tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50029686365745179242024-02-20T11:17:40.984-08:00When Harry met Ali... adventures with the world’s cheekiest horseAfter many years editing Horse&Rider magazine, I thought I'd heard of every possible equestrian activity - that is, until I purchased my skewbald cob, Harry.
Harry, like most cobs I've met, is a real character. Every outing consists of multi-lateral negotiations and undoubtedly, an adventure of some sort.Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-22997701143994812572010-02-02T01:49:00.001-08:002010-02-02T02:03:17.794-08:00Perfect day!Harry and I went hunting at the weekend - the first time for weeks, and it was a fantastic day! First, Harry had to load into a new lorry - sideways, facing backwards. After about 10 minutes of, "no thanks, there's no room in there for a cob!" we got him half way up the ramp, eating the haynet - then I physically heaved him sideways into his space. Phew!<br /><br />The meet was at Peper Harrow, a lovely old house whose residents gave us a great hunt breakfast - sausages, cake, chocolate...port! And the hunting was amazing: galloping over huge open fields, following winding woodland paths, jumping lovely fences on the Hamptons Estate and glorying in the sunlit countryside - winter, what winter?<br /><br />Harry and his pony pal, Scarlett, were angels, keeping up with the big boys, jumping anything we pointed them at and generally having a ball. After about three and a half hours Louise and I took them back to the lorry and let them relax in the sun, while we drank coffee and ate crisps and guacamole - a traditional hunt tea!<br /><br />After a few token objections from Harry, we loaded him and headed for home, all four of us tired but happy. What a great day.Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-16437609657448756912010-01-20T04:16:00.000-08:002010-02-02T01:48:59.228-08:00We're going on the Horses for Heroes Ride!Harry and I are going to ride on the hallowed turf at Ascot Racecourse! How? Well, they haven't started cob racing classes. No surprise there, it would be like watching a load of fat old ladies running for the bus! <br /><br />What's happened is that I have registered Harry and me for the Horses for Heroes ride on July 10. It's in aid of Help for Heroes, which supports our injured servicemen and women. It's a fantastic cause, and I think Harry would agree - I can just see him charging into battle!<br /><br />And what makes it even better is the Horses for Heroes Ride ride takes a route around gorgeous Windsor Great Park and ends up passing the finishing post at Ascot Racecourse - how cool is that?!<br /><br />Why not join us? It's only five miles, so eminently doable, and you can ride or drive. There's even overnight stabling if you need to travel far. You can register at www.horses4heroes.co.uk and pay a £150 by the end of March. Then you raise as much extra sponsorship as you can!<br /><br />I'm starting to plan my fundraising efforts, starting with tapping up friends and family who have done the same to me in the past. Cakes have been suggested, too. I have only made three in my life, and all of them were flat, although they tasted OK. <br /><br />Perhaps I should sell rides on Harry to raise money for Help for Heroes? Don't tell him, though!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-10760284743014855472010-01-19T04:20:00.000-08:002010-01-19T04:29:55.939-08:00First ride for two weeks!At last, we could ride again on Sunday! I caught and brought Harry in with some trepidation, as the previous day he's been a bit of a dragon, snorting and staring at everyhting. But he was a little lamb, enjoying having his rug off and a good scratch with the rubber curry comb.<br /><br />He strode enthusiastically down the lane to meet his friend, Red, and we set off on our hack, expecting at least some freshness and silliness. Not a bit! They were as good as gold, apart from staring hard at various shapeless heaps of snow. Funny - they'd been surrounded by the stuff for two weeks!<br /><br />We did lots of brisk walking and vigorous trotting for this first ride - discretion is the better part of valour, and besides, it was still a bit slippery here and there. Our hack was less eventful than usual, thank goodness - I wouldn't have wanted to fall on such hard ground. I think we all felt much more happy, content and settled by the time we were home, and I turned Harry vback out to bask and doze in the welcome sunshine.<br /><br />Let's hope that's the last we see of the white stuff for another year!