05 September 2009
Schooling at Home
Asked Richard to come out and fix my truck, so figured might as well get a couple of flatwork photos for the blog.
Taupo for XC Schooling
& I DIDN'T GET WET!!!
Went with Ky and Kylee to Taupo to go schooling for the weekend. With the last trip to Taupo being a little disappointing with me ending up in the water jump, I was understandably a little nervous about what sort of horse I had taken down with me. The old Flynn was so whimpy about XC jumps that he'd slide to a stop at an intro log if he hadn't seen an xc jump in a little while. Well thankfully the old Flynn has long gone, we started off over some PreTraining logs which he flew over, then straight into a PreTraining chevron, which he just lined up and went at it. Ok, cool, scrap the baby jumps then, lets just go for the training ones, which he did without a single hesitation, including over the logs into the water where we had parted company 2 years ago. Gosh I love the new Flynn, feels so confident, he really just takes you into the jumps without the slightest feel of doubt. No photos from day one as we all rode together.
Day two was a bit wet by the time I rode, but on the plus side, got heaps of photos! Started jumping anything and everything in front of us, including a big intermediate roll top and quite a few Novice jumps. Then remembered that I was just there to practice over the PreNovice stuff in preparation for our PN start at Taupo in October, so settled down and just did them instead. Figured that I am planning on having Flynn for a long time, so no point pounding him over the bigger jumps when I really just want a nice PreNovice horse for the time being :)
Went with Ky and Kylee to Taupo to go schooling for the weekend. With the last trip to Taupo being a little disappointing with me ending up in the water jump, I was understandably a little nervous about what sort of horse I had taken down with me. The old Flynn was so whimpy about XC jumps that he'd slide to a stop at an intro log if he hadn't seen an xc jump in a little while. Well thankfully the old Flynn has long gone, we started off over some PreTraining logs which he flew over, then straight into a PreTraining chevron, which he just lined up and went at it. Ok, cool, scrap the baby jumps then, lets just go for the training ones, which he did without a single hesitation, including over the logs into the water where we had parted company 2 years ago. Gosh I love the new Flynn, feels so confident, he really just takes you into the jumps without the slightest feel of doubt. No photos from day one as we all rode together.
Day two was a bit wet by the time I rode, but on the plus side, got heaps of photos! Started jumping anything and everything in front of us, including a big intermediate roll top and quite a few Novice jumps. Then remembered that I was just there to practice over the PreNovice stuff in preparation for our PN start at Taupo in October, so settled down and just did them instead. Figured that I am planning on having Flynn for a long time, so no point pounding him over the bigger jumps when I really just want a nice PreNovice horse for the time being :)
Flynn's baaaaack
So Flynn was turned out on the 3rd of May for 3 months holiday at his aunty Louise's place. No feed and only 1 bale of hay was consumed and he came back in FAT!! Like heavily pregnant broodmare fat! And with the joys of being a hairy stationbred, he also came back in looking like a red yeti!
First things first, Ky came out & clipped him for me, so that he look 10x more presentable. Sadly, didn't change how fat he looked LOL He was great for his first ride, not even needing to be lunged, just hopped on and went for a wander around the PC grounds. Day 2 and even Jannine rode him, he was such a good boy. Day 7 however did end up with a very fresh athletic horse LOL luckily it was just for the 1 ride and we haven't seen any more of that behaviour.
As I was away for the weekend with friends in Ohakune and we were going to Taupo for schooling the weekend after, I needed him kept fit and fed, so he got sent to Angela's for exercise. Very handy! Apparently he was a joy to have around and is allowed back any time :)
So back into it, have moved to a new grazing that has a 60x20 arena with floodlight at one end, stables, 13 acres with 4 horses on it, feed room, tack room, concrete hosedown etc... goal for the season is to do training at Te Rapa 3/4 October, then hit PreNovice at Taupo 17/18 October, with the aim to be ready for the big classes at Richfields end of November and Puhinui in December.
First things first, Ky came out & clipped him for me, so that he look 10x more presentable. Sadly, didn't change how fat he looked LOL He was great for his first ride, not even needing to be lunged, just hopped on and went for a wander around the PC grounds. Day 2 and even Jannine rode him, he was such a good boy. Day 7 however did end up with a very fresh athletic horse LOL luckily it was just for the 1 ride and we haven't seen any more of that behaviour.
As I was away for the weekend with friends in Ohakune and we were going to Taupo for schooling the weekend after, I needed him kept fit and fed, so he got sent to Angela's for exercise. Very handy! Apparently he was a joy to have around and is allowed back any time :)
So back into it, have moved to a new grazing that has a 60x20 arena with floodlight at one end, stables, 13 acres with 4 horses on it, feed room, tack room, concrete hosedown etc... goal for the season is to do training at Te Rapa 3/4 October, then hit PreNovice at Taupo 17/18 October, with the aim to be ready for the big classes at Richfields end of November and Puhinui in December.
07 July 2009
Adult Riding Club Prizegiving
WOW. So it appears all the blood, sweat, tears and unwillingness to give up, have paid off! Flynn won the Hyde Dressage Cup, the Show Jumping Cup and to finish off the night, also took out the coveted Tele-Ho Eventing Trophy. The Tele-Ho eventing trophy is run by Angela Burrill, who gives you points for every entry, every top 10 dressage placing, clear SJ round, etc, etc. She also gives upgrade points each time you move up a grade. She was top of the leaderboard herself over the spring season, however we managed to pip her at the post with 91 points to her 64 at the end. She has worked tirelessly to score/provide prizes etc and without her generosity, this trophy wouldn't exist. The picture in the trophy is of Ange & Tele-ho jumping into the water at Kihikihi.
Lovely trophy too, very cleverly done. Came away with a free Allan Goodall lesson so that should be intersting, will make sure I have photos from that one!!
Flynn also got a certificate for being "Party Popper of the Year" as he popped all the balloons on the joker fence at Pony Club camp in January "for putting his body on the line and saving everyone from the evil balloons". Unfortunately we were 2nd to go and nobody had spare balloons to redo the jump. Suffice to say everyone found the joker so much easier after that LOL
14 May 2009
Te Rapa HT - Training - 2/3 May
Hmmmm... interesting weekend actually...
Went down Friday night and rode in the sand arena as wanted him to be as acclimatised as possible. Was silly for 20 minutes and then bingo, he all of a sudden settled and started to work quite nicely.
Saturday morning dawned, weather was crap, day consisted of pretty much constant drizzle. Tacked up & rode to the sand arena to warm up and he was just beautiful to ride, lovely and soft and straight and was listening & was even soft across the top of his poll, which is always the last place to soften on him. Went over to ride up the bank to the grass arena's and he didn't want to go up there, get up the arena and then he decides to be an acrobatic idiot in front of the spectators. We even got a few giggles as I was just saying "Don't even THINK about it" when he promptly launched & leapt into the air. Did a 4 foot plant in front of the judges car, where we then promptly had our bell rang. He pulled out an amazing lengthened trot going down the long side away from the judges car & I just knew the test was going to go to custard LOL
He powered up the centreline, however managed to stay really straight, so that was a good start. Unfortunately he just got more and more energetic as the test went on and by the time came to canter, he did his elevated canter on both reins, and every single step, instead of his normal "left rein only & only the second step after transition"
Pulled him out of canter as early as possible on each rein, however I do have to say he did some really nice trot work and a lovely free rein walk (no idea how he was so relaxed when he was a such a shyite for everything else!!) After our test, I went and worked him in the sand arena again for 10 minutes. Funnily enough, he was straight back to being super nice & polite. In fact a friend who didn't realise we hadn't gone, even commented, "Gosh he's going super, I bet you hope your test is soon!" LOL oh well, never mind, its the second time he's gotten a bit tense at the grass arena's at WEC, wonder if he remembers the jet boat from last time?
Went back to the truck and changed gear for the SJing as just wanted to get it over & done with and try & get him back in his warm covers before the weather got too much worse. Thank goodness for studs, footing was pretty grotty, so jumped hard up the right side of all the practice jumps to try and get a clean track in. Went into the ring and decided with all the yuck corners that perhaps our Show Hunter "expertise" could possibly put us in good stead. Turns out it really helped, except for a small slip coming into jump 6 which resulted in our one and only rail.
Got both of us dried and changed into warm clothing before we could freeze any further.
Lucky I have all my rugs in the truck, it was so cold down there that I ended up with the woollen show rug on my bed with hot water bottle and he was wearing everything else!
