Last lesson of the semester today. Fortunately, our regular instructor was well enough that she was there today, so we were able to hand over the coffee and chocolate that I had bought for her from the group. Unfortunately, I still wasn’t able to book a private lesson with her on Murphy for Thursday as I had planned, since some wicked pony had bitten Murphy right where the saddle would be. Apparently several of them had come on with bite marks, so it looks like the boys had quite a rowdy time in the field the other day. ;P
So, no Murphy for me today, and probably not on Thursday either, unless I decide to do a bareback private lesson. Still considering whether that’d be worth it or not. If not, I might still call in tomorrow and book one on another horse. Perhaps Sammy, whom I rode today for the second week in a row. Though, I had planned to work on my seat, and Sammy isn’t exactly great for that. But I’ll ponder it some. Otherwise, this was likely the last bit of riding for me for about two months.
Looks like being late with these is becoming a habit. Then again, this week wasn’t overly exciting either. Our poor instructor was no longer ill, but now she was injured instead. Her (very large) horse ended up spooking as she took him in from the field, and landed on her foot. So, we had a replacement this week too (and may have one next week too, which means I won’t manage another private lesson before the semester ends, darnit). She allowed us to pick horses ourselves (we usually get them selected for us), and I ended up second-to-last. Fortunately, Sammy was left, and though I was a bit miffed about missing out on both Murphy and Nelson, I really like Sammy too and haven’t had a chance to ride him for ages. And now that he’s the oldest horse in the stables and nearing 20, I do feel I have to take the chances I get to ride him, since he surely must be nearing his retirement (though, so far he’s doing pretty well, being a sturdy Irish horse).
So, today we had another show. A big, national all-breed show about an hour away from where we live. Despite the size of the show, however, with some 1200 dogs both Saturday and Sunday, there were only 5 boxers entered. We knew this in advance, and we also knew that boxers were going first in their ring and Ringo was going first of the boxers. So, it could be either a very short day or a fairly long one. As it turned out, it ended up being a long one, but not for the right reasons. Which, in this too darned hot weather (I am burned to a crisp in places, despite putting on lots of sunlotion and trying to stay in the shade) wasn’t all that welcome.
A late report again. I better make sure this doesn’t become a habit. Though I had a passable excuse this time, since we didn’t really do much yesterday. Our regular instructor was sick, and the replacement had decided we were going to trek out. Never mind that we had already done that once this semester and we really aren’t supposed to have to do it more than once since it isn’t exactly great value for our money. So, some of us were less than happy.
And I got even unhappier when she told me I could pick between Nelson and Sammy. Now, I ride both, and I really like them, but outdoors? Sammy .... no way, as much as I love him. He gets very frisky, and he’s much too big for me outdoors. Nelson is small enough, but I had a feeling he’d be very lively and without our regular instructor around I wasn’t going to take the chance. So, I said I couldn’t come along unless I could get Murphy. She said she couldn’t change the horse lists, but fortunately one of the regular instructors was there and she said it was okay to switch out Sammy for Murphy. Whew.
Murphy was pretty sweaty already from being in the previous class (not that they worked hard, but the weather here is currently too darn hot), but he had nothing against another lesson once he realized we were riding out. He just loves that. And on the whole, it was a pretty nice ride. For once, we actually got to canter some (and Nelson got to buck a lot, proving my point about him being a little frisky), and Murphy really liked that. I would just love to do some eventing-style jumping on him. Irish horses have it in their blood. When we got back in, I made sure to sponge him off thoroughly, and he just loved it. It was nice and quiet in the stables, and it was good to spend some extra time with him. So, I felt pretty good about the whole evening, all things considered.
My arms and legs had definitely not recovered from Tuesday’s lesson, but I was set to have a private lesson today, so they just had to come along even so. Fortunately, the rain and thunder that had been forecasted had disappeared entirely in favour of suddenly very summery weather, so I was in for a very pleasant lesson in the outdoor paddock.
When we got to the stables, all the horses save Nelson and Murphy were out in the field. Nelson was being ridden for a private lesson just before me and I was going to be riding Murphy. Neither of them looked very happy to be left indoors, however, though they did have a nice big pile of hay each to make up for it. Still, Murphy is a lot more mellow when the stables are quiet, so he was quite polite while he was groomed and tacked up. Once it was time to lead him down to the paddock, however, he suddenly seemed quite confused about where we were going in the middle of the day, while all the other horses were elsewhere. Spotting Nelson already in the paddock seemed to sort the situation out for him, though.
Now that was one tiring riding lesson I had yesterday. I collapsed into bed with rather wobbly arms and legs at least one or two hours earlier than I usually need to sleep.
