Week Recap

 We started out this week in the Eastern Cape, nursing my granny after a minor eye surgery. Granny turned out not to need any nursing whatsoever and bounced right back after the surgery, leaving us to enjoy a quiet week in East London. I missed my horses with a fierce intensity that I haven't felt since I was a little kid; it's safe to say that my love of riding has returned full strength, and I am so grateful for it. It's a gift from God and one that I thought I had lost for a minute there.

We visited our favourite local haunt, the Sea Spirit, ate way too much seafood, spent some time splashing around on the beach, and went to see a movie for the first time in a while. I read Felix Francis' Pulse (standard engaging Francis fare) and James Patterson's The Horsewoman, which was disappointingly poorly researched, and I'm not even being a snobby horse person critiquing everything just to prove how smart I am. It just... completely failed to capture what riding really is, and made it feel like any other high-stakes sport. Sorry Mr. Patterson, I know you are rolling in dough thanks to your writing prowess, but I didn't like it.

I quickly remedied this by reading the next instalment in Jeffery Deaver's Colter Shaw series, which has been impeccable so far, because Deaver just always is.

there were so many doggos on this beach

Anyway, it was lovely seeing my grandparents and spending the entire week basically inseparable from my husband, but when we got on the plane to go home on Tuesday I was ready to get back to the beautiful life we've been given at home.

Steve picked us up from the airport and she was delighted to be reunited with DH, and he likewise squawked "Steve!" the moment he spotted her. I swear I'm the third wheel around here sometimes.

It's the first time I've flown since I was a tiny girl, and it felt like time travel. One moment I was at the beach and the next I was in my home arena, teaching lessons.

I was too tired to ride once all the lessons were done, so I hung out with Wynnie and did her mane instead. She chomped on her haynet, happy for the attention, and stood almost perfectly still for the whole thing. I can't believe she's growing up so fast.

On Wednesday morning I got to try out some new goodies I'd ordered that had, characteristically, arrived while I wasn't home. Thunder has been desperately needing a new girth for an embarrassing amount of time and I got this nice Capriole one for like R500 from Tack Shack. (That's about $30). It's elasticated, shaped and nicely padded, and I'm fairly impressed for the price. I also managed to guess the right size perfectly, so bully for me. (It's 24", in case I forget again by the time I need another one).

I don't think I've mentioned Thunder's new saddle yet, either. Back in the days of being a teenager with parents who fed me, I bought three saddles - a JC jumping, a Kent & Masters jumping, and a Wintec 250 dressage. The JC was sold to Jamaica's child after Magic retired and is being passed on to Jamaica's new child, the K&M has had a thousand tiny repairs done and goes on Flashy, Midas and Faith, and the Wintec 250 is still going strong and fits Arwen and Lancey. Not a single one of the above ever really fit Thunder. I discovered a Blackburn dressage in the tack room at the Friesians and asked to buy it, at which point the owner promptly gave it to me. It didn't fit me but it more or less fit him and I probably wouldn't have been able to ride him at all for the past two years if it wasn't for that Blackburn.

Still, it moved at the back and I drowned in it, so I was saving up for a new saddle even before holes got worn in the saddle flap and knee rolls. I was anticipating paying a small fortune for even a secondhand synthetic dressage until J came through for me and worked a little bit of magic to get me a secondhand Flexi Rider dressage for half the price I would have paid anywhere else. It's in pristine condition and fits Thunder perfectly once I'd put in a red (wide) gullet plate.

used a half pad under it while we waited for the new gullet to come

The Flexi Rider is a sort of Wintec knock-off, although the quality seems better than the Wintecs I've sat in. This one sits very similarly to the Isabel Werth, which is my favourite saddle in the universe. I love it to pieces and so far it's been life-changing for both Thunder and me. And that concludes the most painless saddle shopping experience ever.

Anyway, E2 the work rider (who is back now that her collarbone is better, yay!) posted on her WhatsApp status that she had some stirrups and leathers for sale at a total bargain, so I asked her to bring them. They turned out to be Prestige MG stirrups and I got them for an embarrassingly tiny amount of money (like... $15?) even though I did try to offer her more.

