The way to heaven is on horseback

Well for those of you that have been reading my blog for a while you will know that I've always wanted to try riding bareback but that I have never had the opportunity to do it before. A couple of weeks ago I told Fiona that I really wanted to do it and explained that I thought that it would help me really be able to feel how to get Gatsby in to an outline. After explaining this Fiona said I could have a go and three weeks later thats exactly what I got to do. I started out by riding with the saddle, just to be able to warm up, making sure that I could swing in the saddle without feeling restricted, we did a bit of walk, trot and canter work and mainly focused on getting him in the outline. I wanted to make sure that Gatsby was forward but also that he was willing accepting contact and moving in to the outline. I wanted him to feel that he was doing the right thing by accepting small amounts of pressure on the rein and only having to occasionally reinforce the contact and make it ...

Well its time for an update on everything that has been going on in my world.  First of being my loan with tubby, that is no longer happening unfortunately things were starting to get too complicated and after the fall that Elaine had with him at that point he was not sound. And no one could guarentee when he was going to be sound and we decided that there was no point starting the loan on wrong footing so unfortunately that did not happen. However I have come up with a new plan of things that I want to do I am currently saving up for a foal while a lot of people might not think that this is the worlds best idea because of the fact that it is my first ever horse however I feel that with the support and knowledge I have surrounding me that this is something that I would be able to do. Feel free to let Me know your thoughts. Another thing you have all missed is the fact that I am having problems with my stomach again at the minute. For the last few weeks I have been being sick all...

It's been a while since I have posted guys but things have been pretty hectic here. Jack is now home again and I think it's taking him a bit longer to settle in than he thought that it was going to. But it's good to have him back. Uni is going okay, I've got two of my final prints to do this week and then thats part of one module done. I'm in uni now and we are talking a portraits but as per usual the teacher is wandering off the subject and now talking about something completely different.  On to the horse riding it's going okay, I've done some canter work with Gatsby recently and we did some canter poles which was fun. We did it during my lesson with Elaine but there was a bad end to the lesson. Elaine was riding Tubby and he tripped over a pole and he fell, he ended up landing on top of Elaine's leg. Luckily nothing is broken just lots of ligament damage so she's been told that she needs plenty of rest. I get Tubby on loan starting from this ...

Well guys I have been quite quiet on here for a few days because I have been waiting to tell you some exciting news but until it was official I didn't want to put it on here and jinx it. On Monday Night I got an amazing opportunity that I couldn't resist. Starting next month I will be part loaning Tubby. I will still be doing my competition with Gatsby in March but I will also be getting Tubby on part loan so I will be riding a LOT more, getting fitter and getting more experience. I've also been told that in time I'll be able to do competitions with him. I'm super excited. The full details have still got to be sorted out but I am so excited for such a wicked opportunity. I'll now have more horse things to blog about and lots more to tell you :D.  Meet Tubby :D.  I'm off to my stables tomorrow in between feeling ill and aching but on the plus side I have my car back! So that will make it easier. But now I've shared my exciting news with you I'm...

The title of this post says it all for me, for those of you that have been following my blog for a while you will know that when I first started riding Gatsby at West Hallam Riding Centre (29th September 2012) I was introduced in to the idea of riding in an outline, ever since then I have been trying to get the feel and some weeks I get it then I could go 2/3 weeks and not get it at all and feel really frustrated. Well the past four lessons that I have had I have been riding Gatsby in an outline the whole time, some of our transitions we loose it a little bit, but the majority of it we are in an outline in walk, trot and we are even starting to get it really well in canter. We have even started to get it in our jump lessons which before we never really bothered to do, we were more focused on getting over the jumps, now not only are we jumping but we are trying to get an outline in-between the jumps.  We started warming up long and low, normally I just stretch him out in the ...

Today I rode Vettie again it started off well in the fact that I was able to get him to stretch down but I knew from the start that it wasn't going to be the best ride and it wasn't. Yesterday my hip started hurting and today it proved to be a problem but a problem that could be fixed. For edges Vettie looked like a giraffe I just couldn't get him in to an outline and because of how my hip was I didn't do any trot work. Yep that's right I did an hour's lesson in walk.  It got to the point where I was getting mad at myself and then because I was getting frustrated I started crying for no reason. So Fiona suggested that I rode as if I had no legs, meaning that I had to use my seat 100%. The minute I Started doing this an outline started appearing, I was amazed by how well I was able to get him moving by just using my seat. My hip hurt a lot after but it was worth it. I could do serpentines, circles and all those types of things without using my legs. I even m...

This is just a quick post guys as today's been a long day.  I had own a pony day today and we all had a really good time. I got to ride Vettie and I was getting much quicker at being able to adapt to him and also to move with him. We had some lovely trot work and I really enjoyed all the work that I did with him. I was able to trot for longer periods of time than I had been able to before and was really happy with what I got done.  But before that we all picked a stable to muck out and if needed put new bedding in. I picked Gatsby he'd absolutely trashed his stable last night! So I had quite a bit of work todo at this point all the ponies/horses were out. Then little Rocky managed to escape from where he was supposed to be, so Fussy and him got bought in. During this time Hazel was winding up Gatsby and Rascal so they were chasing around the field. So after Elaine had bought Hazel in, I bought Gatsby in and Elaine got Rascal. The next group to bring in were Sam, Pumpk...

