Dressage lesson in the pouring rain

I have realised throughout the last few weeks that I need a good kick up the bum and to get a grip when competing. Ceaser is more than capable of doing a decent test, yet as soon as I enter the arena at A I fall to bits, forget what I'm doing, have been known for doing square circles and rush too much.

With a few championships coming up rather soon and the goal of getting onto a team to represent the Northern Region at British Dressage, I decided what I needed was some lessons and quick!

I was recommended the lovely Amy and set about the difficult task of finding when we were both free to have an hours lesson.

Over the last 12 months I have been told on numerous occasions that "cobs can't do dressage", "Ceaser will never make a good dressage pony", laughed at for riding a pony despite being 22 and even other bits and bobs. When I told Amy it had really knocked my confidence in believing in myself and being able to go out there and do it she said "well surely this has wanted you to go and achieve more, to prove them wrong?". Which funnily enough is exactly what I said to Mark a mere few days ago.

So, here I am, more determined than ever to go out and succeed with my "little cob".

Amy started off with watching Ceaser and I warming up which was quite interesting in the pouring down rain and asked what my comments had been on my recent score sheets when we had affiliated. We are constantly getting told Ceaser needs to work from behind more and Amy spotted this instantly.

After a couple of hairy moments which involved Ceaser moving around on two legs rather than four we were all warmed up and Amy jumped on him. I wish I'd have taken a photo of them both now as she got him going beautifully! I am very envious of how well he looked with her aboard but I am hoping I can get there one day.

She instantly noticed he needs to be off my leg more as well as a little more switched on at the same time. She also feels in being more switched on he will stop his spooking and bucking which has been causing a problem lately when schooling at home. As well as this she said that his trot felt a little stuffy and although it looked pretty and well put together, it wasn't taking her anywhere so to speak.

Whilst I have been concentrating on getting everything a little more "together" lately, I have made the mistake in not sending him forward enough to be able to allow him to work from behind and carry himself better. Doh! Amy explained that it is all about finding that happy medium in sending him forward to work properly but not allowing myself to rise too quickly to give the appearance he is rushing. Apparently in ponies Ceaser's height, this can often give the "sewing machine effect" which isn't what we want.

We also worked on working him down at the bottom end of the school where he often spooks and makes a rather large U-turn back to the top of school. Amy feels that if I keep him together and "underneath" me a little more by feeling him through the seat, legs, hands aid, then if he was to spook I could quickly get in there before he had chance to and correct him. Also, by keeping the bend in his neck to the inside he would not have a chance to look to the outside to find something to spook at.

Overall she said she thought he was a lovely little pony, with a quirky attitude and three very nice paces that was more than capable of going and doing a Novice, if not Elementary affiliated test. However, I do need to be aware - and I am very much already am - that he may not look the part for an Elementary test against the large warmblood types. One thing I liked that she also noticed is that his mind needs to be kept busy. We have always said, right from getting him as a three year old that he gets bored easily and if you do the same thing over and over his mind switches off and rather than concentrating on the work I am asking of him he finds something to spook at.

In just an hours lesson I could really feel a noticeable difference in our trot and it went from both feeling  and looking stuffy and like it wasn't taking us anywhere to something rather nice. We also did lots of work down in the bottom end of the school without any mishaps which is rare!

Who needs a warmblood? Give me my little cob any day!

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Believe. Dream. Achieve.

It seems almost crazy that it was only a mere 24 hours ago I decided to not listen to the angel in my head for once and go with my gut instinct. Do I or don't I?

The guy who drives my lorry for me when I want to go competing was on jury service this week so by chance I booked in for some affiliated Dressage for today with the hope his jury service would be over and we could go. If not... I had a long day ahead of looking after the kids on Pony Day. Oh how I prayed for jury service to be off.

I booked in on Sunday with the attitude that if I couldn't go it wouldn't be the end of the world, but it would be nice to be able to seeing as we hadn't anything planned for a couple of weeks. Ceaser had not been schooled for 10 days because of the hot weather - all I had done was ride him in our hay field and do some canter work up the hills to build his stamina up.

