Royal International Horse Show report- got that photo!

[rara007]

And what a fantastic day we had with it too! Trundled (quite literally with the hairy ones cob stomp trot) off to RIHS for the small native /trad class (along with 40 others) with no prospect of anything but a nice photo, some expensive cheesy chips and to be able to say- we have been to RIHS!

Managed to squeeze in a practice in the field the day before- in full dirty glory as he is a true 'field kept' sort of a pony and was heartened to see we were actually starting to look the part:

We were a little bit worried about the size of the ring partly as his day job is teaching my mum to ride so his fitness isn't quite all that (she's not up to the riding in open spaces yet to start hacking) and also as he is really genuinely pretty green- although 10 he has only been 'schooled' for one season and this was to be his biggest show to date, about his 6th ever and my 2nd with him. It's easy to take these hairy sorts for granted that they'll just 'do' it.

We managed to park about a 20min hack away from the ring (his usual length of ride), with several muddy spots to negotiate but we did manage to make it there. The BSJA warmup we went past is still giving me nightmares, horses (big fast ones!) going all ways, with about 10? warm up fences.... truly the thing of nightmares. Ester had to walk on foot to find us and did manage to locate us amongst the sea of black and white hairy things so managed to get the last of the hay out of his mane to save us that embarrassment. They split the go round once we were all in as despite the ring being pretty generous, we were still nose to tail. We were in the first 'lot' to go round and he really tried, didn't get flustered by anyone, kept going until the end, put in a pretty good gallop (for him!), kept himself balanced on the downhills. All in all he really couldn't have done better.

We then had the pleasure of watching the other half go round to suss out the competition. It was no surprise that we were not called in but we did manage a private success of not being right at the end of the lineup! He actually did a nice trot up for the judge (my welsh C stallion either has 'inhand' mode or 'lead rein' mode.... We delayed getting back on as long as possible to save both of our backs by this point and then went into our show where we played it safe and did the same as 95% of the class. He again tried through all 3 paces, didn't spook or nap, nailed his strike offs clean and correct, did actually pretty much gallop and kept moving in his trot work. It was never going to be enough to get us 'noticed' but we collected our 'completed' rosette with pride!

Picture of the line up- and this was just the sub 14hh section- there was over 40 in the 14-15hhers too!

Unfortunately I don't think I'm 'allowed' to post the professional photo but it's one to keep for sure

Thanks Ester for coming to groom- I'd have been stuck without you!

So that's that one off the bucket list- where next- HOYs? RIHS workers? RIHS driving? Who knows, but a 2 hour class with no hope of a look in wasn't enough to put me off yet!

Off show carriage shopping tomorrow Scurry at Blenheim next week and equifest the week after!

 

[Bradsmum]

Very well done, not many people get into the ring in the first place! Have to ask - what wonderful whitener did you use on those beautiful feathers?

 

[silv]

Well done, a huge achievement to get there, definitely one to cross off your list, how exciting to ride there.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Well done you both look very lovely the royal international is one of my favourite shows love going to watch didn't go this year though, and well done to ester the super groom

 

[AFB]

Smart little horse, well done

 

[ester]

Ahem what whitener did mostly Ester use
I think he got chalked night before tbf, shavings bed (not good for the mane) then It's just spray chalk in a can, I always have to baby wipe his tail after to get the bits I have also managed to spray and the trouble with a long black tail it turns out is chalk on socks makes the bottom of the tail grey!

We are going for best turned out groom award next year in rara's dads driving grooms outfits- brown top boots, bottle green long livery coat and a top hat

What she has missed that a 2 hour class might not have put her off but . A suggestion that I swap with the driving groom and do the more interesting bit for a while didn't work either- frankly she does need someone a bit fussy though . It's a toss up between this and welshie, he is a bit of a pain in comparison but definitely less grooming required!

I did dream black and white cobs that night as there were just as many in the higher height classes too!

 

[Bradsmum]

Lol. A good job by the WHOLE team then!

 

[ester]

for those with a lot of feather having the track round the outside was definitely a bit of a shame as they weren't as gleaming after a couple of laps.

 

[rara007]

Very well done, not many people get into the ring in the first place! Have to ask - what wonderful whitener did you use on those beautiful feathers?

'Just' blue fairy liquid the night before, chalk run through, stabled on shavings the night before (early start!), then bandaged to travel, brushed out then 'white spray' as final touch! He does get pig oil put in them every few days as maintenance

 

[Lyle]

What a fantastic achievement and how spectacular is that ring! I hope you get plenty of enjoyment looking back at the photos. For so many of us, the enjoyment of the day comes down to spending time with these awesome animals and enjoying them giving us the 'clear round' so to speak. Good luck on your next adventure, I want to see more black and white hairy pictures!

 

[Bernster]

What an amazing experience. Well done

 

[ester]

HHO put the workers galloping up today, TBF some of the cobs seemed to do a damn site better