They're a little beat up but I'm pretty sure DH can work his magic and make them beautiful. I'm thinking... silver glitter. I like the broader footplate and the weight of them (they are HEAVY), although I'll still scrounge a pair of Nu Angles somewhere one day.

Thus dolled up in all the New Stuff, Thunder and I had a sticky sort of ride. K had been riding him last week and Sir TBird clearly took advantage and plopped around a bit. I also felt a little discombobulated up there after like 10 days off riding. It wasn't bad, just sort of lazy and meh, so we kept it simple and focused on gait quality. Either way, it was so, so good to be back on him again.

He's going to J's for three months in the winter to be made Extra Fancy and I am not entirely sure how I'm going to survive that, but I know it'll be worth it for both of us. It's not fair on him for his ammy mom to try and teach him the PSG movements alone. J Boot Camp will be far better for us both.

That afternoon, after a quick catch-up lesson for Shaila, I saddled up Madam Dragon in her adorable new outfit. Steve and DH clubbed together to get me my first proper matchy matchy set for my birthday last month, and now I am a real proper dressage queen. Did I mention that the numnah is glittery? It is so, so glittery.

K and E2 and my super groom, M, had kept Arwen thoroughly in work while I was away - she is so fat that she really can't have any time off - and she was really pleasant from the moment I got on. Arwen is used to having lots of people ride her and very quickly adjusts back to me. As always, we did a lot of work on suppleness. Her gaits are solid quality now, and the suppleness is slowly improving. We finished off by playing with the flying changes for the second time. Technically she needs a suppler topline before the changes are really going to be anything, but she has been offering them so I'm not going to turn it down. She tries really hard and gets the idea, but we need a bit more practice - and, again, suppleness - to make them clean. She's the first one I've had that changes behind first and then takes a stride or two to change in front.

Lancey had a photo shoot the next morning so I didn't want to ride him and make him all dirty again, but also didn't want to fall and die considering that we were taking pictures in the cosmos flowers, which are taller than we are. I gave him a little free lunge and he was actually sort of flat, but very obedient.

The next morning bright and early E2 arrived. She wanted cosmos photos for her portfolio and offered me a short shoot for a great price. Lancey was spicy and playful as we walked out to the flowers, which are currently in full bloom. I know they're invaders but cosmos time is still my favourite time of year. The whole farm is decked out in a way that puts me in mind of the heavenly Jerusalem coming down out of the sky as the Bride of the Lamb. I'll post all the photos later with some poetic drivel I'm working on, but here's a sneak peek.

by Erin Vogler Photography

It was really fun. Lancey was spicy and threw one little porpoise-y buck, but he was so game to do whatever weird thing I asked. We even cantered a short distance through the flowers (almost squashing Blizzy in the process) and he went boldly, no questions asked, leaping through them to keep his legs from getting tangled up. I'm not sure there's another horse in the world that I'd ask to do that.

On Thursday afternoon between lessons I hopped on Thunder with a bit of a more businesslike approach and made it clear that we were going forward from the very first stride. He immediately obliged and was actually pretty spicy after just a few minutes, giving me everything willingly and easily. It was really, really great. I carried my whip, but only used it twice; the rest of the time he went straight off my leg. We played with lateral work to heat him up and he gave me really super half-pass zig-zags in trot, quarter line to quarter line to centreline, with a soft easy bend.

Since those were so easy, we took a shot at a movement we actually haven't tried before - the same movement in canter with flying changes. The first time through he got a bit excited and thought we were doing tempis, so it was a bit hair-raising, but when we did it the second time I felt him say "oh! it's like the thing we do in trot" and it was smooth. Not perfect, but smooth and easy with clean changes. That made my day.

