A ‘Common Riding’ Dilemma – WWYD?

The booking has opened up for this year’s Common Ridings at my yard. For those of you that don’t know, Common Rides or Riding of the Marches are an ancient tradition dating back centuries in the Scottish Borders. With so many disputes and wars with the English, the boundaries of each township needed to be checked on a regular basis to make sure they hadn’t been encroached or taken over by English revellers. The best way to do this was to send townsfolk out on their horses to ride the borders to ensure the land was still theirs. These traditional rides were hundreds of years old, but were revived in the early 20^th century under behest of the new King as a celebration, and apart from the two World Wars, have been in place ever since. They usually occur as part of a week or even a fortnight of a festival celebrating the town in question, its history and traditions.

As a rider, the Common Ride provides many highlights. By galloping over fields and commons with anything up to 300 other riders depending on the town/city, you can REALLY gallop: the horses find an extra gear you never ever knew they had, even those with their owners for years, and you really soar at break-neck speeds. You also get the joy of parading through a town bursting full of spectators, decorated in festival bunting, all of them cheering you along the way. Many go to one of the gallops too, so you often see riders waving.  Along with so many spectators, come lots of photos and videos available in blogs, on Facebook, on YouTube along with at least one if not more professional photographers to buy pictures from. For someone like me that rides without bringing a friend so has so few photos to document my riding, that holds more appeal that one might at first realise.

However, the difficult part about Common Rides is typically holding your horse. The horses are allowed onto the gallops in groups, or are paced in pairs. You could easily have to control your own horse while it watches 100 others gallop off, so it’s titting around excited about taking off; you need to be fit to hold them for safety. Also, once you’re off on a gallop, there’s no stopping. You can’t chicken out and break into trot – I doubt most horses would listen to you anyway; once a horse is with its herd, you’re a passenger! It’s also unsafe because with so many horses, people are typically around you on all sides, and horses are over-taking because there’s a natural variation in their top speed. I’m told that when you fall off, it’s not hitting the ground you need to worry about – it’s whether you get trampled by those coming behind you, and how far away your horse is by the time it’s finished galloping (think like TBs on a racetrack when their jockey’s off – they stay running with the herd no matter how sweet or human-oriented their nature).

So, considering all that information, I am in two minds. From invigilating exams, I will have enough money at the end of this month to book one Common Ride, even though ideally I’d like to have done at least two. I am between two rides, and between two horses (or at least two types of horse). I thought writing it all out might help clarify things in my mind, and perhaps you readers might have a few helpful opinions too!

So, I guess I’ll start with the two Common Rides I’m choosing between.

Ride A happens earlier in the season from B by 2-3 weeks. I don’t drive, but I can easily get there on the city bus, and I like the town enough that I’ll probably be going to watch the Riders come in on the Saturday (I’d be doing the quieter, faster Monday ride). The ride doesn’t contain fields or commons because of its location. Instead, the key gallops are along the beach (something I dreamed of when I was at Uni, as I lived near the beach from Chariots of Fire and Coldplay’s Yellow music video but my last yard wasn’t insured for hacks), and galloping on the race course (not the full course sadly, but some of the quieter grass tracks). With less galloping and straight forward entry/exit onto these stretches, the ride is easy and relatively low risk compared to others. You ford the river twice, the same river that I have to cross to hack out from my yard in fact, and you pick up the townflag from a beautiful castle. With taking the flag out on Monday’s ride, rather than returning it to mark the end of the festival in the ride with more riders involved on a Saturday, the ride is faster and it’s an easier introduction into galloping with so many horses, especially so many you don’t know.

In fact, here’s a quick snippet from towards the end of the beach gallop, very close to where the riders start pulling up: 

Common Riding on the Beach

The downsides of Ride A for me are also the same as some of the upsides. Essentially, I am afraid of spending a lot of money and despite enjoying the ride, finding it tame, precisely because it’s an easy Common Ride and there’s only the beach and race track to really let go at. The seasoned riders on the yard, including all my ride leaders, all say the joy of Common Riding is galloping on open fields and wilds – Ride A doesn’t offer that at all. Also, because I’d be riding the faster and quieter Monday, it would be an evening ride with fewer spectators and fewer chances for photos or videos (though my OH may perhaps be convinced to come out for the beach gallop at least if he’s not busy – a big if though given his job). The yard often does one or two beach rides a year that you can hire for, so other beach riding opportunities do exist; besides, I could always wait for the time when I’ll have my own horse if worst came to worst :)

