A crappy finger and complete lack of energy.

Isn't it fun being sick at Christmas? I know I love it. Especially since Christmas is meant to be fun.
Anways, on the riding front, I haven't ridden for ages. Almost 2 WHOLE WEEKS... It's crap. And since Crocodile chomped on my finger, I don't know whether I'd be able to ride some of the horses I usually do.
Good news then. Tess is back... can't remember if I said this last time or not, but she and Kands have come back, and Smartie and Nev have gone. Kandee is as happy to be back than ever. Tess seems to be... strangely affectionate. It's weird.
I also can't remember if I wrote about Olympia or not. It was pretty awesome this year. I've never seen the Kur before. Two favourites... I don't know their names... I don't exactly stalk dressage riders... but... the beautiful little liver chestnut American horse who went to the P!nk mix, and the Friesian/Some kind of spanish flicky horse who had the James Bond Soundtrack. Total blackout ^^
The shopping wasn't as good as last year, but I still found a million ways to spend my measly £10. Commemerative rosette and Body brush for tess. One with her face on it XDDDDDDD
Although it wasn't a comission, it still looked really stunning and like her. The artists who paint those horses are geniuses.

Merry Belated Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. Have a good one.

Education Fees Going Up?

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha from the Cover of the Naruto:Shippuuden Soundtrack. Done on Sketchfu ^^ Loving these two right now X3

It's all over the news right now. 21 to 2 majority for a rise in university fees to a maximum of 9k a year. And everyone thinks that the Liberal Democrats have betrayed them and are rioting and chucking stuff at people and buildings... well, not everyone, but the coverage on the TV ain't great. And sure, as someone who wants to go to university in order to become my chosen career, the rise pisses me off. But there is NOTHING that I can do about it.
What use is breaking windows and cussing at MPs? Doesn't exactly endear you to them, does it?
Where are all the normal kids, seriously?

GAHHHH. *sigh*

So anyhoo. Today, after school, I went to see my friend's new pony. She's only 5"3, so she bought this gorgeous little 14.1 bay connemara mare called Magic. She's totally gorgeous!! She jumps really well too. My friend offered me a ride, but I reckon I would have squashed the poor thing. I've decided that I will take up running again in the New Year. I am NOT going to get any heavier. NO way.
*notanorexicXD*
I just eat a whole load of crap, and I need to work it off instead of sitting on my bed watching and drawing anime. I also need to fix my hair!!

This is turning into a big old rant and rave blog, so I'm signing off now. Just wanted to write a bit about Magic. Didn't write that much, actually :3

LYA xx

Time for an Update.

Last Dressage. 1st place on Special K.

Bad, BAD blogger! I have been so horribly horribly busy for the past month, and this blog has been my biggest neglection. Ok, so some of you might know that I was studying for my Stage One exams in November. Good news is, I passed! It feels good to have some kind of reassurance that I can ride at at least a minimal level. And also that I won't accidentally kill a horse when grooming him, or something.
Secondly, the besties are back! Hols and Ada are back and (almost) in work again. Tess and Kandee have gone out for the winter, so now I'm back riding Hollie every lesson.
And ain't that just lovely.
I feel like I have lost a lot of technique since November. Through going away right before my exams, then mocks, then riding horses that don't move, my riding has suffered. I've become an avid member of Youtube recently (praise to the youtube lords) and watching loads of the riding videos on there makes me insanely jealous.
In time for the new year, resolutions must be made. Resolutions that WILL be kept, no matter how many important exams are approaching. Firstly, I will improve my position, in all aspects. Heels, elbows, posture, thighs, shoulders, eyeline, grip; it all needs to altered sooner or later, and the longer I stick with the bad habits, the more stuck I become. Secondly, I am going to take my Riding and Road Safety. Mainly so I can then complete Stage 2, but being witness to a very nasty accident involving my best friend and her horse on the roads a fortnight ago, I've been shocked into realising how important complete control of your horse is on the roads. A broken collarbone is no joke, especially with GCSEs approaching. Get well soon, Fi.

Thirdly, and in some ways this may be the most important one, I am going to ride a greater variety of horses. I am now nearly 5"8, and riding 14.1 highlands is not really doing any favours to me or the ponies. This will of course mean branching out into different yards, but BF will still be my base ^^
I also really want to make sure that I am able to share a horse this summer. Due to the complete and utter shambles of this summer's attempt, planning will have to start Easter at the latest. If the majority of people continue to have this total disregard for other people's feelings that last summer's batch seemed to have, it will take me ages to find someone who'll let me share.

Riding is slowly turning into my biggest ambition. I want to do it all; ride everything, do all aspects of equitation, work with horses all my life, and, of course, fulfill the dream.
To own my own horse, to buy my own yard, to, one day, set up my own business. For now, this will have to wait, but maybe, just maybe, ownership might be possible. After all, two years and I'm out of school. Who knows what could happen then. Maybe, in two years, I'll finally be able to tick my preliminary dream of my list.

UPDATE!!! :3

Oh God, I am a baaaaaaad blogger. Ok, here I am to update you on horsey antics.
So what has happened in my life? Well, the share horse has been a disaster. So frankly, I am not even bothering anymore, if all it brings is despair and frustration. Loan horse may be a better option... if I can EVER convince my parents that I will not get E's and D's in my GCSEs if I have a horse to look after. It's not like I do that much studying anyway... ssh...
I also did summer dressage! Eh! I got amazingly amazing horses - Tess for walk and trot and Kands for the prelim. I was really happy because I was the only one with Tess for walk and trot... and then G got her too, and after me, so of course, Tessie was all ready to go and on an outline and sticking into her corners. So I cam 2nd, and Georgie first but at least it was better than unplaced as I was last time. Then I muttered to Kandee that she would get a whole pack of polos if we came first or second, and she must have understood! We only broke canter once, and it was just before where we were meant to trot. Since I only ever ride her on hacks, it was a surprise to sya the least. I love that horse, because even though she's goddamn stubborn and a total mare, (and fairly nervy) she is so easy to sort out once you think about it. Just leg on, don't smack when she's too near to other horses, ride extremely positively and give her positive feedback for any tiny thing that she does right. The only bad thing I can say about the mare's paces is her irregular walk footfall. Rachel pointed it out to me on a hack last wednesday, and it has been bugging me ever since. Instead of 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 it goes 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 like a western beat..... and however much I push her on into extension or collect her up, I can never fix it. Any suggestions?

