Another lovely Beach Ride

Ogmore Castle Stepping Stones - The horses don't bother using these so if you have a little pony you might get wet feet before you even get to the beach.

I decided it was time to have another beach ride as I haven't been for a few weeks and with winter looming, it seemed sensible to make the best of the weather.  Whilst it seemed a bit fresh, it was a lovely sunny morning when I arrived so didn't need too many layers because it can be quite cold on the beach at times.

As we approached the beach, I noticed the tide was in.  Normally, the canters are not quite so good when the tide is in as there is less beach and the sand tends to be wetter and stickier which is not ideal for the horses to canter on although we normally still get a canter, tends to be a slower more paced ride rather than a full out gallop.  However as we came over the brow of the sand dune onto the beach, it was clear there would be no cantering on the beach that morning.  There was no beach to speak of, only a narrow stretch of shingle left - definitely not suitable for cantering.  (I later heard that a few days earlier it had been the highest tide of the year).

The beach, however, was a spectacular sight.  Huge waves breaking not far out and although the beach is normally deserted except for horses and the odd dog walker, today the sea was alive with surfers making the most of the huge waves.  I'm not sure the horses were quite as impressed with the waves and was half expecting one of them to spook and take off but although they were not overly impressed, none of them did anything silly.

We made up for the lack of canters on the beach with a few fast canters through the windy paths in the dunes which are equally good fun and I decided to ride again in the afternoon when the tide was out so I could have another go at the beach.



The Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes - the largest sand dune system in Europe and the location for scenes from the film Laurence of Arabia.
 

When we arrived back at lunchtime, after a quick pastie to eat and a hastily drunk coffee, it was time to remount.  This time on a new pony, belonging to one of the little girls who helps out there.  She was only 14 hands but very fast and fun to ride.
This time, we were able to have a nice gallop across the beach.  And there was only one horse there that was faster than my little pony.  The advantage of being near the front is you don't get covered in sand kicked up the horses in front or to the side of you which can be a bit of a pain.

The other advantage of the pony I was riding is that she is used to jumping and inspired me to try a few small logs as I have not done any jumping to speak of and certainly not in lessons. I've only jumped a few times, more often than not unintentionally.  However, due to the high tide, a couple of our favourite little logs to jump had either disappeared or moved and were no longer in the right place to jump them, but there were still a few in the sand dunes which we had a go at. 

Anyway, all in all, it was a lovely day - fabulous weather, a great ride and good company and as I was feeling indulgent and am not working at the moment I decided to go again mid week.

Progess at last - albeit slow

Had another riding lesson today.  Was not looking forward to my horse as everyone said she was really lazy but was pleasantly surprised in the end and she seemed positively forward compared to the last two. 

The sitting trot without stirrups wasn't too hot because she was a bit bouncy but the canters went much better today.  I felt more confident because the horse was a lot more active in trot and acheiving the first canter without a problem meant I stopped worrying about whether the horse would go into canter and was able to focus on my position and managed to keep my heels down much more although still managed to let my feet slip through the stirrups a bit too far instead of keeping the balls on my feet in the stirrups but progress.

I figured the main reason I don't have these problems hacking out is because when I am cantering across an open beach, I tend to canter in a light forward seat rather than sitting to the canter but am feeling more hopeful that I will finally get there after today. 

Looking forward to Thursday when I am going to visit my friend and her horse which she has promised to let me ride although have to see what he is like before I try and canter as she has told me he likes to put in a few exhuberant little bucks before he canters and not sure how I will cope with that.

Canter Transitions :(

Had my fourth riding lesson at the new riding school today and it is not going well.  Having not been brilliant before the summer, I feel like I have lost a lot of ground after a few months off over the school holidays.

I just can't seem to get the canter transitions right.  I get really tense anticipating that the horse won't canter when I ask him to and then he keeps proving me right.  My instructor tells me I am gripping too much with my knees and that my heels are not staying down and my legs are going too far forward.  The more I think about it the more wrong it seems to go.  Last week, she said it looked liked I'd never cantered before and I wasn't safe to do so.

I'm sure when I am out hacking I am much more relaxed in canter but then it is so different.  I never have to do a canter transition as the horses are always raring to go on the beach and its just a case of giving them a slight squeeze and loosing the reins a little and they go from standing or walking straight to canter and then into gallop depending on the conditions.  It probably also helps that I tend to canter in light seat out on the beach instead of sitting to the canter like we have to in the lessons.   Even when I am leading the ride which tends to be more difficult, the horses there are still so easy to get into canter and a winding tree lined path at a fast canter doesn't phase me but a 20 metre circle in the school has me panicking.

