17/11/12 – L and Spice, and All Things Nice

I arrived at the yard on Saturday with a funny feeling about Starsky, but a determination to choose him. I hadn’t been riding in weeks and really wanted a blast – Starsky’s lurch from ‘nought to sixty’ as it were certainly provides a thrill. My only concern was that, going online, the hack wasn’t there – an indication usually that all 10 places have sold out, meaning it would be a tame affair. However, I got into the office and I wasn’t asked what I wanted, but was given Gem. I couldn’t have been happier: she is a cracking horse :D I also found out later that Starsky’s on his Winter holidays at the moment, so has been turned away as many of the big horses have. I also quickly found out that there were only 5 other riders on my hack, and L was taking us: oh how I’d regretted not bringing my phone with me. I’d have loved to see what the maximum speed was on an L hack with one of her fave horses, the speed demon Spice. She called me up to be second in her queue, with all the slower ponies in any order behind us. I do enjoy the speed and chat up front, and I think L does too :)

Gem was very keen to go, and she was striding out behind Spice in our first few trots. The hill came quickly as usual, and with Spice trying to disappear into the horizon, Gem seriously took off. She not only galloped up hill, but she galloped all three changes in incline (it gets steeper in sections) – even when the horses were peak fitness during the summer, they typically come back to trot during the 3^rd change. Gem had given me everything – she was still blowing when we got up to the woods, whereas any other horse I’ve ridden have completely recovered by then as they stop earlier. I knew it was going to be a cracking hack – L and my horse clearly weren’t prepared to go slowly!

We reached the woods, and L started cantering long before the puddles, whereas AM is a puddle-freak and won’t let us start until we’re past. So, the canter stretches were long, and whereas Gem is usually a puddle-dodger that I steer well in advance, she ignored me and charged straight through them – at the speeds we were going at, straight ahead suited me!

The next canter was the slightly uphill one, with the lake in the middle. L let us start all the way from the bottom, and gave the riders strict instructions to follow me as I’d be steering left for the puddle and changing my seat to allow for the drop – I’d be more visible than L as Spice is faster than Gem, and L knows that I ride rather than just cling on and hope for the best. I was touched! The canter was indeed fun, with the horses picking up the pace after the puddle – I like to be in trot for the narrowing at the top because of the concrete slab on one side of it, but as Spice was still going, I’d no chance with Gem! We went the furthest distance once out on the flat in canter that I’ve ever gone – that’s how fast Spice was going and how much she didn’t want to slow down! lol.

The middle section of the ride, all walk and trot, was beautiful. We had the winter sun on us, and the views were glorious. Trotting through town in the sunshine felt great, and Gem was as keen as mustard. The only minor issue was kept having to stop for the rear riders to catch up: L told them before leaving the yard to always keep up and trot to do so, but they didn’t seem to listen. Then at one point the girl holding everyone up cantered Finlay in dangerous, heavy mud – she was quickly told to stop! Still, we hadn’t let the mixed speed of the ponies spoil the fun in canter, and stopping is only ever a minor grievance :) We even met some really courteous people out, including some teenage boys on a scrambler who stopped as soon as we saw us, took of their helmets to say hello, and thanked us when we said a family with a pram were behind us, telling us they’d wait for them to pass before carrying on. Lovely kids they were :)

We got to the railway line and after a jogger passed us at the start, it looked free. Then, we saw 2 hackers come towards us. Luckily, unlike other leaders who walk us on and cut short the path, L took us to a verge on the side and said if the riders passing us asked, we were on a ‘pee break’. While we were stopped, a French lady said she remembered me from an earlier ride, and said I was now an advanced rider, looking very fast and confident. I blushed, genuinely touched that a stranger has noticed my progress, and said it was thanks to L helping me to get my confidence about riding fast, and encouraging me to ride faster and more complex horses. The lady also said her own confidence was getting her to the point of wanting to start jumping again, and once L had checked her past experience, L said she’d take us over a log on the way home. I was so excited – an XC jump for fun, something I’d never done before to look forward to!