I've still been riding Hollie a lot. :3 I still get a bit annoyed when I see Angela:Hollie on the list every time I ride, but in the Friday Flyers, with Smartie and Kandee, C said that I controlled my horse better than the other two. ! How weird... I feel so untidy when I'm riding Hollie... she bucks whenever I give her a smack when she lags, but thankfully, that's the catalyst to a forward movement. I guess just sit up and leg on (ferociously) until she moves her arse onwards. On one particular Friday Flyers lesson, I had been swapped off Ada (heartheartheart) and onto Hollie (:3) and I was feeling really tired and had no interest in kicking Hols around the arena when she chased after the other horses all lesson. Hollie is a mindreader! She was totally forward and even cantered when she wasn't meant too.... It was a hollie fast day.

Hollie has either fast or slow paces. 80% of the time, she is in snail mode, but if you really work with her, she can become the stampeding elephant (good thing). The other 20% of the time, Hols perks up and decides to be a super zippy tiny pony. I love that horse!

Argh, cannot type anymore. Need to draw. Go check out my drawings at sketchfu.com and search kokorohorse. latest pic below :)

Welcome to Hell.

Yep that's it. The end of my summer both officially and un. Willow's owner bailed one day before the try out (through email...) and Savannah is not available. Horses at Barnfield are very very not likely to be out of bounds as far as sharing is concerned, nobody has got back to me, even stables I went to see, and I am forced to come to the conclusion that everyone I don't know who owns a horse is either evil or has no brain capacity to allow for memory.
I am therefore left with a huge pile of nothing to do over the upcoming month, seeing as the BHS Stage one exams are all conveniently when I am back at school until next year. Score two to the devil, I am now no longer studying for my Stage Two. That was the one thing I could make sure of during the summer, but now that has also gone down the drain.
This blows.
But at least I still have my long, long, long days at B.field to attend. Today I rode Tessie (heartheartheart) and Kandee. Tess was better than I remembered, and we had some slightly Wild West canter and lovely trot work and nice 10 metre circles. See, this is why I failed at the last dressage! I need my baby back! Without her, I flounder on large, immovable objects formerly known as horses, and fail as an unplaced loser. Hmmph.
Kandee's lesson was really good. We did jumping, and she was really peppy and responsive when I stopped banging her with my heels.
I really must exercise my calves more :)





Oh God. I am so in need of a horse. Arrrrrrgh! Damn you frustratingly annoying, selfish, uncaring people.

Bye!

More New Prospects!!!

We have more New Prospects!!!!!

Well, one to be accurate. A 15.2hh cob mare called Willow.
Ah, Willow.

So now, if Savannah is noy available, at least I know that Willow is available, as her owner has already said she will organise a viewing in the next week or so. The only downside is that there is no school, but apparently there is a sectioned off area of field that is great for riding in like an arena.
I know that if I am given the choice of both, I will never be able to decide. Savannah will probably be better schooled and flashier, but Willow is closer and just far more colloquial. And that's a great thing! If I felt like I was riding a show horse, I'd be super careful and might not ever trust myself.
But then again, I might not.

Anyways, today was another Sunday without my 11 am lesson or the boys. Ehh!
But I got a special half hour Hollifying lesson Stage One extravanganza doodah first thing, probably because of my Stage One talk to Jacquie this week, which is cool!! We warmed up schooling style for about 10 mins, with the walk halt rein back walk and walk halt reinback nudge furiously trot transitions, occasionally accompanied with half circles and turns on the forehand. After about fifteen, the difference in Hollie is really noticeable. The reinback not only supples her, but makes her more eager to go forward since it is so unatural a movement for her to make. Keeping her interested and making her try and second guess me makes her peppy and eager to move forward, which is a GOOD THING. By the time Wiola started teaching, Hollie was pepped up and raring to go, but then as soon as I started working on my position and aids more than keeping her interested and waking her up. So the lunge whip appeared, my stirrups vanished and a nice couple of bucks ensued, resulting in me half out of the saddle and Hollie running away from Wiola down to C, where she cowered.

I totally heart this horse!!

Oh, I forgot...

BTW, when I become Queen of all that is true, watching all episodes of Ouran High School Host Club will be made compulsory. On punishment of being pelted with fish.
So there, parents.

Seriously, anime is the best art form TV show commericalised media thing ever! It's like, 23rd century kinda stuff. Sign online petitions for Ouran season 2!! On penalty of being eaten by cats! Yaaaaaaaay!

New prospects?

Today was a good day. A GOOD day. With all the free time on my hands after none of the share horses came up trumps, being at home with the parentals isn't exactly thrilling. So any escape to Barnfield is much appreciated. Today I had a kind of assessment lesson from Charlie, which I every so slightly failed. But if I learn the ENTIRE book, maybe I stand a slight chance.
I rode Sienna today. I was meant to ride Tessie, but Sisi's shoes weren't ready in time. So I rode the tiny tiny tiny little spooky dippidy doo pony.
I swear she only spooks when I ride her.
As much as I loove her, I'm far too tall for Sisi. She is amazing, and such a cool little pony, and one of only a few ponies that I ride who need little kickish encouragement. But I feel... what's the word? Maybe a little bored, but at the same time frustrated, as if I can't do anything to progress when I'm on her compared to someone like Ada or Tess or Hols or Rosie. But maybe also I feel like I'm not bringing out the best in her - I can barely get leg yield on a dressage horse, and completely failed today. She's a beautiful, wonderful forward little Welsh, but I don't challenge her, or help her progress, or myself.
Maybe that's a good thing. I'm not sure anymore.
At the end of the lesson, I swapped onto Hollie for about 7 mins, because her rider had hurt her back. I hate to say it, but I have to love Hols a tiny tiny tiny bit more than Sisi, just because of her absolute cool stubborness. Whilst Sienna is somewhat finicky yet happy to please, Hols is stubborn and really makes you imaginative in the way you ride. (Also, her height and girth are far greater, so I don't feel like I'm squashing her. When I stood up so Sienna so she could wee, she kind of sunk into the arena. I am too BIG for her!)
Cantering Hollie around after I got off Sienna was very easy. Whenever these horses swap riders, they immediately think they're in trouble, so they're all nice and forward and compliant. As was Hollie, although I still had to constantly thumpthumpthumptaptaptapsmacksmacksmack to keep her from dropping out. I also ride her kind of gung ho - little or loose contact, huge, flappy leg aids, western seat.
Perfect for a BHS stage one examination, eh?

Keep your fingers crossed, Charlie knows a seemingly perfect horse that might still be up for share. Savannah....
So may the force be with me, so I can finally get my own (not really) horse. She sounds perfect. Here is her list of achievments:
Dressage
XC
SJ
Happy hacker (w/wo)
V. calm
Forward
Bombproof
Lovely temperament

Sounds good :)

PS: like the picture? Photoshop elements rocks my world!!! Wooooooooooo!!!