So, onto Ride B. While Ride A is a fairly new Common Ride, as it was a bit far north to be a Borders patrol centuries ago, Ride B is one of the oldest in the country. It used to be that young men of the town had to carry stones, and instead of riding a boundary per se, they rode from Cairn to Cairn, and placed a stone to show that the Cairn had been checked. The young fellas got into trouble when they started carrying booze instead of stones instead! Still, the Common Ride route has barely changed for hundred of years – the ride is full of fast work through harvested fields and open commons, but is still regarded by those in the know as a suitable Common Ride for those new to them (presumably it’s not as long or with as much galloping as the rides marked ‘wet and wild’ – I can’t wait to be enough of a horseman to be ready for those)! My aim is to do the city ride I photographed last year, and it is a fast ride over open fields, meaning Ride B would be better preparation (Ride A provides Common Riding experience, Ride B provides Common Riding and field-galloping experience). From watching the videos on YT, the turn-out is wonderful, and I can see so many of my yard’s horses there from previous years. Two of my friends that Common Ride each year, including one woman capable of some of the faster rides, usually do Ride B and speak highly of it. Here’s the kind of thing it involves:

Galloping/Cantering on a Cairn

So, the cons of Ride B are that it will be a bigger test of nerves. I think I’ll be a bit nervous at first, but will quickly settle into the excitement of it, but there will be many more occasions of holding a prancing, snorting, excited horse that’s pulling to be released. Also, it’s not reachable by bus for me, so I’d have to rely on finding a friend with space in their car or seeing if the YO has a space in one of the horse lorries (both of which I’m told are easily doable, I’m just a bit of a worrier when it comes to planning things out). I’ve never been to the town before, so I don’t hold the same affection as I do for Town A, which I live only a few miles away from and think is lovely.

So, on top of choosing an easy, fun versus harder ride, more respresentative ride, I need to add an extra layer of complexity – which horse I request, as in theory there’s about 30 I could pick from. I have it narrowed down to two main choices – Hugo, or a steady grey (of which I mean Corrie, Hutch or James, but I’ll consider them together as their natures are very similar).

Hugo & my little sister

So, the advantages of having Hugo are that I adore him (I’m hard picked to select a favourite on the yard, but if you really pushed me, it would probably be him). More than that though, I trust Hugo. While he can be a bouncy, kind plod on a hack, I have ridden the other side – I have hacked him when he’s mischevious and snorty, titting around looking to be released. It did not scare me, and I handled him (well, apart from that overtake of my leader AM, but I did offer to wrestle him back into second and she refused). I also feel comfortable galloping on him – he’s got the neck carriage of a driving horse, and that higher head feels oddly comforting at speed. I also know I can gallop him and take my surroundings in – I’ve done the railway line enjoying our silhouette in the Winter’s morning sun, and galloped him one handed when my hat was attacked by a tree. I also know that he’d be fun – he is apparently a flying machine, so fast he’s capable of being a lead rider’s horse, and loses about 10yrs in age for the day. In fact, L is a speed demon, and L has chosen to take Hugo out on Common Rides before – he is no boring ride! In fact, here she is:

The downsides to Hugo are almost the same – the fact that he will be excitable, and while any horse will show you its extra gears on the day, Hugo’s top speed is one to be reckoned with. For all that I trust him implicitly, he may be a more challenging ride than some of the quieter horses. He’s also bouncy, so my trot work never looks beautiful on him (though I’m not bothered how I look – I’m sure no one will be looking at me and caring, and all I’m worried about it having fun)! His saddle has also been deeply uncomfortable that day on the wet ride and for my little sister, but oddly fine thereafter. Essentially, he could be a bigger challenge to my opening nerves than some of the other horses. Most of my ride leaders don’t suggest Hugo as a first time horse as he’s not a novice ride, but A said choosing a horse you trust is far more important than the horse itself per se – you’ll have the skills to balance on any galloping horse’s back, so if you trust one will go around safely and their excitability won’t worry you because of the bond, that’s important. Besides, last year a man new to riding fell in love with Robbie, a flying machine even on hacks, learned to hack solely on him, did his first Common Ride with him despite Robbie not being a novice horse in any situation, and had a blast! So, trust is important (but perhaps so is nerve).

In fact, here’s a video that shows horses going down a tarmac path and entering a gallop stretch. Skip to 2mins in, when the main set of horses begins. In fact, pause at 2.04, and that beautiful bouncy bay in the middle of the screen, with the star and hind right white pastern IS Hugo, and while he’s ready to go, he’s being very restrained in fact! If you watch the other horses though, it gives an idea of why entry on a gallop is actually the most dangerous point on a CR, rather than the gallops themselves – you need to make it safely around any sharp turns your horse may throw in. The steward is trying to get them to enter the field in walk for safety by the way, so note how many are in canter before they even go through the muddy entrance. (For those of you interested in the horse going nuts the poster is referring to, it’s the grey on the bank at 3:45): Entering a Gallop - Dances With Horses!