Today was my weekly lesson and afternoon at the stables. When I got there I found out that I would be riding Gatsby, in our lesson we were working on being straight and sitting trot work. For me this meant a fair bit of riding without stirrups, something that I used to hate but am slowly growing to love, it makes me ache but is so worth it! Towards the end of the lesson I got some really nice outline work. I think that riding Vettie the past two weeks has made me think more about my position and what I need to do to get Gatsby in to an outline. It was by no means the best riding that I have ever done but I enjoyed it and I know that it's making me in to a better rider.  Then for the rest of the afternoon I helped out doing jobs around the yard. I've always loved helping out and it makes me feel so much better. I was tired this morning but the more that I worked the better I was  feeling. The weather was horrible but it was still enjoyable. I got Gatsby untacked and gave h...

I love jumping and I've only recently realised it. I bet nobody saw that coming! Ever since I was little I had this image in my head of being able to get on and jump without having a care in the world and now I feel like I can do that!  Today was the last day of the summer holiday, it seems like this whole holiday has gone so fast and soon I'm going to be at Uni and back to being at the Stables less but I will still be there come rain, snow and sunshine! This morning we mucked out the stables and I put Gatsby some new bedding down I love the pelleted bedding that we use and being able to watch it expand. The morning seemed to fly by so fast, I did Gatsby and Fussy's stables, I was so proud of my bedding in Fussy's stable, I know that sounds silly but it was the best I'd ever got it, the banks looked good and it made me want to lie in it myself! When it got to lunch time Fiona told us that we were all going to have half an hour lesson on our own! My mind instant...

Today has been a relatively simple day, although at the same time it has been a completely exhausting day! I woke up in time to get dressed have some toast and go out the door to be at the yard for 8am this morning. When we got there we turned all the horses out and got to work on mucking out, I was going a lot slower than normal because I think I've pulled the muscle in my left leg so putting pressure on it is either completely fine or a nightmare. When we had got all the stables mucked out and some of them had their haynets put in, we decided it was time for a cup of tea! Fiona arrived to say hi with Daniel while we were drinking our tea and as they were leaving we decided to move on to doing the rest of the haynets. Well Elaine walked towards the hay barn only to find that in the middle of the Hay Barn was Sam! Sam had managed to get in and was standing munching on they hay, what can I say he's a horse with character? When Elaine went to take him out of the barn he then dec...

Sorry for not posting the past few days there's just not been a lot going on until today. This afternoon I went up at 1pm to my stables to see how the back person works with horses it fascinates me and I loved being able to watch it. Seeing how different things all move together, not the best description but I can't think of the right words! The original plan was that I would go home at 3, but instead I got more horse time! Fiona and Elaine said that I could go with them to look at a horse, so that was really fun because it's not something that I've ever really done before. It was an interesting experience, and Clyde was a sweet horse but wasn't the right horse for Elaine. But I really enjoyed the experience it helped me with kind of knowing where I need to go in the future.  When we got back to the yard, the bedding had been delivered so I helped Elaine to move some of the bags of bedding. Then Fiona said that while she was riding Vettie that I could ride Gats...

Why is it when you think that you are going to do a dressage test, your brain freezes up, you can't think and you tense up? Well that was exactly what happened today. When we got there we all got given the tests that we would do I got to do a British Young Riders Dressage Scheme 'C Squad' test. This test included Walk, Trot, Canter, serpentines, 20m Circles and half 20m circles. We walked through our tests first and I noticed just how much canter work I would actually be doing and I think that this is the thing that I was most nervous about. When we had walked the test, we then tacked up the horses that we would be riding, we tacked up Gatsby, Rascal and Rocky. I rode Gatsby, JaimieLeigh rode Rascal and Mollie started off riding Rosie but then later switched to riding Rocky and JaimieLeigh got on Gatsby.  In walk all the horses was fine, Gatsby was active and stretching, he was responsive and listening well. Rascal and Rosie were also fine. JaimieLeigh and I are used t...

Today has been a long but fun day, filled with lots of horse time. At 2pm I got to my stables, armed with face paint as we were going to be painting all the bone structors on the horses, this is something that has always fascinated me and I loved learning more about. When we first got there we went out to the fields to bring in Gatsby and Rascal, as well as Big Rocky and Soloman. Fiona gave us some sheets showing where the bones where on the horse and also more information about the muscles. I haven't fully read the sheets yet but found them really interesting (diagrams were really helpful). Before she unleashed us on to the horses on our own, she bought Solie out of his stable and showed us how to draw the parts on to the horse. For the next hour I spent time drawing all the bones on and then because I finished early on Gatsby's other side I drew on his muscles, this was a little bit more confusing but at the same time fascinating. I really enjoyed doing it and found it so he...