Crap!

I'm so shit at regular blogging sometimes. Let's get on with it then, so I don't... go and eat a turnip, or whatever.

Number one - training day. Basically, a day of absolute awesomeness. I rode three beautiful gorgeous horses; Kestrel, Saffy and Tosca. I cann't be bothered to write too much about the individual lessons, but all of them had beautiful canters and were gorgeous and I love them all and can I hjave them, please? Once Wiola's academy site is up, you can watch me on it. And laugh. Hysterically.
We did a lot of canter jumping position work, especially on Saffy, who is probably the coolest horse ever. Apart from Tess, of course.

Number Two - Tess Returns.
Woooooo. This is very very cool. However, she is ever so slightly sick from the food change, and has an eye infection. This is not very cool. But she is very good with having cold tea dribbled into her eye in a yellow plastic mug.

Number Three - Hollifying Lessons
Hollie is now my most frequently ridden horse.
Yaay..
But actually, I'm getting on ok with her more. She getting used to me, and me to her, and I'm beginning to see why she hates life so much. So, if I try and make it easier for her by not kicking or smacking her all the time, she is slightly more willing. She's an amazingly talented and intelligent horse, underneath her churlish outlook.
We tried something fun on Sunday. I stand in the middle of the arena while Wiola gets on her, and I shout and shout at her, so she thinks I am the instructor. When I got on her, she cantered off. So, either Wiola is incredibly good at making her go, or she really is psychologically challenged.

Number Four (best thing EVER) - I'm getting a share horse over the summer! wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Mother and father are finally convinced I won't fall off whilst walking around a school, and know that I do not bomb around the school making every horse I ride bonkers. (I hope, anyway) So, by the end of this week I'll find my dreamy pony, and be riding by next week. Eeeeeeeee! So, in...6 minutes, I'm going down to Barnfield to talk to the owner/instructor about that and my BHS Stage 1 training. Wish me luck on finding a super cool horse, and I'll post ots and lots more now! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Sweltering Gracefully

Or not, as it may be. 31 degrees today, and not a single cloud in the sky. Not even those little puffy white ones. Of course, this made riding Smarts and Hollie wonderful. Thankfully they were both pretty responsive to my leg, so I was not dying at the end of the lesson.
Since Charlie is assuming that we are fairly confident on horse control now, we are moving on to more technical stuff - diagonals and leading legs without looking, extension/collection and schooling traits of these delightful little ponies. Today, we were extending the canter stride as far as possible, and I was pretty happy when we swapped horses halfway through and I got Hols. Warming up Smartie is pretty easy, but warming up Hollie is a bit of an uphill struggle. However I try, she just seems dead to my leg and whip. But since she had already been warmed up, her trot was fairly easy to get going, and really awesome compared to her prior efforts. Her canter was also rather lovely, and instead of thundering towards Smartie's arse like I though she would, she actually had a lovely working canter. Charlie said that since the horses hadn't been schooled particularly brilliantly, they would probably not understand what we were asking them to do, but Hollie actually responded with about 3 strides of a floaty, elevated and prolonged canter stride, before nearly running into a hedge. Problem with me is, I forget what I'm doing when something good happens. Usual consequence - bolting, bucking, crashing, generic falling flat on my butt. Fun times though :)
After this, we did a couple of the old turns on the forehand, which Smarts is surprisingly good at. But before we could turn, Charlie made us get them square in front. I was just trying to nudge his front leg into action, but Charlie told me that I needed to lean slightly off his leg that I wanted to move in order to get a response. It really works! I never would have worked that out in a thousand years, and all this new stuff makes me want to become the best rider I can possibly be. I'm trying to get in some more riding over the summer by convincing my parents to let me share a horse about 3 times a week. £27 isn't a bad deal for three to four rides per week, hey?
I can't wait for tomorrow. New horses to ride! Yaaaaaay!
See y'all soon :)

The Wind and other Rubbish

It's a camel. Made on photoshop elements 6. I take no credit for original images.

Sunday was weird - Wiola was away and Nicola came to teach. I was on Ada with P on Sienna, and the wind was whooshing and swooshing and pretty much petrifying the ponies. The trouble with Ada is that she usually sets the other horse off too, since her spooks are so absolutely over dramatic. We saw a squirrel in the field which was just too much pressure for her, and a few massive twisty bucks carried us from A to about M, where a sudden halt catapulted me out of the saddle and painfully (for both of us) onto her neck. I kind of scrambled back into the saddle and carried on trotting gaily around the arena whilst Sienna bombarded towards Nicola like a mad thing. I'm glad I didn't come off though, as it would have made her much more nervous. I'm trying to perfect my, 'I'm totally in control here' face whenever my horse bolts or bucks or shys. It's coming along quite nicely.
But the best thing about the lesson was that quite unknowingly, I got Ada into a amazing little outline! Call me rough but I've never really considered how the horse is exercising up until now, I was always more obsessed with my riding and position. But now that I'm fairly confident that I'm not injuring the horse by belting it in the the sides, I can start thinking about outline and powerful hindquarters*. We did a spiralling 20 metre circle at A, legyielding in and out in trot, and I looked down to check my diagonal and there she was, all pro-dressagey! I love this pony so much now, I'll be heartbroken when I grow out of her.

Only 5 days until the training day. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

*See how unpro I am? XD

Wonderful Hollie

Or not so, as the case may be. My legs are ACHING like hell. Aparently, I clamp my knees into fat ponies when I ride them, making my body rise a little out of the saddle, which is weird. So, with the combined effort of trying desperately to manouvure Hols out of Smartie's face, forcing my heels waaay down and sticking my knees out into midair (oh, and coping with a giant hole in my left foot), it was just a wonderful lesson. We were talking about recognising canter leads, and asking for the named ones. So, to demonstrate, Charlie sent me off on Hollie to see if I could see/feel what lead she was on.
Hollie trotted around the school like a slug.
Then, she decided to do a 20metre circle and on X, did a perfect canter transition. I was only slightly surprised, and was busy trying to find what lead she was on when she suddenly thundered at a racehorse pace down to the other horses, me with my face set in a, 'I'm totally in control here' look. And, my Dad had just decided to get out of the car and watch. He already thinks that it's too dangerous, and this mini gallop didn't exactly help his state of resistance.