Cross Country day - luckily the weather cleared up for it, as was quite an interesting track, making the most of the little steep hills. We had to do a sharp turn onto a steep short downhill to a ditch in front of a log upright. It was just like a palisade but without the solid back wall, quite weird being able to see straight through LOL I had my whip out and legs on and everything and unfortunately we had a stop there, I can honestly, hand on heart, say that it wasn't for lack of riding on my part, we even slid in to the ditch as I was so committed. After he finishing shaking & overreacting about the jump, I turned a tight circle, gave him a good smack half a stride out & he leapt over it like it was going to burn him. Had to sit up & get him controlled again as 6 strides later was a drop fence on the edge of a very steep hill. He hesitated momentarily before leaping over it, I'm sure the butt paddling he got going in to helped as well LOL
He went the rest of the way around the course clear, including jumping the big log into the water and doing all the harder options, straight through the bounce etc. Very proud of my boy by the end, he is just turning into such a machine, I am really looking forward to giving pre novice a good crack next season!!
Photos from the weekend here: http://www.takethemoment.co.nz/photos/v/events/TeRapa/Mattingley_N7324.JPG.html
Went down Friday night and rode in the sand arena as wanted him to be as acclimatised as possible. Was silly for 20 minutes and then bingo, he all of a sudden settled and started to work quite nicely.
Saturday morning dawned, weather was crap, day consisted of pretty much constant drizzle. Tacked up & rode to the sand arena to warm up and he was just beautiful to ride, lovely and soft and straight and was listening & was even soft across the top of his poll, which is always the last place to soften on him. Went over to ride up the bank to the grass arena's and he didn't want to go up there, get up the arena and then he decides to be an acrobatic idiot in front of the spectators. We even got a few giggles as I was just saying "Don't even THINK about it" when he promptly launched & leapt into the air. Did a 4 foot plant in front of the judges car, where we then promptly had our bell rang. He pulled out an amazing lengthened trot going down the long side away from the judges car & I just knew the test was going to go to custard LOL
He powered up the centreline, however managed to stay really straight, so that was a good start. Unfortunately he just got more and more energetic as the test went on and by the time came to canter, he did his elevated canter on both reins, and every single step, instead of his normal "left rein only & only the second step after transition"
Pulled him out of canter as early as possible on each rein, however I do have to say he did some really nice trot work and a lovely free rein walk (no idea how he was so relaxed when he was a such a shyite for everything else!!) After our test, I went and worked him in the sand arena again for 10 minutes. Funnily enough, he was straight back to being super nice & polite. In fact a friend who didn't realise we hadn't gone, even commented, "Gosh he's going super, I bet you hope your test is soon!" LOL oh well, never mind, its the second time he's gotten a bit tense at the grass arena's at WEC, wonder if he remembers the jet boat from last time?
Went back to the truck and changed gear for the SJing as just wanted to get it over & done with and try & get him back in his warm covers before the weather got too much worse. Thank goodness for studs, footing was pretty grotty, so jumped hard up the right side of all the practice jumps to try and get a clean track in. Went into the ring and decided with all the yuck corners that perhaps our Show Hunter "expertise" could possibly put us in good stead. Turns out it really helped, except for a small slip coming into jump 6 which resulted in our one and only rail.
Got both of us dried and changed into warm clothing before we could freeze any further.
Lucky I have all my rugs in the truck, it was so cold down there that I ended up with the woollen show rug on my bed with hot water bottle and he was wearing everything else!
Cross Country day - luckily the weather cleared up for it, as was quite an interesting track, making the most of the little steep hills. We had to do a sharp turn onto a steep short downhill to a ditch in front of a log upright. It was just like a palisade but without the solid back wall, quite weird being able to see straight through LOL I had my whip out and legs on and everything and unfortunately we had a stop there, I can honestly, hand on heart, say that it wasn't for lack of riding on my part, we even slid in to the ditch as I was so committed. After he finishing shaking & overreacting about the jump, I turned a tight circle, gave him a good smack half a stride out & he leapt over it like it was going to burn him. Had to sit up & get him controlled again as 6 strides later was a drop fence on the edge of a very steep hill. He hesitated momentarily before leaping over it, I'm sure the butt paddling he got going in to helped as well LOL
He went the rest of the way around the course clear, including jumping the big log into the water and doing all the harder options, straight through the bounce etc. Very proud of my boy by the end, he is just turning into such a machine, I am really looking forward to giving pre novice a good crack next season!!
Photos from the weekend here: http://www.takethemoment.co.nz/photos/v/events/TeRapa/Mattingley_N7324.JPG.html
26 April 2009
Adult Ride Dressage and Show Jumping Comp
Papatoetoe Adult Ride has 3 dressage and 3 show jumping comps per season, and lately we have been starting to hold them together on a Saturday to make better use of our time/people available to help set up etc. I decided to be brave/dumb and entered Flynn in the 2.4 test as although we weren't ready for that sort of test, the whole idea of the comp is to give it a go in a more laid back setting. So entered 2.4 and started to pray LOL Also, in the week leading up to the comp, our lengthened trot button decided to break. It was nowhere in sight, he would just run along, even if I balanced him right back in the corner. Not looking good LOL
Saturday came & thank goodness, as we were warming up, I discovered that our lengthen button had been reinstalled. YAY! Flynn actually ended up doing a really super test and good grief, he even won his class on 74%! he got 8s & 7s and only 1x 6 in the whole test. Even got an 8 for one of his lengthened trot movements. Ended winning not only his class, but also got the highest test score over the whole day to win the dressage part overall. Go the jumper!!
We then had the Show Jumping part of the competition. Unfortunately I was only one in my 1.05m class, ooo, guess who won? LOL but our jump off time was good enough to actually win overall in the Show Jumping, so took out that as well. I was so proud of my boy!!
Best part of the Show Jumping comp is that we encourage people to have a play at the end, so got them to put some of the jumps up. Yes well, I thought one of them looked pretty decent& sure enough, got the measuring stick out, big oxer, 1.25m high and 1.20wide. He didn't even feel laboured by it, just flew over it no worries. Got to love the orange pony! We even did it a few times to prove it wasn't a once off LOL
Then stupidity set in & I was dared to do the 1.10m upright without reins, so knotted them on his neck and dropped them a stride out to do a flying angel. Hmmm stupid much? Had a sudden thought as I flung my arms out including whip (can you see where I am going here?) that it was potentially a really dumb thing to do if he happened to catch sight of the whip out the side of his eye. Luckily he didn't even bat an eyelid and just jumped it nicely & cantered off nicely on the other side. Thank god he has more sense than I do!! Won't be doing that again in a hurry LOL
Saturday came & thank goodness, as we were warming up, I discovered that our lengthen button had been reinstalled. YAY! Flynn actually ended up doing a really super test and good grief, he even won his class on 74%! he got 8s & 7s and only 1x 6 in the whole test. Even got an 8 for one of his lengthened trot movements. Ended winning not only his class, but also got the highest test score over the whole day to win the dressage part overall. Go the jumper!!
We then had the Show Jumping part of the competition. Unfortunately I was only one in my 1.05m class, ooo, guess who won? LOL but our jump off time was good enough to actually win overall in the Show Jumping, so took out that as well. I was so proud of my boy!!
Best part of the Show Jumping comp is that we encourage people to have a play at the end, so got them to put some of the jumps up. Yes well, I thought one of them looked pretty decent& sure enough, got the measuring stick out, big oxer, 1.25m high and 1.20wide. He didn't even feel laboured by it, just flew over it no worries. Got to love the orange pony! We even did it a few times to prove it wasn't a once off LOL
Then stupidity set in & I was dared to do the 1.10m upright without reins, so knotted them on his neck and dropped them a stride out to do a flying angel. Hmmm stupid much? Had a sudden thought as I flung my arms out including whip (can you see where I am going here?) that it was potentially a really dumb thing to do if he happened to catch sight of the whip out the side of his eye. Luckily he didn't even bat an eyelid and just jumped it nicely & cantered off nicely on the other side. Thank god he has more sense than I do!! Won't be doing that again in a hurry LOL
Consolidating what we've learnt
I've been having lessons with Angela every fortnight since the last week of January and I have to say, what a difference!! I no longer wiggle my hands around and they are starting to get a lot more even, I even have a photo of me riding flatwork on my friends horse & OMG and they are level! I am also getting less naggy with my legs, which means that Flynn listens when I use them, which is always nice!
