I travelled to
the yard in the sunshine, and it did a lot to improve my mood after such a bad
day yesterday. (I had Royal Mail lose some important post, and a beautician
ruined my eyebrows and left me with burns from using wax that was too hot, and
on sensitive eyelid skin that should never have been touched). Anyway, I had
been looking forward to riding all week, and the sun had brought a smile to my
face.
I’d spent
several days turning over the Abbie-Starsky choice in my head. There is one
month exactly until my first Common Ride. I have an either/or option of horses,
and they are Starsky and Abbie. I love Starsky, but I haven’t ridden him (or
any horse over 16.2 actually) for 6 months: I have been itching for the big
boys to be fit enough to take out for 2hrs, and was disappointed to have meet
both Starsky and Hutch on a trek last weekend; I would have taken Starsky ahead
of Tom if I’d known he was available. Anyhow, while my heart has been aflutter
with the excitement of riding a big half-Friesian saucepot, my head knows that
I need to ride Abbie: I have never ridden her before, and have only decided
upon her from what I’ve seen. I might not get on with her at all, a risk I find
slightly greater with mares than geldings, so I knew it made sense to ride her
first – I could either remove her as a back-up or even try to get her for my
final ride instead of the slower Hutch depending on my opinion. In the end, I decided
to let YO decide.
I actually got a
lift from the bus stop from YO and her daughter, and it was lovely to natter
with them. I arrived early enough to see the horses get groomed, and I knew
Abbie was free. (There were 8 horses at the season’s first Common Ride
yesterday, and had left the yard at least an hour earlier). I also saw Spice
fully tacked up: she is one of L’s lightning-fast favourites, and those hacks
are always fast, furious and fun. Between the sun, and hardly anyone outside
the office, my hopes were building for a quiet, fast ‘Spice hack’ in the sun… I
was not to be disappointed!
I went into the
office, asked for Abbie or Starsky (rather than Starsky or Abbie, as I knew
riding her was more important), and I was given Abbie. In fact, I think Starsky
might have been away, as Hutch went trekking with Buddy, rather than Starsky
which was unusual. I got on her, and she felt smaller than she looks – she looks
like a small, 15hh horse from the ground but sat on her, she felt a bit like
Guinness – a 14.2hh pony!
We set off from
the yard, with a lovely man S on Ripper being called up to make the front 3
with myself and L; she said she wanted the faster horses first. I think what
she meant was faster riders, as I suspect that the 17hh Jacko would outpace
Abbie in a straight-line! We trotted to the river, and my stirrups suddenly
felt both long and uneven – I felt like an unbalance beginner, close to being
bounced off! Abbie tripping in the river was certainly not a pleasant
experience with such awkward stirrups. Before the first canter I had to change
them twice, and got the length and evenness improved enough to feel secure.
Abbie’s choppy trot stride didn’t help, but it’s certainly not impossible to
sit to.
As predicted, Spice
went from zero to gallop up the first canter hill. L wasn’t kidding when she
said she’d meet us again at the top. Even Ripper couldn’t keep up! Abbie tried
her heart out though, and kept in touch with Ripper. Her canter was balanced
and easy to ride, and I was grinning from ear to ear!
Upon getting up to
the woods, the home of most of the canter work, we had to avoid the long canter
stretch as there were dogs loose at the top of it. L promised we’d do it on the
way back, and as soon as we got further in and I realised we were taking the ‘private’
route (longer, faster, and more varied). With Spice leading us around it, I was
chuffed! The hill we canter up there is much steeper than the first one, and
gives the best feeling. The last rider, on the very slow Flynn, described the
experience as a ‘bit scary’. I sort of felt for her then; they don’t come much
slower and more reliable than Flynn, and canter’s easier uphill: it doesn’t get
much easier, but at least we could trust Flynn never to try to gallop and catch
up! lol. He is a fine introduction into those faster take-offs though, so I do
hope it would help the lady’s confidence grow by managing to accomplish it all.
Abbie was
fabulous in every canter: she went from walk to flying, and despite not having
the reassuring big neck of Starsky (the horse I have the most fast work
experience with), I always felt secure. We got up to the gallop on the farmer’s
lane, and we dropped off Ripper a little. My friend says Abbie kept up with
Ripper at the big Common Ride, so I think it’s just a fitness thing as it’s
early in the season. I put my leg on and found she had a bit more in the tank,
and catching up a little was fun! We turned at the end, and set off galloping back
down the path again. Spice was going a bit mental, and it took L over 100m to
stop her: the track ends in a corner that turns downhill, and I was not
relishing even watching someone hit that at speed, never mind ride it myself! I
asked Abbie to come back to me despite the lead horse still in a frenzy, and
the wee mare did – she decelerated as momentum subsided, and we were in trot
long before the corner. I’d got a good feeling for Abbie on a Common Ride: she
will be keen, but still listening to her rider. She’s very off the leg if you
need to put it on, but I rather suspect that she will be giving her all without
any need for leg on the big occasion!
