I arrived at the
yard early today, and found lots of the Common Riding horses on the actual open
yard rather than the barn. It meant I got some nice photos and a bit of time
with each of them, so here’s a few of the pics I took with my phone. Hugo is
always very photogenic, but sadly I really need to get Starsky out of his box
and in the light to really capture his size and beauty!
Starsky:
I like big butts and I cannot lie!
Hero:
Hugo:
I spent most
time unexpectedly with Abbie Bear, and that’s who I asked for in the office.
Sadly she has thrown a shoe, so I was told I needed to have “Hutch or something
big like that”. Well, given that Hutch is the bottom of my big horse list, I
asked for Starsky or Jacko and was given Jacko – the orange ex-showjumper that
is a bit dead to the leg, but rides beautifully from the seat and with very
light hand aids. Collecting and extending him is a positive joy!
Jacko
L was taking us
out, and while I was ready to put myself as the last horse before the ponies, L
called me up behind her; she was riding Finn out, who is still a green, spooky
and cheeky 4-5 year old that’s learning to be a lead horse. Jacko was chosen as
steady, even-tempered company for the young chap.
I was enjoyed
the banter between L and M, but when the first canter came, I needed a lot of
leg and indeed my crop to get Jacko out of a fast trot and into canter, the
lazy sausage that he is. I quickly realised that I’d forgotten the trio of
things I’d been relying on recently to keep me riding: my ankle support
bandages, my prophylactic Ibuprofen and my physio exercises. D’oh! I mean, the
bandages and drugs I can understand, as I had to leave the house earlier so it
was easy to forget in the rush. I was clearly just too busy fussing horses and
nattering to people to remember to warm-up on the yard though, the buck eejit
that I am!
Anyhow, the
first canter needed lots of leg to make Jacko canter up the slightly spiralling
wood-edged path, but he was nice and straight for me, as opposed to the
banana-shape he can sometimes hold himself in. We got to open up a bit more on
the next canter on the flat, but Finn totally freaked out at the puddles, and
did a big shy and wall-of-death impression; Jacko isn’t bothered by puddles,
but he was letting me know he wanted to go right of the puddle rather than
through in case Finn had spotted Nessie in there, so I steered him around it.
I’m always glad of keeping a couple of horses’ length behind the person in
front when that kind of stuff happens, so you’ve time to see what is happening
and make a choice, rather than be a passenger amidst it. The horses can also
decide how to react too, rather than being so close that reacting identically
to the horse in front is the only sensible option in terms of survival.
The next canter
was slightly uphill, and while I’d apologised to my friend on Ripper when I was
put in front of her about the pace she’d have to keep, L split the ride a
little; so, Finn and Jacko were to go the short-route and Ripper was to lead
the rest of the riders on the long route, meaning they’d get a slightly longer
canter, but could also go faster to make the gap (as long as they didn’t give
us the bum’s rush). So, I had a lovely canter uphill, watching Finn dance
around puddles like a madman while me and Jacko just pulled a collective
“WTF?!” face and ploughed on in a straight line! Cantering back down was just
as easy too despite going slightly downhill, as Jacko is comfy and needs a
minimal amount of voice, seat and fingertips to bring back. On the last canter Finn freaked out a bit
less about the same puddles from the opposite direction, and it felt like we
went that bit faster. I still couldn’t smile with my mouth open for the mud
though!
The roadwork was
interesting. At the sheep farm, we met walkers on the footbridge and L stopped
to let them through. However having stopped, Finn planted and napped, and I
took the lead to get us all across the bridge (even though Jacko is not a lead
horse either, so was rather tentative about the whole thing). It then took a
solid 5 minutes of both me and Finn spinning and pushing to get Finn to
overtake Jacko’s place. Jacko was a star, only moving to avoid Finn who was
pushing into him, but Finn was trying to run backwards. After lots of
knee-knocking and body-blocking, L finally got Finn back in lead file, and we
made the decision that rather than do the polite and usual thing of stopping to
let people go first, that everyone (pedestrians included) would be safer if we
kept moving at a walk, and they either waited or moved for us.
We made it
through town fairly quietly. Yesterday Finn had spooked at a plastic bag and
ran onto the other side of the road into the path of a bus: seriously NOT COOL!
He did take off in canter at one point after a slap for napping, but Jacko
remained entirely unperturbed. I fact, if he could talk, I think Jacko would
have been scoffing about all the wasted energy – what a rookie error! lol.
L talked about
changing the order for the railway line, as Finn slowing and spooking would
make it a bit stop-start and not very enjoyable for the rest of us. I was
hoping it wasn’t me that had to lead – I would have been happy to, had I not
found out Jacko doesn’t lead and I felt his tension even just leading over the
bridge. After a beautiful walk through the Country Park, the sound of hooves
reverberating among the trees with the sound of the waterfall beside us, we
reached the bottom of the steps onto the Railway Line. Thankfully M on Ripper
was put as lead horse, but was not allowed to gallop: she had to keep it steady
until the bend, and if clear, could open up a little bit, but no galloping.
That could have been a challenge on Ripper, but M did such a sterling job, I
thanked her at the end. Not only did I get to canter the big man all the way
from the steps until we met human traffic near the end of the line, but we were
all a safe distance from each other, and even Finn behaved. I did spend a lot
of it trying to get a flying change out of Jacko though, as he was striking off
on the left lead in a banana shape, and it wasn’t very comfy. While I can
change him on a steady canter, he wasn’t for switching for me now that we were
faster. It did help me realise that even on a Common Ride if Jacko wasn’t
riding straight, I would be okay on him, and I would definitely consider him if
Abbie was ever unavailable; Jacko was an non-fussed as Zing Zang upon entering
a field for a gallop on my last private hack, but with a bit more speed.
The walk home
was done in pairs wherever possible, and the chat was good. We knew it wouldn’t
be a fast hack as it was a ‘schooling’ hack for Finn in the lead-file, and
there were riders L didn’t know with us which precluded doing stubble fields.
It was also well inside my comfort zone and on a bigger horse (about 17hh), so
that always does my confidence good, if not my sense of adventure!
I have been
asked twice now to do the charity show though, so I have signed up and emailed
to book my horse and a jumping lesson in a couple of weeks time. *GULP!* While
L told me that a professional photographer would be there, which is appealing
as I have hardly any jumping photos of myself, I have now found out that a film
crew will be there to cover the show for an Equestrian TV company too. AARGH! I
just keep telling myself “I’m doing it for the Sick Kids’ Hospital, I’m doing
it for the Sick Kids’ Hospital…” There is still a chance that my work schedule
won’t allow it, as it’s a Friday afternoon. Still, my name’s officially in the
hat now and Tom has been provisionally booked – I guess I’ll have to give it a
go if the stars align for me!
I am also going
for a hack at a different yard this week; a trekking centre on the other side
of the city is offering 2hr mid-week hacks for about £25. Me, my friend, and
another riding buddy are off on Friday afternoon to give them a whirl. We’re
not looking to change yards (we are MORE than happy where we are), but with
horsey holidays to think of, practice on horses and routes we don’t know is
good experience; plus a new riding adventure is always fun! I already hack at
the fastest yard around, so I figure going somewhere unknown, while it’ll
challenge my nerves a wee bit, the riding should actually be easier and will
provide a wee boost. I am also awaiting an email that will hopefully bring more
exciting horsey news this week… It’s all going on at the moment it seems!
Me & Jacko
post-hack on Sunday :)
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