Angela is really quite taken with Flynn and I've promised her I'll go to her first if I ever decide to sell him. My main problem is that I just couldn't replace him! I've even upped my bravery levels and am going to go out and do Pre Novice next season after a Training start, as we have been schooling at that level with Angela and I am not longer petrified at the thought! I have even quite happily done a few novice roll tops, so the future is definitely looking brighter.
First weekend of April I took Flynn down to PC & practiced an exercise that Angela taught me, which involes a low but heinously wide oxer and a jump 1 stride on either side of it. Jannine very nicely took photos for me
Shame he knocked this one
Then it was off to play on the XC course. I really want him to be comfortable over trakheners as that was our biggest problem at Te Rapa HT last year, so have been practicing them heaps and he's not even remotely fussed about them now! Jannine had done up a new jump for horses to be scared of, so put him over both of those. So cute over the bags they were going to eat his tootsies dontcha know!!
Not even fazed by the big hole in the ground!
Angela is really quite taken with Flynn and I've promised her I'll go to her first if I ever decide to sell him. My main problem is that I just couldn't replace him! I've even upped my bravery levels and am going to go out and do Pre Novice next season after a Training start, as we have been schooling at that level with Angela and I am not longer petrified at the thought! I have even quite happily done a few novice roll tops, so the future is definitely looking brighter.
First weekend of April I took Flynn down to PC & practiced an exercise that Angela taught me, which involes a low but heinously wide oxer and a jump 1 stride on either side of it. Jannine very nicely took photos for me
Shame he knocked this one
Then it was off to play on the XC course. I really want him to be comfortable over trakheners as that was our biggest problem at Te Rapa HT last year, so have been practicing them heaps and he's not even remotely fussed about them now! Jannine had done up a new jump for horses to be scared of, so put him over both of those. So cute over the bags they were going to eat his tootsies dontcha know!!
Not even fazed by the big hole in the ground!
Puhinui Horse Trial - Got our groove back?
Yes, yes we did! After the disaster at Rotorua where I seriously thought I had completely set us backwards, turns out we're not as stuffed as I had thought. We went out and did quite a lot of XC schooling with Angela to get really settled at it and had a great jump schooling lesson with her the week of the competition.
Dressage went really nicely, he was very well behaved, scoring 67.64%, for which gained us 11th place going into the Show Jumping. He then did a lovely clear round which pulled us up to 7th place.
And tada - lovely CLEAR cross country round. I was so stoked! There wasn't anything on the course I was overly concerned about, it was all just roll tops etc, but there was a big roll top out the back that was made wider with brush & was quite tall if you were stupid like I was & measured yourself against it at the back LOL. I was a little concerned about him going to fast into as it was at the back of the course down a hill where you then had to double back to do the corner. He actually came back quite nicely to me & jumped it well & then turned quite controllably which was nice! I really do think that speed is 100% our problem, I'm just not sure why yet...
We ended up 5th for a lovely rosette and gift pack from the sponsor of our class, I think Flynn will have a lovely untangled tail for the rest of his life as we got a Savvy Touch spray bottle plus a refill pack!! Photos to come...
Dressage went really nicely, he was very well behaved, scoring 67.64%, for which gained us 11th place going into the Show Jumping. He then did a lovely clear round which pulled us up to 7th place.
And tada - lovely CLEAR cross country round. I was so stoked! There wasn't anything on the course I was overly concerned about, it was all just roll tops etc, but there was a big roll top out the back that was made wider with brush & was quite tall if you were stupid like I was & measured yourself against it at the back LOL. I was a little concerned about him going to fast into as it was at the back of the course down a hill where you then had to double back to do the corner. He actually came back quite nicely to me & jumped it well & then turned quite controllably which was nice! I really do think that speed is 100% our problem, I'm just not sure why yet...
We ended up 5th for a lovely rosette and gift pack from the sponsor of our class, I think Flynn will have a lovely untangled tail for the rest of his life as we got a Savvy Touch spray bottle plus a refill pack!! Photos to come...
22 April 2009
Rotorua HT - 7/8 March
Took a half day to drive down the Rotorua HT and am so glad I did! What a day for things to go wrong! The goal was to come home and pack, and then take Flynn's travelling palace (it had been at home getting second battery installed) & pick Flynn up & leave by 1.30 at the latest & get down there in the daylight.
First of all I could't find anything I needed at home, had washed saddle blankets & boots & put them in different parts of the house. Left home at 12.30 only to have the truck battery light come on, so went to Richards work, where we then found a really big oil leak as well. After having a look & realising there was nothing we could do, decided to take a bottle of oil with me & just keep topping it up on way down if necessary. I then decide that I had gotten new tyres on the back at last COF & was supposed to get the wheel nuts tigthened again after x amount of kms which I hadn't done yet, so pulled in there to get them to tighten them up, which they did. I then asked them since they were there, to check the air in my tyres. Lucky I did as my inside back tyre was flat as a pancake. Wheels come off to find that the sidewall has a hole in it. Luckily it can be repaired though, so after putting on a patch, I leave East Tamaki at 3.30 & head out to horse. Fill truck with water & finally get leaving just after 4. Whoops!
Was supposed to be picking up a tub of equilibrium at Matamata, the lady very nicely agreed to take it off my visa & leave the tub outside so that I could still get it as I came through. Thank goodness for daylight savings, didn't hit Matamata until 6.30 & the lovely lady had stayed behind to do long put off after hours work, just so that she could give me the tub. Big ups for GN Hills! Arrived at Rotorua in the dark & promptly missed seeing my name on the yarding list. Luckily Ray came over with a torch & helped me out. Richard then arrived as he had driven down from Auckland seperately. It was raining by this stage & suffice to say the first sleep in the truck was not a pleasant one as I had stupidly parked under trees!
Flynn warmed up very nicely for the dressage, I was starting to get quite hopeful. Until I had to leave the warm up area & go down to the end arena, where he promptly got all wary of his surroundings & tensed up beautifully. Trotted around the arena & did some transitions to try & get his mind back on the job, which mostly worked & he actually started a nice dressage test until he decided to do his usual standard issue left rein canter "elevation" LOL We even got it caught on camera for change. Its always the second stride in canter and I know always know when its coming, please excuse the heinous long reins
yes in this photo I am saying oh you little shitbag!
Just have to smile sometimes
Lucky for Flynn apart from the canter he actually did some nice work and finished the dressage on 11th place.
We then went & got ready for the SJing. He was quite energetic but still produced a lovely clear round. I think it helps that he still clears them by miles LOL Though we did slip coming into the brown wall filler and I got lost & came in on a bad angle & hit a mud patch right as we took off. Going clear moved us up to 7th place
After a further disastrous evening which involved someone who shall remain nameless locking their keys in the boot with 8 bags of ice in there & my McDonalds in the front seat going cold & having to call someone out to get them to break into a certain Altezza... We then relaxed by watching Pineapple Express with Ray & Debra. Highly entertaining movie!
Sunday morning & thank goodness the weather had cleared up nicely. Flynn warmed up nice & positively, such a change from the horrible gawky pony that used to slide into the first practice fence I would put him at! Love the new version!
Unfortunately I didn't work on my speed though & I let him too long & strung out & fast and it then put him backwards & he got all apprehensive, went too fast through the gateway & tried to charge off up the driveway, by the time I finally managed to get him turned, we missed the nice slope up & had to jump the drainage ditch instead. We then cantered up to the coffin combination & had a run out at the last part of the combination (how embarrassing, probably the smallest jump on the whole course!) He had caught sight of the spectators and just wasn't paying attention at all.
Then it was off over the rest of the course. We had another run out at the second jump in the triple, I had strided it wrong and was aiming for a short upright canter coming into it, however didn't quite get there, which then put him in a bad spot for take off. That teamed with me on his neck, meant that he just couldn't do it and he ran out. Quickly represented and he jumped it beautifully. Jumped beautifully into & out of the water and then did a great superman impersonation over the palisade
So cute, go superman, go!!
With the 2 run outs, we ended up 11th, which is pretty good, however it was a tough course as only half the competitors completed it!
First of all I could't find anything I needed at home, had washed saddle blankets & boots & put them in different parts of the house. Left home at 12.30 only to have the truck battery light come on, so went to Richards work, where we then found a really big oil leak as well. After having a look & realising there was nothing we could do, decided to take a bottle of oil with me & just keep topping it up on way down if necessary. I then decide that I had gotten new tyres on the back at last COF & was supposed to get the wheel nuts tigthened again after x amount of kms which I hadn't done yet, so pulled in there to get them to tighten them up, which they did. I then asked them since they were there, to check the air in my tyres. Lucky I did as my inside back tyre was flat as a pancake. Wheels come off to find that the sidewall has a hole in it. Luckily it can be repaired though, so after putting on a patch, I leave East Tamaki at 3.30 & head out to horse. Fill truck with water & finally get leaving just after 4. Whoops!