Monday evening I decided to check that "if" I could go, who else would be in my two classes and who would we be up against. After a brief glance I felt immediately sick as I saw two professionals would be in both my classes. Admittedly with youngsters, but still, I do this for fun and enjoyment, not to make any money.

When the thunder storms hit on Tuesday and I still wasn't sure whether to go or not, I had almost talked myself into not bothering. Ceaser was dirty, I didn't have time to plait him Tuesday night and we were forecast rain. However, just as I was about to phone the organiser to tell her I was withdrawing, my driver came to me and told me he didn't have any more jury service and did I want to go to Dressage. Without a second thought and not realising it was 6pm the night before I was supposed to go I said "yes". Oh when will I ever learn. I seem to love throwing myself into the deep end.

My first test was due at 11:21 so I had to be up ridiculously early as I had stayed in Boston at Marks. As soon as I arrived at the yard I pulled a rather shocked looking Ceaser out of his stable to plait his (filthy) mane. Thankfully before departing him back in his stable to wait whilst I got his bits and bobs ready I pulled up his cotton sheet to find a mass of green looking stains. Great. After rushing about to find washing up liquid (it removes everything - even poo!) and anything else I could get my hands on, I nearly went flying on the slippy concrete near the hosepipe tap - Which reminds me, I must tell Dad about that - where there's a blame there's a claim! Mumbling to myself what a bad idea this was I set about trying to Ceaser's legs and bum clean and thought smugly in my head that all those people that have ever laughed at me for wanting to keep Ceaser so clean can eat their words now as if I wasn't so Pony Proud I'd be doing a lot more cleaning....

Anyway, after a quick legs and bum bath, Ceaser was all ready to go and I loaded him and Sara - who comes with us to keep Ceaser company - into the lorry.

As soon as we arrived at the venue I calculated I had about 50 minutes spare to get tacked up, ready and dressed and warmed up. Ceaser had his massage pad on for 20 minutes whilst I got myself ready and set about finding a caller for my tests.

Ceaser came off the lorry blue from sweating in his denim rug. Crazy - never get a coloured pony that is mainly white! Thankfully I take my chalk everywhere with me and the young livery that had come along with us for the ride set about chalking him and brushing like her life depended on it. (I told her it did!)

Warming up went ok. Despite Ceaser having not been schooled for almost 10 days he felt fabulous. Maybe a little lazy in his trot to canter transitions but I had jumped him the previous evening so he was probably feeling a little tired. Which reminds me, I must buy some electrolytes!

Soon enough I was trotting down that centre line again concentrating on keeping everything slow, collected, calm and ensuring that this time my circles represented circles and not squares - rider error!

It all felt wonderful, apart from the trot to canter transition on the right rein which he went a little too deep in, but having not done much schooling for a short while I wasn't going to be picky. It didn't feel our best test to date but then how can you measure what is?

Warming up for my second test I concentrated on getting Ceaser moving forward and listening to my aids more. After a few bucks and a rear that NO he didn't want to move forward I finally had him where I wanted and he was going nicely. The key with Ceaser is to know when to back off and not push him forward any more than needed. If you do he tends to object and can be difficult to ride.

My second test felt equally as nice but this time with a little more power in the canter. Our circles were spot on and he felt like he was using his back end more.

All too soon but just in time before I collapsed with heat exhaustion our test was over and I was halting and G and saluting. Phew, it was hot!

I must admit I quickly untacked Ceaser, sponged him down as quick as I could to cool him off and left him munching on his haynet whilst I went to check my results. As I neared the bus where you fetch your results from I was greeted with a rather loud well done from a fellow competitor I hadn't met before and I realised we had only gone and won with a huge 68%!! My little coloured cob had done it once more! To add to the excitement, attached to my score sheet and rosette was £20 prize money! Woohoo!

