Snowy Feb 20 Weekend Plans

Ambers Echo

Ambers Echo

Still wittering on
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Well it's snowy in the NW anyway! And I have compeition plans :D :D For the first time in a very long time. Hurrah! It's felt long way off until recently. I cCan't quite believe we are here now but Myka is coping with everything I am asking of her so this is just the next step.

On Saturday I am donning show clothes and taking her to do Into 1 & 2 at an unaffiliated dressage event. It's the same place I took her last week for a solo jump lesson so she has seen the venue. On Friday it will be laid out for dressage so I am taking her again for arena hire to show her the boards and judge's boxes. Then it seems logical to add in other horses and a few plant pots!

I have zero expectations beyond making it into the warm up and seeing how she copes. If we get through the tests that's a bonus but not required!


Myka says look I can go places! And be all grown up about it!!


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We're in the very south of the North West and it's just cold and grey here! Our week hasn't gone as planned as had to cancel an XC Tech lesson on Tuesday, but horse has been schooling beautifully at home and had a jump on Wed....I've shifted my hours for a couple of weeks so we can make it to ride outdoors in the light which makes SUCH a difference to what we can do. And we're seeing really lovely progress with the mare every week now...obvs there will be ups and downs but she's eager to please and learn and her attitude makes it such a pleasure.

Weekend plans are mixed: Saturday we're going to see daughter's old 128 BS pony in the Pony Premier at Kelsall, so that will be fun. Then Sunday SJ arena hire for a lesson. It's going oddly warm on Sunday I think.

And big plan is entering Northallerton BE80 in March I think.

(disclaimer...all of the above is me as horse mum and daughter actually riding!)
 
No snow where I am - just endless rain and dark looking skies.....

Desperately hoping to get in the school at the weekend and do some work with Rabbit - he's at that stage of rising 3 year old where he is craving to do more work than what he currently is, and is merrily creating his own chaos when he can. His most recent trick being trying to pull away when being lead :rolleyes: Annoyingly before him developing his new trick, he was an absolute legend to lead and was better than my 20 year old.....

I'm hoping it's just the end of the terrible two's stage, as to be fair, he's been pretty solid for the entirety of his 2 year old year, so I guess the gremlins had to appear at some point, but even so with the crappy weather it is getting harder to be more positive..... x

Both boys also need a bloody good groom as I've turfed them out without rugs on when we've had drier days as they were both getting too hot, so they've quite rightly, taken the opportunity to get absolutely caked in as much mud as horsely possible 🤣
 
Grey and raining here too...

It's so lovely to see you able to have fun with Myka AE! All your patience and consistent work is paying off, have fun at the dressage.

We've got Regionals at Medium and FSM Medium on Tuesday so prepping for that mostly.

Also a friend of a friend is taking my lovely retired boy Indio to be a companion for her horse so we'll be moving him on Saturday - it's just a few miles away, hopefully he loads and travels ok as it's been 2.5 years since he went anywhere! He's been out with the herd at my yard for a while now and he'll get a bit more TLC with her so I hope it all works out.
 
Good luck AE! I loved Intro tests when the hooligan was young because if his eyes were on stalks we could just steer round. They were also usually the first class of the day so the warm ups weren't too chaotic.

We actually went out today for the first competition of 2026 and our first dressage in months. Did wonder why I'd bothered. :( I have purposely stayed away from anything other than e-riders dressage (& floods have meant we haven't done that since Xmas) because he was just switching off and dropping behind the contact the minute we went down the centre line. Today was combined training so we did the Intro test with tiny 50cm jumps. Well I might as well had them stuck up to 1m30 because he slammed the breaks on in the warm up - a very nice lady put the cross pole on the floor so he could step over it - but still refused to jump in the main arena and we didn't get past fence 4.

I'm not entirely sure what is going on. We had the same issue in a clinic over Xmas and I put it down to a bad day, but actually the saying NO started last year just not quite so firmly. It isn't a physical issue because he did arena hire with me last week and flew round 60cm with his usual enthusiasm but the steward today told me it looked like stage fright and I think she's right. I think he holds his breath and just shuts down - but I'm not sure when it started or how to help. Having a break obviously wasn't the answer because he's come back worse so maybe I need to do more. He used to blat round like an idiot a couple of years ago so something has triggered this but I just can't think what it is. I've got a jumping clinic on Sun at the same place we do arena hire and the instructor has know him since he was a 5yo so I'm hoping she'll see something or have some insight because I'm stuck! He's brilliant at home, brilliant at my friend's place (as in towing me into jumps with enthusiasm) so I'm stuck.