Was supposed to be picking up a tub of equilibrium at Matamata, the lady very nicely agreed to take it off my visa & leave the tub outside so that I could still get it as I came through. Thank goodness for daylight savings, didn't hit Matamata until 6.30 & the lovely lady had stayed behind to do long put off after hours work, just so that she could give me the tub. Big ups for GN Hills! Arrived at Rotorua in the dark & promptly missed seeing my name on the yarding list. Luckily Ray came over with a torch & helped me out. Richard then arrived as he had driven down from Auckland seperately. It was raining by this stage & suffice to say the first sleep in the truck was not a pleasant one as I had stupidly parked under trees!
Flynn warmed up very nicely for the dressage, I was starting to get quite hopeful. Until I had to leave the warm up area & go down to the end arena, where he promptly got all wary of his surroundings & tensed up beautifully. Trotted around the arena & did some transitions to try & get his mind back on the job, which mostly worked & he actually started a nice dressage test until he decided to do his usual standard issue left rein canter "elevation" LOL We even got it caught on camera for change. Its always the second stride in canter and I know always know when its coming, please excuse the heinous long reins
yes in this photo I am saying oh you little shitbag!
Just have to smile sometimes
Lucky for Flynn apart from the canter he actually did some nice work and finished the dressage on 11th place.
We then went & got ready for the SJing. He was quite energetic but still produced a lovely clear round. I think it helps that he still clears them by miles LOL Though we did slip coming into the brown wall filler and I got lost & came in on a bad angle & hit a mud patch right as we took off. Going clear moved us up to 7th place
After a further disastrous evening which involved someone who shall remain nameless locking their keys in the boot with 8 bags of ice in there & my McDonalds in the front seat going cold & having to call someone out to get them to break into a certain Altezza... We then relaxed by watching Pineapple Express with Ray & Debra. Highly entertaining movie!
Sunday morning & thank goodness the weather had cleared up nicely. Flynn warmed up nice & positively, such a change from the horrible gawky pony that used to slide into the first practice fence I would put him at! Love the new version!
Unfortunately I didn't work on my speed though & I let him too long & strung out & fast and it then put him backwards & he got all apprehensive, went too fast through the gateway & tried to charge off up the driveway, by the time I finally managed to get him turned, we missed the nice slope up & had to jump the drainage ditch instead. We then cantered up to the coffin combination & had a run out at the last part of the combination (how embarrassing, probably the smallest jump on the whole course!) He had caught sight of the spectators and just wasn't paying attention at all.
Then it was off over the rest of the course. We had another run out at the second jump in the triple, I had strided it wrong and was aiming for a short upright canter coming into it, however didn't quite get there, which then put him in a bad spot for take off. That teamed with me on his neck, meant that he just couldn't do it and he ran out. Quickly represented and he jumped it beautifully. Jumped beautifully into & out of the water and then did a great superman impersonation over the palisade
So cute, go superman, go!!
With the 2 run outs, we ended up 11th, which is pretty good, however it was a tough course as only half the competitors completed it!
Hunua Horse Trial 21/22 Feb
Speaking of useless, OMG! I am terrible! I cost us 2nd place :(
I had been going out & having fortnightly lessons with Angela. This has involved changing how I ride & getting Flynn straight, not letting him go out through the right shoulder anymore. Well this has been so good for us, we have more elevation again & very strong powerful trot (when he's not being cocky & evading me by trotting off & ignoring me!!)
Weather was diabolical all week heading into the HT & I was starting to get really nervous with Flynn having no back shoes on with the wet slippery ground. Lucky for us, we were 4th to go in the dressage before it all got too cut up, so he did a lovely dressage test, think from memory it put us 7th? I then raced over to the Sjing and managed to go 2nd, again, trying to avoid slipping over in the mud after too many people had gone through. It was so murky & yuck that it was a real effort for Flynn to pull his legs out of the mud & unfortunately he took a rail in the double. However this was good enough to move us up to 3rd as everybody had many, many rails. So glad we went early!!
Sunday was an early morning as I'd managed to find a farrier to put back shoes on Flynn so that I could whack in the biggest studs I could find. Went and warmed up & decided that it might be safest to jump down the outside line on the fences as the middle was going to be pretty cut up by the time our class got out on to the course. Turned out this was a good idea and Flynn jumped around clear with no loss of footing or anything. However, by saying he jumped around clear, I mean he jumped every jump I put him at. And unfortunately coming out of the water, I thought the roll top was for Pre Novice, so literally pulled him out of it, including saying to him "no Flynn not this one". Wasn't until I walked over to watch the Pre Novice and saw they weren't doing that jump, that I realised that duh, it was mine & I should have jumped it after all. Went back to the board & sure enough, we had a lovely big E next to our name. Which is a shame as the person sitting 2nd in front of us had run outs & we would have finished up in 2nd place at our first Horse Trial back. Mel had very nicely come out & taken photos for me, however it also meant she had to put up with me cursing & swearing and kicking stones all day LOL Thanks Mel for putting up with me!!More photos to come
I had been going out & having fortnightly lessons with Angela. This has involved changing how I ride & getting Flynn straight, not letting him go out through the right shoulder anymore. Well this has been so good for us, we have more elevation again & very strong powerful trot (when he's not being cocky & evading me by trotting off & ignoring me!!)
Weather was diabolical all week heading into the HT & I was starting to get really nervous with Flynn having no back shoes on with the wet slippery ground. Lucky for us, we were 4th to go in the dressage before it all got too cut up, so he did a lovely dressage test, think from memory it put us 7th? I then raced over to the Sjing and managed to go 2nd, again, trying to avoid slipping over in the mud after too many people had gone through. It was so murky & yuck that it was a real effort for Flynn to pull his legs out of the mud & unfortunately he took a rail in the double. However this was good enough to move us up to 3rd as everybody had many, many rails. So glad we went early!!
Sunday was an early morning as I'd managed to find a farrier to put back shoes on Flynn so that I could whack in the biggest studs I could find. Went and warmed up & decided that it might be safest to jump down the outside line on the fences as the middle was going to be pretty cut up by the time our class got out on to the course. Turned out this was a good idea and Flynn jumped around clear with no loss of footing or anything. However, by saying he jumped around clear, I mean he jumped every jump I put him at. And unfortunately coming out of the water, I thought the roll top was for Pre Novice, so literally pulled him out of it, including saying to him "no Flynn not this one". Wasn't until I walked over to watch the Pre Novice and saw they weren't doing that jump, that I realised that duh, it was mine & I should have jumped it after all. Went back to the board & sure enough, we had a lovely big E next to our name. Which is a shame as the person sitting 2nd in front of us had run outs & we would have finished up in 2nd place at our first Horse Trial back. Mel had very nicely come out & taken photos for me, however it also meant she had to put up with me cursing & swearing and kicking stones all day LOL Thanks Mel for putting up with me!!More photos to come
15 April 2009
Papatoetoe 2 Day Event - Pre Training 31 Jan/1 Feb
Unfortunately I've been a little useless at updating my blog, so I can't actually remember how it went, I just know that he did a lovely test to sit top 10, clear SJing to go 6th & then clear XC to finish 5th and get a lovely multicoloured rosette. Yes, yes I am useless :D
Lesson with Angela Lloyd - End of Jan
Decided if I was going to seriously try & do horse trials again, that I needed to start putting more importance on the lessons and doing stuff correctly for a change, so booked a lesson with Angela Lloyd. I tend to spend my money on competing and have nothing left for lessons, however I do believe that I would be making better use of my budget if I start having fortnightly lessons. Richard very nicely came out with me and took lots of photos.
We started off over a 4 stride line and I had to really work at sitting up & waiting for the fence (hmm, I can see my flop forward & put him off balance routine isn't going to cut the mustard here!!)
I also found out that I am particularly good at stopping riding after the fence as well. I had that down to a fine art, would come over a fence, land & just relax & stop riding until I lined up my next fence where I would sit up and put my legs back on again. To that end, there will be no more letting Flynn plonk along with his back end way out the back and his front end long & out the front LOL I have to get him more connected and get his back legs stepping underneath him better which will help everything, dressage, show jumping and my cross country which will actually have a bit more purpose LOL Not a great photo but he's actually using his butt!
