Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

New Year's resolutions

So with my last post being a horsey Christmas wishlist (sadly I didn't find Magic under the tree, despite my best efforts), it makes sense to find some horsey resolutions that I will have the best intentions of keeping, at least until February, where I will probably forget all of them and slip back into old habits. But hey, it's a tradition!



1. Be able to ride Magic around a course of jumps without a) frightening anybody or b) killing (or at least seriously injuring) either of us
This is easier said than done with an ex-showjumper. Never mind adjusting your horse's stride; Magic takes every jump on whichever stride she fancies (often from about twenty feet out), and also at about a million miles an hour. When you try to point out this isn't perhaps the best way, she rewards your efforts by putting in a dirty refusal and tipping you over her neck. The best riders I know have given up and just let her get on with it, so I follow their lead, but making it around a small course in one piece would feel like an achievement to me after the manic efforts we've put in before...

2. Make it back to Burghley
Okay, so this isn't so much a resolution and instead is more of an aim, but no harm in putting it on here. Burghley was one of my highlights of 2012, and I am determined to make it back there again in 2013. It was worth every penny and more.

3. Get a bit braver
I would be a much better rider if I stopped overthinking everything and imagining what could go wrong, so I need to make the effort to be more positive, and when that's under control, I need to feel the fear and then DO IT ANYWAY.

4. Seriously look into loaning a horse
I thought of an option that I hadn't even considered before, and what's more, it's also very practical, realistic and totally affordable. I can't claim the credit for the idea, but that doesn't matter - making it happen is far more important! More on that at a later date...

The hardest one for me on here has to be number three, without a doubt, but it's something I need to get over and work on, I worry far too much. The easiest to keep will be number two, because that's not exactly a hardship (although I had better start saving now...). Have you made any horsey resolutions?

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

All I want for Christmas...



I know it's hard to believe, but every now and again I do occasionally want the odd thing for Christmas that doesn't involve horses in the slightest. It's the horse things that tend to be the most exciting however, because who wants to hear about that DVD I wouldn't mind watching along with 13,456,239 other people in the country on Christmas day? I often ask for something like a new hat or new boots and chaps with not a lot else, but after a significantly more horse-filled year than the couple before it, I've found my list has grown quite substantially. My parents, brother and close friends literally live in fear.

Half Chaps

I am far too embarrassed by the state of my chaps to display them on here, but needless to say I strongly suspect they will soon get up and walk out the door themselves, or just fall apart at the sight of another horse. I've had them for a good four years and although I don't ride all that often (once a week most of the time), it's still often enough for them to be covered in all kinds of interesting things (mainly thanks to Magic). My bigger-than-average calves limit me and I find it hard to get a pair that fits well, which makes me even more reluctant to go chap shopping, but in a perfect world I would wake up on Christmas morning to find a brand spanking new pair that fit just right (and somehow make the calves look a little smaller too, or is that just being greedy?).

Short riding boots

Old school I know, but I literally can't think of anything comfier to ride in than a pair of these with half chaps. When I first started riding it was all the rage to wear just jodhpur boots, but having seen the state of the inside of my chaps, I can't imagine how my leg took the wear and tear back then! Then things progressed onto the long riding boot, but since getting back into these bad boys I only have dim and distant memories of how restrictive long riding boots really are. My ankle can flex and turn! My giant calves aren't stuffed into boots that cut off blood supply to my feet!

Muffler
Because my long hair can only keep my ears so warm. Because it's Joules, and Joules is awesome. But mostly because it's called a muffler - nothing that is called a muffler can be considered a bad present.

Personalised phone case
This has been on my shopping list for months now, and I still haven't gotten around to buying it. I love my iPhone, I can't remember what I did without it. I also love Magic (even more than my phone, incidentally). Why wouldn't I want to combine the two?
(this is from a website a friend recommended to me, Bags Of Love. I will be ordering this case very soon, I WILL)

 Magazine subscription

Okay, so this is a bit of a cheat, as I already subscribe to this magazine, but renewing this subscription would made me very, very happy. And to be fair, this is probably the one thing off this incredibly ambitious list that I will receive. And it will make me very, very happy. I like to buy Horse and Hound every week but find that I end up flicking through the bits I'm not very interested in (cough, racing), whereas I read Your Horse cover to cover and enjoy every one. In fact, if Your Horse wants to start going fortnightly, that'd be great thanks...

Magic

There was literally no way on this earth I was going to write a Christmas list without putting Magic on it. Just in case Father Christmas is reading, you know. I might be in my twenties but asking for a pony for Christmas will never get old.

Monday, 26 November 2012

Blog: Famous horses I'd love to ride

The title is pretty self-explanatory, and to be honest, this list could be exhaustive if I really let it, but I've somehow managed to limit myself to four horses, which is nothing short of incredible considering the amount of time I spent googling this, trying to narrow it down!