So, the other option is a steady grey – either Corrie or Hutch who I’ve ridden before, or James who I’ve not but there’s plenty of time to try out.  Here are the usual suspects:

Corrie beginning the final parade in the city CR (with Winston the flying chestnut to his right):

 Hutch and I at the end of a 2hr hack: 

 James at the end of the City CR: 

The pros are that these horses are all calmer and quieter, with lower top speeds than Hugo. Aside from James who is apparently stoic under all conditions, these horses will still get excited and will really go, but will not be as much of a handful while waiting to be released, and their slower speeds might make for a more comforting feel on a first ride. This is a terribly vain point, and only the tiniest one in importance I assure you, but I do love a grey. Not only would it look prettier to be on a giant grey horse, but spotting myself in all the photos would be easier on any of these 17hh+ greys compared to the beautiful but plain bay of ~16.1hh Hugo (with only a small star and right hind pastern to distinguish him).

The downsides are that I may regret choosing a slower horse, and really wish I’d chosen something that could keep up with L on one of her electric-bum fast-hacks. These gentle grey horses are also bigger than Hugo, Corrie by a hand or bit less, and Hutch and James are two of the yards ‘giants’ as they call them; getting off for the break and getting back on would be harder, though really I think I need a mounting block for any horse given I’m no matchstick and it’s better for their backs. There’s also some specific issues with the horses: while I loved Corrie and felt immediately like he’d look after me, I have still only ridden him once – I’ve not tried to sit to his canter as he came back to trot on cue from the horses ahead, while I most likely will have to actively choose the transition down on a CR, so would switch from the light seat to a seated canter to do so. I suspect he’s so smooth I could ride it, but he’s off for the Winter so I couldn’t test this theory before I name him on my  booking form. I haven’t ever ridden James before, though from seeing him on my hacks and at the city Common Ride, he does look every bit the quiet, reliable steed, even if he is almost as tall as Ransom is. With Hutch, I do know  him well and and I do trust him, but he’s not just a big horse, he’s a heavily-built one too; if he really decided to go off on one, I wouldn’t be physically capable of holding him to the same degree as the others. I also find Hutch’s canter horrid to sit to, and there’s been times on the railway line when I’ve sat down to bring him back, and hoped he’d hit trot before I got bounced out of his saddle and onto the floor!  While Hutch is generally not a spooky horse, he was on his toes when we went on a new route, so could be a bit on edge on the day. Again, both James and Hutch have the Winter off, so I’d have to have my form in before getting them out to ride again this year.

So, all in all, I think all this boils down a concern I have about  regrets – regrets that I’ve gone too tame and not made the most of my one opportunity, or regrets that I gave my nerve such a big challenge that I potentially might not win. I think I’ll be fine – L really has shown me a pace more akin to a Common Ride, and let me experience that halt to gallop lurch that’s nigh on inevitable, so I feel much more prepared than I once did. A few days ago I thought I’d settled on easier ride A on the more advanced ride Hugo as a compromise, but after hacking out this week and asking questions, I really felt I’d regret Ride A if it was my only CR this season. There is a chance I could end up with enough birthday money to afford a second ride, or be invited back to invigilate May exams; these both come before the two rides, so perhaps I could add one in, though I wouldn’t be likely to get my first choice of horse only booking a month in advance. That would still leave which to book now as my guaranteed ride anyway, so doesn’t help for the moment. Having got the measure of Ripper, from a ‘buck and feck off’ toad in the school to a knobber that pulls like a train even on a hack, to marish lamb in the end, I think I’m already capable of Ride B even on Hugo. Whether I trust myself enough to accept that bigger challenge is the question. Besides, this could all be moot – Hugo might have gone even already, one week into booking, he’s that damn popular! I could end up with a lottery horse of sorts.

So, opinions welcome please: what would you do and why? Or pehaps some of you will have done some and have some stories and advice to share? All comment welcomed! :)

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

15/10/12 I Love Mondays

With the offer on at the yard for a 2hr hack at 10:30am, and desperately needing to have a good week, I signed up and went ahead with another hack. I checked online to see how many places were left, and it said 5: no one had booked in after me, and that presumably meant there were 4 other hackers booked in already. I arrived on the same bus as P, who I’ve ridden with before, and a girl about my own age, MN. We shared chats about our favourite horses, and power-walked to the yard: I think they wanted to check we weren’t going to compete for the same horse! I know P loves Robbie as long as we’re not on a fast ride, MN declared her love for Ripper (whom I saw her ride in the big city Common Ride, and who comes out top of popularity tests too), and I said I’m a recent Gem-convert, but would be happy with Hugo or Starsky either.

