The last few days have been absolutely beautiful here. We have had the odd light shower but most of the time it has been sunny and fairly warm.
My sister and I had a lovely hack this evening. The sun was just beginning to set but it was still shining and the sky was blue. It certainly makes everything seem cheerful!
There are lambs in the fields and daffodils everywhere. The primroses are putting on a pretty good show too. Spring is definitely here!
On Sunday Galahad and I had another trec event. Most events in our area were cancelled – it was blowing a gale and pouring with rain (and sleet and hail). We are pretty tough though so our event went ahead. Luckily it was so windy that although the showers were very heavy they blew over pretty quickly.
![DSCN5066[1].JPG](https://gaddingaboutwithgalahad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dscn50661.jpg?w=676)
First of all we had a great lesson. Galahad went over all the obstacles with no trouble at all. The only issue we had was a group of scary people watching us. We had a bit of an argument about whether to go past them. Eventually I won – apparently he had a hilarious expression on his face when he realised he wasn’t going to get away with it.
We then had our individual class and Galahad was again really good. Our main problem was that I did the neck reining obstacle in trot but got my reins in a bit of a mess and didn’t quite pull up in enough time before the next obstacle. That happened to be the s-bend of poles which needs a bit more control than that!
![DSCN5064[1].JPG](https://gaddingaboutwithgalahad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dscn50641.jpg?w=676)
We also did not do well at the jump in hand. Galahad was so good at it in training but I think I hadn’t given him enough space to think about it so he stopped dead before hopping over. The judge still thought it was the best course she had seen us do though so I was very pleased.
Next we went straight into our pairs class which actually went even better. The in hand jump was still not good – we didn’t get over it at all – but everything else was brilliant. Galahad was a star and I was so proud of him.
![DSCN5060[1]](https://gaddingaboutwithgalahad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dscn50601.jpg?w=676)
It turned out that we had managed to win both our classes. That has never happened to us before so it was pretty exciting. We had a fantastic day despite the weather and I am so looking forward to going again.
![DSCN5106[1]](https://gaddingaboutwithgalahad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dscn51061.jpg?w=676)
The day Galahad was clipped I managed to squeeze in a lesson before the ponies came home. He had literally just been finished so he started off feeling rather fresh and bouncy.
![DSCN5063[1].JPG](https://gaddingaboutwithgalahad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dscn50631.jpg?w=676)
All at once though he started working really nicely – in a proper outline and everything! It was the most amazing feeling as he has not really done it consistently before.
Sadly I failed to get any photographs at all from my lesson. These are old pictures from a trec training day!
It turned out to be a great lesson – I really managed to crack using my hand and leg to stop Galahad loading his shoulder and falling in. I’m not saying that it will never happen now but I least I know I can stop him!
This week I seem to have spent a lot of time riding out in thick fog.
Don’t worry – the visibility on the roads was much better than might be expected.
It was a bit disconcerting driving to the stables knowing that I was about to go out in the fog though!
Whilst the ponies have been away I have had some lovely rides. It is good to have some different hacking once in a while and it is definitely nice to have some company sometimes. The ponies have behaved very well and I think they enjoyed themselves too – they have a lot more energy when we hack out in company!
Whilst the ponies are away I am taking full advantage of the opportunity to use the school. I haven’t been able to school the ponies for a couple of months as the fields have been too wet so it is great to be able to play in the arena.
Galahad was possibly the noisiest he has ever been when I have been riding. He kept calling to Cookster and was rather on edge to start with. For a moment I thought my brakes were going to fail!
Actually we were fine though and Galahad worked hard. As usual his right flexion was not great but considering how long it has been since he was last schooled he did pretty well. We have plenty we can work on but it is good to be able to make start.
The ponies are spending the weekend at my instructor’s yard – sometimes it is nice to have some different hacking routes and some company is always good.
Yesterday there was a big group going out for a long ride and I was invited to join them. I didn’t think Galahad was fit enough for the whole ride but we went part way with them. I’m not sure Galahad has ever been out with such a big group before (thirteen of us altogether) and he was very excited by it. I had a bit of a job holding him back to start with but he soon settled and we had a lovely ride.
He was still full of energy though and very much looking like he was capable of doing the whole ride until we had a second canter and he ran out of steam. That was where I had been planning to turn for home anyway so we hacked back by ourselves. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed ourselves very much. Galahad can’t have been all that tired – once he was back on lanes he recognised he was full of beans again and wanting to hurry home!
When I got back I hacked Cookster out and arrived back again just after the others had got home. That meant I was in time for tea and cake! It was a lovely way to spend the day.
One of the most exciting (to me) things to happen this winter has been the addition of a new light in the yard.
Until now we have just had the lights in the stables and the tack room so although the yard hasn’t been pitch black it has been pretty murky. It is wonderful to be able to see!
Even better, the light has a remote control switch so I can turn it on before I am even in the yard. Which means I can see to open the gate. Technology is amazing!
It is pretty cold here at the moment but there are signs that spring is on the way.
The snowdrops have been out for a couple of weeks but now we are starting to see some primroses and even some brave daffodils.
Galahad and I had a lovely hack today. It was very cold but a beautiful day and I took Galahad into my neighbour’s field for the first time this year. Partly I wanted to see what sort of state the ground was in – some of it was fine, other bits were still very squelchy. I also wanted to show Galahad that we don’t always have to canter in the field. When we started riding in there he learned very quickly that it is a place where we canter and he can be inclined to take off sometimes.
We kept strictly to walk and went round the whole field. Galahad behaved much better than I expected – he did walk a lot faster once we had turned the corner back towards home but he didn’t try to take off once. I was incredibly pleased with him and I think it was definitely worth doing. I really need to remember not to canter every time we go through the field!
Last Saturday Galahad and I went out for our first trec lesson. It was a beautiful morning but still really cold – I spent my entire lesson litterally shivering in the saddle. Which is probably why Galahad was a bit more spooky than he has been recently. He still behaved pretty well though and most of the obstacles went well.
We managed to do the neck rein obstacle in trot for the first time away from home. This time it was just a tear drop shape rather than the figure of eight we normally have but it still felt like a great achievement. Sadly there wasn’t a ditch this time so we couldn’t show how much we have been working on it.
The only obstacles we really struggled with were the gate and the maypole – where the rider picks up the end of a rope and carries it in a circle round the other end. Galahad has started having a problem with the rope but we really progressed during the lesson. To start with we couldn’t even stop near the stand holding the rope but we ended up being able to pick it up – just not move very far. We had better start working on that next!
We also had a mini competition at the end of the lesson. In the control of paces section Galahad shied out of the corridor we were meant to canter along and then broke into a trot right on the finish line when we were meant to be walking. The instructor found it hilarious! We really need to work on that too – we can get decent marks for the canter when we do it properly.
We still had a great day though and I am looking forward to doing it again.
We have still been working on ‘ditches’ or water trays this week. I needed to be able to ride over them but as I am still only able to ride a couple of times a week at the moment our practise opportunities have been few!
I took full advantage of them though – every time I rode I got out the ditches too. We have had so much rain in the past week that the fields are now rather slippery so I resorted to schooling ditches in the lane.
First I led him over the ditch again. Of course, this time he caught the edge of the tray with his foot so the other side lifted and spooked him. I was worried it would send us right back where we started but luckily he got over it.
Once I was mounted I started off as I did in hand by riding between the two trays. That gave us no problem at all so I pushed them together and tried again. He walked straight over them.
We repeated the exercise successfully next time I rode and hopefully we have cracked it. Of course, it is one thing to do it at home and something entirely different when we are out at a competition!
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