Princess Jess
Well-Known Member
So having just got back from 10 days in Ireland I thought I'd update you all. I spent 5 days eventing training in Ireland with instruction in cross country, show jumping and dressage to give me a boost before heading off to university in October. I had the most amazing time but I'll try not to bore you too much and I promise there are pictures to come at the end! 
The facilities were excellent with 100+ acres for cross country, 2 indoor arenas and a very large outdoor arena too. I arrived on the first day to be given a warm Irish welcome before heading straight to the stable yard to meet my steed for the week, Nero. We then had a jumping lesson indoors working through a grid so they could assess my abilities and I could get to know Nero before heading out to try some cross country! Having not jumped for ages as I've been working at a polo yard for the summer I was a bit hesitant before I got there but as soon as we went out I loved it! There were a huge range of jumps from logs, tyres, walls, barrels, ditches, corners and tables which I would try out throughout the week! All the horses were very forward going and Nero in particular could get quite strong if you didn't keep a lid on his enthusiasm but it all added to the fun and ensured you were really riding the horses.
After XC we had a break for lunch followed by more cross country in the afternoon where those that were happy to jumped the bigger fences could, including a stone wall double and a sizable cottage fence - I can honestly say its the most fun I've had in ages! Having spent quite a few years riding a serial stopper Nero was such a genuine horse and he really gave me the confidence to jump the bigger fences. Unfortunately due to the bad weather they'd had over there (much the same as we'd had!
) the ground was pretty heavy and cut up so quite a few of the fences were out of action, particularly the water combinations but they had done well to manage the fences so there were still plenty that were jumpable.
After riding everyone is expected to untack, hose down the horses legs etc. and after the first day its generally expected that you groom and tack up your own horse. Its a very relaxed environment which I enjoyed and I even ended up tacking up ponies for their other lessons, helping clients get on etc. And even I got roped into helping paint a pony with the childrens pony campers! They were so welcoming and I really felt like part of the team, I wish I could have stayed all summer!
The next day followed in a similar pattern, we would usually have an indoor jumping lesson first thing doing lots different exercises and grid work. One day we did an exercise where 3 jumps were placed on a curve along one long side and then a fourth fence on the three-quarter line on the other long side and we practised jumping on the inside line to shorten the stride, the middle, and then the outside line so we had to ask for an extra stride which I found a really good exercise. Most of the horses are 4, 5 and 6 year olds so it was really good to help both the horse and rider. Equally another good exercise I found was having two or three fences along the long side and asking the horse to trot in, then canter after the fence then back to trot and trot over the other poles, then as the other poles are put up as fences you can vary between canter and trotting in and canter and trotting between the fences to teach the horses to listen you in between fences so that its easier to adjust a stride when jumping a course.
Later in the week we put this into practise jumping a course of 10 fences with the height gradually increasing to 1m
Despite my heart palpitations Nero jumped the round like a pro and it was definitely the highlight of my week...who'd have thought I'd enjoy show jumping more than cross country?
The next day I rode a different horse called Jimmy and when I told the other riders who I was riding they all exclaimed oh no, not jimmy for cross country! But despite his reputation for being a bit of a handful he was actually very well behaved with just one stop at the log. We then went indoors where he was quite spooky but I just rode him very positively forward and he jumped brilliant, I think the instructor was quite shocked he jumped the final large oxer! Hes the sort of horse that has so much potential but is just a bit too clever for his own good and over thinks things, but it was great to ride a horse so different from Nero and still have a very successful day. 
On my last day they were running a show jumping competition for all the riders who wanted to enter, so reunited with Nero I thought Id give it a go! It was uncharacteristically hot that day (27 degrees and really humid, I even managed to get sunburnt...in Ireland!!) so the horses were all feeling it a bit. Despite most of the horse and rider combinations having jumped the course earlier in the week quite a few had fences down or run outs so I was a bit nervous heading into the ring! I neednt have been though, Nero was an absolute super star and jumped clear and went through to the next round. The height of the fences then went up again and those that had gone clear went again. Despite a spook at someone trimming a bush right outside the arena Nero and I went clear again and were the only combination to do so meaning we won!!!
