Western Hills Spring Show

Yesterday we headed off to Belmont for the Western Hills show (yay, only a 30 minute drive from my house) but got there and saw some vehicles still parked outside - apparently the locks had been changed? Nobody could get in... we ended up being parked outside (horses still loaded) for 30 minutes and eventually the fire service came out with bolt cutters and opened up the gates for us.. what a drama.

It was my first outing on Violet, and I'd decided to do some flat classes. Please excuse my showjumping helmet while Vi is all 'showhacked up' - my Mum has my show helmet! Thinking she might need some black makeup on her furry little tan muzzle too next time:

Violet and I warmed up, but she was a bit tense. Our first class was rider with perhaps 20 horses, and weaving in between 2 showjumping courses! I think it wasn't the best 'low key' outing - just not the space to think really. So I skipped the next class and just did some more warmup and came back for the Open hack. Vi did a lovely workout including a very nice extension. Piccy of Vi walking, with Sarah & Ned in the background! And Vi's canter in her workout:

The judge placed Violet 3rd in the Open hack, and as Vi got her ribbon she just had to look over and make sure that Neo could see her and be proud of her:

After a break it was time to get underway in the jumping... dressage saddle off and jumping gear on! She warmed up beautifully and even did some very impressive flatwork which people commented on. Swifty took video of our first jumping class, and I'll try and put that on the computer later. It was a 2-phase event in Ring1 and Vi was a real sweetheart. Our jumpoff wasn't super speedy as the ground was very greasy and we didn't have studs in - but we did some angles and she was very honest. Vi came 3rd, out of 20 or 30 starters - I was really stoked:

I also did the circuit class on Violet. We had a rail which was more rider error in striding than anythng else. She seemed happy to pop over everything, didn't look twice at any fill or skinny fences. Had her ears pricked the whole time:

She is a little 'jumping unfit' though, and by the time we left the ring at the end of the circuit round she was feeling a little tired, so I decided to scratch from the last class of the day and go home on a good note before anyone got too tired. Check out the black & white trebble bar - we had a slight arguement over which stride to jump from and I got very left behind!! Vi still hopped over like it was no big deal (I like horses that will put up with a few rider errors and look after us!):

Neo was only showjumping. He also did the Ring1 2-phase class which I will try and get the video of put onto the computer. We also did a small class in Ring2 just to keep his confidence up and have an 'easy' round. He did a nice clear first round and in the jumpoff did some wicked angles and tried to climb over one fence from a halt for me (yeah, we took that rail! But still picked up a pretty lilac ribbon for 5th place). Overall I was really pleased with him. He & Violet both need some mid-week gridwork sessions, but Neo has just become such a brave and obliging horse... so much more confident than last season:

I entered Neo in the circuit too - and he went around very nicely for me. Just cemented for me that I need to practise more 'between the fences' work, and keep his balance. We had a few ugly jumps due to missing lead changes and coming off corners just not quite right (never a good thing on a greasy surface). But mostly he was his usual supercute self:

Judging from the side-on shot here I can tell that I need more jumping fitness/muscle too, in order to get that lower leg secure again:

So that was my day - ribbons for both horses, and it really feels like the season is underway now. Sending cheques off all over the place for entries, and now having some real 'homework' to achieve specific goals on both horses.

Next weekend the plan is a mini show in Palmerston North (if I can find someone to come up with me and share diesel costs), and a one day event in Waikanae. Fingers crossed the weather stays this fantastic.

Bloody horses!

I think they read the calendar, you know? And look at what is coming up. Violet sprung a shoe (yes, now... Thursday - with a show on Saturday morning) - so I'll have to head home early, pop her in the truck, and meet her half an hour away where my farrier will be this afternoon.

And Kody tried to whack his leg off last night and came in with a hind leg covered in blood (just after I'd organised his chiro appointment for next week). Luckily he's okay under all that blood which took ages to clean off. And I've put him and Alfie in the fresh grass paddock together so they can chill out.

Jumping Violet

I was hoping for good weather today so that I could head down to the arena and do some jumping on Violet. As it turns out I woke up to pouring rain and puddles everywhere, but figured I'd better get off my bum (I guess they're called "all weather" arenas because a little rain isn't meant to be the end of the world!). I was rewarded for my enthusiasm though, as the rain stopped as soon as I got on, and didn't start again till I was driving home - yay!

