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.

BHS Stage 1 - Back to college for some riding lessons

With the winter looming (and with it the end of the trekking season), I have been wondering what to do about riding this winter as loaning a horse last year didn't work out quite as planned.  I have been thinking about lessons for sometime and most of the riding schools only do private lessons when I am available i.e when the kids are at school.  I was feeling quite envious of my young friend off to college to do horse riding and horse care full time for two years and couldn't resist taking a peek at the college prospectus even though I can't really justify a full time course at my age with two kids I am not likely to find a job with horses that covers the childcare.

I was chuffed to find though that they did one day part-time courses for the British Horse Society (BHS) Stage 1 exam which covers horse care and riding and at £400 for the year it actually compares very competitively with the cost of lessons at a riding school so I rung up to see if I could get on the course. 

Next thing, I knew I had a riding test the following day where I was expected to walk, trot and canter in a schooling ring reasonably competently. having only had a few lessons at a walk with a small amount of trotting but never having managed it around the corners only on the long straight bits.  I didn't even have time to have a few riding lessons first to brush up and didn't know what the leg aids were or what a diagonal was or that you were meant to hold your whip on the inside hand.  Never the less, I gave it a go and when she said my riding was borderline for entry, I started up with the blagging and think I scraped through more on the gift of the gab than my riding skills.  The horse in the test was lovely and very forward although was expecting something slower but think when they said it would be an easy horse they meant safe and compliant rather than slow.  Still at least she was easy to get into a canter, something I was worried about having only ever cantered in large open spaces in a relatively straight line.  Apparently my reins were far too loose and my position not good and my riding lacks discipline, so decided definitely a good idea to get a few lessons in before I start next week to avoid making a complete fool of myself in front of the other students.

My first riding lesson, last week, was harder work than i expected after it was only and hour and I normally ride for four hours but working in the school is a different kettle of fish than a hack in the countryside.  I trotted without reins, and then without stirrups, I had a go at cantering but apparently the reason the horse kept going back to trot was because my position wasn't great.  It was fun but I was absolutely knackered after an hours one to one lesson.  Got two more this week before I start my course and have had to invest in some new kit.  I have been told gloves, body protector and hair net are all compulsory as well as the normal hat jodphurs and boots.  I never normally ride with a body protector but will probably think about wearing it out hacking now I have it as I reckon the chances of a bad fall are probably higher out hacking than in a school.

I think it will be really good for me as when i started riding I just wanted to have fun and didn't like the idea of being told what to do all the time in a lesson but have reached the stage I think my riding is as good as it's gonna get without formal tuition and looking forward to it now and feeling sufficiently confident in being on the horse, I will be able to listen to their instructions rather than panicking about falling off unlike when I had my first lessons last year.

Riding in Andulucia

I had a marvellous time riding in Spain this August.  A whole week of sun and horseriding, what more could a girl ask. (And a break from the kids too which was lovely although I was glad to see them when I got home.)

I stayed at Los Alamos Riding for a week and it was lovely.  After being collected from the airport, we drove to San Ambrosio, a small hamlet along the coast from Cadiz.  The rooms were lovely with their own ensuite and mine even had a little balcony.  The first night began with a beautiful meal on the patio for the eight of us riding that week.

Galloping on Sarita.

The following day, we went down to meet our horses and get ready for our first ride.  Due to the heat, we rode every morning from about nine returning about one.  The first day I rode a 16"2 black spanish cob cross called Sarita who was very responsive but not too forward for a fairly novice rider like myself.  Until I arrived, I was under the impression they catered to beginner riders but soon found out it was aimed at intermediate and above so was pleased to keep up pretty well with the riding.

We rode in the National Forest which as well as being very picturesque was nice and cool when the weather was hitting 35 degrees at the peak of the day.  I had a few nerves when we started the first canter, having been told we will start off in a canter and then go to a gallop in the clearing but managed it with no problems.

After riding, we dashed back for a quick shower and then out to get some tapas for lunch.  This was followed by a lazy afternoon by the pool and dinner at 8pm followed by a fairly early night.  The food cooked by Rhiannon was very good and we had a three course meal every night with not a bad meal all week.  Drinks soft and alcoholic were freely available at the villa on a help yourself basis as were snacks like crisps.  This set the routine for the week and very nice it was too.



Cantering by the beach

 The second day, we rode down to the beach although because it was holiday season we could not actually go right down to the water and stayed on the sand dunes.  Virtually all the riding was on sand, as even the forest was growing on a great big sand dune.  The views were lovely and we stopped at a cafe for a coffee before heading back.  The riding was mainly walking with the odd trot and three or four good canters or gallops each day. 



