Airs above the ground

Moon is getting fitter - and apparently more intelligent!

We were having our regular ish dressage lesson. And I am as usually half moaning about things in the response to the first question “how’s he been going?” and unusually there is a long pause while he watches us warm up in our very own dressage arena in the field.

Then Paul says, do you think he has good rhythm? As we’ve been trotting round for 5 mins in pretty much the same speed I say yes. And Paul replies with well why are you still trying trotting round in that trot? He’s BORED, that’s why eh wont concentrate. He needs something more exciting to do! Now I was under the impression my dearest moon was a little slow, he is undoubtedly ‘special’ but I thought he may be a tad err backwards (!?) in the thinking department, but apparently there is enough brain natter to be bored by 20m circles in trot!

So off we go in shoulder in, medium trot, walk to canter, shoulder in to medium, flexion to inside and outside and so many transitions I felt a tad of whiplash! After 20mins gruelling work for my mind and body (a few transitions were late or did not appear at all due to my brain just not being able to comprehend so many things at once!) Paul says ‘you ride better when you do lots of things together’. So I ride better when I can’t concentrate on what my arms and legs are supposed to be doing. Gee THANKS!

Practice, practice, practice.
A few days after the lesson we are practicing Halts, square-ish in front and obedient in the contact.  Moon has decided that walk to canter is MUCH more fun (he even does it on the lunge now) and would rather do that than stand still. So reverses and reverses and reverses. I let him work it out and we travel backwards 20m at a speed faster than I’m comfortable with. Eventually he stops, I can hear him t thinking ‘that’s didn’t work’, I breathe out. Without any warning he jumps clean off all four feet vertically up in the air kicking his hind legs out behind him and lands in exactly in the same place still as a statue. ‘That didn’t work either’ he thinks. Shocked I laugh a little nervously and after a few seconds ask him to walk on.
Mad horse.

Summer Show At Kirklevington

So Moons ‘Airs above the ground’ as the Spanish riding school call them are increasing in size and frequency. But so far he’s always pulled it off in the ring so in preparation for a bigger show in Sept we take him out to Kirklevington to their summer show. We arrived very stressed with Moon and Polly (Zonda was going to attend but on Friday decided he didn’t like the trailer so couldn’t go) and after a call from my friend en route I get straight on in case I miss Moons class. The collecting ring/warm up area is reasonably busy and there are families stood all over it. Bad idea. An agitated Moon trots about half looking for Polly half gawping at small ponies running around him. Ten minutes in and he still feels like a bomb ready to explode and the leaps start. Squealing he jumps into the air, and bucks a few times, I  continue to trot and he continues to squeal and leap until one rather large leap followed by a few bucks results in us almost landing on \ very nice coloured horse stood quietly with his rider. At this point our class in getting closer an I am getting worried that my love.ly well behaved moon is still in the field somewhere and I am about to attempt a riding horse/ hunter class on a wild 16.2hh four year old.
An hour or so later (having missed the in hand veteran for Polly due to poor stewarding) Moon is worn out and as long as someone strand at his head (he likes company) he stands quietly and waits. Eventually its time for our class, only3 in it so I breathe a brief sigh of relief, plenty of room in the ruing. A quick word with my fellow competitors (all friends and colleagues from Kirklevington) to stay away from me and we enter the ring. The only thing Moon cannot stand is horses up his behind. Passing fine cantering in front of him, fine. Coming up too close behind No way. We walk trot and canter round happily on both reins with only a warning growl at Lilly for getting a tad too close despite have a huge ring at her disposal, she circles and he is perfectly behaved. He gets pulled in first. He does a perfect show, probably the best he has ever gone. Totally pinging in medium trot, beautiful canter transitions and totally obedient pulling up. A smart show by little Lilly and Emma had me worried but he won his class and I was much chuffed.


The championship was later on and a bit of a mad dash as I had ridden Polly in the class before. We trotted all the way into the ring away from a totally mad Polly held by Saint Caroline. There were ten horses in the ring and it was crowded, we walked and trotted and the judge asked the little ponies if they were ok to trot around with the giants. Both said yes so off we went, shortly into the first canter poor Ellies pony had had enough and Zoomed off at high speed across the ring towards the exit, unfortunately Moon and I just happened to be right by the exit and after a loud call from the judge to ‘STOOOPPPP” we performed a perfect canter to halt transition as a small palomino pony gallop straight towards him, swerving last minute as he remembered the gate we slightly to his left sending his poor little jockey flying off sideways hitting the ground with a thud and skidding towards moon,. Moon jumped at the thud but otherwise stood stock still, good boy.


Now my dear moon is not used to these things happening, he has never even seen small ponies never mind had one hurtling at him at speed and has never witnessed small riders fly off all over the place. And it upset him a little bit. So now a very on edge moon is trotting round not really concentrating pulling and acting like a bomb again. Another close encounter with the other sister on her own slightly larger pony getting way to close behind him sets him off on a broncing fit. Unfortunately right down the side the judge was watching. Twice. Now they didn’t last for very long and I managed to keep both stirrups throughout and he kept quiet so if he’d done it down the other side No one would have been any the wiser, especially not the judge! But No, moon had to do it right down the side the judge was watching. Never mind – we now know what moon needs practice at. People riding close up behind him!