We went in, and indeed there were only 5 names in the book including mine. For the first time since my first ride however, there were horse’s names beside each person. P was on Abbi, MN had Ripper… and after my glowing report on Saturday, I was delighted to see that the YO had put me in for Gem without even needing to ask. I thanked her enthusiastically, and off I went!

L was my groom this morning, so brought Gem to the mounting block for me and sorted out the stirrups and girth. We’d a nice natter, but she sadly wasn’t taking us out. I saw AM on Roma and LD on his own grey horse, Nimbus. I enjoyed hacking with AM, but on my one and only hack with LD (the time that I fell off Hutch, actually), we really took off on the Railway Line. I wanted a fast one, as did MN on Ripper, and it was LD we got! To make sure the trek and hack didn’t clash, AM and LD sorted out their routes so we wouldn’t pass anywhere near any of the fast stretches. LD gave us a ride order to fit with speed: Gem and I were called up first as the fast, Ripper in behind me, then any order for the slower Abbi, Whisperer and Dottie.

Gem was looking forward to this morning's hack, and was bright as a button before we even left! :)

 

Along the riverside, Gem was still keen and forward, but was having trouble keeping up with Nimbus’ big stride relative to Hugo’s. Once trotting, she ate up the ground though. It became clear at the end of the river side that we were reversing the usual ride route, so doing the railway line, then coming back via the wood. However, we skipped the turn-off to take the exact reverse loop, and took an entirely different route at first instead, which involved a long, uphill trot that got the horses blowing almost as much as the first uphill canter when going the other direction! The views on the roads were rural and beautiful, but we did have a few housing estates to go through. There were lots of people out gardening, and the route was actually a pleasant one. Again, Gem seemed unflappable – entirely unbothered by pet dogs, kids on swings, and bright coloured bins! (She only went on to have one spook, when one lightening fast squirrel caught her off-guard: I was pleased at that, given Nimbus was shifty all morning and could easily have freaked Gem out a bit).

At one point, LD started to walk on the right hand side of the road and not left. I didn’t go right at first as I thought he was mad. Then, I saw Nimbus get all excited and immediately spotted the gap into a field: I was finally about to get my first ever run in a stubble field (albeit along the grass verge)! We had to move forward to makes sure all the horses were in the field before we could begin. I told LD that Nimbus’ passage was beautiful: it really was, very elevated, but it was done out of excitement and not on request!

I asked Gem to wait, as she was pulling a bit. She was not leaping around like Nimbus however: I’d found yesterday as well that she seems keen but is relatively still with it! As soon as LD gave with his hands, his horse took off, and off we immediately followed! Despite having adjusted my stirrups after my right ankle hurting to what felt like even when at rest, I did not feel even when I took the light seat: I was however, able to adjust for it, and unlike Ransom, I never actually felt concerned about coming off because of the imbalance. I also felt the gear change, us reaching the gallop behind Nimbus, and I grinned! I quickly stopped doing that though, as whole pucks of mud from the tread of Nimbus’ hooves kept hitting me on the face and head, and they didn’t tickle. I had to shut my gob and keep my eyes open to dodge them! lol. I loved it, and Gem had a blast, even keeping up with Nimbus despite his bigger stride. We turned the corner on the field to walk the shorter side, and when we went to turn back onto the road at this corner, Gem and I both looked left longingly, hoping to get to gallop back down the opposite long side, but it wasn’t to be!

Gem was a pleasure, but even though she wasn’t dilly-dallying, I was having to really keep on top of her to stop her falling behind Nimbus at a walk. There was one point where I trotted to catch up, the rest of the ride trotted behind me, and LD just looked around at me and started up a trot too! I wonder if that works with a canter? lol.  When we crossed the road and got onto the path that turns into the old railway line though, Gem suddenly grew a hand taller, covering more ground and at a faster pace without needing any encouragement in walk. She knew what was about to happen, and LD let us know that once the footing changes and it’s clear, we’d be going off with the aim of tearing up the whole of the way.

