Sunshine

Dawn Ramblings

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Now the clocks have gone back my riding has had to move from after work to before work.  Which is just as well – it was starting to get a bit tight for light after work anyway!

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I have never thought of myself as a morning person (I do not like getting out of bed!) but once I am up I really do love the early mornings.  I love being up before the sun and I so much enjoy the chill that we have at the moment.  It is great being able to ride above the mists too.

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One of the best things though is the light from the sunrises.  It is just beautiful, especially when it is shining on the autumnal trees which are looking particularly lovely at the moment.

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It is a beautiful time of year.  I love the autumn!

Summer Days

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My routine has changed a little this week.  I have been too tired and/or lazy to get up in time to ride before work so I have had to do so afterwards.  I have been getting home a bit later than normal but thanks to the lovely long evenings there has still been enough time to ride.

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We have had some wonderful, relaxing hacks in the evening sunshine.  The evenings have been very still and beautiful this week and it has been lovely to be outside.

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I have been enjoying myself very much – our rides have been the perfect way to end the day.

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Getting to Grips with Gates

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All this wonderful weather we have been having for the past couple of weeks has meant that the fields are drying out nicely.  That is good in itself but it also means that I am able to school again – hurrah!

The very first thing I wanted to work on was our gate opening. We have another trec competition coming up next week and I really want to have improved before that.  Plus, if I work on it then the chances are it won’t come up in the course!

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I wanted to take things slowly so we started by just walking past the gate.  Working on a circle so Galahad’s head was slightly turned away from it definitely helped.  That wasn’t a problem so we moved onto stopping and standing still but still not trying to actually touch the gate.  That took a bit more work as Galahad wanted to swing away from the gate so he was facing it and could see if it tried to attack him!

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From there we progressed to lifting the rope and putting it back again and before long we could open the gate and walk through it – from both directions of course.

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We still can’t close it again but we made huge strides in just one session and I am thrilled with that.

Enjoying The Sunshine

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We have had some wonderful weather over the past few days.  The sun has been shining and it has been really warm.

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Galahad has spent most of the days without his rug and he has definitely been making the most of the time – he is constantly covered in mud!

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Yesterday I was out for the evening so it was my Dad who had to put the rug back on.  Galahad did not want to cooperate.   He was apparently quite happy for my Mum to feed him apples but he kept one eye firmly on my Dad and whenever he moved the headcollar Galahad would jump away.

In the end, he had to catch Cookster and take him up to the stables.  Galahad then followed, walked straight into the stable and was quite happy to have his rug put on.  He  is usually fine to catch but he certainly likes to keep us on our toes!

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The forecast suggests that we should continue to have some good weather for the next few days so I am looking forward to some lovely hacking.

Enjoying the Sunshine

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Today has been absolutely gorgeous.

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Galahad and I had a wonderful ride in the sunshine.  We met the postman (and had to backtrack out of his way) twice and stopped for a chat with my neighbour.  Galahad was very relaxed and stood beautifully still for a good twenty minutes.   He is so good at talking to people now.  Not so long ago he would have hated anyone patting him, especially with me in the saddle.

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It wasn’t only sunny  – it was lovely and warm too.  So much so that I rode out in a t-shirt and Galahad got to spend a few hours in the field without a rug which I’m sure he appreciated.

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Going Exploring

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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.

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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!

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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.

Sun in our eyes and wind in our tails

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Sunday was a beautifully sunny day so Galahad and I went out for what should have been a lovely relaxing hack.  It seemed like I was constantly riding into the sun and spent the whole time squinting.  It really was a beautiful day though and the views were gorgeous.

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It was also a very windy day.  Galahad isn’t usually too bothered by the wind but it does get to him occasionally.  Sunday was one of those days and he was looking for things to frighten him.  I had been planning to take him for a canter in my neighbour’s field but I knew that in that frame of mind there would be monsters in every hedge and it didn’t really seem worth it.  We stuck to the lanes but did manage a canter up the grass in the middle.  The sheep all ran away as we came up the lane but once they decided we weren’t coming to get them the started running back towards us.

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It was somewhat unnerving but not unkown in these particular sheep.  We once cantered through their field, went through the open gateway and heard the thunder of hooves behind us.  For a moment I genuinely thought they were going to stampede us but they didn’t go quite that far!

Sunny Sunday Rambling

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Today has been a mixture of beautiful sunshine and heavy showers.  Luckily, Galahad and I went for our ride in a gorgeous, sunshiny part of the day.

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We had a lovely hack, enjoyed some cantering in my neighbour’s field but also spent some time walking round the field to make sure he doesn’t think we always canter.

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It has been a wonderful day!

Galahad Behaves Well

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This morning was absolutely beautiful.  Clear blue skies and bright sunshine, if rather chilly.  We went for an early morning ride which apparently meant my brain was not working.  I tacked up my pony, went to put on my hat and came back to find this.

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I hadn’t tied him back up at all.  Luckily he just stood in the doorway gazing at the world.

We had a lovely ride though.  Once we got above the mist in the valley the sun was actually pretty warm.  It is a lovely feeling to be up and about before anyone else.

Summer Joys

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We are certainly having some lovely weather at the moment. We have had rain but most days have been beautiful.

In the mornings when I bring the ponies in they loom up at me out of the mist.

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If I ride in the mornings we go up the hill and pop out above the mist into glorious sunshine.  The view is wonderful,  especially looking down over the mist in the valley.

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If I ride in the evenings after work the sun is generally shining everywhere.  My sister and I have had some beautiful  evening hacks this week.  We don’t get to ride together too often these days so it is especially lovely when we do.

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