Horsey goals for 2012 - what are yours?

[Karran]

They play a lot at Lee Valley. There's a couple of tournaments - well a league weekend and the Southern tournament - in May this year The French take it very seriously - they're amazing I can't throw myself down they way they do either I'd never get back up

Oh poo. I'm stuck in Bumpkinville till July. My OH was impressed with the professional teams, despite hating most horse sports (apart from puissance - I think he likes the crashes in that most though)
He told me that if I learnt to do that instead of "poncing about" (dressage) he'd be more willing to come watch me.

 

[olop]

I'm hoping this is the year I will be able to affiliated show-jumping, I have been saying it for a while now but having paid for pone to be trained at a pro yard I think its going to be the best chance I get, so hopefully fingers crossed

 

[JFTDWS]

Oh poo. I'm stuck in Bumpkinville till July. My OH was impressed with the professional teams, despite hating most horse sports (apart from puissance - I think he likes the crashes in that most though)
He told me that if I learnt to do that instead of "poncing about" (dressage) he'd be more willing to come watch me.

Oh dear Depending on where you are, there may be league weekends or tournaments if you're interested in watching some It's a great sport to watch - I do think it's a better spectator sport for the non-horsey than any of the traditiona disciplines

I expect my poor pony to play horseball (albeit at a very low level!) and dressage (although also at a low level )

 

[Bright_Spark]

Back my youngster- I don't think she's going to be to difficult bless her.

Get the orange one out and about.

Not a goal, but a big wish is to get a little horse box so I can get them to some shows etc.

 

[catwithclaws]

i want to try and get my confidence back when jumping. after having a rotational fall off my old boy 7 yrs ago, ive been terrified of even a tiny crosspole, even though i've got the kind of horse who should give me every confidence in the world (won foxhunters, literally jumps anything off any stride) but she doesnt! so we're going to have some lessons and try and get past it

 

[Piglet]

To get a 70% in a Prelim dressage unaffiliated!! Not a lot to ask for but an ambition all the same!!

 

[black_horse]

i want to try and get my confidence back when jumping. after having a rotational fall off my old boy 7 yrs ago, ive been terrified of even a tiny crosspole, even though i've got the kind of horse who should give me every confidence in the world (won foxhunters, literally jumps anything off any stride) but she doesnt! so we're going to have some lessons and try and get past it

:O blimey! I hope you were ok? Not supprised you had a knock to your confidence but good on you for getting back in the saddle

Back my youngster- I don't think she's going to be to difficult bless her.

Get the orange one out and about.

Not a goal, but a big wish is to get a little horse box so I can get them to some shows etc.

Yey to easy youngsters do you have pictures of the orange one? And best of luck lorry hunting, however i suspect the smaller type lorries are really holding their value at the moment :S

To get a 70% in a Prelim dressage unaffiliated!! Not a lot to ask for but an ambition all the same!!

And a good ambition it is remember, practice makes perfect best of luck

 

[mymissmegan]

Buy my trailer and then compete at loads of different venues, take my girl for fun days out at xc courses
Fingers crossed it all comes off x x x

 

[Amy567]

I had to give up my horse to come to uni, as I moved 200 miles away! But my goal would have to be to ride atleast once this year! haha. Easy for all of you but it's most definitely my goal haha

 

[marooncat]

Compared to alot of you this is a really wee minor goal but..
to hack round the fields of the yard on my own.

My mare had real issues when she is being asked to get out of her comfort zone and if she is not happy there is no negotiating, she buck/rears and then goes back to the yard at top speed (and then stands looking embarrassed when she gets there ). I know her very well and any time the comfort zone is being pushed a little bit I am not on her back for the first few times and then it is baby steps.

Before I had her (at the same yard) she would not go over a bridge on the drive but by taking her out in hand a few times and then riding with a friends horse I have got her to the end of the drive (all of 0.3 of a mile) with her seeming happy. Not made it over the bridge yet on our own but I have encouraged her to get quite close to it and then turned back, no point in hurrying it and scaring me.

Anyhow I hope to have the drive cracked soon and then start going into the fields when/if they dry out a bit. Most of the fields she has been turned out in at some point but I know she will still find it the most scary experience in the world when I am on her back. We are allowed to ride in the hay field after it has been cut and it would be great if we could go for a (controlled) canter round that, however will have to revisit that nearer the time.