So as promised, some pictures:
The lovely Nero:
Warm up round:
Nero looking very cute:
Cat-leaping...he did like to take off from a long stride, so that was something we tried to work on.
And clear over the last...
...meant big pats for ponio...
...and THIS!
The facilities were excellent with 100+ acres for cross country, 2 indoor arenas and a very large outdoor arena too. I arrived on the first day to be given a warm Irish welcome before heading straight to the stable yard to meet my steed for the week, Nero. We then had a jumping lesson indoors working through a grid so they could assess my abilities and I could get to know Nero before heading out to try some cross country! Having not jumped for ages as I've been working at a polo yard for the summer I was a bit hesitant before I got there but as soon as we went out I loved it! There were a huge range of jumps from logs, tyres, walls, barrels, ditches, corners and tables which I would try out throughout the week! All the horses were very forward going and Nero in particular could get quite strong if you didn't keep a lid on his enthusiasm but it all added to the fun and ensured you were really riding the horses.
After XC we had a break for lunch followed by more cross country in the afternoon where those that were happy to jumped the bigger fences could, including a stone wall double and a sizable cottage fence - I can honestly say its the most fun I've had in ages! Having spent quite a few years riding a serial stopper Nero was such a genuine horse and he really gave me the confidence to jump the bigger fences. Unfortunately due to the bad weather they'd had over there (much the same as we'd had!
) the ground was pretty heavy and cut up so quite a few of the fences were out of action, particularly the water combinations but they had done well to manage the fences so there were still plenty that were jumpable.After riding everyone is expected to untack, hose down the horses legs etc. and after the first day its generally expected that you groom and tack up your own horse. Its a very relaxed environment which I enjoyed and I even ended up tacking up ponies for their other lessons, helping clients get on etc. And even I got roped into helping paint a pony with the childrens pony campers! They were so welcoming and I really felt like part of the team, I wish I could have stayed all summer!
The next day followed in a similar pattern, we would usually have an indoor jumping lesson first thing doing lots different exercises and grid work. One day we did an exercise where 3 jumps were placed on a curve along one long side and then a fourth fence on the three-quarter line on the other long side and we practised jumping on the inside line to shorten the stride, the middle, and then the outside line so we had to ask for an extra stride which I found a really good exercise. Most of the horses are 4, 5 and 6 year olds so it was really good to help both the horse and rider. Equally another good exercise I found was having two or three fences along the long side and asking the horse to trot in, then canter after the fence then back to trot and trot over the other poles, then as the other poles are put up as fences you can vary between canter and trotting in and canter and trotting between the fences to teach the horses to listen you in between fences so that its easier to adjust a stride when jumping a course.
Later in the week we put this into practise jumping a course of 10 fences with the height gradually increasing to 1m
Despite my heart palpitations Nero jumped the round like a pro and it was definitely the highlight of my week...who'd have thought I'd enjoy show jumping more than cross country? The next day I rode a different horse called Jimmy and when I told the other riders who I was riding they all exclaimed oh no, not jimmy for cross country!
But despite his reputation for being a bit of a handful he was actually very well behaved with just one stop at the log. We then went indoors where he was quite spooky but I just rode him very positively forward and he jumped brilliant, I think the instructor was quite shocked he jumped the final large oxer! Hes the sort of horse that has so much potential but is just a bit too clever for his own good and over thinks things, but it was great to ride a horse so different from Nero and still have a very successful day. On my last day they were running a show jumping competition for all the riders who wanted to enter, so reunited with Nero I thought Id give it a go! It was uncharacteristically hot that day (27 degrees and really humid, I even managed to get sunburnt...in Ireland!!
) so the horses were all feeling it a bit. Despite most of the horse and rider combinations having jumped the course earlier in the week quite a few had fences down or run outs so I was a bit nervous heading into the ring! I neednt have been though, Nero was an absolute super star and jumped clear and went through to the next round. The height of the fences then went up again and those that had gone clear went again. Despite a spook at someone trimming a bush right outside the arena Nero and I went clear again and were the only combination to do so meaning we won!!! So as promised, some pictures:
The lovely Nero:
Warm up round:
Nero looking very cute:
Cat-leaping...he did like to take off from a long stride, so that was something we tried to work on.
And clear over the last...
...meant big pats for ponio...
...and THIS!