I am must be one of the few people who seems to get more nervous in the school than out in a wide open space although ironically the worse falls I've had have been in the school.  Oh well, I will have to perservere or I will never progress to jumping lessons which I am quite keen to do as already done a few involuntary and unanticpated jumps when I have been out hacking.

Exam Results

My computer has been down for a while so haven't been able to post but thought I would update you on my exam results.  The riding was a bit of a nightmare.  The first horse I got was a lucky choice for me as I was used to riding him - a nice cob called patches who isn't quite as sluggish as some of the other cobs.  I thought it started off well and the sitting trot seemed okay although I messed up the first canter as he didn't respond to my aids the first time I asked for canter but thought okay I can still pass as long as I get it right on the next horse.  Unfortunately despite the fact all my lessons have been at the exam centre, I haven't really been given the chance to ride many of the thoroughbreds.  However, my instructor assured me it was highly unlikely I would get them in the exam as they are all quite big and I am only 5"2 but as luck would have it they gave me a 16"3 thoroughbred next the biggest horse in the exam.  Couldn't seem to get a ryhthum in trot and then he started shying so they stopped the exercise briefly and the caller was instructing me to hold the reins looser - oops.  Then I panicked a bit and didn't hear the instructions to cut from the back of the ride across the school to the front and left it too late and had to cut diagonally.

Think I knew I had failed for sure when the examiner decided to switch half of the exam onto a third horse before the canter and light seat trotting and cantering over poles.  Sure enough I failed the riding although was chuffed to pass the three horse care modules.

Examiners comments were "Although showing awareness of the fundamental requirements of this section, as yet she does not have sufficient balance, security or co-ordination for the required standard.  Work is required to develop these key areas in order that she can more easily follow the natural movement of the horse, maintain a more elastic rein contact and give aids with greater clarity,  She also needs to develop more awareness when mounting, dismounting and adjusting tack whilst mounted [ I thought my mounting and dismounting was fine but who am I to argue the other comments were probably fair generally and especially so as I didn't perform my best in the exam],

Taking the kids riding

With the bank holiday weekend, it was a lovely opportunity to spend some time with my kids and I decided a few days up at the farm and a chance to get them on horseback was a fantastic idea.  Given the rain the idea of camping went by the by and we managed to blag a bed inside for the night because we are wimps lol.  Saturday it tipped it down with rain so the kids ended up playing on the trampoline in the rain and watching tv a lot of the day.  We arrived just in time for me to help get all the trekkers on their horses - a hen party who for some reason thought pony trekking would be a great idea despite the fact half of them were petrified of horses. Then to muck out the stables before the horses got back.  We dropped the idea of taking the kids riding on Saturday because we thought they would get put off by the heavy rain.  The BBQ in the evening because a grill and indoor party instead but we still had lots of fun.

Sunday, the weather was dry if not sunny so after the morning trek came back we took the kids out on a little ride.  My eight year old was in the middle without a lead rein with their little friend on her pony at the front and my tiny 6 year old on a horse of nearly 15 hands at the back.  We had to put a lot of twists in the leathers so his feet could get in the stirrups but he was happy enough despite his small stature and the horses rather larger stature.   I think the kids enjoyed and they did a little trotting as well.  Mummy didn't get a ride but decided that I need some practice on the lead rein after my eldest sons horse turned to go up a track and I decided to let go of the little one to catch the other horse and ended up with both horses trotting in front of me.  There were a few little squeals  from the kids when I made the mistake of running after them which I instantly realised had been a bad idea when the horses started trotting.  As soon as I started walking I quickly caught up with the two horses who had stopped not far up the lane to munch on the grass at the side of the road.  I was very impressed with the natural balance the boys showed and their lack of fear.  They were less phased by the horses than the 25 year olds on the hen party the day before despite being on the same horses.  Ride over at just the right time (two minutes after the kids started asking are we nearly home yet I'm tired) it was time for a quick cuppa tea before heading home.

A Weekend of Sunshine

Had a lovely weekend riding in the Brecon Beacons at Trevelog Pony Trekking.  My favourite horse, Penny was finally home from her winter holiday.   She is really cute.  About 15 hands, bay with a white blaze and blue eyes and very fast.  Was dying to see if I still enjoyed riding her as much as I did last year as have ridden lots of different horses since then.

