Two clear rounds - yay!

Harry and I go to a new venue to do a bit of show jumping at the local Pony Club's annual show.

It's an early start, groan, but a lovely sunny day, the horses load well, and the course looks great. It's 2ft 3ins, so eminently jumpable, but solid and well-build, thank goodness - Harry has little respect for spindly jumps!

He is very calm and well behaved as we warm up - often, he has a bit of a squeak and a nap to start with. His friend Red is the naughty boy this time, bucking and shying - I wonder if they decide who's turn it is to embarass Mummy on the way to the show?

Harry does a lovely calm clear round, our first for a while, and I'm delighted. Red carries on being naugty, bucking before, after and during jumping, which looks horribly unseating. Sure enough, Jane is unseated as he swerves away from one jump. Undeterred she climbs back on, and finishes her round – respect.

Harry gets another clear in the jump off, but we are way down the placings, eighth I think - our round took about twice as long as the winner's! Pony Club kids - they're just too hard to beat!

Embarrassing injuries no 3

I've already blogged about Harry's first two embarrassing injuries - to his willy and his bum! He recently had another one, in his armpit!!

The 'injuries' aren't glamorous performance ones. They always seem to happen when I'm just thinking 'hmmm, Harry's getting a bit smelly, time for a bath'. They're caused by scratching - on a post, his field shelter, with his hoof etc. I think he did this one with his teeth, just in front of the girth area and behind his right elbow, as I first noticed it when he kept swinging his head round out on a hack and hitting me on the boot.

It was nothing serious, just a few scabs that healed very quickly, so I Hibiscrubbed them and dressed them with aloe gel, which usually does the business.

Memo to myself: don't just listen to what Harry tells me, smell him, too!