We also went back to working on the pirouette canter and large quarter pirouettes for the first time since getting our new saddle, and that was much easier than before. There was no getting stuck or kicking my leg. I worked hard to stay sitting up instead of curling over my hands, and it was the best work I've had from him. He was sweaty when we were done, but didn't feel tired. I think the muscular stamina is finally getting there.

Arwen was supposed to have her weekly jump with a kiddo on Thursday afternoon, but when kiddo rescheduled to Friday, M just gave her a good lunge instead.

Friday morning dawned with the exciting promise of lessons with J, always a huge highlight for me. I brushed Thunder's mane out - it's getting all long and Friesian-y now - and groomed him to within an inch of his life. His legs are being eaten up by the flies a bit, but the rest of his skin weathered this summer better than it's done in years. We're looking for some heavy-duty fly boots for him to survive being out in a large field with friends all summer, so if anyone knows of a good brand, let me know. We can get most of the overseas brands down here.

J was in fine form on Friday and put us straight to work, teasing all the way. I thought I might have a tired, flat Thunder after riding him the previous afternoon, but instead, Thunder was so ready to work. I'm not sure if it was my more positive mindset or if his old saddle was bugging him more than I realized. Either way, he put his ears up and said "Yes, ma'am!" the second I put my leg on, so that was really great.

We warmed up with lots of rein-back, stretchy walk and some loose working trot, and then got right to business. J introduced piaffe/half steps on the long reins a few lessons ago, when we were in no-saddle-limbo, and today we tried it with me on board. My job was simply to sit still, keep him straight and soft, and not get my leg squashed against the wall. J was giving the orders. I'd done the same thing a few years ago but on J's two GP horses, so things were a little more complicated for me this time. Not that Thunder had forgotten how to piaffe - on the contrary, he knew perfectly well that if he gave John two or three solid steps (not expressive yet, but rhythmic and sitting), he would get a big pat and some treats. In Thunder's mind, therefore, there was no need to take more than two or three steps. The moment J gave him the voice command for piaffe (a rhythmic cluck, in his case), Thunder sat down and gave two nice steps and then stopped and turned his head for the treat. I was an accessory.

J rewarded him the first time and then started to ask him for a few more steps at a time, slowly building the strength that will eventually lead to more collection and expression. Thunder seems to find this movement deceptively easy. He's not very extravagant but there's a very solid rhythm and he can already do several steps almost completely on the spot. He did want to go backwards once or twice, though, at which point I kicked him forward a bit, and once he threatened to give a buck. No one got annoyed with him for that - he's allowed to express a lack of understanding or fatigue. Most of the time, though, I barely had any contact on the reins at all. He understands and likes this game because there are treats involved. 

We continued the lesson working on that ever-elusive collected canter that I struggle with so much. On the day, though, his collected canter was nearly effortless, in no small part because homeboy was HOT after all the piaffe work. J gave me a few reminders to keep my left rein the same length as the right rein and to keep his neck straight without worrying too much about the position. If he needs to lift his nose up a bit at this stage in order to engage his butt, then that's what he needs to do. There's no use trying to make a frame in front without true collection from behind, and it's not going to be perfect while he's still finding his balance in the ultra-collected movements. We proceeded to pirouette canter with a little help from the ground and got three or four almost on the spot steps at a time.

J left us with strict homework: collected and pirouette canter work, using treats to reward him after good steps just like we do with the half-steps/piaffe. My job is to interfere much less and trust the horse to carry himself far more. He's a big boy now and he can do things independently - I generally just get in his way. I need to be uncompromising about my leg aid in a way that allows me to keep my leg almost completely off except for tiny reminders from my upper calf even in pirouette canter. (Carl Hester's whole thing about riding a lazy horse with the leg off certainly applies).

Thunder hardly felt tired by the end of the lesson and barely sweated, although, granted, it was a cool autumn morning. He felt ready for more. I think we're actually getting somewhere now.

