Skylla is growing up - Showing and Jumping!

[HufflyPuffly]

Little Skylla is going from strength to strength!

At home she is starting to understand how to relax and stretch when being ridden, which as she's built very uphill has not come naturally to her. Canter is improving but we're a bit big and forward still, strength and balance is improving with every ride though .

Last week we even felt that she was sufficiently balanced to try leaving the ground . Started with poles on the ground and built it up to a massive foot off the ground :lol:, but she was bold, confident and seemed to enjoy herself greatly .

Onto this weekend and we had our second attempt at ridden showing! First obstacle was her tail , I 'may' have become very annoyed at the browny/wee coloured tinge to the end of it, and after countless washing, highlighting, dying it blue eek3 and bleaching, it remained resolutely browny coloured at the end with a hint of blue :lol:. So armed with chalk we set about primping her, this took some time so my friends had to leave which gave us our second obstacle of having to hack to the venue on our own ! However as it was literally a 2 min walk down the road we manned up and she was fine .

Arrived and what a blooming superstar of a baby horse . Found it a bit overwhelming at first, as she's never had to deal with such a busy environment when ridden before, so had a bit of a nap attack in the warm-up, but despite really wanting to throw her toys out of the pram, she did warm-up in all three paces and didn't have any 'airs above the ground moments' :lol:. Into our first class Open Show Horse, got the idea of going round and happier now she was in the middle of the show ground and therefore not missing out on anything , onto the individual show and we managed correct leads and no bucking! We only went and won out of one .

Then we did some waiting and she stood excellently in all the chaos until our next class open equitation. This time we had competition with three very accomplished riders , however we cracked on tried not to lap people (our canter has yet to be made smaller ). Onto the individual and she didn't nap, got the correct canter leads and only went and won again!!!! Yay baby pony , left it there and took my little champ home and she didn't even deposit me in cow poo like I thought she might :lol:.

Concentrating hard, but trying to relax!

Literally no idea what I'm trying to achieve, as I apparently cannot sit to her canter in a show saddle and she looks to be trying to go 'weeeee' .

Looking a little more like I know what I'm doing

Ok so I don't think we're going to be a 'proper' show horse as with her dinty face and capped hocks we're already onto a looser , but I'm going to source a tweed have bought her a flat thicker noseband (this bridle was my show ponies ) and I think we might do a couple more shows! She learnt so much and experienced loads on Sat, which can only help set her up for her ridden career whatever it might end up being .

Love my clever baby horse lots .

 

[ljohnsonsj]

Well done, she looks lovely! She does look very big infront and hard to keep together but that will come as she matures, her tail looks so much whiter too!

 

[Lanky Loll]

That counts as a white tail Looking very smart

 

[Pinkvboots]

Well done she is looking very good and the tail looks very white.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Well done, she looks lovely! She does look very big infront and hard to keep together but that will come as she matures, her tail looks so much whiter too!

Thank you, she is still quite big and gangly but I'm trying hard not to pull that front end in too much despite those pictures , I'm sure we will get there!

That counts as a white tail Looking very smart

Thank you.

Well done she is looking very good and the tail looks very white.

Thank you, she suddenly looks quite grown up amazing what the summer grass can do .


Thank you all that tail was giving me sleepless nights, especially when it went blue , prioritises and all that :lol:!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Well done, she looks lovely! She does look very big infront and hard to keep together but that will come as she matures, her tail looks so much whiter too!

Thank you, she is still quite big and gangly but I'm trying hard not to pull that front end in too much despite those pictures , I'm sure we will get there!

That counts as a white tail Looking very smart

Thank you.

Well done she is looking very good and the tail looks very white.

Thank you, she suddenly looks quite grown up amazing what the summer grass can do .


Thank you all that tail was giving me sleepless nights, especially when it went blue , prioritises and all that :lol:!

 

[DirectorFury]

She's looking great, you might have 2 horses to event in a couple of years .

With the tail try purple toner (or a pastel purple dye) rather than blue.

 

[sheep]

Nice big girl! She is looking so grown up very well done.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

She's looking great, you might have 2 horses to event in a couple of years .

With the tail try purple toner (or a pastel purple dye) rather than blue.

You never know, though she isn't keen on stepping in mud or water currently so only dry events with no water :lol:.

Omg the tail, I've tried almost everything and I think it is actually just the colour of her hair as it's growing out and coming through grey , the purple highlighter I used didn't do anything, and I'm not sure I can be trusted anymore not to actually dye it wacky colours .

Nice big girl! She is looking so grown up very well done.

Hmm she still hasn't yet stopped growing :eek3:, but at least is looking much more mature so maybe she's almost finally done!

 

[Bernster]

Oh fabulous. I have a different idea - she she's so dark, paint her tail black and hey presto. I have some tar like hoof paint that I tried on F the other week for a show (although he has white hooves, oops). I can vouch for it's stickability - it's still not come off.

She looks super duper. Clever pony. I also have one of those weeeeeeeeeeehhhh canter photos, but not the other nicer ones that you have, with the bonkers uphill canter. Pah.

Like yours perhaps, F doesn't really have the conformation to make it far in showing but it's fun playing about, isn't it?!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Oh fabulous. I have a different idea - she she's so dark, paint her tail black and hey presto. I have some tar like hoof paint that I tried on F the other week for a show (although he has white hooves, oops). I can vouch for it's stickability - it's still not come off.

She looks super duper. Clever pony. I also have one of those weeeeeeeeeeehhhh canter photos, but not the other nicer ones that you have, with the bonkers uphill canter. Pah.

Like yours perhaps, F doesn't really have the conformation to make it far in showing but it's fun playing about, isn't it?!

That is a thought but I'd have to keep dying it, can you imagine the roots :lol:!

She was very clever, if not very adjustable in canter yet , glad I'm not alone with a ridiculous canter though .

I like showing as long as you don't take it very seriously, always a fun day out , but yes got to be realistic with the animal in front of you.

 

[HufflyPuffly]

duplicate!

 

[HotToTrot]

She is lovely! Well done! I am getting most suspicious that I am going to have to start reading showing reports, as well as dressage ones, and am wondering whether you will soon progress to nuclear physics, as another mystifyingly complex subject...

 

[HufflyPuffly]

She is lovely! Well done! I am getting most suspicious that I am going to have to start reading showing reports, as well as dressage ones, and am wondering whether you will soon progress to nuclear physics, as another mystifyingly complex subject...

Thank you, love that you think this is bonkers I've seen the fences you throw yourself over . I did do a Chemistry degree does that count? But when they start talking about things you cannot see or prove are there it all goes over my head a bit :lol:.

Promise though the showing is temporary until we start grown up activities, she likes jumping so we may event yet!