Had a lovely ride on the first day.  I was worried she might be a bit sharp after all that time off but she was going great.  As we had a few beginners with us, I got to hold back and lead the canter which is always good fun on Penny.  She doesn't get too agitated when you hold her back but when you loose the reins she goes like the wind.  I was just saying to one of the others how nicely she was going and how well she was behaving when  we decided to swap the order round so one of the guys who hadn't ridden for a while could try a canter. Unfortunately Penny took exception to his horse being behind her and started playing up.  She spun round a few times and kicked out and was generally very mareish.  She obviously likes the boys and didn't appreciate having one of the girls behind her, getting a bit too close.  Still I stayed on without too much effort which was fine.

Saturday night stayed over at the farm and went down the pub with some of the guys who work at the farm and then Sunday morning we were up early to tack up again for the arrival of the next lot of trekkers.  Had another great ride on Sunday -riding Penny again.

I only need four more rides this season and I fill up my loyalty card and get a free ride.    And another private riding lesson booked for tomorrow as my exam is looming.  Hope I didn't pick up too many bad habits at the weekend as noone nagging me about my seat and position.

Flicka: Country Pride

I watched this film on on demand the other day and I loved it.  I never got round to reading my friend flicka as a child and had been meaning to read it even if it was a kids book because it seemed such a well known horsey story so when I saw the new film I couldn't resist.

It was a real treat and despite it being a U classification and both my kids being in bed,  I sat down to watch and had a fab evening.  I was even a bit teary eyed in parts but I loved it.  Three day eventing on a mustang, bitchy girls, the underdog comes out on top and a happy ending with a little romance thrown in - what more could you ask.  Anyone else seen it?  If you haven't it's worth a watch.

FLICKA Country Pride

Mock Exam

Had our mock exam on tuesday which was good but I didn't think good enough.  I have had a couple of private lessons in the last week in the run up to my exam so was hoping for an excellent performance in the riding.  However first horse was a bit of a plodder and messed up the first canter transition because I hadn't managed to establish a decent trot quickly enough before the corner.  Sitting trot without stirrups is never my strong point either.

Then we swapped horses and I was lucky enough to get a slightly more forward horse - only problem was he wasn't listening to my half halts in trot and was up the horse in fronts arse rather than one horse length away and then trying to canter 20 metre circle he just got away from me and I forgot about using the outside rein to control speed and was just pulling back on both reins without slowing him down so looked like I was hanging onto the reins cos I had no balance when was actually trying to slow him down either way wasn't completely in control.

Cantering in light seat over poles was better and got my diagonals right and at the end my teacher told me I was  "in with a chance" at passing the riding which is slightly better than two months ago when she said I wasn't at the standard required to pass.

Then during the practical tacking up mock had a bugger of a horse who decided to might be just for standing to close to his head when I wasn't even doing anything at that point.  Hadn't started grooming him or tacking up.  That said think the oral theory should be a breeze.  Theoretical learning I  can do with my eyes shut after all the exams I did in my teens and twenties.

Work has been a nightmare the last couple of months and auditors are stressing me big time at the moment so decided to treat myself to two days of trekking htis weekend at Trevelog.  Should probably be having more lessons this close to the exam but really need to chill out so two all day rides in the mountains will be more fun.

Dashing through the snow on a one horse open sleigh

“Hallo!” our Austrian hosts greeted us, followed by a kiss on each cheek.  This warm friendly greeting was soon followed by a most welcome glass of Schnapps. We were glad of a little warmth, having just braved a snowy blizzard on our journey from Linz Airport.  Our destination was a guest house just outside Schönau im Mühlkreis, a picturesque village in upper Austria, close to the Czech borders.  This was the beginning of a wonderful five days in Austria, not for the normal skiing holiday, but to ride horses in the snow and to experience the stuff of Christmas Carols – horse drawn sleighs speeding though paths bordered by snow covered trees.

me riding Viktoria

 After a hearty lunch of fresh bread and sausages in goulash sauce, it was time to take our first ride. Wrapped up warmly, we mounted our horses and set off for our ride through the snow.  The horses made light work of foot deep snow. My fear of sliding all around the ice on a large beast, which could slip and plunge me to the ground before landing on top of me, dissipated in no time.   Before long, we were cantering gleefully through the snow at a fast pace, and being pelted in the face by snowballs kicked up by the horse in front.  On the way back, we stopped outside one of the archetypal Austrian houses, which were scattered across the hillside.  An Austrian gentleman emerged with a tray of schnapps for us all to taste, whilst still sat on horseback.  We responded with grateful cries of “Dankeshun” before preparing to be set off again only to be told, it was obligatory to have a glass of Schnapps “for each leg” and we found our glasses promptly refilled once again.