Good old Hols though, at least she's staying to her unpredictable traditions. I had to laugh, she's just amazing. And as for Kandee...
She looks incredible! Totally forward and almost eager to work. I want to ride her soon :)

First Time baby sitting tonight. Oooer. At least I know the boys quite well.
Stables tomorrow.
Tap Exam Tuesday.
Geog F.Trip Wednesday.
Training Day Saturday. WML xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunny Day

Rotate please. Do you like?
Ada is little less but fab. I love this pony! Thank god she's cobby so I can still ride her fairly comfortably. We attempted cantering over poles on the longside of the school today. I don't know why, but it seemed incredibly daunting, two poles 3 or so metres apart that we had to canter over. It seemed inevitable that the ponies would either step on them, or shy off and start plunging into the other horses. It was strangely easy to get Ada to canter over them confidently. I thought that the poles would be tricky to judge with distances and striding and stuff, but thank God, Ada found it easy enough. It's really just my problems with looking up, heels down and arms forward and leaning backwards, the list goes on and on. Sienna did tiny little jumps all over the poles, which was rather amusing.
Then, Ada goes and ruins her reputation by bucking off a client when she heard a Vuvuvzela. Sorry to England and all, but now there will be no more of that racket. It was another greatly warm day. I realised this evening that I was brown all over with red shoulders. I am only slightly odd looking. Aloe vera gel has been duly applied.
Training day approaching, plus WarHorse. Oh, and Tessie coming home.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Happiness and Dread, an interesting mix.

That title is rather dramatic, don't you think? The truth is rather less amazing. I am, in fact, only blogging about the weather.
Ehh!
Today it was 26 degrees celcius. And it was very nice too.
Tomorrow, the day when we wil all be mucking out and grooming and leading and riding and making haynets and skipping out and sweeping and shovelling and generally exerting ourselves, it will be up to, quote, '32 degrees'.

I shouldn't be complaining. In winter, temps at the stables get so that we cannot possibly do anything with a vest, two t shirts, a jumper, a fleece and a massive overcoat. (plus gloves, scarf, socks etc.) So in reality it will probably be a really great, fun day. I'm riding at 11, and the horses have no rugs anymore, and it will be lovely and sunny, and everyone's going to be there. And riding in the sun, even though hot, is much more preferable than riding in the rain.

A couple of days ago, a friend of a friend and I were talking about where she rides.
'Oh, I ride at this little place. It has 34 horses and three eventers. I have two ponies there. I'm selling one though, he's rubbish, he only jumps 3 feet and runs out at anything else. Total waste of time. The stable owner says I should sell him as a riding school pony. Interested at all?'

I was just slightly disgusted. This girl is eleven years old and has been riding for just two years.

..

See y'all tomorrow! Here comes the sun!

Ada

Rode Ada again on Friday. Still (surprisingly) no spooks. Charlie had ridden her before me, and had been working on her dodgy right canter, so we had an amazing canter after a tiny crosspole on a 20 metre circle. It was Sienna who spooked at a little yappy dog and Nev who bombed off down the longside, so I was very pleasantly surprised. I love Ada now :)She's nice and forward going, and has lovely extended paces when she's pushed out. And, I've realised that I chicken wing when I jump, intead of pushing my arms and hands forward. This might be why I'm hunching my shoulders and looking just a little bit retarded :)

I have been cycling without my saddle and folding on the ground for ages now. My legs hurt.

I have no title to put here... :(

I haven't posted for a long time... tsk tsk. But this is kind of a milestone for me. From now on, I am going to be much more serious about my riding. Since I started learning more about the technicalities of the horse's movement being affected by the rider, I've been feeling much more self conscious of my position on the horse. I know that I lean back - both my riding instructors and my dance teachers tell me this. I naturally sit/stand about 3 inches back from the usual position, and this tips both me and the horse back whilst riding. Of course, this makes riding more lazy ponies harder as I'm constantly slowing them down, but thankfully I spend more time riding the quick/able to move forward ponies that I am becoming far too big for.

Here's my regime -
1. Run 800metres in under 3 mins 30 secs at least once a week. (preferably twice)
2. Stop eating biscuits!
3. My homework (see below)
4. Daily stretches to try and touch my toes (I fail. I've never been able to touch my toes, not even when I was a tiny kid)
5. Keep my heels DOWN!!!!!!

Wiola has given me homework. Riding my bike without sitting down, and doing folds (as in jumping folds) standing up. I'm really unfit, so I completely fail, but it's getting better. Hopefully, I'll learn to stop hunching my shoulders while folding, and how to ride more securely.


I rode Ada for the first time in months on Sunday. I was a bit apprehensive before I rode her, as she had a bit of a reputation, but she was brilliant. Not one spook, and only one refusal, but she walked over it. I was dubious as to whether she would jump at all, as I've hardly ever seen her jump, only when I jumped her last year. She feels heaps better than she did before - her walk is forward but relaxed, her trot isn't choppy anymore, and can become quite stretchy and forward too. Not saying that I have any professional reference whatsoever, but she really feels atstronomically better than she did about 2 months ago. Her jump, when she has got the tiny bit of confidence from watching others and walking over it herself, feels great - and if I have to say so, even a little bit better than Sienna's. Probably just because I'm more suited to her size, but who knows?
On the whole, it was a great lesson. To not only get Ada going so calmly around the track, even circling and overtaking without any napping, was a fab feeling, and the jumping an even better bonus.
I think I have a new almost favourite pony :)

Hot hot hot!

Yesterday, our instructor had to leave early, so we had a different one, and a change of horses halfway through the lesson. I started out on Tess, which was great, but ended up on Hols. Sure, she's great once she gets going, but when she just bombs into the middle of the school? Not so fun.
It was so hot. About 27 degrees. I was banging my legs down on her sides just to try and make her trot in a circle, so of course I was exhausted. We did counterbend on a circle, which feels very weird. You have to use a hell of a lot of leg in order to keep them on the circle, and a lot of indirect rein too.
Just a short post this time, the cousins are coming :)
TLCxx

:P

:P Kersplatt, whizz bang, floop.
That was a bit of a crappy dressage test.
I didn't place in either walk and trot or prelim. I sorely missed having my trusty Tess in the walk and Trot, and openly resented having her in the prelim, especially as she IGNORED my leg aid and stopped on the free walk!?
Nah, both horses were better than usual, I think I just rode a bit crap today. Hollie wasn't as bad as usual, there was only one point where I couldn't make her trot. Tessie was super fast and decided that instead of going down to C, she would instead go B to E, which was... interesting? But I got mostly 7s for the position, aids, suppleness etc scores at the end, so it was worth it.
Chance is fast becoming the Dressage Diva of the stables. He is brill because you don't need to constantly thump him to keep in canter, and he even topped Patsy and Phurtive!