I got talking to the lady who had congratulated me and she said how nice it was that Ceaser had won and he truly deserved it. She said the whole of his test looked neat and tidy and the two of us just looked "together" throughout. My score sheet was rather promising as well with some really positive comments. Finally, nothing about Ceaser needing to be more uphill - have we finally cracked it?!

I noticed I was also currently in the lead for our second test but with four more GOOD competitors to go I didn't get too excited as, as I said earlier, there was quite a few entered, with some big names in there. Unfortunately we dropped from 1st place to 3rd, but I was still over the moon - we were 3rd with 66%, just 1.something percent behind the winner!

I think my smile went from ear to ear as I beamed my way through the crowd to collect my rosette!

I am also pretty sure we have now collected our three scores needed to qualify for the PetPlan Regionals and are well on our way to getting enough points to qualify for the Winter BD Championships!

Another successful day out with my superstar of a pony and I am going to bed smiling once more because of him. I have been told tonight I need to start believing in myself a little more. The time and hours I spend preparing for these events are endless and when you achieve it really makes it all worthwhile. Thank you to both my helpers today; Tony and Megan and of course my superstar of a pony, whom I couldn't do all of this without. He is one in a million.

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200th post and a successful weekend competing!

Oh, where do I start? I am absolutely over the moon with Ceaser this weekend.

One of my very kind liveries lent me a Neue Schule hanging cheek snaffle at the end of last week to try on Ceaser after I had yet another moan that I wasn't getting anywhere with finding a suitable bit to dressage him in when we did classes under Elementary level.

After spending hours in my local tack shop and having endless discussions with people on the telephone and via twitter we reached the conclusion that if Ceaser goes so well in his 3-ring gag and show pelham, but not so well in a snaffle then maybe he needs that extra bit of poll pressure!

So, after weighing up the pro's and con's after being told by a judge she dislikes seeing horses dressaged in a hanging cheek (she judges me a lot!) I decided to bite the bullet and try the Neue Schule hanging cheek.

The results at home were fantastic, even when I popped him over a few jumps he wasn't too strong like he is in the normal snaffle.

To ensure I was choosing the right bit - and at a hefty price - I decided to look and see if there was any competitions I could take him to at the weekend as that's when he gets a little strong. I had the option of two; one, an unaffiliated dressage event where the judge could possibly be that doesn't like hanging cheeks or an affiliated dressage competition where I knew that jude wouldn't be.

So, I chose the affiliated one as I am hoping to also qualify for the Area Festival this year and need three percentages over 62% to qualify.

The venue I chose is lovely and Ceaser really seems to go well there. The arenas have plenty of room and when warming up you have the choice of a large indoor or outdoor arena, depending on what you fancy.  Mark also reckons the Bacon Butties aren't bad there too!

Ceaser has been living out quite a lot these last few weeks so he is really chilled which is nice. In fact that chilled that he had a bath and got plaited up Saturday night, all whilst not tied up and just tucking into a haynet (anything for food!).

I was hoping and preying his new, laid back attitude would carry on over to Sunday and thankfully it did!

We arrived on Sunday morning in plenty of time. My first test, prelim 14, was at 12:43 so I ensured we got there with an hour to spare so Ceaser could have his massage pad on for 30 minutes, leaving me with 20 minutes to warm up by the time we had tacked up and I had got ready.

Everything seemed to go really smoothly which I like. He warmed up well and despite the heat seemed rather switched on and listening to my every move. His canter was relaxed and he felt very free moving and like he was eating up the ground with every movement. I stuck to warming up outdoors as I thought that he would have to endure the heat during the test so I may as well stay out there instead of taking him away from it and warming up indoors in the shade.

Prelim 14 seemed to go well. The outside track in the arena was rather deep and I think he struggled a little compared to when warming up, but it wasn't a problem and no one noticed - I think I am just too picky! My entry down the centre line was a little rushed but I soon gathered my thoughts back to the job and ensured I slowed down - something I tell one of my liveries to do time and time again but am guilty of rushing myself!