We got onto the level where the ground changed, and with no one visible up ahead, we hit the ground running from a jog. I had the uneven feeling again, only this time I could feel my legs in slightly different places – one was further forward than the other. I deliberately moved to even them, but couldn’t hold it: it wasn’t natural, as it usually is and should be, so I could only assume my stirrups were definitely uneven (as Gem, me and her saddle had been even together just two days before, but I’d had leather twists to achieve that then). Still, I was secure and did not in any way seem to be impeding Gem – she was going for it! Gem did however sort me out somehow: we came across a puddle, and she did what felt like a skip, but I presume was a flying change. By doing that, suddenly my legs were symmetrical and in the right place, and I felt unshiftable. When we got further down and could see that all the way to the end was clear, LD really let Nimbus go: they got a little distance on us, but not a lot. I’m not surprised that Nimbus covers more ground as he’s taller and his strides are bigger. Gem really turned her engine on and we flew though! Don’t get me wrong, she doesn’t feel as fast as Starsky does, but I think their difference in build in terms of stride-length and power have a lot to do with that. All I knew was that I was soaring along at the gallop, and I was adoring it! I could grin this time too, as we weren’t on muck this time and I wasn’t being thrown gobfuls of anything from Nimbus’ hooves J

The middle section of the hack was glorious: it was like Saturday morning again, but without the drizzle. It was just pure, unadulterated Winter sun! I couldn’t feel my toes, but I didn’t care – I was happy :) We also had the most perfect, collected, active trot at one point: that feeling that we were gliding along the ground together, both of us working hard and getting all the little things right. I miss that feeling from schooling, and I love it when I work a horse out on a hack and get to experience it :)

Coming back towards home, I wasn’t sure if we were going to do the woodland section, because it would involve going down a steep hill that’s pure mud at the moment. I was delighted, as was Gem, when we turned left to go into the woods, rather than straight on which is the usual trekking route home. We had about 4 canters through the woods, one really steady because the going was poor. LD wasn’t worrying about puddles though, so let us go on the canter that hits the lake of a puddle. Gem took it on without slowing, and I gave her extra rein to move her neck into balance and deal with it. The ground’s so worn there’s a drop on the left side of the puddle, and it felt like we’d tackled a mini XC obstacle out on course and at speed! We normally get back to trot for the trail going one-horse-wide at the top of the hill, but Nimbus had only steadied down to canter and I wasn’t going to haul on Gem for the sake of it, so I followed. It was the longest it’s ever taken to get back down to trot on that trail before! lol.

We then hit what’s usually the last trail in the woods: a longish one that, because the puddles are unavoidable, every ride leader does the full length of. Unlike Saturday, there were no fallers, so I enjoyed running along the whole thing, and we opened up into a gallop. Nimbus didn’t gain any ground away from us either. I did however get a big puck of mud that hit my hat, and tipped it down and forward a bit, so it was obscuring a vision. On the plus side, I have learned that I can gallop while holding the reins in one hand! lol. I could have kept it slid forward a bit, but I enjoy taking in the view too much, even when at speed.

We then came to the wall of mud that we had to go down. Nimbus slipped and I thought he was going to fall! I gave Gem the whole rein, holding only the buckle, and leant really far back to try and counterbalance. Momentum was making her go faster and faster though, and I really didn’t want to trot down that big a gradient! Luckily she only broke into a jog, and only near the bottom. We were approaching the hill we usually canter up first thing, and I wasn’t relishing clambering down that either. However, the leader took us a few metres past the turn, shouted “CANTER!” and before I knew it, Gem was away and for the first time I was caught unawares, so got out of the saddle after the canter started! We were on a slope and the ground was soft so it was fairly steady, but it felt exhilarating because it was sudden and it was a surprise. I thought all the canters were already over! Gem did slip in the mud, but found her footing as soon as she lost it, and carried on without her speed being at all affected. I also found myself entirely even on her again, without feeling like my legs were in different places or I’d to reach unevenly to maintain balance in stirrups of different lengths.

I decided not to be greedy and try to take pictures and videos, so my program managed to record the whole of the hack this time! We did 15km in 2hrs, and reached a max speed of over 37km/hr! The graph looks something like this, with the field and the railway line really sticking out. The scale doesn’t go past 30km/hr, so that must have been a momentary max speed measurement that doesn’t show on a time-averaged graph.

I merrily walked Gem home without stirrups, and we crossed the river easily. I got off, sorted the stirrups and girth, and because the yard was busy, I actually got to hold Gem for 5mins. That sounds like nothing, but coming from yards where I could tack up, put away, groom, muck out, turn out and so on, the time with her meant a lot to me. She enjoyed the attention, and clearly had an itchy head. I never let a horse rub their head on my body as I consider it bad manners for a horse to intrude in my personal space without permission, but Gem seemed to be happy when I offered my hand instead. I also finally was able to gauge her height. 16.2hh is about 5ft 6 to the withers, which is the same height at me. Gem’s withers did indeed clear my head, so AM’s right – she is around the 17hh mark, even though she doesn’t feel it! My guess on Saturday was around the 16hh mark. I suppose I’ve never ridden such a light-framed horse – normally I ride boggers, Welsh Ds and Warmbloods, and they tend to have more bone. She’s not the kind of horse I’d choose out of a line-up, but I utterly adore her already. I also chatted to MN about Common Rides all the way home on the bus, and she told me that the speed of a horse on a CR doesn’t matter, as long as you trust it. So, if I loved Gem and felt safe on her, don’t be afraid to book her, and to book her early as she’s so popular.