The only problem
with having gone the alternate route is that we couldn’t take it to get out of
the woods, rather, we had to retrace out steps. I think L wasn’t prepared to go
the other way as it involves a gate, and she’d spent some time saying Spice
would be an unbearable Common Riding horse when you have to get from gallop to
walk to get through a narrow gate. Fair enough, but it meant going down that
ridiculously steep hill. L assured me that we would be walking, and that I need
downhill practice for the staff Common Ride (YAY! *gulp*). Spice started to
trot near the bottom, and L was swearing at her to get her into walk. Ripper
was grand, but Abbie lost her balance on the way down, pushing me forward; we
got dangerously close to the point of no return, and I was already planning my
fall. I was worried she could come over me, so I’d planned to roll down and
away from her. Luckily she got her front end up a little, and I’d already got
my weight back as far as I could. She then tried to trot, and I was terrified
she’d leap off the hill like we were on the Hickstead Derby bank, but I managed
to get her to walk. I intensely dislike going downhill (S will attest to my
shouts of “Feck-a-doodle-do!”), and prefer to do it in walk only. That was
definitely the sharpest gradient I’ve descended on a horse, and I hated every
second. There better not be much downhill canter work on the Common Ride!
After that hairy
moment, all was well again: the last two canters in the woods were belters, and
we got to start them earlier on the path than usual. The only disappointment
was the long stretch that we had to miss because of the dogs; on the way back
to do it, we met Buddy leading Hutch on a trek, and he was already being a tool
and wanting to join us. There’s no way we could have cantered with Budd nearby,
even if we’d started 100yards later, so we missed it out on both ways. Still,
we’d got some gallop work in and taken the faster, longer way around, so I wasn’t
complaining!
After crossing
the bridge at the woods, the hack steadies up. I’d not long thought “Well, we
got 3 novices through the hardest bit on a fast, quite advanced hack: all’s
good!” Not much sooner had I thought that than I heard “Sh*t! Stop! Debz, look
behind you!” I had 3 horses up my backside, (Jacko, Lou and Flynn) and not a
single rider on any of them, and not a rider in sight either. We’d just gone
down a tiny hill, turned right, and then started trotting when we got on the
flat before a tarmacked hill. We were at the top of the hill when L noticed,
and I’d presumed that maybe someone fell on the way down. L dismounted to go
back for riders, as did S; I was the only person left mounted. L said the
horses were happy eating, so for me to trot ahead to find the fallers. One
appeared around the corner before I could start, so I then turned on my heels
to babysit the 5 loose horses. All I could think was “I want to canter up this
hill”, and as soon as I thought it, Abbie did it! I knew L would hear the hoof
beats and know I wasn’t trotting though, and that it would not be a good idea
to be cantering towards the horses once I reached the top and they could see
me. I gave a loud “TROT!” so L knew I wasn’t being reckless, and Abbie got the
message immediately. I’d the easiest job in the house, watching all the horses
eat grass in the sunshine!
About 5mins
later, the 5 riders came walking up the hill, all of them smiling and able to
move. It turned out that Jacko had tripped over his own feet, so his rider came
off over his shoulder. The other two ponies had been too close behind him, so
made a sudden diamond formation to avoid collision, and the riders weren’t
balanced enough to sit the sudden jump to either side. They all got back on,
were able to laugh, and no one’s confidence was destroyed. All’s well that ends
well! Still, it’s A who’s known for leading hacks with fallers. 3 in a row
falling off at a walk would have been impressive even for her – for L it is unheard
of!
Abbie was unflappable
and obedient during the road-work. She does shake her head, and it became more noticeable
with so much walk and trot, as the only paces she doesn’t shake in are canter and
gallop. She wasn’t disobediently yanking though, so it was easy to ignore, and
was a small irritation at most. I did give her a long rein so there was no
chance of her accidentally tugging, but because she was being a bit marish
about being behind the faster Ripper, she’d drift out and I’d have to keep
taking up the contact to correct her. I think I irked S a little bit with her
creeping out of line, but she did toss a less with a relaxed contact. I reckon
I’ll get the balance better the next time I ride her, and be able to pre-empt
her stepping out better.
Before we know
it, the railway line was upon us. I had been excited about it for the whole
ride. Sadly the Park still isn’t open for summer, so the chance to join it
early is still not available. (That’s annoying me a bit, as it normally opens
for summer in April. It is now May, the weather is good, and it’s still closed.
GRR)! We got onto the line, and L explained the procedure to the 3 at the back,
because once we were on the straight, she wouldn’t have the chance! I
volunteered to be the person to gallop with one hand, so I could pass a hand
signal back about slowing up, but L said they should be far enough back to see
what we’re doing long before they need to do the same.