Me and Trueno

 My riding must have impressed to some extent, because on day 3, they offered me a pure bred spanish horse (PRE) as they call the Andulucian horses which was a bit more forward and much faster than Sarita.  His name was Trueno and he was about a 15"2 bay horse.  I find him quite hard to handle in the morning but by the end of the ride had got the hang of him although I did earn myself a glare from one of the other riders for being too close on the canter and a little slow stopping bumping her horse when I tried to stop on the first canter.

The fourth day was a rest from riding and we went off to Jerez to see the Royal Equestrian show display of "Dancing Andalucian Horses", along with Carriage Driving.  All the horses were stallions and it was magnificent to see the ease with which the riders controlled these beautiful horses.  We followed up with a trip to taste the local drink of Sherry.  I bought a couple of bottles to take home as a souvenir.

The fifth day, we had another ride to the beach and we were joined by two more people but in a deviation from the normal routine we went out for the evening to Vejer de la Frontier.  First stop was the stud owned by the Corales family who specialise in breeding and training Andalucian horses for Doma Vaquera.    Antonio Corales is a top Doma Vaquero and Doma Classical teacher, having trained with the Royal Equestrian school of Art in Jerez and he showed us some of his stallions and gave us a display of his horsemanship before letting some of us sit on one of his stallions and walk a short distance round the ring.  Although I have to say, not only was it the first time I have ridden a stallion, it is the first time I had got on a horse in a short dress with no riding hat!  After our visit to the stud, it was off to a restaurant for some paella.



My first ride on a stallion

 Then all too soon, it was our last ride of the holiday on Saturday.  I had a lovely ride and felt like I had clicked with the horse and was riding well.  I was sorry to leave and finances permitting would definitely go back to Los Alamos.

My Favourite Horse

Some weeks ago, one of the trek leaders where I ride mentionned perhaps I should find a horse I like and stick with it because this year I have been riding lots of different horses, some of which I have got on better with than others.  Whilst this idea held a certain appeal, I have enjoyed trying different horses and because I ride at the same place most of the time, I was a little worried about getting in a rut and being scared to try new horses if I get used to riding the same one all the time.  At the moment, I am looking forward to my riding holiday in Spain so this wouldn't be good as I am going to have to ride a different horse there.  Also, of the horses I like, there are various reasons why I can't ride the same one all the time. 

Black Sam is lovely and although he can be a bit of a plodder, since my riding has improved and I borrowed him over the winter, he goes very well for me.  He will even canter quite fast when the opportunity arises unlike last year when I struggled to get him out of trot on some of the canters.  However, when they are busy and have lots of first timers, he is one of their stalwarts and is needed by the riders with less experience.

Jewel is another favourite and she is very nice too- a bit more forward going.  But she is used as a guide horse some of the time, which means she is not always available.

However last weekend I got to ride Penny again.  I have ridden her once before but on for a walk and a trot and she has a reputation for being one of the faster horses.  It has taken a while before I have been allowed on one of the faster horses again after my unplanned and uncontrolled gallop across the side of the mountain hanging on desperately for dear life the other month but finally had another chance to ride her this time, when we were going to do some cantering.  She is a beautiful bay horse, unusually though with blue eyes.

We had a lovely ride in the morning with a nice steady canter behind the trail guide and I enjoyed riding her very much.  She didn't put a foot out of place all morning.  Then in the afternoon, we had a smaller group.  Myself, the trek leader, two first timers and a french exchange student.  This meant I was closing the gates as there was only one trek leader and I love the chance to practise.  Penny was superb.  My control is not always the best and sometimes not sure the best way to approach the gates but she was great and didn't hesitate to go back to the gate to latch it etc. unlike some of the horses who don't really co-operate.  Then towards the end of the trek, I got to lead a couple of canters with the french student as the others were not up to cantering.  It was fantastic.  I turned her round to wait for the others to get ahead a bit so we could canter to catch up and literally all I had to do was turn her round and we went from stationery to a lovely fast canter.  I think I even hit a gallop briefly at one point.  I have to admit I did have a good handful of mane and found it quite difficult turning round to check on the other girl behind whose horse wasn't so fast but it was such a buzz.

I have definitely found my favourite horse.  The only blip was when I tried to put my coat back on towards the end when the rain started and she really didn't like it!  Nearly took me down a vertical slope.  It was strange because she wasn't bothered by me taking it off but they all have their quirks and I know flapping coats is quite a common one.