 Another highlight of the trip was our trip on the sleigh pulled by a pair of beautiful white Lipizzaner horses.  We snuggled up in the numerous blankets provided and sat back to enjoy the snow covered scenery whilst the horses worked hard pulling our sleigh.  A more romantic scene, it is difficult to imagine, than sitting on a horse drawn sleigh listening to the tinkle of the bells as the snow falls silently around us.  It was only a pity I was surrounded by a group of riding pals rather than the man of my dreams.

 Without doubt though the most spectacular ride was when 20 of us, locals and tourists alike, set off in fancy dress to ride to Haid for the Snow Games.  On arriving, we sat down to another typically Austrian meal of meat and dumplings washed down with beer.  Then off we went to watch the games, a number of light hearted races where either two riders raced at speed towards the crowd before veering off sharply to avoid the snow drift.  This was followed by races between two “one horse open sleighs”.  Our only disappointment was that we weren’t racing ourselves but next year …

me riding peperyl

Postscript:  I originally wrote this article for a travel writing competition and wanted to keep it short and concise and appropriate but with my bloggers, I will share the stories of riding out in the morning stopping for three hours lunchs with schnapps drinking competitions and copious amounts of gluhwein before staggering back to our horses as it was getting dark and cantering up snow covered country roads with no lights hoping we didn't meet too many cars.  Hip flasks full of schnapps were also a must to sip on throughout the ride and to my surprise I found riding slightly under the influence seemed to improve my riding  acheiving what my instructor repeatedly told me to do and I struggled to do consciously - relax!  Although I made another discovery sitting trot on a full bladder on the way home from the pub is most uncomfortable.

Amazingly the horses didn't slip once even cantering downhill in the snow.  Admittedly they had specialised shoes with studs but was very impressed with them.  It beat a skiing holiday day hands down every time.

Riding Update

Its been a long time since I posted anything on here.  I changed the url and lost a lot of readers and got a bit disheartened but just noticed a few new fans on the facebook page so thought I'd write a new post.

My BHS stage 1 course is nearly at an end now with only four days of the course left and my exam in just over a month.  I've really enjoyed the course and will be very sad when it ends.  I've made some lovely new friends on the course and learned lot about horses.  When we covered feeding, I groaned remembering having Sam on loan the winter before last.  No wonder he was lively being fed sugar beet and rolled barley twice a day when he was only being ridden three or four times a week for an hour.

I've definitely improved as a rider although had a few moments along the way.  I've decided 16"3 thoroughbreds are definitely not for me and that I much prefer a nice 15-16 hand cob type horse.  I've had a few scary moments.  Whilst I wasn't the first in the class to fall off, I was one of only two and I was the only person to have the distinction of not only falling off two different horses but doing it in the same lesson within ten minutes.  The horses were definitely more spooky than usual that day and when my horse spooked for the fourth time, I lost my seat fell forward and kicked her in the flank by accident causing her to buck and me to land on my head and take a kick to the head.  Ten minutes later, installed on a different horse who wasn't listening to me from the start, a lawnmower started outside the school and she bolted down the centre line nearly mowing down the instructor with me hanging on round her neck for the first 40 metres before once again landing on my head.  Amazingly I got up and agreed to ride yet another horse and managed a canter before the end of the lesson.  An examination of my hat afterwards revealed a very big crack in it which made me realise how important it is to always wear a riding hat as I knew that could have been my head instead.

I'm a little worried about the exam as still not really quite up to standard and it would be nice to pass but in some ways I have already achieved my objectives and improved my riding whilst having fun.  I need to get some extra lessons but am now working and with the year end things are hectic at work and time is limited.

In terms of my other riding, I am still riding at Trevelog in the Brecon Beacons which is great fun and they have some lovely horses.  I now get to ride the more fun horses and leave the plodders to the never ridden before brigade.  I also discovered a lovely place close to home where you can ride on the beach and have some lovely fast canters on the open beach and on the windy paths in the sand dunes.  Unlike the mountains,  where the terrain can be a bit too hazardous to ride in the winter and the centre closes, I can ride there in the winter too.  Riding at Ogmore is great fun and they are a good crowd up there too.  I even went to watch the point to point racing with them the other week.