We moved on to some more technical lines, including very tight corners before jumps and I worked on my position a lot more and really worked hard on keeping my legs on at all times. It worked amazingly as all of a sudden Flynn started jumping differently. He started using his back end. I nearly fell off a couple of times as wasn't expecting to pushed out of the saddle quite like that!
Once I got the hang of things, Angela decided it was time to scare me by making us do some XC fences. No pre training warm up fence here, it was straight into the training fences with the big ditch and a few pre novice jumps thrown in as well. We were testing his new found bravery & accuracy (& my riding) by having to jump over a ramp that had hay bales on either side at the top and an upright haybale sitting in the middle of it leaning against the fence, giving you a small area to jump over. Flynn did this first pop, but please ignore my position!! For some reason I completely freaked out right before the jump. Just as well my pony ignores me sometimes! As you can see, he wasn't fussed, he even has his eyes closed
We then had to jump a dog kennel with a picket and telegraph pole in the front of it, on an angle to get the 2 strides to the nice roll top behind it
Also had to jump the horrible big ditch
Complete with new found enthusiastic back end *sigh*
On the plus side, Flynn has a new admirer, Angela was very complimentary about him (apparently if he goes missing, I'll know whose paddocks to search!) & said lots of nice things which is always really lovely to hear!! Luff my pony, he tried his heart and didn't stop at a single thing! I also felt quite proud of myself as I tried everything she told me to jump without whimping out :D Goal now is to do Pre Novice on him next season and then she can ride him from Novice upwards as I have no interest whatsoever in trying it for myself!
We started off over a 4 stride line and I had to really work at sitting up & waiting for the fence (hmm, I can see my flop forward & put him off balance routine isn't going to cut the mustard here!!)
I also found out that I am particularly good at stopping riding after the fence as well. I had that down to a fine art, would come over a fence, land & just relax & stop riding until I lined up my next fence where I would sit up and put my legs back on again. To that end, there will be no more letting Flynn plonk along with his back end way out the back and his front end long & out the front LOL I have to get him more connected and get his back legs stepping underneath him better which will help everything, dressage, show jumping and my cross country which will actually have a bit more purpose LOL Not a great photo but he's actually using his butt!
We moved on to some more technical lines, including very tight corners before jumps and I worked on my position a lot more and really worked hard on keeping my legs on at all times. It worked amazingly as all of a sudden Flynn started jumping differently. He started using his back end. I nearly fell off a couple of times as wasn't expecting to pushed out of the saddle quite like that!
Once I got the hang of things, Angela decided it was time to scare me by making us do some XC fences. No pre training warm up fence here, it was straight into the training fences with the big ditch and a few pre novice jumps thrown in as well. We were testing his new found bravery & accuracy (& my riding) by having to jump over a ramp that had hay bales on either side at the top and an upright haybale sitting in the middle of it leaning against the fence, giving you a small area to jump over. Flynn did this first pop, but please ignore my position!! For some reason I completely freaked out right before the jump. Just as well my pony ignores me sometimes! As you can see, he wasn't fussed, he even has his eyes closed
We then had to jump a dog kennel with a picket and telegraph pole in the front of it, on an angle to get the 2 strides to the nice roll top behind it
Also had to jump the horrible big ditch
Complete with new found enthusiastic back end *sigh*On the plus side, Flynn has a new admirer, Angela was very complimentary about him (apparently if he goes missing, I'll know whose paddocks to search!) & said lots of nice things which is always really lovely to hear!! Luff my pony, he tried his heart and didn't stop at a single thing! I also felt quite proud of myself as I tried everything she told me to jump without whimping out :D Goal now is to do Pre Novice on him next season and then she can ride him from Novice upwards as I have no interest whatsoever in trying it for myself!
02 February 2009
Mangere ODE - Pre Training
OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!
Took Flynn to Mangere for their ODE, wanted to get another run in to make sure he was still fine on the XC course. Left nice & early so that I could get a good park. Warmed up for the dressage & stupidly decided to take complete exception to the way Flynn was going. I am a terrible, terrible mother, I nitpicked & niggled & nagged & the poor pony just couldn't win. I struggled through the whole test with the concept of bending to the inside but still staying out on the track around the arena. Flynn was very patient with me and didn't get upset, which was great. Judge was very nice and we got 29.71% & some lovely comments too. The score was good enough for 5th, so I was really happy with that.
Walked the XC course & nearly had a heart attack. What a hard course! Jump 2 was a bank complex with an upright at the top, and was only about 25m from the start box! Then jump 5 was an upright, 1 stride to a ditch, then 2 strides to another upright. Then down the slight incline to another ditch. Then some nice uprights, on the way to the water. Just before the water was a nice little offset double. The water consisted of a small log on top of the ledge & then a nice ramp out, around the corner to a skinny then 3 strides to the fenceline jump, then 2 more uprights & that was it.
Went over & did the Show Jumping which I thought was going to be a disaster as the cross country course was right next to where we were warming up, and every now & then a horse would come flying past flast stick, which would excite all the horses in the warm up ring. Did our Show Jumping round & went clear which was nice as it was quite a tight course with some good twisty turns.
Then went back to the truck & dithered over whether I should scratch from the XC or not... I really didn't want Flynn to stop at anything as we'd only just got his confidence sorted... After a quick gin & tonic, I decided to just be brave & see how he goes.
Warmed up nicely, no more sliding into the first XC practice jump! They held up the XC while someone was removed from the middle of the ditch combination (EEK!!!) & then again when someone came off headfirst into one of the jumps further on in the course. Finally it was our turn to go & I was starting to feel understandably a little nervous!
Cantered out through the start box & up the nice little upright which was the first jump. Flynn did a massive leap over it & next thing we knew it we were at the bank jump. Flynn hesitated and then leapt up it & out over the upright. We cantered off and did the next few jumps nice & happily. Then it was time to start heading down the slope towards the dreaded ditch combination. I slowed him up a little as he has a tendancy to truck along with his nose out & gets a bit long and fast. Was aiming for trotting into the combination but didn't quite manage it, so had to settle for a nice waiting canter instead. He jumped over the first upright and caught sight of the ditch. Had a bit of a hesitation & then leapt over it & cantered out & jumped over the last upright really nicely. Cantered down to the bigger ditch & just popped over it.
Was starting to feel quite relieved by this stage, we'd just cleared my 2 jumps that I was most concerned about, just the water to go now! He came through the offset double just beautifully & then caught side of the crowd on the bank next to the water jump. It was like he was mesmerised by them as was cantering on to the water and not even looking at it. He just kept staring with his head turned off to the left, gawking at the people on the bank. Finally managed to get his attention away from the crowd about 2 strides before the water, where he suddenly noticed the water & then charged at it. Was the best feeling as I wasn't sure how he'd cope with the addition of the log on the edge but he didn't even seem to notice & did a spectacular leap into the water. Go Flynny!! Big pats as I gathered up my reins & headed off the skinny. Again, he just lined it up & flew over it. Did the last 2 upright fencline jumps & crossed the finish line. Was so estatic, he'd been positive the whole way round (bar the ditch & bank) but even then, never felt like he was actually going to stop, just wanted a better look at them first.
Went & looked at the scoreboard & holy bejaysus, we had won it! Quite a few people had taken rails in the Show Jumping with it being such a tight course & lots of penalty points on the XC, apparently the offset double also claimed quite a few with people going too fast & not being able to complete the turn before the second jump. I was so happy of my orange pony for going clear over such a tough course.
Papatoetoe 2 day this weekend, I hope he goes clear as I am hoping to try the Hunua Horse Trial 2 weeks after that. I think it might be time to give training another go now that we've got the bravery side of it all sorted out. Not keen on trying a PC training course as that might be a bit too hard too soon! Much prefer the easier Horse Trials courses!!
Took Flynn to Mangere for their ODE, wanted to get another run in to make sure he was still fine on the XC course. Left nice & early so that I could get a good park. Warmed up for the dressage & stupidly decided to take complete exception to the way Flynn was going. I am a terrible, terrible mother, I nitpicked & niggled & nagged & the poor pony just couldn't win. I struggled through the whole test with the concept of bending to the inside but still staying out on the track around the arena. Flynn was very patient with me and didn't get upset, which was great. Judge was very nice and we got 29.71% & some lovely comments too. The score was good enough for 5th, so I was really happy with that.
Walked the XC course & nearly had a heart attack. What a hard course! Jump 2 was a bank complex with an upright at the top, and was only about 25m from the start box! Then jump 5 was an upright, 1 stride to a ditch, then 2 strides to another upright. Then down the slight incline to another ditch. Then some nice uprights, on the way to the water. Just before the water was a nice little offset double. The water consisted of a small log on top of the ledge & then a nice ramp out, around the corner to a skinny then 3 strides to the fenceline jump, then 2 more uprights & that was it.