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-68237631993689750192010-01-15T04:19:00.000-08:002010-01-15T04:25:08.955-08:00Next hunt...then no hunt!Our second hunt of the season was even better. We hacked to the meet at Harry's local, the Three Horseshoes in Thursley, and started off on Thursley Common which was great as it's sandy - the ground was still very wet. We stayed out all day, until about 3.30 or 4pm, did lots of galloping and a bit of jumping, and quite a bit of wading through wet, muddy, marshy land. Amazingly I wasn't too stiff next day. Harry is so good you just need to sit and enjoy the ride.<br /><br />But now there's no hunting! The snow has put paid to any sort of riding and Harry has had 10 days of loafing around his field, stuffing himself with hay. Now it's thawing and I'm hoping to ride at the weekend - need to get fit again, so we can hunt again!<br /><br />Fingers crossed!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-74734268711833502672009-12-01T01:26:00.000-08:002009-12-01T02:25:29.015-08:00First hunt of the season!Harry and I have our first hunt of the season - and absolutely love it! I always forget how thrilling the first sight of hounds is - Harry seems to agree! I also always forget about getting Harry in, scraping the mud off him, plaiting, boxing and actually getting to the meet - and that fact that, although I don't actually feel nervous, my bowels disagree!<br /><br />But we make the meet on Ranmore Common with no problems. I gulp down a stirrup cup while Harry stands like a lamb, eyes wide and shining, taking it all in. Then we're off, trotting down the road like the clappers! It's been raining for what seems like weeks so the going is wet and slippery, and one rider has a fall on a steep turn in some woodland even before we jump into the first field!<br /><br />We hare around the common, up and down hills, through bushes and woodland. It is really, really muddy. At one point we're galloping towards a right turn with extremely deep going, and coppiced trees on either side. Harry spots a very narrow gap between trees and alters course to avoid the mud. "No!" I shriek. I have a morbid fear of getting my knees caught. He swerves, and hits one of the saplings chest-on. It falls like, well, a falling tree, and we stop dead. Harry takes a few deep breaths, steps sideways, and gallops on!<br /><br />After three and a half hours of this, we call it a day and head back to the car park with two other riders. My adventures are not over. By the time we reach the lorry, Harry has bonded with his two new mates and refuses to load. It doesn't help that I stand limply on the ramp, pulling at him weakly and saying "pleeeease get on, Harry." When I finally remember all the advice I have heard and read about loading ie look where you're going, say it like you mean it, don't get in front of the horse etc, he gets on and tucks into his haynet, no problem.<br /><br />We head for home, knackered, but happy. Roll on the next one!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-48233709351493874842009-10-16T08:19:00.000-07:002009-10-16T08:35:37.421-07:00Harry the show cob!It's our local riding club's Open Show, so I bathe Harry three times in two days, plait him the night before and put on a rug with a neck cover - he looks so cute, he must be in the running in the cob class! <br /><br />Even better, he is still pretty clean on the day of the show. Then we see 'the opposition' - an immaculate piebald cob and rider, picture perfect and with the manners of an angel (the cob, I mean). However, Harry is really good in the ring, we're pulled in second, and I try to keep some distance between us and the perfect pair - we look so dirty and hairy in comparison (both of us). Harry gives the judge a good ride, so we stay second, and I'm very pleased, especially when I find out later that the winner is a HOYS qualifier. <br /><br />Next up, working hunter. There's really nice jumping course, including rustics with live tree branches intertwined in the wings and a bank to jump off. This causes some problems, but I warm Harry up vigorously, then do the course in a very smart canter - hunting pace I think they call it - and we actually go clear. Hooee! <br /><br />There are four other clears, so we enter the ring for the show judging phase, and Harry starts to get bored. Walk and trot, fine, canter – "do I have to keep doing this?" I get very red in the face, and we end up in 4th place, but I am delighted. It's the first time we've ever gone clear and got anywhere near the placings in a working hunter class.<br /><br />Now if I could just improve my turnout by about 2,000 per cent!!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-531576963987443652009-10-02T07:11:00.001-07:002009-10-02T07:23:42.171-07:00Eventer's specialHarry and Red and Jane and I have an evening lesson with Fiona, our trainer, who is an eventer - and she builds us an Eventer's special course in the school!