Here’s Gem grooming Ripper after the ride. You can also see how muddy, fluffy and sweaty she is on the way to the wash bay! J I really must bring my proper camera out on a hack, and my phone camera’s not great.

I’ve a hack coming this weekend, as I’m busy the weekend after: would it be really boring if I asked for Gem 3 times in a row?! lol.

13/10/12 A Gem in the Rough

This week had been an awful week. I’d made a mistake, and paid what felt like a hefty price for it. I need a few days to mope and kick my arse before I could pick myself up and move forward with a smile. Despite the fact I normally ride in a great mood to begin with, I’d still been in a funk come Saturday morning. On Friday night I was determined that I’d have a fast horse, and wanted to tear off at break-neck speed (in the most literal of terms) and just blast away as hard and fast as I could. There was an air of recklessness to my emotion, and I didn’t like that one bit – it’s not like me at all.

Along came Saturday morning, and shortly before I was due to leave the house, my stomach started to churn and I felt rotten. I was determined not to let it stop me, so took a couple of tablets and set off on my merry way. My mood changed a bit however – I snarled internally to myself that I’d clearly be incapable of anything challenging, so should probably just take an easy horse and consign myself to a slow ride. Hutch, Corrie or Frankie – I’d have been happy with any of them at that point.

I’d got to the yard and thanks to the tablets and actually cuddling a few of the horses, I started to feel a bit better. I still hadn’t quite made up my mind about who to request, but the tired and grumpy part of me was disappointed when the trek was called into the office first, and a Groupon rider was given Frankie. It felt like someone had stolen my comfiest, most reliable pair of shoes. It was also my 6 month anniversary at the yard, having had my first ever ride there, a 2hr hack on the Turbo Cob, on Friday 13^th April to celebrate passing my Viva. So, I went in and the YO often does, she did not ask me what horse I wanted – rather, she gave me a horse. The horse she gave me was Gem: a brown mare, and on the favourite list of almost every ride leader I’d ask to recommend me a horse (along with Hugo and Robbie, two other popular choices). The RLs are adrenaline junkies and a recommendation usually means one thing: that the horse is sweet-natured, but a bit of a mentalist that likes to gallop everywhere. I guessed I was getting my faster, galloping ride after all! Someone double checking that Gem’s Pelham had the curb chain on rather confirmed my suspicions that she liked to run too J

A few minutes and a few chats later, and this beautiful ball of brown fluff came out for me. I recognised her a mile away – she’s an unremarkable looking horse, a fluffy bright bay TB with no white markings on her face – just her hind fetlocks, but that shaggy coat hides a cracking horse!  I got on, got my stirrups sorted, and enjoyed some time have a nice scratch with Gem. I tried to guess what height she was, but really couldn’t accurately tell from sitting on her – I’d met her at the mounting block, so it’s hard to gauge height when you don’t meet a horse from the ground. She felt little though – her neck was in proportion to her body, but it wasn’t as long as Corrie’s, or as solid and upright as Starsky’s. I was glad Starsky was my first taste of more ragged speed: retrospect has made me realise that riding big has actually become my new safety zone out hacking (compared to years schooling mostly 14.2-15.2hh horses), and a big neck is rather a comfort to have in front of you when going at speed. Gem actually looked smaller than Hugo, who was lead horse with A’s mum, who I’d never had as ride leader before, though it was hard to compare as I was mounted at the time, and Hugo’s a much more medium-weight build with bone, compared to the finer Gem.

This is the view I was enjoying before I even left:

The ride (me, a teen on Weeza and an older man on Hero) all set off to the river in that order behind AM on Hugo. The river was a bit nuts after the rain: it was higher and faster than usual. Gem had a bit of a slip in it, but never got close to losing her footing. Her and Hugo found a shelf on the far river’s edge that got them higher out of the water and sooner. Weeza, at 13.2hh took a bit more time bless her.

The RL asked who’d been out for 2hr hacks before: it was the man’s first time upgrading from a 1hr, and the girl had been on my first ever hack at the yard 6 months earlier. I said I’d been on loads, but this was my first time on Gem. I asked AM about her, and apparently Gem is her first choice for doing Common Rides on, and if she’d the cash to buy and keep horses, then she’d retire Gem, Hugo and the coloured mare Roma tomorrow, just riding them for personal use. She also said Gem when she arrived had been named Noisy, as that’s exactly what she was.  I wondered if she’d earned her new name because a gem is exactly what she was – I was about to find out J AM also said she reckoned Gem was about 17-17.2hh. I smiled and nodded, not believing a word of it, as she didn’t feel more than 16hh to ride, and her trot stride is shorter than Hugo’s.