My first 20 meter circle was a little on the square side but in all honesty I was too busy enjoying the trot and thinking to myself how fantastic it felt that I forgot to worry about my circle shape. Quick telling off in my head and I went back to concentrating.

The canter was lovely and relaxed, no pulling and no leaning on my left hand which he has a tendency to do - however I think the lovely massage Kelly gave him 2 weeks ago has helped sort this. She is a miracle worker!

I say it every time and all too soon I was trotting down the centre line and halting between X and G. This time though, with a huge smile on my face and a big pat and hug for Ceaser.

My score sheet was spot on and the judge picked up on my "odd shaped circle" and "hurrying down the centre line", but apart from that the comments were very positive and stated "much to like and enjoy".

There was no time to stop and think though as my next test was 1:03, so a quick read through prelim 13, breather and it was time to do it all again. The track was getting deeper and I must admit I am a born worrier so was a little nervy about him pulling a tendon in the uneven and deep surface. However, I tried to get on with it and this time made sure my entry down the centre line was much slower.

There isn't anything testing in this test for Ceaser so I made sure I concentrated on relaxing my hands, slowing him down and asking him to work from behind and carry himself. The give and retake of the reins showed he is getting there with a much more positive comment than some previous ones we have received for this movement.

Our marks and score really reflected the hard work I have put in lately on getting Ceaser working properly and carrying himself properly without me giving him a helping hand. I was quite pleased with the canter work as for once there was no pulling when it came to cantering along the long side.

The judge was most pleasant about Ceaser and I as a partnership and stated there was much to like about him and he was a joy to watch. My boy never fails to amaze me.

In fact, as I was walking back to the lorry and waiting for my scores I had two separate people stop me in my tracks to ask me if I was the girl who "rode the little coloured". They had both wanted to find me to tell me what a pleasure it was to watch Ceaser throughout his tests and what a very mannerly and lovely pony he was. What can I say, I was speechless, it almost brought a tear to my eye. There are some lovely people out there and for them to want to find me to tell me Ceaser looks as gorgeous as I think he does is really lovely and positive.

Anyway after not much for a wait we were awarded 3rd for Prelim 14 with 65% and I was shocked to find I had WON Prelim 14 with just short of 65%! Again, it was an encouraging outing with us being yet again the smallest in the classes and the only cob competing! We are now well on our way qualifying for the Area Finals as well!

I have been so nervous about getting him out and doing an affiliated Novice test but this weekends success has made me hungrier than ever to go and do it. I know he competes at Elementary at unaffiliated and rarely comes home without a red or blue ribbon but at affiliated the game is so much higher and the level of horses is so much more. Can my little cob do it? I'm more than sure he can. He has the heart of gold and together we can achieve anything.

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Introducing the new riding school horses....with a twist, plus Ceaser update!

What a stressful few weeks I have had, it has been absolutely crazy. When Dad agreed we needed some bigger horses for the riding school and it was time to look for some I didn't realise it would be so difficult.

A very good friend of mine, Katie sent me a variety of links to a wide range for sale. It was rather difficult deciding which ones looked worth a view and which ones didn't. However we finally found a dealer that had a wide range in stock so we decided to go and view a few at a time with the hope we would surely find two we liked!

After trying about 8 horses in total, we finally picked the two I wanted, made an offer and agreed they would be delivered that weekend.

On the day they were supposed to arrive and after promising to clients they were arriving, we were phoned by the owners to be told they had decided they wanted more money for the pair - which of course we couldn't offer.

So, back to the drawing board I went and by chance I clicked on Facebook to have a 10 minute break from Pony searching, when I came across two black Irish cobs for sale. They looked fantastic and although were described as a little green, I decided to phone the owner on the spur of the moment.

Needless to say, they both arrived the next day after a 4 hour journey for a weeks trial. Some called me crazy for handing over a large amount of cash "just like that" for two horses I knew nothing about. I knew their owner seemed genuine and I knew they had both been in the UK for a short time after being shipped from Ireland just weeks before.