I'm thinking of asking to ride harder horses from now on, as I'm nearly always on Tess, Ada or Sisi. It would be good to ride Rosie or even Nev from time to time, just so I don't get used to the under 15hh and proud category. Also, bigger horses are probably what I would ride when doing BHS Stage 1, which I want to do at the end of summer, hopefully. It's not very likely, being fairly tall, that they'll put me on a 14.2 stocky pony, is it? Then again, I do want to ride the ponies as much as I can before I grow out of them, so maybe I need to alternate. They are very good at jumping (well, most of them) and they are just too kawai!! <3

Hollie the Thunder Horse

Don't let her laid back look fool you :)
Hollie is officially amazing. I hadn't ridden her for aaaages, and on Sunday I got on her and we thundered around the arena, leaping over cross poles and doubles and such. What an experience! (much to the disgust of Nev and Sienna, of course) Of course, it will probably be harder to get her going without ooles in the arena tomorrow, but I had the chance to ride her, so I kinda know how she ticks. It's all quite amazing.
So here's what I'll need to do, which I discovered in the lesson -
1. Use a long whip, preferably the new black one in the office, which isn't floppy like mine.
2. Double kick when I want her attention (although I don't know if this is allowed in Dressage?)
3. Let the reins go c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y loose on the free walk section, otherwise she will strrain against the contact and then give up.
4. Nudge from one leg to the other down the centre line to straighten her.

Wish me luck :)

They killed Rory!

God, I bleeping hate Stephen Moffat. First, he increases the number of cliffhangers to like, three a month, and then he goes around killing off absolutely amazing and wonderful and funny and kind and just generally awesome characters. See where I'm going here?
They killed Rory!?!!!
Doctor Who is just not funny anymore. Sure, I'll carry on watching, but Rory was like the best bit of the little trio thing they had going on. I was screaming at the television and my mum came rushing in thinking I was being attacked or something. I guess I am a little obsessive, but OMG I hate Stephen Moffat!


...


Anyway, I bought brand new show stuff today - black jacket with velvet trim, white short sleeve show shirt and icky coloured beige jods. The whole effect is rather nice, especially with my Dad's black tie. (He told me he only wears it to funerals, so now I'm getting a bit worried) I'm probably going to be on Tess for prelim, against J on her, because we both requested her for it, so that ought to be a laugh. We had a lesson with N on Friday because Charlie was at the vets... I think. I did the first half on Sisi and the second half on Tess, so I had Sienna for the walk and trot and Tess for the prelim. It actually went really well - warming up Sienna taught me alot about using my seat better in order to stay firmly put in the saddle, and then getting on Tessie was a lot easier. Unlike normal, she didn't break halfway through the canter, or run! It was amazing. Her only fault was dropping out of canter a couple of steps before M, but she was loads better than she usually is. J's been riding her a lot recently, and overall she is being ridden by slightly more capable riders, so her canter is getting heaps better, and her flash isn't being used as often.
N then said she'd try and put me on Hollie for the walk and trot.
Well.
Um.
That's... ok, I suppose? It could be worse. I could be on....
um....

No, I'm only kidding. I love Hollie, I just haven't ridden her for aaaaages, since before her hols. Maybe I'll be on her tomorrow, so I can practice.
Whatever happens on Tuesday, I'll look smart! This is the first test I've done without Tess in the walk and trot, and so far there are only two other under 16s beside me, so it will be a real face off!
I'll tell you how it goes :)
TLCx

Spread the Cow

http://tlcredcow.blogspot.com/ :) enjoy

New Profile Picture!

Finally, paint has decided to work on my laptop, so I was able to create my new profile, 'photo'. The other Ouran one had been... not so relevant. :)
Hope you like, it, and look out for the, 'Red Cow' coming soon!

Deja Vu

Cause Shorty is my Eenie Meenie Minie Mo Lover...
I had another jumping lesson on Friday with Sienna, and she was much more confident in herself, even though she bombed off down the longside when Smartie came past her too close, and nearly dumped me into a bush. We did three tiny crosspoles in the middle of the school - K to M, F to H and a weird little upright at the end. It was great, but in order to get good at jumping, I need much more practice. I'm not great at predicting when Sisi will jump, so I'm usually flung backwards when she takes off. And if I listen to her body as I approach the jump, she has the tendency to either stop or run out. Not that she did on Friday - she was amazing, all hops and skips towards the crosspoles. Charlie later said that she wants to take her showjumping (!). She's be a fabulous little jumper if someone practised loads and loads with her. Unfortunately, I doubt that will be me, for a few reasons -
a) I am now becoming far too tall for her, as I mentioned before, which throws her off balance.
b) I don't often get to ride her as she is slightly more push button than the others, so beginners get put on her, or kids with wincy legs.
c) I have no money to buy extra lessons!

Yep, I'm now officially working towards a school trip to China next year. I still can't believe I got picked! A whole 10 days of 35 degree heat and historical sites. I can't wait!

Next dressage date confirmed for 1st June. Same tests as last time, so lets hope for another win. Of course, I'd love to have Tess again for w&t, but seeing as we have won the past two times, I think that Jacquie might want to drag us apart for this one. According to Jenny, Hollie's been going really nicely, so maybe her? I've never really ridden her before, so it could be fun. But I would like to have someone like... hmm... Ada, Nev or Smarts for the prelim. Ada, because it would be a challenge, Nev because I don't often ride her, and Smarts because I rode him last year and would like to try again without breaking the canter.

Advanced Electrolysis beckons. God, I hate Chemistry. See you later!

Just a little jumping

FINALLY! A lesson I was in that didn't rain! Good old jumping. I wasn't working today because of GCSEs, so came in at 10am to tack up. I was on Sienna, with Smartie, Tessie and Nev. Sienna, from past experience, is quite good at jumping (I jumped first on her), so I was quite excited.
Today I realised I am totally crap at light seat.
My legs are like little tiny twigs that have about 2 seconds worth of strength. If I want to get better at jumping, I will need to ride in light seat for the next... fifty lessons/hacks? What a joyous proposition.
Sienna was super good, I was pretty awful. Wiola said that I need to keep waaay more weight into my stirrups, both normally and when I jump. I can feel it when I canter the smaller ponies, and when I land from the jump. I bump around and jerk the pony. I feel it is partly because I am getting too tall for them. I can't balance properly - I'm always leaning too far back and unbalancing them. I'm not saying it's my height, it is mostly me being a weirdo rider.
But the real superstar (for me anyway) was Tess. Tess jumps like a little kangaroo - seriously. I wish I had a video to put up. She was hardly nervous at all and popped over the jumps. Sienna launches herself over, Nev thunders into them and Smarts... well, he is somewhat of a 6 ton donkey trying to drag himself off the ground. I love you Smarts!
Jumping Sienna was great though, as I can now really understand why I have to ground myself in my stirrups. If I bang into her back on impact, I will throw her off balance and she could fall over. It also helps straight, fast getaway. General heel pointedness helps balance, rhythym (spelt wrong, probably), straightness, security and confidence.
I am feeling very pleased with myself today. I have bought a new blazer :).
From Uni Qlo.

