Gingernags
Well-Known Member
Total rollercoaster! You will remember that the last state of affairs was evil ex rider child had cancelled stable at Peterborough and was being thoroughly obnoxious? Well, many people said to go and just have fun, and we did, but we kept it VERY quiet so nothing else could be sabotaged!
Due to set off on Tues am, farrier came on Monday evening and put shoe back on sore foot - sound horse!
So we went. Much hilarity packing, fitting one ned, 3 associated humans and all the gear in a pick up truck and trailer was suprisingly difficult and I was dreading the drive TBH - only really done about 60 mile round trips and this was 170 each way! Anyway, gear got stashed, much to YO's amusement - in the back being tied in with about 50 peices of coloured rope - looked like a mightily odd spiders web!
Off we went. Drive was fine, stopped half way to have a break and stuff pony full of biscuits. Only one lot of roadworks. Got there in good time, got stable and bedded ginger one down and gave her a massive haynet so she was fine! Then it was tent time... mwahahaha!
New and previously never seen before jockey arrived - Hiya Frankie if you are reading this, thanks a million!!! - and we got the tents set up. Much hilarity over my £15 bed in a box - 2 man (would have to be a VERY SHORT two men) tent, plus mat and air pillow and sleeping bag complete with no instructions... Sister had borrowed a bigger tent, and friend had an even bigger one! However, group of women managed to create tent village fine, complete with windbreaks and central "sitting and boozing" area...
That done, Frankie had a ride on Asti to see how they'd get on - she's a very nice rider, lovely quiet hands and knows how to use her legs, so got on absolutely fine with the ginger one. Rode her incredibly well straight away!
So Wednesday morning was the Working Hunter, and we had a warm up and - the ginger one was lame again - only VERY slightly - gave us a moment of mass panic however, she came right just before the class. It was slippy going so we studded her up, did a few practice fences and they just went in and got on with it! Frankie said jumping her was easy - just aim and fire! Anyway, they had 3 poles down which was a shame, but we realised when she came out that she'd lost a front shoe - the one with the bruised foot! So she did her show on 3 shoes. It was only much, much later that we found it - after several searches drew a blank - and we realised she'd lost it before jumping a single fence!
I have to say I was really chuffed with the way they went, for a brand new combination, and Frankie really, really did the horse proud. Will upload a video eventually... Didn't get placed, but she got really good confirmation marks, and had she not had the 3 poles down she would have certainly been placed, probably top 5.
The next 2 days were Show Hunter classes and she went very well again, excellent confirmation marks, but was obviously not the type the judges were looking for. Without being too biased, they seemed to favour the show pony types over the more old fashioned type of show hunter which was disappointing, but hey, we were about mid-class in them so by no means out of place.
It rained a lot. I got a lovely posh browband off sister and friend for my birthday - a really gorgeous pretty ponies one in burgundy and gold. Sister and I got bargain coats. Had a good wander, a pub meal, several soakings, a good time watching the evening performances - my god the Gold Cup classes fences were MASSIVE! And we stayed an extra day til Saturday as we were having a good time.
Frankie was a really lovely lass, got on really well with the ginger one and I hope she enjoyed it as much as we did. In fact Asti enjoyed it so much, whilst sister and friend went for last minute supplies for travelling home (drinks etc) I got Asti ready to load - put rug and boots on - and being a smart ars* hadn't tied her up as I NEVER need to - only for her to b*gger off at a gallop in her travelling boots, towards the stables! Little git!
Anyway, no incidents going home, drive was fine though I was rather knackered, and Asti got turned out and rolled happily in the mud, back to being a field kept pony!
Will put pics in the gallery, but here are my favourite 2
and with her finalist rosette
Due to set off on Tues am, farrier came on Monday evening and put shoe back on sore foot - sound horse!
So we went. Much hilarity packing, fitting one ned, 3 associated humans and all the gear in a pick up truck and trailer was suprisingly difficult and I was dreading the drive TBH - only really done about 60 mile round trips and this was 170 each way! Anyway, gear got stashed, much to YO's amusement - in the back being tied in with about 50 peices of coloured rope - looked like a mightily odd spiders web!
Off we went. Drive was fine, stopped half way to have a break and stuff pony full of biscuits. Only one lot of roadworks. Got there in good time, got stable and bedded ginger one down and gave her a massive haynet so she was fine! Then it was tent time... mwahahaha!
New and previously never seen before jockey arrived - Hiya Frankie if you are reading this, thanks a million!!! - and we got the tents set up. Much hilarity over my £15 bed in a box - 2 man (would have to be a VERY SHORT two men) tent, plus mat and air pillow and sleeping bag complete with no instructions... Sister had borrowed a bigger tent, and friend had an even bigger one! However, group of women managed to create tent village fine, complete with windbreaks and central "sitting and boozing" area...
That done, Frankie had a ride on Asti to see how they'd get on - she's a very nice rider, lovely quiet hands and knows how to use her legs, so got on absolutely fine with the ginger one. Rode her incredibly well straight away!
So Wednesday morning was the Working Hunter, and we had a warm up and - the ginger one was lame again - only VERY slightly - gave us a moment of mass panic however, she came right just before the class. It was slippy going so we studded her up, did a few practice fences and they just went in and got on with it! Frankie said jumping her was easy - just aim and fire! Anyway, they had 3 poles down which was a shame, but we realised when she came out that she'd lost a front shoe - the one with the bruised foot! So she did her show on 3 shoes. It was only much, much later that we found it - after several searches drew a blank - and we realised she'd lost it before jumping a single fence!
I have to say I was really chuffed with the way they went, for a brand new combination, and Frankie really, really did the horse proud. Will upload a video eventually... Didn't get placed, but she got really good confirmation marks, and had she not had the 3 poles down she would have certainly been placed, probably top 5.
The next 2 days were Show Hunter classes and she went very well again, excellent confirmation marks, but was obviously not the type the judges were looking for. Without being too biased, they seemed to favour the show pony types over the more old fashioned type of show hunter which was disappointing, but hey, we were about mid-class in them so by no means out of place.
It rained a lot. I got a lovely posh browband off sister and friend for my birthday - a really gorgeous pretty ponies one in burgundy and gold. Sister and I got bargain coats. Had a good wander, a pub meal, several soakings, a good time watching the evening performances - my god the Gold Cup classes fences were MASSIVE! And we stayed an extra day til Saturday as we were having a good time.
Frankie was a really lovely lass, got on really well with the ginger one and I hope she enjoyed it as much as we did. In fact Asti enjoyed it so much, whilst sister and friend went for last minute supplies for travelling home (drinks etc) I got Asti ready to load - put rug and boots on - and being a smart ars* hadn't tied her up as I NEVER need to - only for her to b*gger off at a gallop in her travelling boots, towards the stables! Little git!
Anyway, no incidents going home, drive was fine though I was rather knackered, and Asti got turned out and rolled happily in the mud, back to being a field kept pony!
Will put pics in the gallery, but here are my favourite 2
and with her finalist rosette