Gem’s trot was easy: relatively shorter than any of the horses I’ve ridden at the yard except for Frankie, but not choppy, abrupt or out of place for her size. I had it immediately, and bore in mind good form for rising trot, which Marie’s schooling had made me think of. A friend had also said that in rising trot ‘your bottom should leave the saddle, but not your breeches’. She also told the tale of a friend of her’s that hunts a sharp horse and who says “I can’t rise all the way up on my sharp horse, as I can’t be sure she’ll still be there by the time I get back down again!” Gem is not a catapulter like the bigger horses, so checking that I was light, subtle and loose was easy.

We came to our first canter on the hill, and Hugo was finally behaving like the horse I’ve been told about – the insatiable, speedy galloper who dances with excitement. He leapt into action like he was Lucky, and off I went on Gem. I genuinely had no nerves: while she’d taken off from halt, it didn’t have the lurching, G-force pushing against you in the saddle-type feel that Starsky does. She went for it though, and I immediately felt in the right place above her back.

We got onto the relative flat in the woods, where the canter sections come up thick and fast. The RL checked we were all okay, and made sure we knew where the puddles were. She also told me that Gem’s a notorious puddle-dodger, and on many occasion she’d ended up on her neck because of it. I was glad to have that info: it meant I knew to steer to one side well in advance, rather than let Gem do a wall-of-death around the edge of the puddle like a motorbike, with no notice. The first canter felt at the faster end of steady, and was wonderful: I just wish we’d started earlier, as RL was worried about the later riders making it around puddles (and, to be fair, it’s where another lady and Sophie had parted company last time out). On the slightly uphill canter with the lake of a puddle and tree-down, we were made to walk past the puddle before we started the canter as AM thinks the ground’s a bit soft to the left. Hugo and Gem took it upon themselves to run off and race a bit afterwards, and the sudden rush of speed felt fab!

On the last canter in the woods, the puddles are unavoidable, so we were allowed to canter the whole way along. Gem and Hugo were taking off, whereas Weeza and Hero were keeping their own paces as a pair at the back, just as they had done for every other stretch. I heard a loud ‘WHOA!’ from the man on Hero, I looked around and although he was still on, I passed the whoa on to AM and we stopped a bit sooner than expected. AM was wondering what it was for, as the man was alright. What she couldn’t see through me and Gem though, was that Weeza was now riderless. I grabbed a hold of the mare while AM went back. The girl was fine – despite the fact there’s no motorbiking possible around the puddles, she’d come off in her first ever fall, much to her surprise. She was fine and happy to get on, but admitted to her adrenaline pumping a bit. We assured her that it’s nearly an hour until we get to the railway line again anyway, so she has lots of walk and trot work to help settle them both.

I patted and thanked Gem after every trot and canter. I’d been enjoying her: she felt fast, but without the jerking of Starsky, and without his spooking either. Roadworks, builders, skips, bikes, traffic, barking dogs – not once did she so much as look. We’d a cold, fresh and sunny autumnal morning, and I enjoyed every view and every trot with a grin on my face. Gem was loveable in every pace J

We reached the end of town, and started to descent downhill on the route that takes us to the railway line. Gem was not happy about being second, and kept wandering out to try and overtake Hugo. I spent a lot of time yielding her in, and we got a nice accidental shoulder-in at one point too! We finally got to the railway line, and it was clear: AM’s plan was that we would gallop the whole length of it, even going a bit further than most leaders normally do. Hugo took off like crap off a stick, as did we but without feeling jerky or rushed: Gem is oddly smooth despite not going sequentially through the gears. We’d started early, so were rather fast by the time we’d gone under the first bridge – the noise was incredible!

Just as we’d come onto the second half of the railway line, where it turns a little and there’s a second bridge, we saw what we didn’t want to see – the tail end of the trek. AM was not pleased: treks and hacks are meant to take different routes so that they never meet on canter routes, and the ride leader had taken the ‘hack route’ for her trek. Hugo was not pleased, and while he down-transitioned from gallop to canter, he wouldn’t stop cantering! In all her years riding, it’s the first time AM had a ‘brake failure’ on Hugo. Further down the track that she’d planned, our ride came to a stop. I’d hoped we’d halt and then resume once the trek was far enough ahead that we wouldn’t be anywhere near them when we were charging along. Our leader made us walk and trot though, rather than wait and canter. We caught up to the ride and went past it, and the trek leader was A, my leader’s daughter. She sniped at her mother about why did we need past when she asked: mother quickly let her know that we left the yard first, we’re going faster, and A was the one who had taken the hack route for her trek. Gem and Ransom also nearly kicked the living daylights out of one another, so getting past was fun.  AM even said felt she had to apologise for her daughter’s behaviour. It didn’t bother me – we’ve all been grumpy with our mums as teenagers, and we were getting past regardless of what A said!