I did wonder if it was me, but I have zero stress about a 50cm course in a class with 4 others so I really wasn't thinking cautiously today - especially not in the warm up.

Dressage was OK-ish. Our stretchy walk and trot were nowhere to be seen (Intro B) which does make me think it is a tension issue because he usually nails those. Our warm up was awesome - trot work really engaged, back up and lovely. We had Bury Farm's warm up arena to ourselves for a short while so took the opportunity to have a really good bum out of the seat canter and he felt great.

On the upside it is apparently going to be warm this weekend. I'll believe it when I see it but I could really do with some field drying weather!!
 
SEL said:
Good luck AE! I loved Intro tests when the hooligan was young because if his eyes were on stalks we could just steer round. They were also usually the first class of the day so the warm ups weren't too chaotic.

We actually went out today for the first competition of 2026 and our first dressage in months. Did wonder why I'd bothered. :( I have purposely stayed away from anything other than e-riders dressage (& floods have meant we haven't done that since Xmas) because he was just switching off and dropping behind the contact the minute we went down the centre line. Today was combined training so we did the Intro test with tiny 50cm jumps. Well I might as well had them stuck up to 1m30 because he slammed the breaks on in the warm up - a very nice lady put the cross pole on the floor so he could step over it - but still refused to jump in the main arena and we didn't get past fence 4.

I'm not entirely sure what is going on. We had the same issue in a clinic over Xmas and I put it down to a bad day, but actually the saying NO started last year just not quite so firmly. It isn't a physical issue because he did arena hire with me last week and flew round 60cm with his usual enthusiasm but the steward today told me it looked like stage fright and I think she's right. I think he holds his breath and just shuts down - but I'm not sure when it started or how to help. Having a break obviously wasn't the answer because he's come back worse so maybe I need to do more. He used to blat round like an idiot a couple of years ago so something has triggered this but I just can't think what it is. I've got a jumping clinic on Sun at the same place we do arena hire and the instructor has know him since he was a 5yo so I'm hoping she'll see something or have some insight because I'm stuck! He's brilliant at home, brilliant at my friend's place (as in towing me into jumps with enthusiasm) so I'm stuck.

I did wonder if it was me, but I have zero stress about a 50cm course in a class with 4 others so I really wasn't thinking cautiously today - especially not in the warm up.

Dressage was OK-ish. Our stretchy walk and trot were nowhere to be seen (Intro B) which does make me think it is a tension issue because he usually nails those. Our warm up was awesome - trot work really engaged, back up and lovely. We had Bury Farm's warm up arena to ourselves for a short while so took the opportunity to have a really good bum out of the seat canter and he felt great.

On the upside it is apparently going to be warm this weekend. I'll believe it when I see it but I could really do with some field drying weather!!
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How frustrating - just an observation and you may have noted it already but it seems like you're having the same issue dressage as SJ when competing it's just less dramatic dressage? So possibly if you can solve the dressage so that he's happy and taking you forwards there then you could apply it to the SJ? Obviously very hard to know without seeing but from your post it just seemed to jump out.
 
Lesson tomorrow. They go so quick now I'm getting my confidence and focus back, and then the week until the next one feels longer than ever! Given that life is rather stressful at the moment, I'm particularly pleased with my improved ability to cut that out just for the time I'm doing horse stuff instead of letting it get in the way.

I really am working on not letting the weather dictate things with my riding but equally riding in wind described as 'fresh' is not filling me with joy. Must just crack on - it's good for me to practice all the things I've been learning for when I'm nervous.

I'm thinking of getting in touch with a couple of livery yards to go visit; I figure this time of year is good for seeing worse case scenario with turnout?! Not there yet to go horse shopping but there's zero point horse shopping if I can't find a place locally I would like for it to live!
 
Squeak said:
How frustrating - just an observation and you may have noted it already but it seems like you're having the same issue dressage as SJ when competing it's just less dramatic dressage? So possibly if you can solve the dressage so that he's happy and taking you forwards there then you could apply it to the SJ? Obviously very hard to know without seeing but from your post it just seemed to jump out.
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I think it is exactly the same problem - I was hoping that because he's always loved jumping it was just a "dressage is dull" issue but obviously not.

I'm thinking lots of arena hires with tiny jumps telling him he's amazing to see if that makes a difference. Whether or not that translates into a competition I don't know.
 
it’s my birthday today, so an exciting weekend planned!

me and lily are off to somerford tomorrow to have a play on the arena xc before it closes, and then sunday diva is off to her first show since may!

divvy hasn’t even been ridden in about 5/6 months with the rehab/ulcers but she’s been given the green light to start again, so i thought what better way to kickstart it than taking her to a new (to her) venue for some inhand!
 