<br /><br />First we try a corner, a bit like a parallel, but at one end the poles rest on a single barrel, forming a long V-shape to jump across. First we do it right in the middle...Harry is cool with this, as is Red. The we try it much closer to the narrower, pointy end of the corner. Harry charges into it with his usual enthusiasm, I lean forward - and he swerves a bit, half jumping the barrel. It's a good thing there wasn't a flag on it, or we'd have taken it with us! Once I have reminded myself to stay upright and riding forward until we get to the fence, we are fine.<br /><br />We try a dog leg - two angled jumps with a loop between them. I have to wrench Harry between the two as he's not that quick on his feet - not pretty, but he jumps tham. Fiona points out we could have made the loop much bigger, and jumped much better - we try that, and she's right! We tackle a stile type skinny fence, and then a course - great, great, great. Finally we do a water tray under a jump – no worries, though Red has a good look right into it before jumping it. <br /><br />We have to stop because it's going dark. Brilliant fun, and with just a few poles and wings!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-70308935435471900512009-10-02T06:58:00.001-07:002009-10-02T07:09:15.908-07:00Fabulous sponsored rideWe take the trailer to the Hamptons sponsored ride and, hallelujah, Red has settled! It is a fabulous course – they're right when they say it's 10 miles of glorious Surrey countryside, the views are stunning. And as we go fairly late in the day, we have this beautiful estate to ourselves most of the time.<br /><br />Some of the jumps are quite big, (well, to us) at a good solid 2ft 6ins or so. I miss a few of the biggest ones near the start, then as Harry gets his jumping boots on we try some bigger ones, and he does them really well. Red is calm, too - no bucking or shooting off. He has a great jump and flies some of the fences in great style. Harry hardly ever stops cross country, but at one biggish, solid hedge, he swerves away several strides from it - he seems scared of a large, white-painted tyre that forms one of the jump's wings. "I'll just have a look at it" I say to Jane, luckily - the hedge has a great big drop on the other side. We take the smaller option, just a little step down.<br /><br />Harry flies the last few fences and finishes with his neck and chest covered in foam – I must stop using so much saddle soap on his breastplate. I give him a huge cuddle and lots of mints...he's such a star!<br /><br />We mentally pat ourselves on the back as we head for home – our double cross country weekend could have been an exhausting nightmare, instead it was exhausting, but exhilarating!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-80156206801356688102009-10-02T06:46:00.000-07:002009-10-02T06:57:33.605-07:00Hot cross countryJane and I ride the hour hack to our cross country competition venue, in a further attempt to tire her horse Red out so he won't act up. <br /><br />It's boiling hot, and we have to walk the course when we get there, at top speed – I look like a beetroot, and feel like a boiling beetroot! We have quite a wait until we go, and warm up gingerly. Because of this, I start to feel nervous, and transfer it to Harry, who swerves about a bit and does his 'Tasmanian Devil' act – opening his mouth, sticking his tongue out and snorting like a dragon. Red seems fine for a while, then someone finishes the course and shoots past him, whereupon he shoots off, too, and proceeds to buck and play up.<br /><br />Happily, both horses settle down as they proceed round the cross country course. Red has just one stop, as does Harry - caused by me turning and talking to one of the jump judges, doh! I quite enjoy it, but resolve to only warm up fairly briefly next time so we stay calm and relaxed. <br /><br />I lend Harry to a friend to ride back to the yard and feel relieved to be in a car going home. Cross country is great, but on a hot autumn day it can make you (and your horse) sweat like a pig!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-53473828922114935752009-10-02T06:36:00.000-07:002009-10-02T06:46:12.293-07:00Trouble looming?My riding mate Jane and I planned a v busy weekend... cross country training Saturday, Hamptons sponsored ride Sunday. Too much fun to miss, but quite tiring separately – knackering one after the other!<br /><br />We have a lesson the Thursday before, and my cob Harry is really quite good – Jane's horse Red, really quite bad! He's a cheeky boy and has been bucking quite a bit recently. He bucks and naps in the lesson, and trainer Fiona says Jane must be firm with him and keep riding him positively forward. This she does for about 40 minutes, then Fiona takes over, much to Red's annoyance. 