Wow, it’s so cold here and snowing. I do love the snow though it does make working with horses very difficult! I am very lucky to have my indoor school, but we had to put extra duvets on the horses as it was minus 10C last night!
Today has been a really busy day because we had Horse Hero here filming me ride two horses and coaching Marne on a couple of hers. It was a 6am start for me and the girls to get the yard sorted and mucked out before Fiona (who had a three hour drive and must have been up earlier than me) arrived here at 9am in minus 7C. I have to admit that I was slightly nervous to start with but as soon as I got talking on camera, there wasn’t much time for nerves!
Talking to the camera for the introductions to each piece, was at first was a bit daunting but I got more used to it as we went along. They have to do be done in one take, whereas everything else is editable! Yesterday, I had a little practice talking to myself on my mobile and when I played it back I sounded like an alien, so in the end I decided just to let it come to me as I rode. It isn’t something you can really practice, you have to just go with the flow on the day and judge what's happening with that horse.
I rode a young mare who was very well behaved, especially at was only her second time ever off the lunge. So I think she coped quite well and she only arrived here from Germany last Thursday. She was slightly unsteady in the contact at times but she also did some super work!
I then rode a seven-year-old called Frodo who belongs to my student Selene and is at medium level. I usually only ride him once a week but considering that, it wasn’t too bad. In fact, he was almost too relaxed and felt a bit tired but all in all we were quite pleased. He is still quite strong, especially through the transitions, so we worked on him waiting and staying soft through his body.
I also taught my Grand Prix livery Marny on her huge stallion who's four this time. He was a bit exuberant to start, but once he settled he produced some very promising work moving forwards into the contact and maintaining a good rhythm, with the start of leg yield too! With Marny's other ride, her fabulous seven year old State Premium mare who qualified for the Young Horse World Championships in Germany last year, we worked on consistency in some of the advanced medium work. She has movement to burn, so it's a question of keeping it contained and chanelled. Fiona is lovely she made me feel very relaxed. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this so I guess there are little things I can do better next time but it's like everything to do with horses, experience counts!
Since my last blog my Dad and I have been over to Germany to collect three lovely young horses, two will be sold and one I will keep for a while longer to compete in the young horse classes this year. The crossing wasn’t as rough as we were expecting for this time of year which was nice for the horses. My pupil Ellie came along to Germany with Dad and me for experience. She had a great time and loved seeing the breeding yards! I taught the Pony Club on the Sunday afternoon before we left and at 5pm, immediately after, we set off and did the round trip in two and half days, totally exhausting but worth it!
This week I took one of my client’s horses for a little outing and we won both tests and in one scored 75%, so that should give his owner every confidence to get him out competing soon.
This week I have Jurgen Hoffmann coming to train me on my horses again. He hasn’t been for a while so I’m guessing I’m ready for some harder sessions! More on this next time.