We've had a whirlwind of travel for the past 2 months so H is unfit and so am I!

I'd had such plans for us but then last spring I damaged my knee, just as we'd qualified for some festival in jumping, and we did little other than some fun rides and hunt rides. Then, I had plans for over winter but we've been away every month, either a long break or some shorter ones, and he's happy doing nothing but it means that fitness and precision have gone down the drain.

So this weekend is more hacking, going to a health spa for sauna and swim, doing home chores!

Rigs, however, is having a second childhood!!! He now has a couple of new riders so is fitter and is having huuuuge fun! He loves a good dash LOL.
 
dottylottie said:
it’s my birthday today, so an exciting weekend planned!

me and lily are off to somerford tomorrow to have a play on the arena xc before it closes, and then sunday diva is off to her first show since may!

divvy hasn’t even been ridden in about 5/6 months with the rehab/ulcers but she’s been given the green light to start again, so i thought what better way to kickstart it than taking her to a new (to her) venue for some inhand!
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Happy Birthday!
 
Well if Myka behaves tomorrow the way she did today, I will be absolutely over the moon.

We had a whole list of challenges to tick off.

1: Loading while her friends went to the field

Of course, timing meant that just as I asked her to load, all her pals were heading out to the field. Typical. She was a bit ‘whaddaya mean we are loading I want to go THAT WAY” about it, but was obedient and loaded. First hurdle cleared.

2: Being left alone on the lorry

She’s stood on the lorry before, but always with me there. As I mostly compete on my own, she needs to learn that I will sometimes disappear and leave her completely alone. So today was the first test of that. Interestingly, she never sweats when travelling but did seat up during those t five minutes with me out of sight. More practice needed on that, extending the time gradually.

3: Mounting in the lorry park instead of the (nice soft landing) arena.

Lots of mental chatter about the unwise-ness of that which I ignored. Not really a challenge for her but deffo a huge one for me! To make it even more scary they were also turning horses out at the same time. Shetlands were being led past the concrete mounting block and Myka’s eyes were practically on stalks. She absolutely failed her pre-flight checks at first!

For me, those checks are about assessing where her mind is. Can she flex softly: not just mechanically bend her neck and then snap it back, but actually shift her attention to me?
Can she soften and stay focused, rather than immediately popping back up into giraffe mode scanning the entire universe?

The answer initially was no! But after a few minutes of in-hand movement patterns to help her brain come back to me we tried again and this time she stood still and paid attention to me instead of the Big Wide World. Scary Shetlands were now in a turn out sand school directly across from the mounting block so she did well to stay with me. Good girl.

Trial 4: Hacking to the arena

No issues at all. A small but very satisfying win.

Trial 5: The Boards!!

Turned out to be the easiest part of the experiment. There was some snorting and a bit of edging away at first, but then she relaxed, and actually gave me some really lovely work. So lovely, in fact, that although I had hired the arena for an hour, we were done in twenty minutes and finished on a sweet spot.

Even if tomorrow isn’t as smooth as today, I already feel like we’ve achieved what I set out to achieve. The test itself will be what it will be. That’s not really the main focus. This weekend is about exposure to new experiences, building her confidence and window of tolerance.

Tomorrow she’ll work in close proximity to other horses for the first time and I fully expect a lot of neighing. But whatever happens, she’s already grown up a lot today and I am super pleased with her. 💗💗
 
Off to the alps - no mud! Haven't ridden for a few weeks due to fall and can't remember last competition. December I think.
Not sure when I'll be allowed to.ride again. No more jumping ever.

Feel for those who entered Tweseldown 1. Ballot list is humongous. My vet managed to get both his in. Is it a case of who you know?! 🤔

Enjoy your outings all and keep safe 🙏
 
My lesson went well despite the crummy weather!

Although I didn't do big impressive stuff, it's the confidence stuff I'm seeing the progress with and that's quite exciting. Horse had audacity to walk quicker when he heard 'trot' mentioned, so my brain decided to freak out but the progress part was...doing something else about it!

Initially this was 'attempt to do circle and nearly run over instructor' but we regrouped and we practiced riding the quicker walk and bringing it back then pushing it on again, just round the arena. I'd like to practice this more - mainly the 'fast' walk is just a good walk and when I get back out hacking I probably can't just chuck a circle or serpentine in every time I get worried 😂

Such a great opportunity to practice riding with nerves and be able to pinpoint what I need to do with my body to influence the horse and not feel out of control. Amazing!

