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.