Sheriff's Ride?! And hacking help!

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ohdearme

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Hi all,

Has anyone heard of/been to the 'Sheriff's Ride' in Lichfield in September?? I have just been invited to go and would love to, but am a bit anxious as neither me or my (new!) pony have been hunting or on a fun ride or anything similar. She has hacked a lot in the past, but I've only taken her out once and she was pretty spooky and nervy - I do enjoy hacking, but the jumpiness did ruin it a bit!

I've looked at some vids of the ride and it looks lovely - seems like a hunt without the hunt (?!), going along roads and paths, cantering through fields etc in a group. It's 20 miles, with a couple of breaks, seems well organised. But perhaps a bit spook-provoking for the nervy pony :(

Does anyone have any experience doing something like this with a spooky/high-strung horse? I would love to go but don't think either of us would find it enjoyable if she's spooking and tense the whole way :(

Do I 'bite the bullet' or stay safe and give it a miss? In regards to spookiness out hacking, does 'practise make perfect'? Should I start taking her out more and more to see if she relaxes?

Thanks!
 
I don't know the ride or have experience with spooky horses but have done some common rides up in Scotland which sounds similar to what you're doing. Only on riding school hires that are steady as and know what they're doing mind! if you went and your pony didn't settle would you be able to drop out and hack home or is it too far? That's what a few of my friends with younger/new to common riding horses have done or spoken about doing especially when it's local to them and the horses have hacked on the route before.
 
Brochdoll said:
I don't know the ride or have experience with spooky horses but have done some common rides up in Scotland which sounds similar to what you're doing. Only on riding school hires that are steady as and know what they're doing mind! if you went and your pony didn't settle would you be able to drop out and hack home or is it too far? That's what a few of my friends with younger/new to common riding horses have done or spoken about doing especially when it's local to them and the horses have hacked on the route before.
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Sometimes wish mine was an experienced riding school type! (But love her too much to ever change her!!). It is too far to hack home, and I'll be keeping her in a friends field nearby the night before. But still, suppose if needs be I could drop out and head back there :) thanks!
 
You have plenty of time to get to know her and hack over the summer, if you do not hack at all then I think it will be too much both physically and mentally for her, she will need to be fit enough to cope with the distance and differing terrain on the ride and I don't think she will be if she does no hacking.

As she has done plenty of hacking in the past there is no reason to think she will not settle if you start to take her out more frequently, the problem with avoiding things is they have no opportunity to get better and often get worse as it becomes a big deal to go out, she may have been spooky and nervous when you tried before as it was a new area as well as new rider, the horse will get confidence from a confident, even if it is put on, rider, have you other people that hack you can go out with, most are better in company as they can relax more, if you have no one to ride with do you have someone who will walk or cycle, a good instructor may help with your nerves and get you started venturing out.
 
Yes I have done the sheriffs ride and have also marshalled on it .
It is a great experience but imo you do need a sensible horse as some get very lit up in a big crowd .
There was a lot of trotting along the roads with some canters round fields , it did used to be a fast ride but seems to go slightly slower nowadays.
Some people just do the morning part then get picked up at the lunchtime break .
As its not till September you could see how it goes with your horse through the summer , maybe try to get to some fun rides , Cannock chase & catton hall usually have rides on and they are not to far from Lichfield .
 
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I don't know the ride but yes, practice does make perfect when it comes to anything, but especially hacking. You need to build her and your confidence. I'd find a few friends who are happy to accompany you on rides - calm company makes a big difference to them to begin with. She'll need to be used to hacking and pretty fit to do a 20 mile ride of that nature. You might also want to try hacking in a fairly large group to se how she'll behave - or so you can get used to it. Mine was awful at first with any more than 3 or 4 or so I thought. Once I'd got to know him I realised he was all fur coat and no knickers (as my nan would say!) so although he still does the jogging and dancing about I ignore it and when we have a gallop he's normally way behind the others and more than happy to stop when they do (not before mind, not matter how tired!) It's as much about learning to deal with their foibles as them getting used to doing things. 10 years ago I wouldn't have dreamed of doing a fun ride, they're now the highlight of my calendar and the only difference is me not worrying about him being a git!
 
All horses will relax and get less spooky the more you hack them... So I would take her out a lot and try new places as much as possible. She'll improve and you'll also get a lot more comfortable as it sounds like her jumpyness made you a bit nervous too. You may not believe it but after a while a horse bolting a few strides doesn't even get your heart racing any more!
 
Twenty miles is quite a long way. Most Fun Rides start at around 8 miles up to 12 or so. So you would need to build up gradually for you as well as the horse, so you need to go hacking with gradually increasing distances, and make sure you know how far you are going as it is very easy to over estimate how far you have travelled.

You also need to get your horse used to going out in company. The best way is to find a friend with a steady horse, a friend you can trust who is not going to want to gallop off! When I had a young horse I always used to go at the end of the starting time, so you weren't being constantly overtaken by other horses wanting to gallop past. People sometimes forget their manners and forget that their horse had to learn too.

I also found that if the horse was a bit excited to start with, to go at a steady, controllable trot and keep trotting until they were puffing a bit and ready to drop back to walk. It isn't a good idea to be struggling with an excitable, pulling horse at walk, nor to let them gallop off.
 
Echo exactly what TRECtastic said.

It is a slower and more controlled ride than when I used to do it, but it's still a demanding day and a very long day for the horse. There is a lot of standing around before the start in the Market Place with lots of spectators and once you have set off you will need to keep your horse steady before the canters. I think you are set off in marshalled groups now, but it did used to be a free for all! There are roads, tracks, open fields and a bridge over the main road at one point.

I would definately get a couple of Pleasure Rides under your belt to see how your horse copes and consider doing just the first half which stops for lunch at Whittington. Your driver can take your transport to the lunch stop and you can decide whether to carry on or not at that point. I'm not sure how easy it would be to drop out at any other point on the ride ? Can you get to Cannock Chase or Sutton Park to do some longer hacks or perhaps some local farm rides to see how your horse copes with new things ? I found everyone to be very friendly and helpful but you must be able to look after yourself and your horse if it gets a bit exciting for them !

It is a really fantastic day but you do need to prepare to make sure that you and your horse stay safe and that you have a great ride !!! I'd start preparing, see how it goes and if it's not for your horse this year, then there is always next year. Good luck.
 
I did this ride about 8 years ago and it is not for the faint hearted.
Great fun if you are brave but I wouldn't recommend it if you are not or if your horse doesn't have brakes.
I hunted my horse but even though he was used to that as soon as you hit the fields everybody sets off at a much faster pace you don't have a whole lot of choice but to join in
If you go. Have fun and wear gloves
 
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