So having settled into my new role at work and finally recovered from the post Your Horse Live hangover (of the alcohol-free variety - really could've done without driving across half the country until eight last night and then being up for work again this morning!), I thought I had better dust off the cobwebs, kick out the tumbleweed and show my slightly neglected blog some love by updating about the YHL12 experience!
We were slightly late arriving to the event (well, late by my standards anyway) after a 3.45am fire alarm at the hotel we stayed in that involved standing in pyjamas in a car park that was definitely below freezing for whoever knows how long! Trying to find our way to car park 2 was a bit of a pain (and may have involved me taking the steep corner into the car park in fifth gear a little too fast and almost ending up with a steward in the car with us - badly signposted is all I will say!), and it was a bit of a trek to the exhibition centre itself, but in fairness there was a courtesy coach laid on for everybody who didn't fancy a brisk morning walk through the frosty, muddy fields - thank God for my Burghley purchase of Dublin country boots!
The food was actually pretty reasonably priced, much to our amazement, and seeing as the crowds were still pouring in, we decided to watch the first demo of the day before too many more people arrived, which was Mary King. She'd brought Imperial Cavalier (Archie) with her, and whilst I am a staunch pony lover, I have to admit that Archie is one equine I'd leave my beloved ponies for! Her demo was focusing mainly on cross country, and as she warmed up she talked about her London 2012 experiences, a bit about Archie and then explained how she warmed up. She went through some exercises that were useful if slightly mystifying in terms of riding my beloved geriatric pony (I understand the principles of lengthening and shortening strides and can do it, but between jumps Magic is a law unto herself - however many strides Magic wants to do, Magic does!). She also covered jumping ditches and how to give a younger horse experience with these and water, and also explained about jumping skinnies, and even demonstrating how to practise all of these even without the use of a full cross country course. If I owned Magic and had all the time in the world, I would be putting these exercises to use right now!
(Apologies if that video isn't showing the right way up on anybody else's screens - it seems to be okay on mine!)
After Mary King, we decided to head out and have a look at the stalls. Having gone to the event with a non-horsey friend, I knew it wouldn't be quite like the shopping extravaganza of Burghley (where my mother, despite not being horsey, has always had exposure to the sport mainly thanks to her nagging daughter), and besides - I'd spent all my money at Burghley! All I was really on the hunt for was some new half chaps, perhaps some ear warmers and a quick peruse of the Joules stand (because it would be rude not to). What we found was some absolutely phenomenal crowds that it was almost impossible to walk through! Not owning a horse (yet...) made at least half of the stands pointless to visit - I have rider's insurance, Magic owns many rugs, I have no need of draw reins in my life - but it was still fascinating to look around many of them there.
We had intended to see Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin's lunchtime demo, but when we realised the queue had stretched right out of one of the buildings and into another, we opted to have something to eat instead and go to the later demo! Once we'd finished eating, we went for another look round and found ourselves in the rare breed's village, which my friend found fascinating to be up close to horses that weren't raving lunatics like Magic.
We went to see Ben Maher's demo after this, which involved a wait of about half an hour, but it was worth it to get front row seats. I have never really known what I've thought about Ben Maher as a person (I was convinced many years ago that Mary King was exactly as she is), but during his demo I found him amusing, personable and good at explaining certain things. He was on a mare that he doesn't normally ride, which actually made it more interesting to watch as it wasn't all picture perfect, and whilst he gave the mare breathers he took questions from the crowd and demonstrated exercises for them to try in order to help them. Magic is a former showjumper, and so a lot of what he said made a lot of sense, and if I get the chance to suggest some of the exercises he showed us in our next jumping lesson I definitely will.
After Ben Maher's demo, we knew we had a bit of time to kill before Carl and Charlotte's next go, so we went for another wander, in which I discovered that it doesn't matter what dress size I am, my calves will always be disproportionately big compared to the rest of me, and trying half chaps on in front of lots of people will only result in much embarrassment! Back to the drawing board (and my usual saddlery) with those then...all wasn't lost, however, as I found the Hilton Herbs stand and found a treat I used to buy all the time for the horses when I was a pony-mad teenager - Hilton Herballs. No matter how fussy an eater Magic is (latest update: will not eat mints like most normal horses but devours cookies and parma violets. Disclaimer: I did not feed her either of these), even she can't resist the almighty power of Hilton Herballs.
I have to admit that even though Mary King is my equestrian idol, and I was interested in hearing Ben Maher's tips for showjumping, it was Carl and Charlotte that I was really desperate to see, and it was well worth queuing for almost an hour. Carl Hester is charming, funny and gives the impression of being a calm and extremely effective teacher. Charlotte was riding Rupert, an enormous bay horse that was rather spooky, and didn't have a microphone, but even watching her ride was an experience in itself. Whilst I have always loved the thrill of jumping and going cross country, I've been completely hooked on dressage since the Olympics, in a way I never was before, and to watch these two in action was fascinating. It wasn't so much a demo of tips and exercises to take away with you as an insight into their training methods (which I suppose you could take some of the same things from), and watching the transformation in the horse was incredible. Even my friend, who knows nothing about horses, commented upon seeing Rupert's extended trot, 'that was incredible...he looks like he's floating, and she's not even moving!'.
After a few delays in getting out of the event - understandable given the sheer volume of cars - and the sat nav deciding to take us down some bizarre country roads on the way back to the M1, we both agreed that we'd had a brilliant day, and whilst the shopping was very, very good, it was the demos that had made it for us. I would definitely recommend it, and will definitely be returning next year!
