in a pile in the lounge (usually things like the cameras that are still charging). I also put out what I am going to wear in the morning, because even though I'm a morning person I still like to make things as easy as possible when I'm getting up before 5am. My aim is always that the only things I am putting in the truck on the day of a show are me (& handbag) and the horses. Everything else should be ready to go. I have travelling boots & wraps in piles and tie each horse up next to their correct pile of boots.

I do keep spares in the truck of riding clothes and casual clothes - to be prepared for torrential downpours, unexpected falls and the resulting grass stains, or even having to stay over due to road closures (the joy of doing many of my shows on the other side of the Rimutaka road). I also have a small stash of feed & hay in case the horses need extra. Oh, and spare halters & ropes (you'd think it was for if one got broken, but it's way more likely that I use them when I come home with extra horses! I'm naughty like that).

Everything in the truck has it's own place, and at the end of the day I try to put things back in their correct place (or if they are wet or need washing, like XC boots and saddle blankets) I throw them in the shower so they don't make anything else damp.

I guess everyone has their own little systems and tricks for making show day less stressful, and I certainly find that doing up lists and timetables makes a huge difference for me.

Tielcey Park CT July

Sunday was the fourth of the Tielcey Park combined training days (only one more to go). My truck is having some work done, so I was lucky to be able to borrow Mum's truck and load it up with 4 of my lot - and Tab also had Kraka there for me to ride again.

I saddled up Coco first and took her for a walk around. In general she was pretty good - napped a few times when we were near the truck, but aside from that she had quite a lot of other horses and people walking around near her and handled it very well. I even took her into the outdoor arena (wasn't quite ready to have a go at the indoor!) and popped her around a full practise round at 60cms. She did a lovely round, even including the double and some oxers which she has not done before. Later in the day Mum pulled manes for me - so the pic below is Coco with her new supershort mane.

Orin was great about the indoor - had a bit of a look at the mirrors but very quickly got focused on task. He did an awesome double-clear in his first class (taking home 2nd place out of a big class), and then a bit of an unlucky rail in the next one. But I am stoked with that! He was a little bouncy by the 2nd class - but a few more outings will have him settled I am sure, as he seems to learn very quickly.

Coco & Orin:

We didn't get a chance to do a practise on Kraka, and he was doing slightly bigger classes this time - including jumping the wall (which the baby classes don't). He had a little wobble in front of it, but jumped it fine. Our 80cm class was a great double clear from Kraka, but just a touch too slow which kept him out of the ribbons. I am really pleased with how much better he is jumping, he's starting to use himself.

Neo didn't have to wait till the very end of the day, as I had decided to enter him in smaller classes this time so I could get home before dark (still didn't happen though! but at least I tried!). He went in the 90 & the 1m classes - winning one and placing in the other. He was a bit of a tank though, even pulling! Feeling very fresh and happy to be out and about.

Kraka & Neo:

I'd put Gem in 3 classes, and told Mum to bring her boots so she could take Gem in the first one (70cm) they did a very tidy double-clear. Gem is going so nicely at the moment, really relaxed and absolutely loves to be out there jumping. Gem & I got placed in the 80cm, but she was tired by the time the 90 came around, so I will up her energy feed before her next jumping outing.

Mum with Gem & Me with Gem:

All up a great day, and such fantastic weather! The next CT is on 30th August, which is also the same day as Waikanae CT and Foxton showing... so I will have to have a think about what will be most suitable for the team to head to.

Kody Update

I got sent some lovely photos by Kody's new owner this week. On Sunday he went along to her local Adult Riding club rally day - and behaved really well in a new environment with new people. They are such a great match - she even makes him look big! Here are a few of the piccies- a nice walk, and a very tired Kodes-pony at the end of the day:

It also sounds like Kody will be coming to the next cross-country day at QEP! Yay!

QEP XC Practise: Coco

Coco absolutely surpassed all of my expectations today. I was thinking that I'd tack her up, walk her around the parking paddock and let her see the other horses cantering - then that'd be it for her. But she wasn't as worried as I expected her to be. So I took her around some of the course - the picture of the little ramp below is the only actual 'jump' we did.

We started off at the end of the course with the waterjump. I spent quite a bit of time just walking her around and letting her see the other horses and hearing some splash through. She was actually very good about it all. When it came her time to walk in she hesitated a bit, and then slowly crept in. Each time she jumped out she did it from further back than I expected - so the poor girl got it in the teeth a few times :( poor Coco! I'm sorry!

After heading through the small option a few times I was feeling a bit brave, and curious. I walked her up to the drop option and she just plopped down. I couldn't believe it. I came back around at a canter and she just bounced off! I'm so stoked with that.

Feeling pumped from the waterjump we headed to the ditch. Coco had no idea how to tackle such a thing. She was perfectly happy to go through it - and I mean literally through it. The first pic below is actually a canter stide! She bounced the damn ditch! After a few botched attempts she worked it out and jumped over happily.

We also did the bank (I really wanted to cover off all the unusual fences - the water, ditch & bank - as you can't really replicate them at home). She had no worries with that and seemed to think it was quite easy after that tricky ditch!

So all up a very good day for the team. A big thanks to Pie for being photographer (I love our new camera!), and Swifty for being videographer, and Mum for promising to pull manes for me next weekend!

QEP XC Practise: Gem

Gemmy was feeling super good today - very full of herself! But she is loving the jumping. I could tell just cantering her around that she was excited about doing something fun. She jumped the warmup fence a bit awkward a few times, but came right nice and quickly.

She absolutely doesn't spook at anything. It's very cool. She wasn't sure about the little ramp with the drop after it (and neither was I, as you can tell from my face!) and she scooted off down the hill after it not really sure what was going on. Very cute.

She popped over the ramp and then we went over to the ditch. She went over it great the very first time. I was really impressed with how she seems to be holding a much better form when jumping.

She was loving it so much. I took her through the combination and she thought it was heaps of fun just bouncing on through there. Even got her knees up quite nice.

The bank was an absolute non-event, she's like a seasoned eventer now, apparently!

And the water! After she got eliminated in the intro at Clareville I wasn't sure how the waterjump was going to go today. Obviously she is feeling much more confident as she went straight in and even jumped off the bigger option very happily. Just rolled on through and cantered up the other side without faltering at all. So cool.

The Mum had a walk around on her and I don't think Gem was even slightly tired! Maybe she really really does want to be an eventing horse?

QEP XC Practise: Orin

I've jumped Orin before, but today was my first time doing any sort of solid obstacles on him. He warmed up quite well around all the other horses - though was quite interested in everything and wanted to look at absolutely everything we went near. That included flags on the fences which he had a good sniff at and I almost thought he was going to eat.

I'm not sure if Orin has seen crosscountry before (I forgot to ask his owner). It took a few fences for him to get into the swing of it.. but after a couple of warmup jumps he was right into it. Even things like the ramp with the drop landing which has a really ugly approach.

We rounded up some cows to get them out of the way, then went over the ramp a few times and he was cool with that as well (too easy!).

So we moved on to the ditch. He popped straight over it the first time. I was stoked with that! He was even happy to jump the combination which I wasn't expecting him to be ready for just yet. He also did the little pre-training corner nicely.

The bank was no problems at all - just like an old hand.

The water was super. He trotted staight in the first time and never looked back. Even did the larger drop in (and from a canter stride too). He seemed to like splashing in the water as well.

I was so pleased with Orin! He seemed to enjoy it as well (though he was a bit tired at the end, even though we didn't do all that many jumps - I'm not sure how "jumping fit" he is!!). I am really looking foward to competing him at Tielcey Park in a week as well.