Sunday Fun

You like? It's a chessy named Jimmy :)
Right, sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm kind of banned from the internet for a while :)
Sunday was great. I didn't ride, but relished the work, because the week previously and the next two sundays I won't be in(exams and mothers). But it was a really nice, with not much drizzle, and I managed to run about 7 laps around the sand school without stopping! I think I'm really getting better at running. I may just try the marathon :P
Hollie was my apple eater on Sunday. I had six apples, and somehow through nudging and soppy looks, she managed to get three. That left me with a very sharp knife and three apples to satisfy the other hungry ponies.
I got more cat scratches on my arm. Every week I am injured at the stables by at least one sharp pointy thing :)
I can go on a training day! Yaaaay! This is because I now work for half of my lessons, so my Mum's really saving money. I am very happy :)
See you,
TLCx

A cantering madgirl.

Another Tessie lesson has come and gone, and with a certain amount of progress. I’m just a little bit too tall for her, so I have to have loooong stirrups, which makes the obvious problem of my heels ever worse. However, after 10 minutes of sitting trot without stirrups (and remembering to breathe) I was able to bounce down into my heels quite nicely when I was rising. We did canter transitions with a transition or figure of our choice before trotting to the rear of the ride, which blew everybody’s mind. We are so used to being told exactly what to do and when to do it that it was a bit of a culture shock. We were starting on Tessie’s worse side, so I decided to not risk a walk/halt transition and do a simple 20 metre circle. Not that it worked very well. I cantered at H and attempted a 20 metre circle at A, only to find that Nevada had conveniently stopped halfway through my curve. So Tessie had to make the circle into something more like a 12 metre circle, and because she’s so unbalanced, she broke. It wasn’t her fault, just mine and Nev’s :). On the other rein, I tried a canter up the three quarter line from C, but that also didn’t go according to plan. When I cantered Tessie just before C, the ride where at the three quarter line near A, so I couldn’t canter into them. Instead I had to do a 20 metre circle in canter (which she did very nicely) and then pop up the three quarter line and behind the ride. I suppose it worked better than it would have done had she gone straight up the three quarter line, as she was (sort of) warmed up for the corner. At the end of the lesson, we were told trot around on a long rein (if we could) keeping the horses slow and steady. I was in front with Tess, then Smarts then Nev. Tessie decided that she was a racing pony and plunged down the long side the minute I released the reins a tiny bit, and Nev decided she wanted to have a better view of Smart’s bottom, and ploughed into him. Smartie just trotted around like a big whale, unfazed. Even when I leant back and stuck my heels out in front of me, Tessie would not slow down. If you half halt, she sticks her head in the air, making her more unbalanced and speedy. I had to take back the contact (at this point I was opposite Smartie when I should have been 2 horses distance away) and haul and release both reins for the slightest response.
But it was kind of fun going speedy Gonzales around the arena :P
Gotta go watch Doctor Who! See you!
TLCx

Smartie Lesson

Okay, I need to be quick as I'm using up precious broadband here. So, hi everyone! Hope you're all well :)
I had another lesson on Smarts on Sunday. I couldn't work the whole day because my Mum has banned me as I need to study for GCSEs.
Boooo.
So anyway, this lesson was in the rain. And poor Wiola was sitting in the shed under a rain sheet whilst we galivanted around merrily on Smarts, Tess and Sienna. On the whole, I feel like I improved a bit - I feel like I'm not leaning back as much and horses no longer take advantage of me... I think. Smartie was very forward going and was happy to splash through the humongous puddles that flooded the outside and inside tracks. Tess, however, was a little too forward going (not anyone's fault! It's just her :)) so I kept doing corner cut offs and such. Then we did only about 2 minutes of jumping position and my legs started cramping up! I'm really out of practice :( But then, I held my legs slightly straighter without gripping the saddle so much with me knees and it suddenly became a lot easier. I wasn't pushing myself out of the saddle, more balancing on top of it. It just made much more sense. And it was much easier to hold my position there too. And then, we did about 5 mins of sitting trot, in which I also need much more practise. When I go to Wellington, I often just sit for the whole of hacks if we trot, or a Dressage teacher will make us do 10 minutes of sitting before he lets us canter. Of course, I was always on a very bouncy, pointy horse who was hell to bounce along on, so I learnt soon enough how to sit properly. I think now it takes me about 5 minutes to get back into it. It's funny how I can lose the ability after only 6 months. I guess it's because I never do jumping in the winter :)
See ya'll later :)
TLCx

Looking out at the Rain...

Ok, this is very very selfish of me, but I'm kind of glad I won't be working tomorrow. Not because I'm tired or I have exams or anything...
LOOK AT THE RAIN!!!
I can't hear myself think! The rain is icy and heavy and the tarpaulins won't be on the arena...
Good luck everybody. See you at 11.
:)

Sunday Funday

Another Sunday has come and gone.
Hollie's back!
Hooray!
But unfortunately, Kandee has gone.
Oh well! :)
Today I didn't ride, but I did see several lessons. Some riders were really good, but hypocritically I seemed to judge everybody. Not that I can really judge as I have little experience and little expertise.
Last week, a really truly brilliant new client came and rode one of the most unbalanced, weird little ponies ever in a truly wonderful fashion. Tons better than me, even though I like to think I can ride her a little better than most people. I am talking, of course, about Tess.
It's only once in a while I get to see a really great rider at work.
It's so fun :P
I've decided on my horses for the future -
- Eden Smarts (Grey Irish Hunter X Thoroughbred stallion)
- Golden Glory (Dun thoroughbred mare(Smart's wife))
- Jimmy's Call (Chestnut Thoroughbred X Irish Hunter stallion)
- Glory's Hope and Glory's Joy (two pure white thorougbredXirish hunter twins)
Jimmy and Hope and Joy will all be sons and daughters of Glor and Smarts.

