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!
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