Flappy things

Took Buddy out for a very long hack today. Nearly two hours round the beautiful countryside. I planned the route thinking it would be a wonderfully relaxing one after a bit of a stressful time.

Buddy had other ideas and decided to jump at most of the flappy things. And by flappy things, I mean the hundreds of partridges, pheasants and pigeons that are about at the moment.

We seem to go through this every year. It’s like he’s never seen a bird before. Next week, one will be able to ninja strike without issue. Hell, they could put on a musical theatre production in the hedge and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid. But today, terrifying.

Let’s just say I came back like James Bond’s martini. He does make me laugh.

Stand out

This was a first for me today. A white pheasant. Buddy wasn’t mad keen on it if I’m honest. It’s that time of year where the pheasants and partridges are out in force. And primed for clandestine flapping attacks. I’ve tried explaining to Buddy that they are flapping cause of him. Not sure he gets that.

Considering how much this one stood out against the sugar beet, it was actually hard to take a photo. So I’m pretty pleased with the way it came out.

And Buddy was pretty pleased that this pheasant headed off in the opposite direction.

Neighbourly love

My get up and go had gotten up and gone this morning. I really struggled to wake up and get going. It seemed my body is staging a rebellion and my personal ‘black dog’ made an appearance.

I know the drill now. Get outdoors, do physical activities and watch my thoughts. So that’s what I did. Took Buddy out for a hack. Then mowed both lawns.

It worked. What worked even more was receiving these flowers from my neighbours. They’re going away on holiday and she didn’t want them to go to waste. So she gifted them to me. How lovely is that?!

Made me smile on a weird day.

Memories

This photo came up on my memories today. It’s one of my favourite pictures of us. We were having a play at Blackwater two years ago. I love the way it captures the determination from both of us.

Spookily I was back there today. But without Buddy. I headed back to the PC Champs to pick up my bag. It was Eventing today. Yesterday was Dressage and Show Jumping.

I stopped to watch some of the XC. It was lovely seeing so many smiling faces coming through the finish line.

Pony clubber

Today I was at the Pony Club Regional Champs being held at Blackwater Farm. Yes I know I’m a bit old for Pony Club. I was there to help the organisers. It mostly involved running around a lot, looking after people and anything else anyone needed. It was a long day, but a lot of fun.

I never had the opportunity to be part of the Pony Club. I didn’t get my first horse till I was in my 20s. It was great seeing so many riders, horses and ponies in action. It was also lovely seeing the camaraderie.

I was only meant to be there today. But I managed to leave my bag behind. So I’ve now got to go back tomorrow for pick it up.

Cheating

Buddy’s face was a picture as I held another horse today. He was happily munching away till he saw me and came over to investigate. Think I was caught in the act.

We had Allen & Page weigh bridge at the yard. Buddy weighed in at 637kg. And scored a perfect 3/5 for his body condition. She said he was a beast, but in a very good way. He’s rather muscular now.

Demo rider

What a blooming brilliant day! We got to do something new today. We were demo riders for a BHS CPD day. We had to ride in front of 14 coaches / instructors.

There were five of us riding today. Four in a group lesson and one in a private. Yesterday, Jo Winfield chose us to have the private lesson. What an honour. She was complimentary about my riding ability, Buddy’s capability and our partnership. As were a number of the coaches afterwards.

Obviously I didn’t hear everything she was saying about us as that’s not the idea. She’s coaching the coaches as well as me.

Today was all about Arena Eventing. Something we’ve done before. But not like this. Buddy jumped everything I asked. He gave me such a great feeling. Got to open him up for the XC style jumps.

Still lots to work on. We had so much fun though! Just what I needed. I smiled all the way home. I came away with homework. And am learning to us my body to slow him down.

We will both sleep well tonight.

Sleepover

It was an early start for us as Buddy and I have headed over to Forest Edge for a BHS clinic with Jo Winfield. Our first lesson was at 9am. Buddy was a little surprised when I arrived at the yard before 7am. He was even more surprised when rather than go out in his field, he headed towards the lorry.

Thankfully the traffic was kind and we sailed along, making good time.

Buddy is such a pro at B&B now. After our first lesson, he settled into his stable for the night. We’re having a sleepover as we’re demo riders for a CPD day on Arena Eventing.

After lunch, it was on to a jumping lesson. I say after lunch. As we were on at 1pm, I decide to eat afterwards. We haven’t done much jumping recently, so it was really good have the chance to work more on me. In fact that was the theme for both lessons – how my position influences him. Very interesting.

It’s been howling here all day so the Buddymobile could be rocking tonight. Think Buddy and I will both be snoring. Fingers crossed we’re on good form for tomorrow’s demo.

Oxygen

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for me for many reasons. I found out that my lovely next door neighbour died. He was 98 so had a really good innings. Still made me sad as he was always so cheery. And he didn’t get to see his new roof.

I’ve been spinning lots of plates and some are really wobbling at the moment. Yesterday took its toll too. I missed my Mum’s 80th birthday lunch today. I looked at so many different ways to get there. But it wasn’t to be.

Sometimes you have to admit defeat. I was reminded today that you need to put your oxygen mask on first. So today I rested and took Buddy out for a really long hack. That’s the best way I know to recharge my batteries.

I will be OK. But right now, I’m struggling with a few issues. I will get them sorted. I always do. Thankful to have some wonderful people in my corner.

Horse girls

This might have made me laugh just a little bit too hard when I saw it.

There are lots of advantages to being a horse girl. We’re made of tough stuff. We rarely cry when a 600kg lump stands on our foot, bites us or barges us out the way. We’re stronger than we look as we manhandle straw, shavings and full wheelbarrows about. We also have the ability to switch from a whisper to a roar in a heart beat (usually when our dearly beloved horse is misbehaving).

We can spend hours outdoors at the yard. And literally pay people to judge us.

We seek each other out. We recognise each other (and not just by the smell or the random bits of hay in our hair).

I’m sure there are many more too. But one thing is for sure. We get shit done and don’t take any in return.