'We must work him hard before the weekend, and nip this naughtiness in the bud" she says.<br /><br />The next evening, Friday, they both ride him again in the school to wear him out a bit - will it work on Saturday?!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-74551771957540763762009-09-08T07:40:00.000-07:002009-09-08T07:51:25.088-07:00Two 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. <br /><br />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! <br /><br />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?<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-1814566385821998312009-09-08T07:26:00.000-07:002009-09-08T07:40:37.393-07:00Embarrassing injuries no 3I've already blogged about Harry's first two embarrassing injuries - to his willy and his bum! He recently had another one, in his armpit!! <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />Memo to myself: don't just listen to what Harry tells me, smell him, too!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-73709960775480105972009-08-21T06:45:00.000-07:002009-08-21T07:14:05.534-07:00Roll 'em, roll 'em, roll 'em!Show jumping day is lovely, bright but not too hot. Harry climbs into the trailer without hesitation, then is surprised - I think he hardly noticed loading until he was in!<br /><br />We enter the 2ft 3ins class and are quietly confident, thanks to our great schooling session two days earlier. Too confident, it seems...we have the second, third and fifth fences down! "I'll just follow you around, shall I?" says the ring steward, collecting our scattered poles. Having pushed and pulled too much in the past, now I think I'm trying too hard to not interfere, so Harry makes very little effort at all. We're getting too close to the jumps, then rolling the poles on the way up - guaranteed to bring 'em down. <br /><br />Our partners in crime, Jane and Red, perform brilliantly! They are in the 2ft 6in class, which Jane is slightly apprehensive of, but they do a lovely clear, then a fast four faulter in the jump-off, and are second!<br /><br />'Why don't you take some tips from Red?" I ask Harry as I give him a cuddle before we head for home. He just frisks me for mints!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-5000758765347240782009-08-14T03:12:00.000-07:002009-08-14T03:42:57.660-07:00Jump to itHarry's had a week off while I was on holiday, we're show jumping on Saturday - and haven't jumped for ages, eek! So today we have a jumping lesson with Fiona, our trainer. I always think 'trainer' sounds rather high powered for what we do, maximum 2ft 6in jumps, but hey, we can think big.<br /><br />We do some poles and gridwork, which Harry loves, but he has a tendency to barrel over them like a steam roller, knocking poles flying. So Fiona changes the grid frequently – hard work for her, but it keeps Harry concentrating. <br /><br />She builds some quite tricky sequences: three cross poles with placing poles and ground poles between the fences. They look quite daunting – all those poles glinting in the sunshine - but Harry tackles them with gusto. At one point he takes charge and meets the first completely wrong, I cling on for dear life and we jump through the grid with speed but a complete absence of style. <br /><br />Then Fiona builds a double which looks nice and inviting, but tells us we'll be coming into the side of the double and jumping the second jump only, at an angle, then changing the rein and approaching the other, at an angle, before we can jump the complete double straight on. "Don't do the first jump at an angle and pass the second jump, or you'll teach him to run out," she says.<br /><br />Well, guess what I do? Jump the first at an angle...really nicely, but wrong! We try again and Harry is an angel – he seems to love the challenge, popping over them all without attempting to run out. <br /><br />Phew, thank goodness sometimes my horse is cleverer than me!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-53178333630144616942009-08-03T08:33:00.000-07:002009-08-03T08:52:44.262-07:00Tea for threeWe're supposed to be going on a picnic ride with the Riding Club, but our hostess was, apparently, 'slightly struck' by lightening, poor thing! So Harry and I hack out with Jane and Red, our regular companions, plus Kelly, editor of www.horseandrideruk.com, and her Portuguese firecracker, Alvito. <br /><br />The last time the three boys met was out hunting, which Red and Alvito found almost ubearably exciting. Considering this, they are very good and more or less contain themselves for a fabulous, long ride over Hankley and Frensham commons. <br /><br />Red occasionally gets his head down and his heels in the air, but with a few 'Get ups' and Oh, no you don't's', Jane stays in the plate. Alvito prefers going sideways when things get hairy, at one point hiting a tree trunk with an audible 'thwack'. Harry of course considers this behaviour a ridiculous waste of effort, and stays up with his colleagues. Occasionally he employs his amazing, super-fast trot when the others are cantering quite quickly. His feet hardly touch the ground and you hardly have to rise to the movement – I swear he must be part Icelandic!