I took Violet and Neo over to Gray's Rd. They've become fairly attached, and I wanted to see how they would cope travelling together and then not getting to hang out together. I was a bit concerned to begin with as they were calling out to each other non-stop and Vi wasn't listening to me at all. But after about 5 minutes they both settled and we were able to begin a proper warmup:

It was also my first ride on Vi wearing spurs, and I found it made a few things easier (like transitions), but other things harder (like controlling bend, as I think my aids were a bit too strong and I wouldn't always get exactly what I thought I was asking for). But Vi was very patient while we tried out different thing and was certainly attentive at all times.

She's got a lovely easy canter - I can see how she would be a good ride over crosscountry. And she's doesn't pull either, which is nice (as she's only wearing a mullen happymouth and is a big horse!).

After about 15 minutes of warmup I trotted her into a crossbar and she seemed a bit confused! Sort of got right up to it and then realised we meant to go over it (see the pic below!), so then we came back in at a canter and she was on the ball with what was expected. I didn't want to do very much jumping as she's out of practise and I don't want her having sore muscles and deciding that jumping is no fun. So I just popped her through a simple grid two times and left it at that. She has a fab jump in her, absolutely springs over the fences! The red & white in the pic below is the middle element of the grid and is 1.10m and she barely even noticed it. She really seemed to enjoy it too:

So that was it for us for the day. Pics of me with big horse Vi, and her boyfriend Neo:

Now it's time for me to sit down and go through the local schedules and find some jumping shows for Vi! Hopefully we'll get a bit more dry weather too.

Zak gets gelded

Mum picked up Zak about a week agok, bringing him 'home' to her place in Pahiatua. And last week his balls had finally dropped enough to make a call to the vet and give him the chop (Zak that is, not the vet). Suspect that Zakky may have been a bit uncomfy, as one of the balls was still sort of up/stuck - and Mum went to trim his feet and he broke away, jumped 2 fences, and then got kicked in the head by the pony over the other side (good one, Zak). I'm told that after the op he was great to have his feet trimmed though, and seemed much happier.

One ball had dropped and was 'regular' size (about a tennis ball, perhaps) and the other one that was still up was much smaller - pictured beside Mum's flip-phone so you can sort of see the size. Oh, and a cute piccy of Zak with a hoofmark on his head (fool):

Now we've got about another month of babying Zak while all the chemicals and whatnot settle, but then he'll be able to be paddocked with anyone! It will make things a lot easier.

Daylight savings

Daylight savings has made riding after work so much easier! Tonight I was able to get 3 horses worked over 2 rides on the hills and still have heaps of time to potter around down at the sheds. I decided to pony Alfie off Neo, as Alfie had a sore leg last week and is only just coming back into work, so I wanted something nice and easy for him. He seemed to really enjoy it once we got up on the big hills and into a steady trot. My cute boys:

Then I took Violet up on the hills as her fetlock is all better after the knock. It was her second time on the hills and she wasn't spending her time looking at everything else this time, so we were able to get in a better ride. She's not hill fit though! We did a very short trot and then she was puffed and sweaty, poor darling. Miss Vi:

Kody and Pip stayed down at the yards and didn't do anything except eat dinner tonight. Lucky animals!

Shed

Building has started on the shed:

QEP XC Training

Was planning to take Violet out today for an outing and a few cross country fences, but she banged her leg on Saturday morning, and it's a tiny bit puffy. Thought it wasn't worth trying to jump while it's like that (especially as she is out of practise). Such a shame though, I was really looking forward to doing some XC on her. She's been a total doll at home, just cruising around. But Neo was still keen to get out and do some jumps, and I thought it could be a nice stress-free outing for Kody to come along and just walk/trot and not do any jumps.

Helen (Neo's old owner) was down for the weekend - so me, her, Nick & Swifty all piled into the truck with Neo and Kody in the back and headed to QEP. Got there far too early, so headed on up to Woolworths Paraparamu to pick up some beer & wine to enjoy in the sun (it was so sunny! absolutely a summer Sunday), then headed back to QEP and started getting the hores ready:

Also met up with Alicia (riding Amy) and one of her friends, and Kaycee from the horsetalk board came along too! There were a bunch of additional supporters on foot as well. We looked like quite the tribe heading around.

Neo & Helen modeling Helen's pink bridle (note: not Neo's bridle! I have not yet been able to convince anyone that it's a good idea for me to buy him a pink bridle), and Me on Kody, with Helen & Neo in tow warming up:

Kody was a real star, just cruising around with Helen. Absolutely unphased by anything. I was really proud of him. After a while I thought it would be good for him to walk up a little bank, but he did a big leap over it and then seemed quite uncomfy afterwards. We took his saddle off and he seemed to immediately settle, so he needs more work on his back. I am thinking I will send him up to Masterton for a rest at Mum's place and get a few recurring chiro or massage sessions for him until he's feeling 100% again.