Yep, it never hurts to dream.
But today I had a (sort of) epiphany. I realised, while working with Sienna in her box, that most of the horses at the riding school respond only to food. Seeing as nobody really has the chance to truly bond with them, they have learnt to be slightly dead to a friendly human. So when I'm older and bigger and cleverer and more experienced, I'm going to buy a foal. A foal who has just been weaned. And I will work with the foal and try and try and TRY to form some kind of link not created through bribes or violence.
Something like Parelli or Whispering.

Of course I know I will have to spend about 11 hours a day with horses and the other 1 hour reading about them, or watching informative dvds.

If I do this. I will be a happy person forever.
See you soon.
TLCx

Tessie Lesson JUMP!

Another Tessie lesson today. Which was very lovely. We did some lovely jubbly jumping, which went quite well until someone came off Sienna. But only because she did a ridiculously stupid jump. Very unlike her.
Despite all my efforts, Tessie would not go off the track and into her corners. I tried, leg, rein and whip but nothing worked. But in the end, she did some really good jumping. I just had to slow her down a bit before the jump and she went really nicely over the jump. The only problem is me - I tend to only fold properly after about three jumps, meaning that Tessie had to start todays jumping with a giant immovable bulk on her back. Thankfully, I learnt to fold properly in time with her and made a not too bad job of it all. She usually refuses a couple fo jumps, but today she was great.
Love you girl x

TLCx

Another Sunday...

What a hellish day.
On the journey home, I didn't have my bus pass so I borrowed £2 from Kylie. Then I dropped one down the drain as the bus approached. The bus driver wouldn't let me on, so I walked for 34 minutes to my friend's house. I borrowed a pound from her, then walked to the nearest bus top which was another 36 minutes away. Then, I waited 14 minutes for a bus, and when I got on one, someone was sick and we all had to get off. Then another bus came after 17 minutes.
I have sore feet.
I am really not in the mood to list happy things about horses today, but here goes...

- all the horses had a sunbathe today (19 degrees!)
- Dawn came to teach and it was fun :)
- I fed everyone lot of carrots
- It was a jolly old funhouse on the yard.

That's all the positivity I can dredge out today. Check back tomorrow for a proper account.
*sigh*

TLC x

Scary Little Ponies

Today I was walking down a... fairly busy road near my house, and some little driving ponies came hurtling round the corner driving a tiny little cart. The scary thing is, these two ponies were only about 13.1hh, completely bonkers, going about 300 thousand miles an hour. And there seemed to be no one driving the cart.

I'm sure someone small was driving...
I think...
I hope...

If you see any tiny carts with tiny chestnut ponies leading it without drivers, please let me know.

Random post, I know.
But it was scary.

Tessie Lesson

So I had another lesson on Tess today, but it was the Friday Flyers usual Friday lesson. Tess was more sluggish than usual, but still did a cracking canter on the left rein, which is meant to be the worst one. However, the right rein went wobbily and we lost it. But overall, she was a good girl :)
A was a complete spazbo. She bucked someone off, like she did with me a couple of weeks ago, without stirrups. Honestly, the slightest thing and she sets off like a... gazelle. With the power of a rhino :)
No, only kidding. She's normally lovely, she just got spooked by someone kicking a bright yellow ball around. Smarts was good too, with some really good canter too.
See you sunday!
TLCx

Pics from Dressage

OK, so the title says pics but I'm only putting one up, of my superstar little girl Tess. She was so fabulous :P
I know that I look abnormally large on her, and my legs are WAAAAAY to long, but thankfully I'm not growing anymore and I'm quite thin, so she can support me yet :)

This morning I went for a hack on Chance, the (fairly) new boy. Despite some stories I've heard about him, he was great. We didn't canter because we had a new client with us, but he trotted along quite happily behind Smarts and Phurts. We saw about three other horses, it was so busy!
Chance is a lovely horse to ride because you don't have to constantly remind him to go forward. His canter really allows you to concentrate on your position and aids, rather than kicking him. However, I don't think I ride him particularly well - I'm used to riding tiny ponies who either dart everywhere in a fright or ones who hardly move at all. Sitting on an almost perfect horse is a bit of a culture shock :P
Also, as much as I would like to ride more perfect ponies to improve my riding, I'm nearly always put on a slightly more wacko pony. This is probably because I once foolishly declared I would ride anything that was available, so I'm put on the ponies which run into walls/eat people/kill other horses etc. And not just at my stables. Wherever I go, I get the warning, 'Now be careful, he/she can get a bit silly'.
Maybe I just have that face.
It's nice to be trusted with some odd ponies.I think (very self presumptious here)that I can manage most spooking, except that one a couple of weeks ago when I came of Ada. But she was being a complete chicken and was broncing down the long side and none of us had stirrups and there was a kid in the field with a massive inflatable red ball.
Yeah, except for that.

And perfect horses can get a bit...dare I say it...boring? Where's the fun in a horse having a good canter in the park by doing collected canter with perfectly precise footfalls. Sometimes a good happy buck is just good happy fun.

Anyway, I'm ranting. Back to Chance.

He's got a really slow walk, but you don't realise it. This is because he's so active underneath you, but puts all his energy into his steps instead of moving forward. In my first lesson on him, I tried making him a bit more extended to catch up with Sienna, but there's a certain point where he has to break into trot or slow down :) Very cute.
He has a lovely trot and is very vocal. He squeals and grunts and whinnys and neighs all the time.
All the other horses join in cause they think he means that dinner's ready.
His canter's gorgeous too. Not really very forward, but you can make it faster. And he stays on the track!!!!
!
:o
!
:)
TLCx

SUCCESS!

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to my two instructors, Charlie and Wiola.
Then, I'd like to say thanks to my two great dressage horses/ponies.
And last, to the Stables that made this all possible.

OK, I didn't exactly win an Oscar. But hey, 1st and 6th isn't too bad!

Tess in walk and trot went really well - that was the first - and since there were no puddles, I scored much better. She is really annoying in wet weather, sidestepping and not going on the track. I scored 60.95% with 128/210, which was great, and got five sevens :)
With Smarts, I came sixth out of... I think it was ten...which may not seem like a great result, but I was thrilled. I just thought he'd be so sluggish and dead to the leg, but he was quite forward off the leg and I even got a canter in the warmup! But the best thing about the whole day was definitely the canter in the prelim test. Smarts didn't break once! I officially love that horse.
Even though it was a massive struggle to keep the canter, he did stay in it, and we managed to get 117/200 and 59%. Not bad for a horse I haven't properly ridden in a year. :P

What is most surprising is my marks for rider position and seat in the prelim test. 7 out of ten! (pretty good for low level stuff :).) Especially as I had to boot him a bit to get him moving.