Went over & did the Show Jumping which I thought was going to be a disaster as the cross country course was right next to where we were warming up, and every now & then a horse would come flying past flast stick, which would excite all the horses in the warm up ring. Did our Show Jumping round & went clear which was nice as it was quite a tight course with some good twisty turns.
Then went back to the truck & dithered over whether I should scratch from the XC or not... I really didn't want Flynn to stop at anything as we'd only just got his confidence sorted... After a quick gin & tonic, I decided to just be brave & see how he goes.
Warmed up nicely, no more sliding into the first XC practice jump! They held up the XC while someone was removed from the middle of the ditch combination (EEK!!!) & then again when someone came off headfirst into one of the jumps further on in the course. Finally it was our turn to go & I was starting to feel understandably a little nervous!
Cantered out through the start box & up the nice little upright which was the first jump. Flynn did a massive leap over it & next thing we knew it we were at the bank jump. Flynn hesitated and then leapt up it & out over the upright. We cantered off and did the next few jumps nice & happily. Then it was time to start heading down the slope towards the dreaded ditch combination. I slowed him up a little as he has a tendancy to truck along with his nose out & gets a bit long and fast. Was aiming for trotting into the combination but didn't quite manage it, so had to settle for a nice waiting canter instead. He jumped over the first upright and caught sight of the ditch. Had a bit of a hesitation & then leapt over it & cantered out & jumped over the last upright really nicely. Cantered down to the bigger ditch & just popped over it.
Was starting to feel quite relieved by this stage, we'd just cleared my 2 jumps that I was most concerned about, just the water to go now! He came through the offset double just beautifully & then caught side of the crowd on the bank next to the water jump. It was like he was mesmerised by them as was cantering on to the water and not even looking at it. He just kept staring with his head turned off to the left, gawking at the people on the bank. Finally managed to get his attention away from the crowd about 2 strides before the water, where he suddenly noticed the water & then charged at it. Was the best feeling as I wasn't sure how he'd cope with the addition of the log on the edge but he didn't even seem to notice & did a spectacular leap into the water. Go Flynny!! Big pats as I gathered up my reins & headed off the skinny. Again, he just lined it up & flew over it. Did the last 2 upright fencline jumps & crossed the finish line. Was so estatic, he'd been positive the whole way round (bar the ditch & bank) but even then, never felt like he was actually going to stop, just wanted a better look at them first.
Went & looked at the scoreboard & holy bejaysus, we had won it! Quite a few people had taken rails in the Show Jumping with it being such a tight course & lots of penalty points on the XC, apparently the offset double also claimed quite a few with people going too fast & not being able to complete the turn before the second jump. I was so happy of my orange pony for going clear over such a tough course.
Papatoetoe 2 day this weekend, I hope he goes clear as I am hoping to try the Hunua Horse Trial 2 weeks after that. I think it might be time to give training another go now that we've got the bravery side of it all sorted out. Not keen on trying a PC training course as that might be a bit too hard too soon! Much prefer the easier Horse Trials courses!!
29 January 2009
Pointways ODE - Pre Training!
Did all the practising & downgrading pay off? Yes it did!
Took Flynn to Pointways for the ODE & decided to be brave & enter Pre Training.
The dressage was a disaster as he hadn't been ridden all week & was feeling more than a little "energetic"... We jogged in the walk, trotted too early & cantered in the 20m circle when we were supposed to only be trotting. We still managed reasonably ok marks though as the arena craft was pretty accurate & definitely helped by our 8 for the entry & centreline! Beautiful photos from Kate @ Geegee Photography. I have even just bought my first dressage photo!
Show Jumping was very difficult, you had to come down one line, pull on the handbrake, do a wheelie & then go back up next to that line in the other direction. We went clear, which I was very happy with as it was slippery & he has no back shoes. I just kept thinking "Show Hunter lines, Show Hunter lines!!" while I was going around the course, which definitely helped.
The Cross Country was great, he warmed up nicely, stood quietly in the start box & then slowly cantered up the hill. The only jump he really, really looked at was a white fence stuffed with fresh leafy tree branches, but after a bit of encouragement from 10 strides out, he actually jumped it really nicely. He jumped into the water jump from a canter with only the slightest hesitation, then straight over the trakhener & up the hill. The corner was decorated with more shrubbery on each side, making it quite a narrow space to jump through, but he just lined it up & went for it.
I have to admit I was quite surprised that he crossed the finish line & wasn't even as hot/sweaty as I thought he'd be. I had expected a bit of heavy breathing & white lather due to the steep hill & horrible stinking hot day, but nope, just a patch of sweat on his neck & that was it. Interestingly enough, I think he's fitter than I give him credit for. Whilst I was walking back from the finish line, I saw 2 different people fall off at the water and a few others have stops, so am even more proud that he jumped straight in, as the water is quite small & relatively well known for getting a few stops...
The dressage score had put us about 11th, and the clear Show Jumping and Cross Country put us into 3rd, so very proud of my pony!!
Took Flynn to Pointways for the ODE & decided to be brave & enter Pre Training.
The dressage was a disaster as he hadn't been ridden all week & was feeling more than a little "energetic"... We jogged in the walk, trotted too early & cantered in the 20m circle when we were supposed to only be trotting. We still managed reasonably ok marks though as the arena craft was pretty accurate & definitely helped by our 8 for the entry & centreline! Beautiful photos from Kate @ Geegee Photography. I have even just bought my first dressage photo!
Show Jumping was very difficult, you had to come down one line, pull on the handbrake, do a wheelie & then go back up next to that line in the other direction. We went clear, which I was very happy with as it was slippery & he has no back shoes. I just kept thinking "Show Hunter lines, Show Hunter lines!!" while I was going around the course, which definitely helped.
The Cross Country was great, he warmed up nicely, stood quietly in the start box & then slowly cantered up the hill. The only jump he really, really looked at was a white fence stuffed with fresh leafy tree branches, but after a bit of encouragement from 10 strides out, he actually jumped it really nicely. He jumped into the water jump from a canter with only the slightest hesitation, then straight over the trakhener & up the hill. The corner was decorated with more shrubbery on each side, making it quite a narrow space to jump through, but he just lined it up & went for it.
I have to admit I was quite surprised that he crossed the finish line & wasn't even as hot/sweaty as I thought he'd be. I had expected a bit of heavy breathing & white lather due to the steep hill & horrible stinking hot day, but nope, just a patch of sweat on his neck & that was it. Interestingly enough, I think he's fitter than I give him credit for. Whilst I was walking back from the finish line, I saw 2 different people fall off at the water and a few others have stops, so am even more proud that he jumped straight in, as the water is quite small & relatively well known for getting a few stops...
The dressage score had put us about 11th, and the clear Show Jumping and Cross Country put us into 3rd, so very proud of my pony!!
26 January 2009
XC Schooling with Karley & Mel
Decided it was a good idea to try & consolidate Flynn's new bravery (& mine!!) so joined in with Mel, and had a cross country lesson with Karley Windlebourne.
Flynn decided today was the day to show off his new elevated canter (think knees past his ears) & kept napping towards Cobs by throwing out his shoulder. After a few episodes of us not agreeing on the direction we were taking, I decided that enough was enough & gave him a smack on the shoulder. Well that got an unfavourable reaction from the ginga, so gave him another smack, which got a bigger less favourable reaction. So decided that it was prudent to win this one, so with a slightly smaller smack, we managed to complete the turn with no more acrobatics and carried on for the rest of the lsson with no more napping. I really think that I have been quite blissfully unaware of how his previous small episodes when ignored, can really turn into something a bit bigger now that he's older. Here is him jumping just after the little "battle of minds" as you can see he's still a bit pissy hehehe
So anyway, on with the lesson with the new & improved attitude from my orange sidekick.
Karley had us walking down the ramp into the water & just let him stand there & enjoy it, then we started jumping in & out. He did however have a bit of an oopsy at the start of the water jump practice where he biffed himself in to land on all 4s at the same time, however managed to scrape his leg down the wood of the water jump, which moved the boot up his leg & took off all the hair. He was fine however, so we carried on with the lesson. After a while, Flynn decided he was really happy with the water and ended up jumping in & out from where ever we asked him.
We ended up doing a cool little combination with a jump 2 strides out from the water, dropping in, then jumping out. You could really tell when he was getting more confident and relaxed as the jumps in & out where getting tidier & tidier. 