 

[Auslander]

It looks great fun but i would rather not lean sideways off a horse

I did it once - trying to play cushion polo on my dressage horse. He had a COMPLETE hissy fit, I fell off on my head and everyone laughed at me...sods

In 2012 - I plan to ride a bit, rather than thinking about how nice it would be to get back in the saddle - like I have for the last 5 years.

 

[welshcobmad]

Finding some way to get my horse to breathe well enough to actually ride this summer :-(

 

[Karran]

Oh dear Depending on where you are, there may be league weekends or tournaments if you're interested in watching some It's a great sport to watch - I do think it's a better spectator sport for the non-horsey than any of the traditiona disciplines

I expect my poor pony to play horseball (albeit at a very low level!) and dressage (although also at a low level )

I'd love to watch more. Think the OH would too. He even looked it up on wiki after and told me it would be more interesting if they did the dead goat version.

I'm in a remote part of Spain, nearest big city is Pamplona over 90 minutes away on a bus that only goes three times a day. Failing that I have Bilbao 5 hours away! Not sure the OH's interested enough to come with me that far.

I'm in the UK from July-September. Based in SE London if anything interesting like that is happening again in the nearby area?

 

[dizz4]

I really want to try a medium test by the end of the year, I don't expect to ever be really competitive at that level but I'd just like to ride a semi decent test on the welsh cob!

Good luck with that, I am still trying to crack prelim dressage on a Welsh Cob..... Although my last 2 tests had some really nice scores and comments you could have knocked me down with a feather because said Welsh Cob normally drags me around the dressage arena like a train and I just long to finish still on board....!!!

When he is going nice and soft and round he is an absolute delight and when I have been placed in the top 6 at prelim, I may try elementary who knows.....

Best of luck with Welshie.....

 

[dizz4]

To not give up riding altogether, I'm so crap that I am on the verge of just chucking it all in.

don't give up if it is something you enjoy..... I have been riding for years and never thought I was that good, probably mediocre at best and now I am in my late 40's people think perhaps I should take up a safer sport.... well sod that, I even bought myself a pair of roller skates last year and have only fallen over once....

I have just got to the point with my 15 year old welsh cob that we have finally reached an understanding and he is going really well, don't know why it took me so long, some schooling some lessons and it all now seems to be falling into place and he is going well... will try some showing and dressage this year and maybe even jumping even though I have got scared and my heart practically jumps in my throat if I even look at a jump now.... still I am not about to stop as I still enjoy it and my daughter is loving riding as well..... pesevere have some lessons enjoy life...

 

[GingerTrotter]

To HAVE FUN!!

Put way too much pressure on myself and my horsey last year so I am going to pick and choose the sun shows I want to do and then make sure I spend time hacking and beach riding. I did an endurance ride at the end of last season as a little competition holiday for us and we loved it! and came first (he's a speedy little devil!) so we are going to do much more of them this season. And prioritise the fun hunter paces and XC stuff as we are much happier doing that than dressage and SJ on grass.

Get more training in to improve the ground work.

Bring on youngster number 1 (rising 4) and take him to camp in the summer

Back youngster number 2 and hopefully find her a new home.

Think i've decided to be a happy hacker with training in all disaplines inbetween the odd competition thrown in but not to make it the be all and end all

 

[JFTDWS]

I'd love to watch more. Think the OH would too. He even looked it up on wiki after and told me it would be more interesting if they did the dead goat version.

I'm in a remote part of Spain, nearest big city is Pamplona over 90 minutes away on a bus that only goes three times a day. Failing that I have Bilbao 5 hours away! Not sure the OH's interested enough to come with me that far.

I'm in the UK from July-September. Based in SE London if anything interesting like that is happening again in the nearby area?

Aha, you really are in the wilderness! It's quite big in Spain, I think, but probably not big enough for there to be anywhere near you

Sadly, the only dates I have between July and September as in Rugby and Southwell (had to google that one, apparently it's Notts, which is in breach of trades descriptions act, imo, since it's not "south" at all ).

That doesn't mean there won't be any other tournaments / demos / matches scheduled, though. If I hear of any I'll let you know There's virtually nothing south of London at all, but it's possible Twin Trees in Beds, or Lee Valley will schedule something. I'm Essex and Suffolk, but we barely have a team