For this, I blame Nelson and our instructor. Then again, she did warn us at the start of the class that we’d be really sore tomorrow. Of course, that was after I had booked a private lesson for Thursday. That’ll be interesting. ;P
The things you do when you’re into dogs (and horses, too). Like getting up at 6 am on a Sunday morning to head off to a dog show. Of course, not just any dog show, but Ringo’s first official dog show. He turned 9 months 6 days ago, making him eligible for the Junior class (for dogs 9 to 15 months old) at the official all-boxer show for the boxer club in the area where we live.
Despite not riding yesterday (or perhaps because, since it always seems to wake me up), I was dead tired when I got back from the theory lesson and managed to completely forget about posting. So, it’ll have to be a quickie today, since I’ve got a Discovery show to subtitle. Of course, since it was a theory lesson, there’s less to report anyhow.
Though, we did get to try something I’d never done before: long reining. That is, you walk behind the horse with a pair of long reins and try to get it to do some useful work. This can be done either to prepare the horse for driving it or as a substitute for riding. Apparently they use it a bit at the riding school when exercising the smaller ponies that none of the instructors can ride.
Brrr, so cold still. I have been back for a few hours, and I don’t think I’ll ever get warm again. Blasted weather.
Woke up to a persistent rain today, and got very close to not going, but Elio persuaded me by noting how much I’d kick myself later. So, off we went. Once we got to the stables, we found out that it had rained too much for us to use the paddock. This meant we’d have to change this around and build the course indoors once the dressage was done. We’d also have to do our warm-ups in groups since we’d have to do them indoors too. In short, we were in for a longer day than expected. And I was already pretty cold.
Well, wouldn’t you know it. Of course Murphy has ended up with a slightly swollen knee this very week, which means that although he’s doing lessons this week, he’s not jumping. So, I ended up with Fleur today and Fleur for the competition on Thursday. Argh. I am glad he should be fine soon again, but the timing really sucks. Fleur is in some ways easier to ride, but last time I had her for a dressage competition she just died once she got inside of the arena all on her own. Since I don’t tend to ride with spurs, she lost all interest in moving forward at a good pace as soon as I put my whip aside. Also, since the jumping will be outside, I’ll be nervous about her being flighty if it is as windy as it has been the last days.
At first, I had myself convinced we were supposed to have a theory lesson today. Then I discovered that no, we were jumping this week and next. Great, I thought, since next Thursday is the dressage and jumping competition I signed up for. Getting a chance to get some extra jumping practice in (though, to be honest, I probably need to practice the dressage more ;P), especially if I could manage to get Murphy, sounded like a good idea.
Unfortunately, Murphy wasn’t doing lessons at all this week. Instead, he’s got the week off for further education with the instructors. They do that now and then with the horses, to get a chance to polish up their training. Good idea, bad timing for me. I really hope he’ll be doing lessons as normal next week and that he will be available for the competition. Our instructor thought so, but she wasn’t certain. However, if I do end up getting him for the competition, she’ll try to place me on him for next Tuesday at least. I am also considering squeezing in a private lesson on Monday or Wednesday, but that will make it a very busy week.
Since it is May 1st today, I didn’t have a riding lesson (we’re all good old socialists here, after all), but what I did have was a dog show. After the last one, I was persuaded to handle the dog at the next one, so I’ve tried to practice a little on and off over the last month. Of course, he’s just recently had a bit of a stomach upset, so it was touch and go if we could make it. But the last 2-3 days he’s been his usual crazy self, so we decided to give it a try.
Spring is here again (it made a quick visit a while ago), so today we ended up riding in the paddock. Which I had nothing against since I was put back on Murphy. Partially, it seems, because Nelson is currently taking less weight due to some problems, though hopefully that’s a temporary thing. Either way, I was very interested in seeing if the last two weeks good lessons on Fleur and Nelson would make any difference for me on Murphy.
I’ve been feeling a little queasy these last two days, and during the drive to the stables I was hit by some serious motion sickness, worse than I’ve had it for many years. It also lingered for quite a while after I had gotten to the stables, so I started worrying about being put on Fleur again while feeling less than well. Fortunately, I got Nelson instead, and eventually I got better too.
A much slimmed-down Nelson, I might add. Not that he’d lost any weight, but he had lost a lot of hair. The fluffy coat had been replaced by a short, clippered coat, so he doesn’t look quite so much like a polar bear now. He’s still a bit of a cheeky thug, though, who is all over you when you get him ready. He did eventually get some candy for his efforts, though I made sure not to feed him out of my hand. Murphy, who is in the stall next to Nelson’s, also got some of course. He seemed rather curious about why I was standing around in and outside of Nelson’s stall instead of his own today, and kept poking his head in over the side of the stall. A little jealous (and not just about the candy), one hopes. ;)
It seems our instructor has once again remembered her notion about putting me on horses other than Murphy for a while, as he was in our lesson today but she put me on Fleur. Given that its not so cold any longer (though it was still quite windy today), I don’t really mind, though she is a bit less interesting to ride than Murphy. Still, given my problems the last few dressage lessons on Murphy, some variety is probably a good idea.