Jane got some lovely photos of Flynn & Cobs pawing the water, same leg, same expression, its definitely one for the wall!!
It was really interesting in that once Flynn's confidence in the water was 100% sorted, he really became quite the different horse out over the other jumps, he jumped everything I put him out, without hesitation. Karley ended up having us jumping a few open fences as well, which was a bit scarey but completely doable!
Pre Training Corner
Open Corner. Shame the grass is long, this jump is horribly massive!! I had 2 run outs that were rider inspired when I discovered I had left my brave undies at home! But once I changed my line into it, all of a sudden it wasn't a problem & we flew over it! Jumped it a couple more times to prove that it wasn't a fluke haha
Then it was on to another personal dislike of mine, drop fences! Luckily for me, Karley let me do the Pre Training one first, but after that was done, it was straight on to the training version. Geebers, I do not like drops! I managed to talk her out of me doing the open one though, which I was super relieved about!
Unfortunately during the lesson, Flynn managed to lose a shoe, however nobody picked up on it as he never once was ouchy or short. Karley said very nice things about Flynn, she even said he was quite bold, which had me laughing, I had to admit that was the first time anyone had ever called Flynn bold, so I am really starting to feel like I've done him a bit of a disservice with helping him be the whimp he was... I do have to wonder what he'd have been like with a bolder XC rider!
Unfortunately the next day Flynn had a back leg like an elephant, so we had to scratch from the registered Show Hunter out at Pukekohe.
Flynn decided today was the day to show off his new elevated canter (think knees past his ears) & kept napping towards Cobs by throwing out his shoulder. After a few episodes of us not agreeing on the direction we were taking, I decided that enough was enough & gave him a smack on the shoulder. Well that got an unfavourable reaction from the ginga, so gave him another smack, which got a bigger less favourable reaction. So decided that it was prudent to win this one, so with a slightly smaller smack, we managed to complete the turn with no more acrobatics and carried on for the rest of the lsson with no more napping. I really think that I have been quite blissfully unaware of how his previous small episodes when ignored, can really turn into something a bit bigger now that he's older. Here is him jumping just after the little "battle of minds" as you can see he's still a bit pissy hehehe
So anyway, on with the lesson with the new & improved attitude from my orange sidekick.
Karley had us walking down the ramp into the water & just let him stand there & enjoy it, then we started jumping in & out. He did however have a bit of an oopsy at the start of the water jump practice where he biffed himself in to land on all 4s at the same time, however managed to scrape his leg down the wood of the water jump, which moved the boot up his leg & took off all the hair. He was fine however, so we carried on with the lesson. After a while, Flynn decided he was really happy with the water and ended up jumping in & out from where ever we asked him.
We ended up doing a cool little combination with a jump 2 strides out from the water, dropping in, then jumping out. You could really tell when he was getting more confident and relaxed as the jumps in & out where getting tidier & tidier. 
Jane got some lovely photos of Flynn & Cobs pawing the water, same leg, same expression, its definitely one for the wall!!
It was really interesting in that once Flynn's confidence in the water was 100% sorted, he really became quite the different horse out over the other jumps, he jumped everything I put him out, without hesitation. Karley ended up having us jumping a few open fences as well, which was a bit scarey but completely doable!
Pre Training Corner
Open Corner. Shame the grass is long, this jump is horribly massive!! I had 2 run outs that were rider inspired when I discovered I had left my brave undies at home! But once I changed my line into it, all of a sudden it wasn't a problem & we flew over it! Jumped it a couple more times to prove that it wasn't a fluke hahaThen it was on to another personal dislike of mine, drop fences! Luckily for me, Karley let me do the Pre Training one first, but after that was done, it was straight on to the training version. Geebers, I do not like drops! I managed to talk her out of me doing the open one though, which I was super relieved about!
Unfortunately during the lesson, Flynn managed to lose a shoe, however nobody picked up on it as he never once was ouchy or short. Karley said very nice things about Flynn, she even said he was quite bold, which had me laughing, I had to admit that was the first time anyone had ever called Flynn bold, so I am really starting to feel like I've done him a bit of a disservice with helping him be the whimp he was... I do have to wonder what he'd have been like with a bolder XC rider!
Unfortunately the next day Flynn had a back leg like an elephant, so we had to scratch from the registered Show Hunter out at Pukekohe.
25 January 2009
Pony Club Camp - Waerenga 11/12 January
Well I decided to continue Flynn's education and took him to PC camp to play with the kids. This year it was held at Waerenga, so meant that I could put more time into practicing the stream crossings that we had so many issues with at the Waerenga Horse Trial. We went down on the Friday night and straight away went out for a hack across the farm. Made Flynn jump into the empty water jump which he wasn't at all phased about. He was however still really not happy about crossing the creek. After about 10 trips back and forward through the creek, he eventually just started marching through them. About freaking time! Took him back in & gave him dinner.
The next morning we had games with the kids, we had a trotting race, onion & spoon race (no eggs), 3 legged race and barrel race. Was such a laugh watching all the adults trying their hand at the games (quite a few of our adult ride went down to camp this year which made it a whole heap of fun!!) Flynn decided he quite liked the barrel race & we came away with 2nd place behind a mentally zippy pony hehehe. I have to say, I do really love my horse, how many have one fast enough to be competitive with the ponies, yet still stand on the buckle dozing with horses galloping past them at the finish line?
We then had to the gamblers stakes. Only problem is that it was filled with scarey jumps, including a jump where the whole top pole was covered in balloons (about 12) & they were all waving in the wind. We were 2nd to go & I figured that that jump would be the one worth the most points, so decided to go straight at it first so that if I could get him over it, we'd then be able to do it a few times over the minute that we had. Naturally Flynn freaked out about the jump but after a few dithering seconds in front of it, realised that I wasn't going to back off & that jumping it was the only option. So he unceremoniously threw himself over it. Seems to be his new habit, if in doubt, do a really unstylish body hiff over it!
So we carried on with the course, jumped the single half barrel on its side, the line of 20L water containers, the tyres etc, etc & managed to do a great line of 3 jumps that were on the most extreme angle possible whilst still being able to not hit the jumps stands. The last jump of this line just happened to be the balloons which was handy. Then the 10second bell rang, so we went down the line one more time, with the balloon jump last. Only problem is that by this stage after jumping it a few times, Flynn was pretty lazy & took it out with his back legs, knocking the pole off & popping every balloon bar 2. Sounded like fireworks going off, which didn't even worry him. In fact, out of the 30 odd horses, only 1 old boy had a spaz & even then it was over & done with in seconds. Only problem is that they had no replacement ballons & with me being 2nd to go, nobody else had to do the hard version of the balloon jump so everyone merrily sailed over it with no problems. I was proud that nobody could match my 3 jump line though hehehe. We ended up winning on 76 points, with the next person on 68.
Was so much fun & again, I was so proud of the big change in Flynn, he would never have jumped the balloon jump a year ago, he would have created a right song & dance & spent hours telling me all the reasons why he couldn't possibly jump it.
Then that night we took the horses out for a light XC schooling session, including some big jumps in the fence lines and practicing the empty water jump again. By the end of it, I had Flynn jumping the pre novice water combination, in over the upright jump in front, jumping into the water, out of the water & out over the last upright jump. He didn't stop at anything, the only thing that was holding us back at that point were my own nerves!
The next morning we got up & went for a nice bareback ride around the farm, had a few canters and jumped the gamblers stakes jumps again. I do like bareback riding, really should do more of it on Flynn as he really seems to enjoy it.
Then it was home time for some much needed sleep!
The next morning we had games with the kids, we had a trotting race, onion & spoon race (no eggs), 3 legged race and barrel race. Was such a laugh watching all the adults trying their hand at the games (quite a few of our adult ride went down to camp this year which made it a whole heap of fun!!) Flynn decided he quite liked the barrel race & we came away with 2nd place behind a mentally zippy pony hehehe. I have to say, I do really love my horse, how many have one fast enough to be competitive with the ponies, yet still stand on the buckle dozing with horses galloping past them at the finish line?
We then had to the gamblers stakes. Only problem is that it was filled with scarey jumps, including a jump where the whole top pole was covered in balloons (about 12) & they were all waving in the wind. We were 2nd to go & I figured that that jump would be the one worth the most points, so decided to go straight at it first so that if I could get him over it, we'd then be able to do it a few times over the minute that we had. Naturally Flynn freaked out about the jump but after a few dithering seconds in front of it, realised that I wasn't going to back off & that jumping it was the only option. So he unceremoniously threw himself over it. Seems to be his new habit, if in doubt, do a really unstylish body hiff over it!
