Tag: horse

Out out!

Well it’s been a while since I did this! October 2019 to be precise. First SJ competition since then. And it did it show. We were definitely rusty.

Still lots of positives to take away from today. First SJ competition at Anvil Park Stud. First competition since breaking my ankle. First competition this year. First 85cm competitively for Buddy.

It wasn’t pretty (in fact it was a bit of a car crash) but I don’t care. We did it!!

Was running a bit late having been held up getting petrol. Seemed everyone else had the same idea. Luckily Anvil were running late too so had time to get everything sorted and walk the course.

I’d entered the 75cm as our warm up round. Good job too. Buddy flew the practice jumps and feel like he had wings.

Took him into the ring and Mr Nappy Pants tried to make an appearance. I’m wise to him now so he got short shrift and off we went. It was going OK till we got to the double. We haven’t done one in a while and Buddy ducked out at the second part. Turned a circle and jumped it second time. Only to be eliminated so not jumping part A as well. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Shook it off and came out fighting in the 85cm. It wasn’t pretty and we ended up with 16 fault, including another runout at part B (guess who’s going to be working on doubles again!).

I must have sounded slightly deranged as I was talking to him the whole way round. I don’t care. It felt so good to be out and about again. I’ve missed competing so much. Huge smile at the end and so proud of Buddy.

It will get better! We may never reach the heady heights of some, but my little boy ticked a lot of boxes today. He’s such a pleasure to take out. He really is My Absolute Diamond.

Lovely day

Today has been a lovely day indeed. A lovely long walk and picnic lunch with a lovely friend. This was our view at lunch as we headed to the RSPB bird reserve.

Then we headed up the road and she got to meet Buddy. Think she was quite enamoured with him. He was definitely enamoured with her polos. 😉

Finally I had my first massage of the year. Honestly, my tight bits had tight bits! Feeling floppy now.

Just lovely…

Back to school

Buddy and I had our first dressage lesson of 2021. And a new venue to boot. The Buddymobile was back in action as we headed over to Emily’s

Pleased to say that the work we’ve been doing during lockdown has paid off as we’d made progress since our last lesson with Emily.

Couple of feral moments, so good to work through. Mostly due to a white peacock. Buddy wasn’t totally sure what to make of him. I thought he was pretty stunning.

History made

Today Rachael Blackmore made sporting history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National with victory on Minella Times at Aintree.

She deserves all the plaudits today. As does the horse and everyone involved with him.

One of the things that makes equestrianism so special is that gender doesn’t play a factor. Men and women compete on an equal footing. It doesn’t matter about the gender of the horse either. Mares, stallions and geldings all compete each other. It’s about you and your horse on the day.

Wonder why racing has taken so long to catch up.

Plane spotting

We had a rather low flying plane go over the yard today. The kinda low where you can almost see the colour of the pilot’s eyes!

It was really loud. None of the horses were bothered at all. The same wasn’t true for the riders as we rushed to see it.

Apparently it’s an A400M, which is the RAF’s latest transport. Whatever it was, it was very cool.

Arena Eventing

Another day, another horsey outing. This time to Oxnead for a spot of Arena Eventing. It was a clinic run in aid of East Anglian Air Ambulance.

I couldn’t fault Buddy today. He felt amazing. Jumped everything, even off some of my directionally challenged lines. It was such fun!

Definitely feeling that we’re ready for competitions again. Bring it on…

XC at last

Oh my days, it was good to be back at Blackwater and XC schooling. It’s been 6 months since our last trip there.

There have been a few changes. The addition of a new practise jump was not to Buddy’s liking. Resulting in my sharp exit stage right. Slightly winded, I got back onboard and we got over it eventually. What is it about me and practice fences?!

After that he was such a good boy. We were both a bit rusty and it showed. Still there were lots of positives to take away from today.

Retro treats

I think I’ve earnt these today. After walking for 3 hours yesterday, I rode for 2 hours today. Burnt one or two calories I’m guessing.

Buddy and I popped our High Ash cherries today. Can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get there. Definitely worth the wait though.

The sun shone and so did Buddy. He took everything in his stride. Including his first encounter with pigs! He wasn’t bothered at all.

We were so busy chatting that I completely forgot to take a photo. Buddy loved it too. Especially the gallops.