Was also very pleased to get the feedback of not being 'handsy' with my riding which I have to really fight the urge to go to my reins when I'm worried. It's almost like... my work and the support around me it paying off :D
 
There's nothing like a hack on a 13h microcob to cheer me up. The field margin had drained enough for a Thelwell style blast (her idea not mine!) and then we turned onto the horrible muddy bridleway and met a lady grazing 4 Shetlands. I've no idea how she wasn't falling over lead ropes.

Well we went past with eyes on stalks 😅 and then when the bridleway got too muddy we turned for a canter back. I assumed Shetland lady would stay at the top, but no she was trying to walk all 4 down through the mud. So we ground to a halt - wasn't sure whether I'd have a Shetland or 2 coming home the boys were flirting so much. Microcob has had babies and I'm pretty sure she was fluttering her eyelashes....
 
SEL said:
There's nothing like a hack on a 13h microcob to cheer me up. The field margin had drained enough for a Thelwell style blast (her idea not mine!) and then we turned onto the horrible muddy bridleway and met a lady grazing 4 Shetlands. I've no idea how she wasn't falling over lead ropes.

Well we went past with eyes on stalks 😅 and then when the bridleway got too muddy we turned for a canter back. I assumed Shetland lady would stay at the top, but no she was trying to walk all 4 down through the mud. So we ground to a halt - wasn't sure whether I'd have a Shetland or 2 coming home the boys were flirting so much. Microcob has had babies and I'm pretty sure she was fluttering her eyelashes....
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This woman is obviously more powerful than God

Not much on the cards for us! Dodging the weather!
 
Day 1 of the clinic has give well. Working I. Suppleness, flexion, shoulder in/out and transitions within the manoeuvre . Amber was pretty settled considering the rain and winds and gave it her best. Just a little wiggly k. Some but got it all quite quickly. She’s in her snaffle and seems to be quite liking it.
 
Jumping lesson with Little Madam and I'm so proud of both of us. We landed on the correct lead every single time (I'm still enjoying the novelty of being back on an educated horse after 2 years of very green ones) and I didn't mess up any jumps. In fact, since we've started jumping again, I've only had a couple of messy jumps ( generally me getting ahead of myself and jumping before her) the rest just seems easy and fun to both of us.
 
Myka is a star! She was a bit stressed/wired at first as there was a lot going on, but I arrived super early and led her around. By the time I needed to get on, she was more chilled. And then she did not put a foot wrong in either test for a 65.9% and a 65%. She stayed calm, relaxed and obedient. Lovely comments too. She just now needs to be more consistent, more supple and a bit more actitve. 1st and 2nd in the 2 classes. Over the moon with her.

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Moving Indio went perfectly - despite not being on a trailer for at least 7 years (and not on a lorry for 2.5 years) he had just one look then walked straight on. Travelled perfectly for the 20 minute trip, sauntered off with ears pricked and immediately tucked into a hay net in the stable. Introducing him to his new friend went smoothly so fingers crossed for a quiet night.

Love his little snozzle through the bars, I’ll pop over tomorrow to give him a cuddle (though he won’t be short of them as his loaner and her landlady are both smitten!):

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No snow here! Its been a really warm weekend.

Had a great lesson on my rising 5 year old today. I dont quite know when the real nerves about getting on him went away, but I am enjoying every ride atm and he is getting better and better.

Feeling brave so a (very) short clip from today rather than stills.

 
Got out for a hack solo for the first time in ages, having to dodge a thunderstorm put the kids off lol and had a foot perfect pony! She's been tossing her head about and trying to race the other mare home and I was worried she was sore somewhere and acting out but I think she's just being a little bitch?? 😂 (annoyed about having to jog to catch up. I think)

TheHairyOne said:
No snow here! Its been a really warm weekend.

Had a great lesson on my rising 5 year old today. I dont quite know when the real nerves about getting on him went away, but I am enjoying every ride atm and he is getting better and better.

Feeling brave so a (very) short clip from today rather than stills.

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Look at the length of those leggies!! ,😍
 
Well after my elimination last week we went to our jumping clinic and didn't put a hoof wrong. In fact the only refusal was just after the instructor had moved from a pole to a jump and I came in on totally the wrong angle. Small jumps, tricky lines and a pony loving every minute of it.

What she did say though was with his busy brain it is better to not give him too much time to think about things, so if the jumps are going to be tiny then he can easily pop them on a tight line and that might be a better option right now.

I really hope this week's weather dries out the field so they can all go back out on 24.7 turnout. I just can't keep both ponies in a decent amount of work with 3 to muck out, hay to soak, life to lead etc..
 
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