So we carried on with the course, jumped the single half barrel on its side, the line of 20L water containers, the tyres etc, etc & managed to do a great line of 3 jumps that were on the most extreme angle possible whilst still being able to not hit the jumps stands. The last jump of this line just happened to be the balloons which was handy. Then the 10second bell rang, so we went down the line one more time, with the balloon jump last. Only problem is that by this stage after jumping it a few times, Flynn was pretty lazy & took it out with his back legs, knocking the pole off & popping every balloon bar 2. Sounded like fireworks going off, which didn't even worry him. In fact, out of the 30 odd horses, only 1 old boy had a spaz & even then it was over & done with in seconds. Only problem is that they had no replacement ballons & with me being 2nd to go, nobody else had to do the hard version of the balloon jump so everyone merrily sailed over it with no problems. I was proud that nobody could match my 3 jump line though hehehe. We ended up winning on 76 points, with the next person on 68.
Was so much fun & again, I was so proud of the big change in Flynn, he would never have jumped the balloon jump a year ago, he would have created a right song & dance & spent hours telling me all the reasons why he couldn't possibly jump it.
Then that night we took the horses out for a light XC schooling session, including some big jumps in the fence lines and practicing the empty water jump again. By the end of it, I had Flynn jumping the pre novice water combination, in over the upright jump in front, jumping into the water, out of the water & out over the last upright jump. He didn't stop at anything, the only thing that was holding us back at that point were my own nerves!
The next morning we got up & went for a nice bareback ride around the farm, had a few canters and jumped the gamblers stakes jumps again. I do like bareback riding, really should do more of it on Flynn as he really seems to enjoy it.
Then it was home time for some much needed sleep!
Christmas Time - Flynn has another break
As we were off to Masterton for 10 days, figured it would be good for Flynn to have another break. As he is now on 4 weekly shoeing, I had to get him shod before I went away at 3 weeks as I am now way too paranoid to let him go to 5 weeks! So had my grazing owner Cheryl feeding him every 2nd day for me. Figured he could go onto resticted rations while he was not being ridden!
Henderson Valley PC ODE 21st December
Entered Flynn into the Intro class at the Henderson Valley PC. To this date, we have never ever done a clear XC, with constant stops at water & anything ditchy. Figured it was time to start from the beginning & see if I can fix what I've broken by pushing him into doing Horse Trials before he was ready. Shame as he's such a brilliant jumper that I paid no attention to actually doing any homework on bravery etc & dealing with the scarey jumps at the baby levels. At least with intro I can be a lot braver too!
Did our dressage which was just lovely, he did a super test, very responsive & light, we came away with 3rd equal after the dressage.
Went clear SJing (as I'd bliddy well hope!!!) but did have a moment at the planks when he went to stop & then threw himself over them LOL
Then it was time for the XC.
He warmed up really nicely & confidently, which actually surprised me as he can put in a silly stop at his first presentation at an XC fence. They have a lovely brown jump covered in coloured hand prints that he took exception to at the warm up last time we were there a year ago, however he didn't even blink at it this time. Just goes to show he's really starting to get a lot more confident. Quite exciting really!
Anyway, we went into the XC paddock where he started napping a little, he wanted to go back to the other horses. When I wouldn't let him & gave him a tap with the whip, I was treated to a completely over the top reaction of a full height rear, complete with one leg delicately stretched out. So once he came down he got another smack & was driven forward to the start box. Funny how they can be so dramatic sometimes. Quietly wandered into the start box & stood quietly waiting to be counted down. Had to do a big pony club kick to get him going, think he was tired out after the slow motion acrobatic display LOL
Well I have to say, he gave me the BEST cross country ride that I have ever had on him. He was forward (yes, time to change the bit again, he wasn't so keen on listening at all between the jumps) & actually locked on to each jump & took me into them. He didn't spook or gawk at a single thing, didn't even hesitate to go down the hills or over the scarey bridge out the back, even though there were spectators on sitting on the jump next to the one we had to do. Water was an option, you could either do the bank complex next to it & stay dry, or go down the ramp into the water and out the other side. Decided since the day was definitely for practicing and getting bold, we did the water. What did surprise me however was the fact that he just charged on in to the water. Didn't want to slow down & was happy to just have a look as he was going. Trotted in like he'd been doing it all his life! I had the biggest grin on my face by the time we'd finished, shock horror, I'd actually just enjoyed the cross country part!!
Ended up second, which was a lovely end to a very sucessful day in the personal best department, I was so proud of my pony, he really felt like he was starting to get the hang of it all. I guess being 6 now means he's a big boy after all?
Did our dressage which was just lovely, he did a super test, very responsive & light, we came away with 3rd equal after the dressage.
Went clear SJing (as I'd bliddy well hope!!!) but did have a moment at the planks when he went to stop & then threw himself over them LOL
Then it was time for the XC.
He warmed up really nicely & confidently, which actually surprised me as he can put in a silly stop at his first presentation at an XC fence. They have a lovely brown jump covered in coloured hand prints that he took exception to at the warm up last time we were there a year ago, however he didn't even blink at it this time. Just goes to show he's really starting to get a lot more confident. Quite exciting really!
Anyway, we went into the XC paddock where he started napping a little, he wanted to go back to the other horses. When I wouldn't let him & gave him a tap with the whip, I was treated to a completely over the top reaction of a full height rear, complete with one leg delicately stretched out. So once he came down he got another smack & was driven forward to the start box. Funny how they can be so dramatic sometimes. Quietly wandered into the start box & stood quietly waiting to be counted down. Had to do a big pony club kick to get him going, think he was tired out after the slow motion acrobatic display LOL
Well I have to say, he gave me the BEST cross country ride that I have ever had on him. He was forward (yes, time to change the bit again, he wasn't so keen on listening at all between the jumps) & actually locked on to each jump & took me into them. He didn't spook or gawk at a single thing, didn't even hesitate to go down the hills or over the scarey bridge out the back, even though there were spectators on sitting on the jump next to the one we had to do. Water was an option, you could either do the bank complex next to it & stay dry, or go down the ramp into the water and out the other side. Decided since the day was definitely for practicing and getting bold, we did the water. What did surprise me however was the fact that he just charged on in to the water. Didn't want to slow down & was happy to just have a look as he was going. Trotted in like he'd been doing it all his life! I had the biggest grin on my face by the time we'd finished, shock horror, I'd actually just enjoyed the cross country part!!
Ended up second, which was a lovely end to a very sucessful day in the personal best department, I was so proud of my pony, he really felt like he was starting to get the hang of it all. I guess being 6 now means he's a big boy after all?
Farriers Visit
So John came out & shod Flynn, agreed that the toe was too long & lopped it all off! He said that Flynn does have slightly uneven feet & he'd been trying to even them up a little, but will try & do that whilst keeping the toes short at the same time. So onwards & upwards from here. Flynn is loving the break, nothing like sitting around doing nothing & still getting fed every day!
Vet - John Ewen
So I got the vet out to give Flynn a once over, got bloods done to check selenium, magnesium etc. Had a chat about the oats and the over the top spooking and he said every horse can have a different reaction to different things and to try him off the oats & see how he goes. I then mentioned how Flynn was extremely hard to get going & that the oats were to pep him up a little & that we'd had a decent crash at the SH on the weekend, so what was going on?
He did point out that altough the levels in Flynn's feet were spot on, he did say that the toes were way too long. He proved it by doing a flexion test and Flynn spazzing out as soon as he started prodding and poking around.
End prognosis was extremely sore shoulders, and extremely honest pony for trying to carry on like he was, when he was pretty much walking on his heels and overusing the wrong parts of his body. I was mortified, but as he pointed out, Flynn was only sitting at 5 weeks, wasn't even due for shoeing for another week and that a lot of people do it. Didn't help but we put him on bute for a week as the farrier couldn't get out earlier. Time for a mini break for the McFlynder!
He did point out that altough the levels in Flynn's feet were spot on, he did say that the toes were way too long. He proved it by doing a flexion test and Flynn spazzing out as soon as he started prodding and poking around.
End prognosis was extremely sore shoulders, and extremely honest pony for trying to carry on like he was, when he was pretty much walking on his heels and overusing the wrong parts of his body. I was mortified, but as he pointed out, Flynn was only sitting at 5 weeks, wasn't even due for shoeing for another week and that a lot of people do it. Didn't help but we put him on bute for a week as the farrier couldn't get out earlier. Time for a mini break for the McFlynder!
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