The rest of the ride was a happy mix of walk, trot and conversation. Gem was rather opinionated though, and wanted to lead: AM said she’d lead a whole Common Ride if she was allowed! She was happy for me to lead Hugo in walk for a while, but I had to bring Gem back when we got nearer the road: despite listening to subtle rein aids to steer, Gem was ignoring them to stop, so I had to hold her. I hate doing that with any horse, never mind one in a Pelham and curb chain, but she was ignoring me entirely. Hugo eventually got ahead, but every time there was room for two abreast, Gem would try and race past. I wish I’d been out with L, as she’d have let me go side-by-side, and been happy for me to lead in places rather than fight with my horse.

Upon leaving the yard, I’d turned my phone app on to measure the duration, speed etc of the ride. I’d not planned on taking any photos or videos while it was running, for fear of killing the battery. However, we got back to the river and the noise was spectacular – it wasn’t just the usual sound of flowing water. With the water level so high and the flow so fast, the river was making a boom and a whoosh, and because the dry leaves, almost ready to fall from the trees, were meeting the water level now, there was an incredible rustling sound. I saw I still had half my battery, so opened up the video to get the sound: after about 5 seconds, my phone died. As it turns out, the battery was still half full, it had just had a brain freeze. Still, I’m a bit annoyed that my first measured hack was missing the last 15mins or so, and the video I was trying to get didn’t work either. Grr!

Still, here’s my read-out from that hack. I thought it’d be fun to download this, and see how different horses and ride leaders compare in terms of speed and duration. I’d definitely love a side-by-side comparison of a ‘Lucky’ hack, and a hack on the same route with a sane leader and horse instead! lol. I wonder if you can guess where the railway line is, and the canter stretches in the first half? lol. We’d covered almost 13km before my phone cut out, and the max speed measured on the right was 28.1km/hr. I do wonder how Starsky compares, and with a faster ride leader than AM!

I can see the canter uphill, the 4 woodland canters, and the railway line as clear as day. It’s tickled me to see the ‘take-over Hugo’ trots after the short gallop are almost as fast as some of the steadier canters! Lol.

I had a blast on this hack: Gem had gone as fast as Hugo would allow, came back to me when it mattered, hadn’t spooked or shied even once, and had made me at ease from the moment dot. I am convinced she was renamed from Noisy because she has absolutely turned out to be a gem of a horse J

I fussed Gem as much as I could when I got off, but she was taken away rather quickly. I hadn’t even had time to gauge her height! The YO was in the office when I picked up my bag, and I thanked her sincerely – I gushed about how fab Gem was, and how lucky I felt to have been given her without asking, as I know she’s like Hugo and usually there’s a queue for her! There’s also lots of deals on this month, so for even cheaper than my usual cheap hack, I decided to ride on Monday rather than do it for more at a weekend. The YO said it was online booking only, so I did it as soon as I got home, and was happy that there were lots of places left. I enjoyed Gem that much, I was even going to ask for her again only two days later!

So, despite going from a reckless need for speed, to a pathetic ‘I’m ill and incapable’ mood, I’d taken out a new horse, gone fairly fast and had a ball. Gem had not just put a temporary smile on my face, but the hack had cleared my negative mood in its entirety. The power of horse, eh? :D

 I also reflected on how far I’d come in 6 months: I’d gone from adoring Frankie and asking for her as she was fun as well as a known quantity, to feeling nervous riding a truly big horse for the first time, to taking one of the biggest and most complex horses out for a hack and jumped him (Ransom), to regularly galloping at greater speeds on different horses, including not using any potential Jesus straps. It also felt kind of right that I’d started on a little bay Welsh D mare that I fell for, and 6 months later had a tall, slim Irish bay TB mare that I immediately loved too. I’ve bookended my 6 months with two very different but beautiful brown mares, who are are great mirrors of my progress! I’m proud of how far I’ve come so far, and can’t wait to see where this story goes J I also can’t wait to see what kind of rider I am when Common Riding season kicks off next summer, assuming I’m in work and can afford to do one or two by then. I wonder which horses I’ll have fallen in love with by then, and which I’m capable enough to take out… Only time will tell, but I’m smiling about the thought of it all already :D