The two riders went past us on their Highlands, and L waited until they were out of the gate to make sure we didn’t upset them by moving off quickly. She told us to take a few strides of trot then to canter, but Spice was having none of it and launched off like a rocket, as did Gem. While we were in canter for the first few strides, L then let Spice go and off we took in gallop. It was exhilarating, and with the sun catching us, I spent time watching the glorious silhouette of Gem and I galloping along as I had with Hugo. I grinned the whole time (the one place it’s safe to, as you don’t end up with mud in your mouth like in the woodland canters or on the fields), and lapped up the feeling. We met walkers so only got to gallop about ¾ of the length that’s possible, but I wasn’t complaining. However, L got Spice back to canter but she wasn’t listening about a trot. As I always do to bring a horse back on a hack, I sat to Gem’s canter, but I didn’t put much pressure on the bit (Pelham with curb) as I knew it would be a waste as Gem would do what Spice was doing. L shouted trot again as I got closer, and we got our mares back to trot at the same time, but neither was very keen on taking our aids! Gem was also on tenterhooks – she clearly though the trotting was temporary and that we’d be taking off again once we’d passed the pedestrians. She was prancing, and with the hot air from her nostrils rising as steam on cold morning, she looked every bit a wild horse. She stayed like that too: she’d really come alive on the end of my contact, and I got some beautiful trot work from her afterwards, using that pent up energy. It was fab, and we didn’t meet the dangerous mare on the way home! (Well, we did theoretically, but she was rugged up in her field staring at us, so that doesn’t really count).

I’d wondered all the way home where we’d be going to jump the log, and halfway down the wooded hill, past the yard’s off-site fields, L asked us to snake around and face upwards – the log the horses take their time to get around downhill in walk was to become our target. L said we needed to be a horse’s length apart to be safe to jump, and told me not to even try and hold Gem – Spice was fast enough that she’d make the space, rather than me having to start an argument to create one. Gem took off like lightning once again, and off we galloped. I watched L and saw how Spice tackled the log and how much height she gave it. I knew that unless Gem threw in a disproportionate jump, that I’d only have a little adjusting of my balance point to do. So, I gave with my hands, moved what felt barely an inch, and off we soared over the log as if it was nothing. Gem even sped up afterwards as the path winds a bit, so Spice had got out of sight. She pulled up like a dream on the lane though, and it was great to see all the riders make it up in once piece with L’s advice, as some were nervous as they’d not jumped in 4yrs and more. Everyone came up grinning, and L said what she always does: “If I enjoy a hack, I know my clients will too, and I am enjoying this hack!” She’s not wrong there! I also went past Starsky on the way home, and he looked like an overgrown pony out on the hill! It was lovely to see him and his friends looking as happy as larry :)

We’d one more trot on the way home, and Gem was a dream. I got chatting to L more about Common Rides, as I’ve been changing my mind about the ride I’d like to be my first. So, we talked about the merits of different specific rides, and she wholeheartedly second A’s comment to me on my last hack that there is NOTHING on this earth quite like the feeling of your first field on the first ride of the season – she agreed it was one of the best feelings on earth. I really hope I’ve the money to be able to have that feeling next year! I also wanted to say that now my confidence about speed is up, I’d like Hugo for my first Common Ride ideally, but I think I’ll wait until I have Hugo on one of her hacks to tell her, so that I can ride him in a higher gear (still one short of a Common Ride, as horses bring a whole different ball=-game to those) and L can see me handle him when he’s all excited and a pain in the bum! (We talked about the story I’d heard of someone not being able to control Hugo on the railway line – I know the man in question, and got a knowing smile when I suggested it was a ‘wouldn’t’ rather than ‘couldn’t’ control him. I was very disappointed to hear he’d not stopped poor Hugo galloping before they reached the concrete – how horrible for his poor legs)!

Back on the yard, AM came straight for me as I knew she would, Gem being her favourite horse. (I know why: she’s fun, fairly fast, but still sane despite being keen, albeit that control without the curb chain is rumoured as impossible). I needed a few minutes to warm my toes and ankles, especially my right as my stirrups were half a hole out, and I’d been letting my ankle do the adjusting so that I didn’t put my hip out again. I hopped off, and still got time to roll up stirrups, undo the girth, and get some cuddles – AM hadn’t whipped her straight off, and we’d both had a chat that she needed clipped. She’s a furball anyway, but she had given me her everything today – she was soaked!

So. my next hack will be as Doctor Debz! If I ride again in a fortnight, it’ll be the day after I graduate, and can finally get to use the title I earned back in April. I feel like I should have something special though, not just a hack, so think I might end up booking a lesson as well, especially after jumping on the hack. I’ve never done XC (only because of lack of opportunity, not because I’ve never fancied it), so to jump a natural log at a gallop was a total thrill! I’m rather chuffed with my little self, and am so grateful to L. I told her to put her name on some of the homemade lemon cake I brought, but I think I’ll have to get her a bottle of wine or something at Xmas to say a proper thank you for the extra confidence and guidance she’s given me. It’s meant more than she knows :)

Roll on next time!