For all of you that are interested in competitions don't forget to head over and enter my competition and click HERE!   Yesterday was my own a pony day I got a new badge for mucking out and had a really good and fun time. Millie (who I was working with) and I mucked out three stables and worked on doing haynets. These are both jobs that I found really relaxing. We then had our lunch early and bought in the horses that we were going to be riding. We also tried to hook up Fiona's trailer to her car but the hand break had been put in and it had seized up, so we couldn't move it. When we'd given the horses we got on and doing some riding. I rode for half an hour in the first group working on getting him in an outline and getting him to behave. I then carried on for another half an hour doing walk work and leading the other group, we did lots of creative work including doing triangles. We got off and turned the horses back out we then skipped the stables. Fiona had said...

Yesterday I got in another ride on Gatsby, I went up earlier than Pony Club with the intention that I would get to ride Gatsby before Pony Club but when I got there it had just started raining heavily and there was extremely big bangs of thunder going on. We had a cup of tea and the thunder stopped leaving us with just a little bit of rain, so we decided that we would tack up and get on. The minute that I got on another bang of thunder happened and it was right over the top of us so I got off and we thought we would try lunging him well the rain and wind picked up again so we decided that wasn't a good idea and put him a way I spent some time grooming him and giving him some love and attention.  When Pony Club started we decided that as there was only four of us that we would do some riding, the sun came out and we got on. I am so glad that we did because it was the best ride that I have had so far. He'd got a snaffle bit in again and we worked on getting him in the outlin...

This morning I went up to my stables to help out again, there was three of us there (Barry, Fiona and I) so we knew that we would be able to do things quicker than normal. My mum and I over slept so I was 15 minutes late but Fiona didn't mind, we turned the horses out and then had a good laugh while we were mucking out stables, we started at opposite ends with the plans to meet in the middle. Fiona offered that if I would like to I could ride Gatsby this afternoon so of course, I said yes. I went home at about 10am and then helped my mum and uncle doing the shopping, after we had done that I went to my room with the intention to read a book instead I ended up falling asleep until it was time to go to the dentist. Then after the dentist I went back up to the stables, Fiona, Elaine and I bought all the horses in, giving them their feed and taking their fly rugs off. When we had done that (we missed feeding Gatsby, Rascal and Little Rocky) I groomed and tacked up Gatsby to ride him ...

Today was the second badge testing evening at Pony Club, we were doing the points of the horse and I was more nervous about doing this badge than the grooming and handling badge. I know the grooming things, the points of the horse I wasn't so sure about.  I had a practice before and then went to doing the test with Gatsby. To start with I said all of the points of the horse that I knew, then Elaine asked me the ones I hadn't said and I had to say where they were on the horse. I got all of them except three and the ones that I didn't get Elaine didn't know either, so that was comforting to know.  When we had finished that Fiona told us that we were not going to know whether we had passed or not  until the end. We decided that we were going to work on doing plaiting and also how to put on bandages. This is something that I have always found difficult but I only got one attempt at three years ago so I was looking forward to trying to do it again. The great thing w...

Today has been a good but tiring day, this morning I got up early to go the stables and help out. It was fun and we almost finished perfectly on time, it also meant that I got to play with the kittens! They are starting to be so adventurous and explore there surrounding areas which is good. At one point they were both in the cage and snuggled up together it was the cutest thing that I have ever seen (pictures will be in my next post). I also got to say hi to Daniel who is Fiona's son. He's so cute and loved playing on his grans scooter chair thing - can't think of the right word at the minute. I also discovered that I am pretty fast at putting fly rugs on something that I didn't think I was (that's when I can get them the right way round.  This afternoon mum had to go and see her physio who has said there's nothing he can do for her back so she needs to see someone else, he gave her an exercise to train her shoulder to go back in place and I also am going t...

It was a good night at pony club today and we all managed to pass our pony club handling and grooming badge so this was great. Next week we will do another badge, I think we agreed on points of the horse. I'm going to have to do some brushing up on them as I find them really hard to remember.  When we got there we talked about what we were going to be doing, we then got two horses and split in to two groups, four of us had Hazel and the other three had Big Rocky. The first thing that we had to do was lead the horses in a straight line, then round a certain block, back again and halt. Making sure to use our voices and actually talk to the horses. We then put Hazel back in her stable and left Rocky tied up while Fiona got Daisy out. We then had to show that we could tie a horse up using a slip know, this time I got to work with Daisy who is so adorably cute.  We all went in the tack room for cake and drinks. After we had done we all had a piece of paper and a pen, in fr...

On October the 20th I will be going to see Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Richard Davidson. Those of you that have been following my blog will know that Carl Hester is my all time favourite rider he amazes me. I've seen him once before when I saw the Spanish Riding School and have said that I would love to see him again.  This started yesterday when Fiona told me to imagine how Carl Hester looks when he's riding as I was having some outline issues she then asked me if I wanted to see him to which I answered yes! So she told me that I could go with her and Elaine on the 20th October this earned an immediate yes from me and then a yes from my mum to! I'm so excited to see three amazing riders that hold so much talent that I can only hope to be like one day. I truly LOVE the experiences that I am getting at the minute and I know that they are going to help me progress with my riding as my riding is the consistent thing in my life.  Today I've had a really laz...