We got onto the
straight, there was no one around, and off we blasted from a near-standstill.
It already felt like we were flying, but when we made it around the bend and
could see the second half of the line, L really opened Spice up. Abbie obliged,
tearing off in a gallop, and when I put my leg on as Ripper had started to get
away, Abbie went up another gear for me. The line was clear the whole way along
– we only had to come back to trot and to walk because we reached the point
where the ground hardens. Abbie came back to me steadily and safely, and seemed
as happy as I did. She was still full of beans at the end, jogging to try and
get ahead, so I rode alongside Ripper so that we could all chat. L voiced her
approval of me doing my first Common Ride earlier in the season, and booking
the superb Starsky as my horse (Abbie as a second). L knows exactly what horses
I like, where my confidence is, what horses I’m strong enough to hold, and what
my skill is, as she pushes me closer to my boundaries than any other Ride
Leader. When she rubber stamps a choice, I have confidence that it’s the right
one, so that made me smile.
After the last
gallop, I felt my hips aching – I knew that I still hadn’t found the right
stirrup lengths. The next two trots seemed to go on forever, and I felt
uncharacteristically untidy. I was glad to get off the roads, and finally got
my stirrups to match at an ideal length. Shame I only managed it 20mins from
home! I did make sure to note what holes they were in when I dismounted though,
as it’ll make riding Abbie much easier in future. (Interestingly enough, the
only horse whose leathers I know off by heart are Hugo’s). I enjoyed heading
home in the sun, enjoying the chat, and with the most exquisite smell of wild
garlic. It was enough to make me hungry!
Back at the
yard, Abbie tripped in the river, in the exact same place that she had on the
way across. I’m glad I have secure seat, or I could have got a dunking! Mind
you, this is the first time where I thought it might actually be refreshing.
She got taken off me a bit quickly as there were 4 rides to sort out, so time
was of the essence. I got her unsaddled and gave her a scratch though, having
stroked her most of the river-side walk home. She’d been a lovely little horse,
and felt trustworthy almost immediately.
Part of the way
round, S had asked me what I made of Abbie. “Nice” was my reply – she didn’t
have the wow factor, but was more forward going and a bit faster than I’d
expected. She was perfectly likeable, but it wasn’t love-at-first-ride. If it
was a first date, I’d have told my friends that I’d definitely go on a second
date as there’s potential there, but I wouldn’t have been gushing about the
experience with love hearts in my eyes.
As the ride went
on however, the more I liked Abbie. She was prepared to ride away from the other
horses when I was left mounted on my own, and was obedient in all the paces in
terms of transitioning up and down (and that’s at Spice’s manic pace, when the excitement
levels are high). She did want to overtake Ripper, but was very submitting to
correction, and I think I can pre-empt her better next time. She also wasn’t
spooky, doing nothing worse than look and speed up a little when some dogs
started snarling through their garden fence, and I’d noticed how long her ears
were (a weakness of mine, and a sign of good nature in my experience so far). I’d
gone from thinking “Hmm, I need to ride Starsky again before deciding whether
Abbie is Common Riding material” to thinking that actually, she’s pretty
perfect for a CR-newbie like me. She’s fast enough so as not lead to regret
(c.f. Hero), but not enough to potentially be disconcerting. Despite her
opinion about riding order, she’s actually polite, and was prepared to do what
I wanted and not just what the horses in front were doing. There’s a part of me
that wants to do at least one Common Ride on Starsky or Hutch, but I’d
definitely be happy on Abbie. In fact, I’ll hopefully ride Starsky next Sunday,
and then I can decide if I want him for Ride 1, and see if I can swap the
slower Hutch for the faster Abbie on my last ride. She also stands out in the
crowd as she’s skewbald, so if Tom or some workmates do go onto the beach to
watch me, I should still be fairly easy to spot among the crowds.
All in all, I
had a fab ride! I got my favourite ride leader and on one of the fastest horses
on the whole yard. The sun had been shining, but there was a glorious cool
breeze to make things comfortable, and to cool both Abbie and I down after the
fast work (of which we had plenty_. There had been only 5 clients on the ride,
compared to last week’s 12, meaning that it was safe to go faster and take the
alternate route. The railway line had also been entirely devoid of pedestrians
and cyclists. In fact, if the park had been open and my friend had been there
(she also missed the last fast hack that we had, much to her chagrin), it might
have been perfect! Still, we’re riding
out together next Sunday: fingers crossed for the same and more next time J
Oh, I also
bought a helmet cam and SD card for the CR season this weekend: fingers crossed
they’ll be here before next weekend’s hack, so that I can get a bit of practice
at it. All being well, I’ll have a video blog entry soon! :D
L-R: Abbie & Spice at a Common Ride last summer.