A Tale of Two Hugos

For two rides in a row I rode the wonderful Hugo, and had rather different experiences. It’s taken me a month to write these up, so I thought I’d combine them as two shorter entries!

Here’s my starting off view :D

The first ride happened five weeks ago, and was a swap of my previous ride – this time I was on Hugo while AM was leading on Gem, a mild preference for both of us I think, but both horses are in our Top 3! I’d had a bumpy start on Hugo as his trot isn’t overly comfortable anyway, but my stirrups were uneven. Once I’d got that sorted, things felt better and much tidier, and he remained his keen and bouncy self, always raring to go.

We arrived at the hill, and AM makes us wait until after the bend to canter, taking away half of the first incline. Once there though, Hugo tore up the hill after Gem, and I had my usual grin! Once up on the flat, AM did her usual thing of chopping tracks in half to avoid puddles as Gem isn’t a fan (though personally I don’t see that as an issue – when you know where the puddles are, you steer in advance and avoid doing a wall of death impression). Still, Hugo was not keen on being held back – he was a dancing, snorting ball of energy, and needed a mere millimetre more rein to realise he could go and take off! The canters were short, but they were fairly fast at least! The same happened on the inclined canter in the woods – we couldn’t start until after the lake-like puddle, but once we did, Hugo and I were off like a racehorse out of the traps!

With canters over too soon as always, we arrived into town, and Hugo was, as ever, totally unphased by everyone and everything. He did have an uncharacteristic shy at the skip though, taking me out to the centre of the road, but he quickly came back to me and we were never in harm’s way. It always amuses me at what horses do and don’t find spooky!

We got to the railway line, and the spring-loaded gate was shut. Gem had gotten through, but AM couldn’t turn fast enough to hold it open. I tried to position Hugo in the same place to open it, but he wasn’t keen on standing on the mound. I also was struggling to reach as AM has longer arms than me. After much faffing, we got it open and AM held it open. The waiting around as first in line felt like it had revved Hugo up even more than usual, but it’s hard to tell as he and all the horses come alive here as they know what’s coming.

Eventually, we got the ponies through, and Gem retook first place in the queue. We made sure it was clear and off we went, a straight leap up the gears from halt! Hugo started racing Gem however and in seconds, we were ahead – I sat down, said ‘Oops’ and looked to AM (L  knows me well enough to let me lead if my horse overtakes, as she knows I’ll stop in the right place, or will slow if I see people on track). I wasn’t sure what AM’s reaction would be as she doesn’t know me as well, but she told me to just keep going. Well,  I retook the two-point position, and keep going I did! Hugo flew – he was galloping along, and it felt wonderful – the sun was on us, and it felt like we were alone. It was like a snippet of owning my own horse – being out on our lonesome for a gallop, not another horse in sight, on a beautiful morning just because we fancied it :) I knew Hugo could go faster, but knew it would be irresponsible of me to put my leg on, so I withheld the urge. I was coming up to the point to transition down, and before I could sit in the saddle to bring him back, I heard AM shout ‘Whoa!’ and back we came to a canter and then trot. AM’s brakes had failed when she was on Hugo as lead horse on the railway line the week before, so she understood and was in no way unhappy about me leading when I asked her afterwards. She said that Hugo gets very wound up around Gem, especially when behind her, so it was almost to be expected. I was glad she hadn’t let me go ahead grudgingly, and it was nice walking off after the gallop two-a-breast, chatting lots.

On the second trot after the railway line however, we came across another hacker – a privately owned horse, a beautiful big bare mare, looking every bit the show horse. As soon as she clocked us from hundreds of yards away though, she went nuts. She has form for it, with most ride leaders having met her before, and the rider called for us to keep coming. The mare repeatedly cantered off, dashed into oncoming traffic (well done drivers for slowing suddenly and resisting the urge to toot their horn because they had to emergency stop). She also ran onto the footpath, kept backing up into the hedge on the left of the road, most of which has a steep ditch on the other side. It was a sight to behold, though the horse moved beautifully (passage, piaffe, halfpass – we saw the lot) but of course, without control it meant nothing! I recorded the tail end of it, not in any way to embarrass the woman, but to show what a star Hugo was and Gem in the lead too. There’s also a lovely moment when Hugo, the gentleman that he is, gives me a lovely hint that he’d like to go into the stubble field which was open for the first time in ages.  Also, near the end of the video when you hear a horse whinney, it’s the mad mare’s field mate, who galloped right up to where me and Hugo were, only the hedge in the way. All Hugo does is look! Superstar horse :D