Very happy. Obviously improvements need to be made but it's the best birthday present I could get. Speaking of which, I got lots of yummy presents, so thanks if you gave me one :)

Will post some photos soon.

TLCx

Dressage Test Final Moments

OK, so tomorrow I'm doing my tests. Even though I've practised way more than I usually do, I am still totally nervous. I guess however much practise I do, it completely depends on the ponies on the day. I've been learning the tests like mad...
argh.
So anyway, I'll check back in tomorrow to tell you how it went. Fingers crossed!

TLCx

Leg yield in different ponies

*WINK*

Ok, I'm confused. Leg yield is not natural, I swear. Jargle, my friend'd horse, is at a massive 17hh, but can leg yield around the arena from one side to another, hardly moving forward. For all the love in the world, I can't make Chocolat, my other friend's pony, move even one step sideways, even though he has been trained super well in all aspects of equitation and can do it in a second.

So what do I do?

I think I'm giving the wrong aids. Maybe the aids differ from horse to horse. Inside leg and outside rein contact, slow walk/trot/canter and inside rein allowing movement. RIGHT!?

Do some ponies just hate me?
It seems rather likely :)

Stable Life

So here's the horse I'm going to be riding in the Prelim. Don't let it fool you, he doesn't canter through his own will, he's on the lunge. Smarts is gorgeous (when he's not all grubby in the morning) and on hacks he is FAB. Haven't ridden him in the arena for AGES so I'm pretty scared.
Fingers crossed :)

TLC x

Second Dressage Prep Lesson

Sleepy Girl!
So today I was working, so I didn't expect a ride. But thankfully, a client cancelled so I got to practise the Prelim Test on Tess. On Tuesday I'm doing it on Smarts, who is... well, sluggish but also a bit testy. So Tess, who is forward going and quite willing for me is not really a good practice horse. But I'm glad I got to ride the Prelim once before the actual thing!
It started off with Tess tanking me beyond the poles and out of the specified area, which is her private joke. But by using the outside rein and leg more before each corner, she soon stopped. I think I got the most canter out of that pony I have ever got from her. She did about 4 circuits, not all of them quite on the track, but she hardly broke.
Beaming with Pride.
I feel like I understand Tessie better now. She's capable of so much, but not everyone can see past her unbalanced trot :). Not saying that I can ride her any better than others, but I like to think I can get her moving better than a 6 year old :P.
In the canter test, there are 20 metre circles with canter transitions between X and C, A and X, then a continued canter around the school to the starting point. It's long! And if I can't get Smarts moving, it might be impossible. A lot of 3s, maybe. But hey, it's may birthday on tuesday so I'm going to concentrate on the positiveness of the tests. Here goes...

- Tessie is going really nicely.
- Smarts will be a new oppurtunity and will be a good challenge. :P
- I'm competing with all of my rider friends :)
- It's my birthday!
- If I can get fair canter out of Tess, I can get it out of Smarts.
- Tess and I have managed to do great 20 metre circles!

Yep, that's about it. Oh, I forgot -

- There will be Brownies

Yum yum yum. With edible stars.

TLC x

The best lesson...

I don't know why but yesterday I had the best lesson I've had for ages. We were practising for the Dressage Tests, and I was on Tess. She's kind of slow, and super unbalanced but I love her and she's my fave pony. I don't know, maybe it's because I practised with Ada on Sunday, but the end test I did was really good.
With Tess, I find it's a matter of establishing the lead in the first minute and a half once you enter the arena. Get her on the track and forward going, and if there are puddles... do your best. She's got lovely paces if they're controlled :)


My gorgeous girl!!!

Once we start trotting I'm always a bit behind the movement. Tessie can go really fast and be unbalanced, so you can get jerked around. But I love the fact that if you break that barrier and balance in time with her, it just feels so natural. She's stopped spooking with me too - I think it's because I don't climb up the reins like I used to. However, this does lead to me letting the reins hang to loosely in my hands, not holding them at the back of my palms (thanks wiola :P).
First, the class tried some of the individual movements in the test, such as trot to walk for four steps, then back to trot. Tess was brilliant at this because I find her so responsive - just a few nudges and she's off. But then we tried the change of rein with two half 10 metre circles going EXB. I thought we could do it, as I know she can, but I left it up to her a lot and didn't show her the right path. Mistake! She drifted off course and ended up off the track after B, which meant that the next movement didn't work. After that I used more rein and more inside leg to push her out and stop her drifting, and she responded really well.
At one point in the lesson we were all on a 20 metre circle left from E to B, trying to get perfect circles. It took about...50 for us all to be perfect. Not great. But I have to say, Tess was amazing. Usually her curve isn't fab, but with just a little leg and rein movement, she was bending perfectly on the 20 metre curve. Her only fault was drifting in slightly, but this could easily be corrected with inside leg.

The end result was great. I really felt like I had learnt a lot and Tess was going forward, but not unbalanced. The greatest achievment was her free walk on the long rein, which she NEVER does well, but this time she lowered her neck much more than she usually does. Thanks again to Wiola, who told me to take a huge breath in right before free walk and then let it all out as I let the reins slip through my fingers. Thanks to Charlie too, as taking a itny bit of contact if she doesn't stretch works too.
And thanks Tessie, of course, for a great lesson. We got the red rosette last time, and I hope we can do it again this time!

TLC Riding Diary - Purposes in riding and life

So, here's another brand new blog, but this one is going to be way more personal. As the title suggests, this will be my riding diary. Not sure why I'm starting one, I just suddenly have the desire to write about my riding.
But lets get one thing straight.
I'm not one of those people who excels in whatever she does. When a new pony arrives, I won't be the first person to be put on him. Overall, I'm pretty average at riding (or so I like to believe), but I do like to stretch. However, at my stables there is little jumping and no cross country, which I would like to do as I love jumping!
A Brief Overview of my Capability:
- Walk, trot, canter. No gallop so far. Not enough room and not enough muscle.
- Jump 2ft 9. Would love to make 1 metre but where can I do it?!
- Turn on the forehand, serpentines, shallow loops etc. Failing after two years of leg yield. Can anything be this challenging?
- Have done dressage, drill rides, small cross country, showjumping and hacks.
- Basically capable of caring for a horse, but would struggle with deciding feed and fitting tack, stuff like that.

So here we go.

Enough on this post. Let's start another one and write about the best lesson I've had for ages...

TLCx