<br /><br />We bring our picnics - what's left of them. The dog ate most of Jane's, Kelly consumed hers before she started and my one ham sandwich doesn't go far. The horse's sniff but refuse delicious fruit salad - pineapple, yuk!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-65439535008849374642009-07-17T08:55:00.000-07:002009-07-17T08:56:18.815-07:00Endurance excitementFor a bit of a change - an endurance training session. “This can’t be too difficult, like a hack in fast trot,” I tell Harry. How wrong can you be?<br /><br />We arrive at the car park on top of the common and it’s windy, very windy. There have been two pupils before us, with very big horses. The trainer straps a heart rate monitor to each horse, and tells their riders to go off for a play. <br /><br />Well, their heart rates must have gone sky high! One rider came back without her horse: he had spooked and she’d taken a tumble. The other horse and rider returned safely, but he kept backing rapidly around the car park. A bull terrier with a massive studded breastplate keep erupting from a camper van, making us all jump. And horror, the riderless horse had disappeared on goodness knows how many thousands of acres of common.<br /><br />Harry and I, and Kelly and Alvito (Horse&Rider’s Website Editor and her horse) make a pathetic attempt at finding him, but he’s gone without trace. The trainer and owner finally track him down: he has crossed a really fast road and is halfway home when someone caught and stabled him. Phew, reprieve!<br /><br />So Kelly and I have a go at endurance, both a bit spooked now, too. Harry stands like a rock while the monitor is strapped on, but his heart rate shoots up – interesting, perhaps he thinks it’s the vet! Alvito leaves the car park and Harry’s heart stays hammering away while we follow them at some distance at a brisk clip. <br /><br />WHAM! Harry slams the brakes on as a red deer pops out in front of him. Thank goodness, he keeps his head up so I don’t fall of, and we proceed. EEK! Kelly appears at gallop behind us (she must have been on a parallel track) – she has seen a pervert in the bushes!<br /><br />We proceed together, post haste, and meet up with the trainer, where she shows us how to use ‘slosh bottles’ to cool our horses – so that’s what fabric conditioner bottles are really for! Harry loves this, Alvito doesn’t.<br /><br />We ride back together to the original car park, calming down quite a bit. We decide it’s not endurance riding that’s scary, just the circumstances that we encountered it in.<br /><br />We’ll try a 12 endurance mile ride for starters: let’s hope the deer, bull terriers and perverts stay at home.Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-50256805917879402222009-07-10T04:42:00.000-07:002009-07-10T04:43:49.360-07:00Harry and the sabre-toothed tigerHarry is fantastic in traffic. Battered pick-up with rattling trailer spilling all sorts of junk, no problem. Long line of whirring bicycles, no problem. Massive tractor with claw-like attachment, no problem. However, when said claw-like attachment is left on the common, it’s a sabre-toothed tiger!!<br /><br />Harry spots it from afar… “what the *%@$*!” His head is so high he could be a baby giraffe (he’s the right colour). His ears are so stiff they could have been starched. “Let’s just approach slowly,” I suggest. “No way, missus!” I persuade him forward. He offers the slowest possible mince, head swinging to give it one evil eye after the other, snorting like a grampus. We have a few pretty impressive full passes away from it – bet we couldn’t do them in a dressage test! <br /><br />I turn Harry to face ‘the claw’, and he stamps his forefoot at it! Gives a deep, coughing stallion snort!! Harry is challenging the sabre-toothed tiger to a duel!!! <br /><br />I take the safe option and give it a very wide berth. Unusually, it takes Harry some time to calm down. I offer him a mint, and he forces it down hurriedly whilst still keeping his body on Red Alert and his eyes out on stalks.<br /><br />To this day, Harry is wary at the same place on the common : ‘Here Be Tygers!’Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-51603112868125799832009-07-06T03:27:00.000-07:002009-07-06T03:42:53.590-07:00A week awayI have a week away in France, absolutely fabulous, but have put on about a stone thanks to gorgeous food and drink! Harry is ridden by my trainer a couple of times while I'm away to keep his hoof in. Apparently he was really good - he hasn't much choice, she's a fantastic rider!<br /><br />He whinnies when I go to catch him, which is really sweet. He's got a very loud voice, and makes people jump out of their skin if they're standing right next to him. As always after a break, I'm amazed at how solid, alive and well, beautiful, Harry is in his stocky, powerful way. <br /><br />We go out for a hack. It's hot, windy and a bit rainy. He seems very alert, but behaves impeccably. I had my back 'crunched' by a chiropractor before I went on holiday, which did it the world of good and now I feel absolutely great, cantering along in the sunshine.<br /><br />It's good to be back on board - and Harry seems to agree!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-59809852601343444302009-06-25T02:00:00.000-07:002009-06-25T02:12:35.658-07:00Harry puts his hooves upVisit Harry the day after Riding Club Camp with my husband. It's a lovely, hot day and he's in his field shelter, chilling out and avoiding the flies. As he hears our approach he pops his head and forelegs out. <br /><br />Apple? He takes it appreciatively, and embarks on minutes of noisy munching and chomping, producing gallons of green foam - we stand back. Then he comes right out of the shelter, giving the rail on the ground a merry bang with one of his hind hooves. "You said he was a bit careless!" comments hubby.<br /><br />Harry proceeds to investigate him for more treats, and Rob's a bit wary - a nip in the wrong place could be painful! "Hold your hands out flat to show him you've got nothing left" I suggest. It works! "He's a clever b****r" says Rob. <br /><br />We leave him in peace and he accompanies us to the gate, as though he was seeing us off the premises, then returns to his field shelter. "Nice to see you, now I can go back to sleep."Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-848458588250392342009-06-25T01:38:00.000-07:002009-06-25T01:55:09.449-07:00Riding Club CampIt's been more years than I care to admit since I went to Pony Club Camp, so I jump at the chance of going to Riding Club Camp with Harry - it's just a day this time, with no chilly old ex-army tents and horrible food. <br /><br />I feel slightly worried I won't last for all three training sessions - dressage, show jumping, cross country. I usually need a nice lie down after just one lesson with my usual trainer! I needn't have worried. Harry is ace in the dressage...well, as good as he can be - it's not really our forte! In the show jumping he's OK but a bit careless, knocking quite a few poles. The trainer says he's "jumping by braille!"<br /><br />"I hope he doesn't do that cross country" commented one of my companions. "He won't - he knows they're solid!" I reply, and thank goodness, Harry proves me right! He jumps virtually everything on the course beautifully, fast and clean. He won't have anything to do with a very spooky coffin - "a cob fall in and never get out of there!" But he goes straight through the water, and tackles everything else with great gusto, even some of the bigger options.<br /><br />It's confirmed - Harry is a cross country cob!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-44848620832940230822009-06-23T08:49:00.000-07:002009-06-23T08:50:59.768-07:00A new best friendHarry’s field mate, a lovely but ancient pony, is put down. She is very thin, despite masses of feed and good grass, she has asthma and worst, she’s starting to lose the use of her hindlegs. After much heart searching and discussion with the mare’s vet, her owner makes the decision: it’s sad, but the last, kind thing you can do for a much-loved equine.<br /><br />Harry seems unperturbed, probably because he stayed in his field while she was taken to the vet in the stable yard, quite a way away. He can see all the other horses around him, and soon gets a new friend – another skewbald cob. Ernie is a very smart boy who is part-stabled and kept beautifully trimmed. Harry looks pretty lairy in comparison, with his curly mane and tail, untrimmed feathers and big white face. <br /><br />But the two skews get on fine. Harry and Ernie: they sound like a couple of old boys down the pub!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-82228938636399794922009-06-23T08:46:00.000-07:002009-06-23T08:48:14.701-07:00Lovely dayRide out alone on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I’m still being quite cautious after my fall, but no need: Harry is an angel! <br /><br />It’s so bright that there are weird shadows and highlights everywhere, a very noisy cement mixer and a lot of Harry’s least favourite colour - bright pink in the shape of foxgloves and heather. But he doesn’t shy, just gives them a hard stare and minces past. <br /><br />Every time Harry’s extra brave I give him ‘Michael Peace Big Pats’. We’ve been featuring this amazing horse trainer in Horse&Rider magazine, and ‘Big Pats’ are one of his tactics for reassuring and rewarding horses. They seem to work well!