Two days after they arrived we decided to hack Buster and Rosie out to see what they were like. Our hack was going fantastic and the "cobs" were proving to be hits with us all. They weren't phased by anything spooky out hacking and walk, trotted and cantered in the open spaces with ease. Unfortunately though on our way back from the hack a car flew around the corner down a quiet lane, causing us all to come to an abrupt halt. Ceaser and I ended up behind Buster and the shock of the abrupt halt and Ceaser up his bum caused him to kick out and get my foot quite harshly.

I won't lie, it bloody hurt. Katie was worrying and wanting me to get off and walk back, but to be quite honest if I'd have gotten off I don't think I would have been able to walk back. Thank goodness I can trust Ceaser as all I could do to help the instant pain was take my foot out of my stirrup and walk back with only one stirrup. As I got back to the yard the pain was unbearable and trying not to cry I jumped off and someone took Ceaser back to his stable for me whilst I hopped to sit down.

Getting a firemans lift to the car from Mark!

Katie phoned Mum and I phoned Mark and after a good telling off from Mum that "Ballet would be a much more safer hobby for me to participate in", Mark took me off to A&E.....again. I should buy shares in the place.

Anyway, 2 and a half hours later, with a rather swollen foot, I hopped out of A&E with thankfully no breaks but a pair of crutches I had to use for the next 7 days. Needless to say I lasted 2 with the blasted things and instead took to walking on my heel. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to ride for 7 days but after 6 I got itchy feet (haha...excuse the pun) and got back on - much to Mark's annoyance.

After a check up today I have finally been given the all clear and told that where Buster kicked me is where quite a few nerves in your feet aren't covered by muscle, so it would be painful to receive an injury there.

To be quite honest I am just so thankful he didn't accidentally get Ceaser as the news could have been so much worse. I am just grateful I took the blow rather than my boy. I don't know what I would do if he had been kicked. I don't at all blame Buster as he has shown no attempt to kick out again and I believe the shock from the car flying round the corner caused him to panic.

So.... Introducing Buster!

Buster is a lovely 15hh, 5 year old, black Irish cob with one white sock. Although green he is proving to be a fantastic confidence giver and all rounder within the riding school. Buster will walk, trot, canter and pop a fence when asked. His manners are impeccable and in just two weeks of owning him, he has already improved a tremendous amount. I cannot wait to see the transformation in this boy and I am sure he is going to be a lovely show prospect.

Rosie.

Rosie is a gorgeous, 15.2hh , 7 year old black Irish cob with four white socks. On the day Rosie arrived I told my friend there was something special underneath all that hair and how right I was. When she arrived Rosie was very unfit and struggled to canter a circle. In just two weeks she is proving to be a fantastic little show horse and I have claimed her as a project for dressage. She will stay in the riding school for a while as I believe it doesn't harm any horse to work in a riding school for a while, but then I hope to be able to compete her. I have my eye on this little mare as I believe she will go far. She is a responsive, forward going ride that requires very little contact to work on the bit. Again, like Buster, although she is green she is very willing and so eager to learn. In just two weeks she is showing great promise on the flat for dressage but also for the riding school.
I have taken over schooling her now and I cannot wait to keep updating you with her progress.


You have probably noticed the two new ones look exactly like Sooty! It is rather uncanny of how we now have three very similar looking horses. Many of our clients cannot tell them apart yet - we like to confuse!

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I am finally pleased to be able to report that I think I have found the right bit for Ceaser. But boy does that pony have expensive tastes! One of our full liveries has allowed me to try their Neue Schule bits and so far he seems to be loving it.

Ergonomically designed, curved and lozenged, the Neue Schule offers a warmer, softer metal with a very high copper content which promotes salivation, mouthing, acceptance and communication.

I will keep you updated with his progress in this bit, but I am hoping we have finally cracked it. Our dressage results this weekend will show us the end result!

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