http://youtu.be/08Aievq-j4Q

The mare’s yard is the first building on our turn-off for home. AM decided we wouldn’t go past her as she was enough of a handful even when her rider got off, so we took a different route home. It was shorter and involved more roads, but it had a decent amount of trot and I enjoyed it as a change. Hugo remained switched on the whole way home, and I enjoyed the riverside path back to the yard with my feet out of the stirrups, and Hugo happily marching, with his ears bouncing along as usual. I could watch his beautiful big ears flop and circle all day long :)

I got a quick cuddle when I got off, and was chuffed to bits at what a good boy he’d been – keen but controllable, never making me worry that the mad mare was going to put me and my fellow ride members in danger, and giving me that ‘my own horse’ moment on the railway line at a gallop. I do so love the very bones of that horse :)

So, the next weekend arrived, and I knew I wanted either Starsky or Hugo. When I went out and it was raining, I’d made my mind up: the only heavy rainfall I’ve ever hacked in was my first time hacking out Hugo, so the weather chose him for me. I was delighted, as he’s fun and fast enough for an L hack, but sane enough to not be a bother on a slow hack (not like trying to hold Ransom back when he disagrees with the speed set by the horses in front). Ask, and ye shall receive: I was given Sir Hugo and was grinning from ear to ear.

While my leader wasn’t going to be the fast L or LD, it was A, who always squeezes in more canter than the rest. She was also leading the ride on Ransom, so I’d huge hopes that it would be a quick one. I didn’t know the lady out with us (hurray to the private hack though), but she was on Whisperer, who’d keep her own steady pace rather than taking off like a bat out of hell, keeping her rider safe. (It later turned out that she’s done Common Rides though, so it could have been more fun if she’d a faster horse too). A was not in great form at first however – she wasn’t much chat and looked glum, not taking long to share how she hates everything about Winter. We all have grumpy days and she was never rude, so I wasn’t bothered. In fact, I more than understood!

We got to the first canter, the big hill, and while preparing myself for a bat-out-of-hell chase up the hill behind Ransom, A kept the pace steady. I was gutted – my fears that it would be a tame affair because of A’s mood seem to be realised.

Before long, we were on the flat up in the woods. A was concerned Ransom wasn’t sound in his front off, but it’s hard to tell because of his stringhalt. I watched his action in walk, trot and canter but could see no unevenness, nodding or anything else indicating an issue. A seemed to brighten up at that :)

The first canter and A did an L, starting the canter at the earliest possible point, hundred and hundreds of yards before the puddles that other leaders make us begin afterwards. She kept the pace so steady though that it felt like a ‘school’ canter, and I decided to sit to it. In fact, with the exception of the inclined canter, I did all the woodland section sitting to Hugo’s canter – I’ve not done that much sitting since I started at the yard and hacked Frankie! It wasn’t beautiful, I could tell that much, but it was effective, I was in balance, and while Hugo was going along actively (whereas lots of the other horses need a lot of leg if you want to sit to the canter, as they assume you’re putting the brakes on if you usually ride in the light seat). It was sedate, verging on boring, but the day was beautiful, the air was like a cold slap on my face, and it felt like a nice change just this once.

We reached the inclined woodland canter, and rather than waiting to after the lake-like puddle, we took off right from the flat, and with a bit more speed as it was uphill. A explained to the woman on Whisperer to stay left for the puddle and be careful as it dips, so follow what I was doing on Hugo. We arrived at the puddle and I moved my balance back, tackling it like a drop on an XC course, and on we went as happy as larry. I looked back, and Whisperer had taken her carefully around, so all was well.

