Rockstar

This is the face of a hacking rockstar. It’s a very handsome face too. Today Buddy had to overcome a lot of our hack. I hadn’t realised they were picking up the sugar beet. He put his brave pants on to walk under the dinosaur. Yes I’m sure it’s got a technical name. But it looks like a dinosaur hanging over the road. It also made a bit of a racket as it picked the beets up. It also made one hell of a racket as it dropped said beets into the massive lorry.

That made him jump, but still he held it together. Said massive lorry then came up behind him. Thankfully it turned right as we turned left.

Next we went past a fence being erected with banging and drilling. Lots of cars, dogs, prams and even a few cyclist. It seemed a rather popular time to go out.

Still he held it together. His undoing was a man walking round the corner. Fair enough, his little bucket was full.

After that spook, he didn’t break his stride with a cacophony of gunshots. Total hacking rockstar!

I have to say that there were some really lovely people out today. Who stopped, were patient and let us have space. It really does make all the difference. I’m also very grateful to have such a trusting and grounded horse. That makes all the difference too.

Mudpack

Buddy excelled himself in the mud stakes today. He clearly felt that he needed some sort of mudpack spa treatment. Because he’s worth it!

Lord only knows how he managed to cover himself like that. Can’t help laughing at his precision coverage.

And I know what you’re thinking. No I didn’t attempt to get it off as it was too wet still. Yes I rode like that. In the rain. Which cleaned my coat, but sadly not Buddy’s legs.

Pub pup

Bert went to the pub for lunch today. Yes, I know he’s underage at a mere 12 weeks. So we kept him away from the hard stuff. He was rather well behaved for his first outing. He didn’t start any fights – even with a rather large pointer shouting at him. He didn’t pee or throw up. Better than some I’ve seen in the pub. He also got lots of fuss and attention.

We had a lovely relaxed lunch. After a lovely long ride out. Then back to the yard for my friends to pop some jumps. While Bert slept off his pub lunch…

Brass monkeys

What a fab way to start the festive week. A lovely ride round Blickling. It was brass monkeys weather that’s for sure. Where does that saying come from?!

Fear not, we didn’t freeze. Buddy is super fluffy (he desperately needs clipping) and I was toasty in my Equidry.

I wasn’t too warm to forgo my National Trust Mocha when we were done though. It’s sooo good. As were our ponies…

No charity

Thought I’d take Buddy out for a lovely ride round the village today. It was a sunny day, so why not. The only downside to this time of year is that the sun is very low in the sky. I had a couple of moments where drivers couldn’t see us till the last minute as they were blinded (and for once it wasn’t by my hi-viz!).

Buddy decided to add to the adventure with a freestyle move I like to call ‘the teleport’. Let’s just say we changed lanes very quickly. Thank god I’ve got a good lower leg, the road came towards my face at speed.

And what caused this freestyle move – why a white charity donation bag. Clearly Buddy doesn’t believe in charity…

Unscripted

Today saw a spontaneous pony party when I got a call this morning. A friend was having a tough time. So I suggested she came over with her horse for a ride & talk. It was such a lovely day, so good for the soul.

We were out for nearly 2 hours wandering round, putting the world to rights. Even saw a beautiful rainbow as we dodged the showers.

We had a slight issue when we got to a bridleway that runs across a field. The field had been freshly ploughed so it was really hard to see where the path actually ran.

I thought I’d worked it out as I’ve used the bridleway many times. All was going well till we hit a rather deep bit and poor Buddy started to sink!

I honestly thought he was going to fall over. Thankfully he saved himself and we made it across. Guess I didn’t quite get the path right. Who knows?! Even when we looked at the bridleway path marker, it was hard to see where it was.

By the end of the ride, we were all smiling. Sometimes, you just need to talk it out. Maybe I should add ‘ride & talk’ to my rider confidence coaching offerings.

Stand out from the crowd

I woke up feeling rather crumpled and a bit sad. It was ‘Dragon’ weather (where you can see your breath), a sure sign the seasons are changing.

After catching up on some paperwork, I sat and reflected on a few things. I’d had some feedback from someone I’ve been working with that also made me think.

I realised that I was started to get too much in my own head (overthinker, right here?!). So headed to yard and took Buddy out for a long ride. As we were walking along, I spotted this beautiful part of the hedgerow. Talk about standing out from the crowd!!

They say feedback is a gift. But you don’t always have to accept it. I’m not perfect. I know where I can improve. But this bush shows that we can all be ourselves and it really is the sum of the parts. Or am I overthinking again…?!

Irish boys

Today Buddy got to show his friend round one of his favourite rides. Kimberley Fulcher and Irish came over to ride out with us.

It was a beautiful day for it too. Kim and I chatted the whole way round. Irish was very taken with the view from the top too. I love getting to share the beauty of where I live with someone new. I never take for granted how lucky we are to have the hacking we have.

Two gorgeous Irish boys out together. What a wonderful way to start the week.

Human beings

Today was one of those days where I felt torn between doing and being. So I did a mix of both.

I sat on the patio in the glorious sunshine. Having breakfast, journaling and topping up my Vitamin D. It felt so good to just be. To fill my lungs with air and empty my head onto the pages. I even practiced observing my garden, without making a mental note of the things that need to be done. That is very hard for me.

As I was on a writing roll, I drafted the latest newsletter for Carleton Riding Club. An easy bit of doing.

Even easier was taking Buddy out for another long hack. We did the same ride as yesterday – but in reverse. Well you’d think Buddy had never been out before! He was very confused by it all.

As I rode along, I remembered this saying. We are human beings not human doings.

I’ve got a busy period coming up, with lots of doing. So glad I took the change to focus on being. For a change.

Bit of a state

Buddy makes me laugh so much. He got in a bit of a state with his recovery mash. Again. Clearly he’s bothered by it.

He doesn’t always get recovery mash. But it was a beautifully warm September day. The type of day where you don’t know whether to wear long or short sleeves. I went with long in case you’re interested.

It was also the type of day where I wanted to keep hacking. So we did. I felt the need to clear my head. It’s by far the best way I’ve found to do that. Just me, my boy and the great outdoors….