1. Valegro

Seriously - just look at that extended trot! I think it'd be harder to come up with more reasons as to why you shouldn't want to ride him rather than why you would. I suppose one of the reasons (and this appeals to my inner pony kid) is that he is literally one of the best looking horses on the planet. Look at that elegant head, that muscular neck! Those floating hocks and well-rounded quarters! I bet he is an absolute drink on a stick to sit on, presuming of course that you can get anywhere near him with his millions of pounds price tag. And if you really did need any convincing, then Charlotte could just whip out her two Olympic gold medals and wave them in your face. Any horse that can do that is worthy of appearing on a list like this, quite frankly.

2. Star Appeal


Now I've made no secret of the fact that Mary King is my equestrian idol, and have also documented how I suddenly became a starstruck twelve year old girl all over again upon meeting her at Burghley (I'm not linking to the entry; it was embarrassing enough admitting it the first time around), so it was pretty safe to assume that I'd pick one of her horses in this list somewhere. I had one of her books as a teenager and was pretty smitten on both King William and Star Appeal, but Apple just about edges it for me. I'm a sucker for a good looking bay, particularly one that can win Badminton, but the story that really sells it to me is the one about him breaking his leg and having to stand in a cast for six weeks, and then on the day that he was due to have it off and be allowed to put weight on it, they got back to his box to find he'd snapped his ties and was rolling around in his stable, broken leg be damned...now that is my kind of horse! I would have chosen Imperial Cavalier, particularly after seeing his very amusing staring session at a giant horse poster he'd already seen three times at Your Horse Live, but that would be far too obvious after Valegro, so Apple it is.

3. Theodore O'Connor


I have to confess that I didn't know much about Teddy until later on in his career, only a year or so before he had his tragic accident that led to him being put down, but from the second I found out that a cheeky and incredibly talented 14.2hh chestnut gelding was being aimed at the Olympics and four star events, I fell in love. I am much more of a pony girl than a horse woman, and would take a nippy little 14.2hh over a huge striding 16.2hh horse any day (Valegro the obvious exception), and that is exactly what Teddy always seemed to be. Who knows how far he could have gotten if his life hadn't been cut short in such an unfortunate way? He was definitely the little pony with the heart of a lion.

4. Milton

I used to have posters of Milton all over my bedroom wall when I first became interested in horses, despite him having been retired for about two or three years by then, and my friend was so mad on him that I remember even buying her a Milton video from the Robinson's catalogue for Christmas one year. Even better, I believe she still owns it! She was always into her big greys, whereas I was cheeky chestnut or bay ponies, but Milton had such a presence about him that is rarely equalled. It takes a special kind of horse to become the first horse outside of horse racing to win £1 million in prize money, and I can only imagine what it felt like to point a horse of his calibre at a jump.

Monday, 12 November 2012

Your Horse Live 2012

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!

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Blog: When real life gets in the way of being an overgrown pony kid

Between getting a promotion and my close friend having her baby early, I have had almost no time over the past fortnight to fit in more than six hours' sleep a night, never mind continue to mastermind how to buy Magic and find a way to fit her in my back garden in true pony kid style! I do hate it when mundane things such as work get in the way of my beloved horses but gaining a new godson is never a bad thing, he is absolutely beautiful.

The good thing about the promotion (aka let's increase your workload three-fold!) is that it moves me that much closer to perhaps one day getting my hands on my own horse to make my inner pony kid explode with excitement...

Magic in full-on donkey mode

Monday, 8 October 2012

Another date for the diary

Working full-time in a non-horsey profession means that I don't get to attend nearly as many equestrian events as I would like (for instance, this weekend's HOYS or Olympia in December, which I will NEVER be able to go to as long as I am working in retail. Time off in December doesn't exist in this trade!), but one thing I have managed to squeeze into my calendar is Your Horse Live.

This show (exhibition? Event? It's more like a combination of all three as far as I can tell) is being held over the weekend of 10th and 11th November this year, and you can either go to both Saturday and Sunday, or just choose to visit on one of the days which is what I'm doing, seeing as a non-horsey friend expressed an interest in coming and I thought one day would probably suffice when you're not all that fascinated by brushing boots and new chaps. It's on at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, and although I will admit that all of the tradestands proved to be pretty tempting, even after my blow-out at Burghley, it was the celebrity demonstrators that really made me want to go. Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester, my old friend Mary King, Ben Maher...all the people that inspired and excited us over the summer, under one roof! And all for the bargain price of £16.50 for an adult in advance. Add to that the fact that a nearby hotel only cost us just over £30 for two of us for one night, and you've got a pretty good deal for the weekend.

I don't plan on spending much, with Christmas being just around the corner by then, but I could really do with some new half chaps, any suggestions? And I have no doubt that I will find my way into the Joules tradestand at some point during the day...