Neo warming up (he's so pretty), and popping over the ugly training plywood table thing:

And doing a few types of fences that are quite new to him.. the Novice drop off the bank (he did the full combination with the bounce and jump before as well) and the Novice ditch. He's done baby versions of these sorts of fences, but nothing like this before and he was just so calm about everything. I am over the moon with him:

We also did the water, which was very deep! Out of the water and up over the ramp:

Such a fantastic day, and very pleased with both horses. It feels like summer has started and I'm feeling so motivated and enjoying it so much at the moment. Can't wait to have a really cruisy and fun season on Neo, just cementing the things he learnt last season. Plus all the other amazing horses I have at Odenhills this season - it's going to be a great one!

New Horse! Violet

Yes, another new horse! Violet (Wynyard Irish Kiss) joined the lineup on Sunday afternoon after a fantastic last outing with her previous Mummy. Rackil & Violet did their first Elementary start and picked up 3rd place, putting registered ESNZ points on Violet's scorecard. What a great start to the season! And great for me too, as I am looking forward to increasing my dressage mileage, and Violet will be a great schoolmistress for that.

Vi has been mainly doing dressage and showing lately, but we'll be looking to get her jumping fit again and get her back on the horse trials circuit and get some showjumping starts into her. She has done Novice HT before - so it certainly shouldn't take much reminding once she sees those XC fences.

Piccies of Vi last week at home (I'll try and get some this week of her down here):

I had my first ride on Vi tonight and she was fab! Rather full of herself (and in love with Neo already!) but within 2 minutes she was completely focused and supple. She has the most fantastic movement - not huge warmblood paces that are overpowering, but just really fluid and rythmic - I'm absolutely impressed! After doing some basic walk/trot/canter to get the feel of her I took her over the bridge, through the creek and just generally around some spooky things and she didn't bat an eyelid! She was more than happy to splash around in the creek.

I have plans for Vi to go to QEP for the XC training this coming Sunday. She probably won't be up to heaps of jumping, but it should be a really good refresher for her and a great way for me to get to know her better. So far she seems like an absolute push-button schoolmistress.

New Horse! Sam

While Mum has been over in Masterton she has been horse collecting! Well, not really - but she came upon an opportunity to take the ride on a nice schoolmaster showhunter type gelding, Sam. Gem on the left (all clipped! yay!) and Sam on the right:

Sam is quite a big boy, around 16.2hh and hasn't done a whole lot in the past year or so. Previously he's had quite a lot of success in the showhunter ring, and ribbons in showjumping up to 1.10m or so. Mum has been bringing him back into work and tells me that he is an absolute gentleman and lots of fun. Not sure yet when Sam will make his first public appearance, but we are certainly eyeing up a few classes for him at Wairarapa A&P show at Carterton.

Gem is in full work now, and hopefully will have some outings through October to keep her occupied. She's full of beans though! So instead of sticking to saddle hunters, it looks like Gem will come over to Wellington to get some jumping experience under her belt.

Waikanae Spring Show

Sunday was Waikanae Spring Show. I'd intended to take Alfie for a ride around to get accustomed to the atmosphere, but he banged his knee overnight and had a treestump for a leg in the morning, so that was a no-go. Kody is on a short break. So that just left Neo to compete!

So it was a very laid back morning (still took Alfie & Kody along for the drive), and a leisurely start to the day. Neo did a super clear round in the showhunter ring, a couple of missed lead changes and rather a lot of energy! But still so much improved from last season.

What I was really really pleased with, though, was Neo's showjumping Ring1 start. He warmed up really well, not even tanky or fizzy. Unfortunately I stuffed him up into the 2nd fence by taking a (really!) bad line into it and trapping him under it. He worked some magic and climbed over it, but we had a rail. Last season he would have stressed a bit, or been slightly distracted by that. But not now, he just came back to a good collected canter and focused on the next fence. The rest of the round was clear and I am totally bummed to have stuffed him up into that second fence. No jumpoff for us!

Think he may have tweaked a muscle getting me out of trouble at that second fence, so our next showhunter was really off. So packed up for the day so he could get his cuddles and his dinner.

Also exciting things!
I met Rackil who dropped off Violet who will be staying with us (more details soon)
AND
Kody is now loading perfectly without a bumrope or any additional encouragement! What a good boy!