Unlike all the other leaders, A also let us canter back down this inclined path. Hugo however was not keen – he broke into trot at all the patchwork puddles, didn’t listen to my leg, but leapt into canter at the slightest touch with my crop. As soon as he worked out I was serious and we were doing things the way I wanted, he became very responsive and generous. He also looked after me totally: the dip is so big that I expected him not to run up the mound, but literally jump up it. I moved my balance forward as we went over, but he didn’t jump as I’d planned. When Hugo felt me a bit ahead he slowed the pace a bit, making sure I was alright (I was: I was at no risk of falling, but it certainly wasn’t a comfortable experience being a tad too far forward in canter), speeding up to catch Ransom up as soon as I’d adjusted a second later.  All in all, while Hugo needed more aids was generally feeling the sluggish mood from A and Ransom, he did listen when I knew I wasn’t having any of it. What more could you ask for? :)

Once crossing the bridge, A. suddenly became chatty, and I had some wonderful natters with her. We talked about Common Rides, and she pointed out to me that my provisional first choice  location was a bit tame and with no field work, and there’d be better rides to set me up for what I wanted to do and give me field experience. She also gave me different advice on horses than L. While L said go for a quiet, steady horse like Hutch or Corrie, A said she could never recommend a horse for someone: all that mattered was that you know the horse, and you trust it. Whether it’s fast or not is irrelevant if you’re balanced, and all the horses are a bit mental on the day – it’s all pulling, leaping, snorting, and taking off like a bat out of hell in the blink of an eye. For a long time, Hugo has been on that esteemed list of horses I trust, even when dancing around and eager to go; it was quite nice for someone to indirectly confirm that he’s the right choice, precisely because those feelings I have about him and his temperament are so important.

The road work was full of chat, and lots of shouting for the lady to catch Whisperer up. The railway line came up, and we were delighted it was free! There was little waiting, but the take-off was steady as A had collected Ransom up, rather than opening him up which was disappointing. Ransom could definitely go faster than Hugo, so I had been looking forward to the extra gear Hugo and I would have to use to keep up. Still, Hugo was a star, as Ransom was spooking all over the place, and because he was shying from terrifying things like fallen logs on either side, he was essentially weaving. Hugo stayed straight and unafraid, and A opened Ransom up a lot more after the logs. The speed was better, much more fun, and I noticed how the sun was striking us differently now the season had changed and it was lower in the sky. There was an amazing silhouette of me and Hugo galloping along, and I spent most of the gallop watching that, those images now emblazoned on my mind like a slow-motion, colour film. Hugo’s outline is mistakable because he carries his head high – the vision of us powering along, me looking like a shadowy jockey were just glorious, as was the trust to not watch where I was going and attend to what laid ahead, especially as Ransom was making such a big deal of the tiniest things. Two weeks in a row, and I have motion picture-perfect moments captured in my mind’s eye for all eternity – I LOVE this horse!

Taking my seat back in the saddle, Hugo came back to me like a dream. We had a glorious walk in the sun, all three of us quiet and smiling after a blast on our horses. As A. wasn’t turning around to talk to me, I did something I’ve only ever done in a school before – I rode with my eyes closed. I was amazed at how much I could feel – I noticed when Hugo was drifting to one side of the path as I could feel his body lacked straightness. A quick opening of my eyes confirmed that we had moved over to the side I thought we had. The end of the line approaches a main road, and I only opened my eyes when we turned at the end to cross. It was a wonderful feeling to trust a horse out in the open like that, and feel little things like his head position changing, and his body curving. Still, how anyone like Marie rides having never had that visual information or not able to verify their feelings with their eyes, I don’t know! It remains rather remarkable to me :)

The rest of the ride was made up of bouncy but fast trot work, laughing at Ransom spooking, and pootling home on a long rein, with no stirrups. We met the nutty horse again, but she was only 100yards from home this time, so apart from some unintended lateral work from the mare and her rider, everything was safe and over quickly this time around. Not that it mattered to me – Hugo proved last week that he was as solid as a rock. I would not have trusted Ransom the same though: seeing him out and being a tit even with A. on a calm day does make me realise I took on a challenge to hack him out, and really can count coming home with no unscheduled dismounts as a little victory! lol.

Getting back, I actually had Hugo to myself for a few minutes. The extra time was lovely – I do miss the horsey contact of tacking up, untacking, grooming, even mucking out; it really is the only downside to my yard as it is! Getting far enough away to photograph Hugo’s adorable face and donkey ears was difficult even with LD coming in to help, but I still think he looks adorable, even though my pics are shockingly bad :)

 :P

So, in a couple of weeks I’ve had fun, forward, run away into the sunset Hugo, and lazy but responsive when he knew I meant it Hugo (and, to be fair, the air of the last hack from A.’s quietness and slowness was lazy, and Hugo was obliging when he was told he was doing what I wanted, not what the leader wanted). I do so love this horse, and his high head carriage does provide some reassurance in gallop, even when he tears off. Perhaps I won’t be galloping around the countryside next year, on a big grey after all… :D