So we’re off to adult pony camp next week to see the sights of all the riding school has to offer! Wish us Luck!
x

Riding A Dressage Bomb!

Moon again has been growing up, ish.

The recent weeks have seen us out and about places and acting more like a 4 year old and less like a laid back lad we’ve come  to know and love.

In an effort to calm him down more trips have been arranged, a lesson with Paul in which the first 10mins was spent leaping around DEATH eating dressage boards and almost unseating a ride whose stirrups despite being just right for dressage and not ‘just right’ for staying on leaping 4yr olds!
A second trip to Kirklevington riding centre in their beautiful big indoor led to more broncing around like a mustang including a rather embarrassing incident in which another horse dares to canter over a pole, which is enough of an excuse to canter but then had the indecency to hit the pole sending Moon into a series of squealing broncs till we arrived on the track at the opposite wall quite close behind the offending horse. Luckily by the time the rider realised and turned around (deep in concentration) I had yanked his head off the floor and was able  flash a beaming smile looking mostly in control, if a little close!

And with this in my mind we set off for our long overdue first dressage. . . .

The unicorn centre was chosen for its lack of dressage boards and quiet setting good job) and a request to go very early in the class was duly granted by the very helpful lady.  And did I mention I was away for 3 days before the competition! Eek! Luckily I had gone to visit Nupafeed maestros the Nobles and had advised my ever trusty helper to feed him the Nupafeed liquid twice a day till I returned.

The Monday arrived and being the day before the competition and a serious training session was set off for. However when we reached the arena a couple of younger riders were experimenting with their ones so in the spirit of training I rode with them. Ever easily swayed I trotted round a bit wondering why my pony was so slow and quiet. Then as he was so very slow I let Sophie the 16yr old 5ft nothing have a spin. He was beautifully behaved for her and looked pretty smart! So our serious training sesh turned into a random trot about! H seemed fine so the nest day a shattered rider had to have a nap after teaching before bathing a hairy greasy baby pony, whom to the joy of his rider is VERY good at standing, just standing.

Somehow we managed to get there on time and an hour early ready for some antics. Massively stressed I unloaded and managed to undo all the gates into the warm up without getting off. After a little look around warm up was going beautifully, a whole 30mins of it.

Our time was nearing; things were gearing up and two small ponies’ cam to be led around their tests before us. Fine, fine, fine. Until the first pony went in for his test. The second pony rider had dismounted, for a reason I was about to discover. Pony one a bay pony on a lead rein always lived with pony two – a small grey (not your perfect old grey PC pony) and grey pony got separation anxiety when he couldn’t see him. So his leader let him run around in circles on the end of a lead rope in the middle of the warm-up. Not clever. Moon has never seen strange small creatures behave in such a way and thought it was necessary to show them what proper horses do and leap around. And leap, and leap.

I must add in here that while he was being a good boy I had removed his bandages and breastplate (Handle) and had my stirrups at ‘proper dressage’ length so leaping wasn’t appreciated. When a few more horses came to join the ‘party’ he decided that he had had enough of being perfect and that he should show people that he was worthy of more than a walk /trot test and that really he should be in the Spanish riding school. Even if he isn’t white. So some leaping off his hind legs then throwing out every other leg at random angles whilst in the air demonstrated this quite nicely and his wowed audience watched appreciatively wondering how long before someone fell off.

Luckily it was time for my test so I dubiously took a deep breath and kicked like billy o to get into the arena. A few more deep breaths and I assessed the space. The RDA mounting block at foot height was enough for Moon and he stopped in the middle of the arena and promptly pooed himself. “No thanks” he said and I silently replied “but that’s HALF of the arena down there you have to go past K and A!” more deep breaths and gentle encouragement mean the second time round he went past with only his eyes sticking out past the track.

A patient judge let us walk round for a while and the bell rang and we set off, and bless him was he good. He felt like a bomb, ready to explode at any moment, but trying so hard to contain himself. He tried and tried to concentrate and held on by a knife edge to his composure and did a lovely test. Rider error meant his foot hit the wall once and he got a bot distracted in free walk (how DARE some horse whinny from the car park!) but aside from that he tried so hard. I was over the Moon! Outside I hugged and patted and hugged some more while he just walked and looked at me as if to say “I don’t know what all the fuss is about- I just trotted around a bit”

My beautiful baby is blossoming! Not so much that he can stand still in the lorry park for a while and eat grass, No, no! This dressage pro was now so important he had to go and say hi to all the other horses who were standing quietly by their trailers. So he just ran off from my mum across the car park. Twice. No sniffing squealing or running round, just went to see another bay gelding to keep him company.

We waited for the results and much to my delight he had won! 71% and won by a large margin! I was so proud; it made my very busy and tiring day.

Until next time Moon-ster followers, stay safe and enjoy August!

******** Honourable mentions go to Rupert in his first dressage finishing 3^rd behind Moon, who also terrorised the collecting ring by kicking out every time I used my leg. (These people are never going to want me back!)  And poor Big Ginger horse who unfortunately lost his life the same evening at a yard along the road from ours. May we all realise how lucky we are when we have high points.