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-22615153985959037652009-06-23T08:40:00.000-07:002009-06-23T08:44:47.241-07:00Confidence regainedFirst hack after I my tumble. I’m not really nervous, but I don’t want it to happen again, yet! I make sure we ride out with Harry’s best friend Red, the weather is warm and sultry – too hot for massive spooks - and everything goes absolutely fine <br /><br />I’ve only fallen off Harry four times in the seven years I’ve owned him, a testament to what a steady boy he is. My first tumble was when we were cross country schooling at Peper Harrow. He was being really good, then I pushed my luck. I asked him to jump a steep step down into the water complex, and after a few objections he obliged, but slipped as he went in and I fell onto the bank. Poor Harry looked bewildered, wading about in the water as I watched from dry land – it took me some time to persuade him that water complexes were not scary after that!<br /><br />The next fall was out hunting. Harry swerved as we approached a fence, stopped, then jumped from a standstill, catapulting me over his head. I was winded, but he stayed around, thank goodness, I got back on again and did a couple more hours.<br /><br />The third time was very much like my most recent fall. We were on familiar ground, I was feeling very relaxed in canter, then I went out the side door when Harry shied at a Labrador popping out of the bushes. <br /><br />None of my falls have done much damage – thank goodness – but at my age, boy, do they hurt!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-12202470050224946662009-06-10T04:02:00.000-07:002009-06-10T04:05:20.838-07:00Beaten by nine-year-olds!Jane and I go to a show at a nearby riding club, aiming to do the 2ft 3ins and 2ft 6ins show jumping classes. That might sound titchy to all you affiliated bods, but it’s big enough for us! <br /><br />Loading, fine. Arrive in plenty of time. Stayed calm during the warm-up. Just one fence down in the first class – hooray! <br /><br />Last time Harry and I jumped here he behaved like a loony - piaffing in the warm-up, alternately trotting or galloping in the ring - so this is a great improvement. <br /><br />Jane and Red do a lovely clear, with a couple of cheeky bucks, but there are so many kids with fantastic jumping ponies in the class that she's not placed. <br /><br />The bigger class actually looks pretty daunting to me: not only are the fences higher, they're wider, too! But we have a go, and have two jumps down. I'm pleased, as Harry stays calm and rhythmical all the way around, and seems to enjoy himself. We just need more practice. Jane and Red do another lovely clear again, but again are unplaced. <br /><br />So, yes. We've beaten by nine-year-olds again!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5002968636574517924.post-51001778729178065512009-06-10T03:45:00.000-07:002009-06-10T04:02:47.751-07:00Taking a tumbleI get myself organised and ride out quite early, as I have a wedding party to go to. We're on a tight schedule, and I don’t want to take any chances with getting lost, so I stick to our most familiar route. Big mistake. <br /><br />It’s cold and windy (where did summer go?) and Harry is quite tense, but I feel very relaxed and rashly ride on a long rein, even in quite a fast canter. <br /><br />WHACK! I’m flat on my back in the heather. It was like something from a Tom & Jerry cartoon. Harry just disappeared out from under me, shying at a deer that popped out under his nose.<br /><br />I’m winded, so I lie there for a while, checking my limbs still function, and wheezing. Harry hasn’t gone far, I can see him sampling the plant life out of the corner of my eye. Then as I roll over a big pink nose comes down to investigate: "What are you doing down there?", he seems to be saying.<br /><br />In a way, this is a good thing. It's the fourth time I've fallen off Harry, but the first time we’ve been alone when it happened. He didn't run a mile, indeed, he was pretty chilled about it all. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mental note to self</span><br />Keep a contact when you’re cantering, and never get complacent. Sudden deer appearances can scare a cob, even if he sees them in his field all the time!Alison Bridgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00713788360266101947noreply@blogger.com0