Lancey was next, and I was a little worried about him. I'd heard him cough once or twice when he was turned out and his legs were quite stocked up. He does that sometimes, and he had a normal temperature with no discharge and acted completely like himself, but I decided to keep a really close eye on him. Probably my favourite thing about riding with J is that he advocates, hard, for the horse above all things, more so than anyone else I've ever ridden with. J will never push a horse that's fatigued, let alone a horse that doesn't seem well or even the tiniest bit off or sore. I wouldn't even have saddled him up if it was anyone but J.

Still, his legs were cool if puffy, and when I took him for a little walk before the lesson he was chirpy and eager to go forward. We came into the arena and did a ton of lateral work in the walk, changing it up: either going down the long side and transitioning from shoulder-in to renvers (or shoulder-out to travers) repeatedly, or coming out of the corner in half-pass, down the quarter line in shoulder-in, back to half-pass to the centreline, down the centerline in shoulder-in, transition to renvers, large half-pirouette to the track, repeat. This latter worked really well to keep him balanced and supple and not allow him to brace. We picked up the trot and Lancey coughed twice more and then moved boldly forward with no hint of unhappiness, and by this time his legs were dry and tight, so we went to work. I'm pretty sure he was just a bit allergic to all the flowers we played in the day before, but he's got the weekend off and we're keeping a good eye on him.

okay here's one more - by Erin Vogler Photography

Right from the start, J wanted me to do the opposite with Lancey. Where I needed to leave Thunder alone more, I needed to ride every stride on Lancey more. We started with a ton of shoulder-in in trot, J encouraging me to really focus on connecting constantly to both reins and using repeated light aids to remind him of his position and be compassionately uncompromising about what I wanted. Consistency was the theme.

Once he was nice and warm, we played with some half-steps, too. They don't come quite as naturally to Lancey as to Thunder, and I had my work cut out for me keeping him steady, soft and straight in the bridle. Still, when we did get three nice steps, they were powerful and expressive and he got plenty of praise and treats. That seemed to make the penny drop for him, and they got better after that.

Finally, we went on to some canter work, just going round on a circle, and for some reason I was just... failing at riding a connection. At all. J reminded me constantly to keep his neck straight and to ride him strongly from inside leg to outside rein for balance and connection. Lancey loves to fight my hand, but the thing is that sometimes he's not actually fighting my hand, he's fighting my leg. He will go around very sweetly in a working frame in working gaits, but works hard to wriggle out of connection when I ask for the collected gaits. Still, once "Mother has her brain switched on" (in the words of an exasperated J), he gave me some really, really solid work.

Friday afternoon was Arwen's jumping lesson, so I spent her usual riding time hanging out with Skye instead. Skye was always a pretty standoffish mare - she'd come to me if I called, but she wasn't one for grooming or fussing. She'd had a difficult past before my parents bought her when I was a little kid, and some of that wariness stayed with her even when we were still riding.

Something's changed in the past year or so, though. Skye's become cuddly. She's always in the middle of whatever we're doing, nuzzling the lesson kids, lining up in front of the tack room with the schoolies like she wants to be involved. She even tried to get into the horsebox when we took Spirit to SANESA two weekends ago. I'm just so happy that I can groom and fuss and play with her without imposing on her, and I spent a long time grooming and cuddling and feeding her treats on Friday, especially because it was her Gotcha Day (or maybe my Gotcha Day; I'm not sure). I was seven when my parents bought her for me, and that was nineteen years ago. A whole lifetime. My whole lifetime.

I'm so grateful that we've had this incredible journey together, Skye and I. The Lord has worked so mightily in this mare. She gave me wings when I was little, made my childhood absolutely magical, allowed the imagination that makes my living today to run unfettered. And when I was a teenager, she was instrumental in helping me find the One behind the magic I saw as a kid. Now somehow I'm a grown woman and she's still here, beautiful and kind, still the same mane to cry into, the mane that held my childhood dreams and my teenage secrets. That's something so special. Something rare and amazing.

She's doing so well physically, too. It's almost time for her routine autumn bloodwork but on the surface she looks great. Her weight is amazing, she gallops out of the night paddock in the morning and back into it in the evening, and she trots only about 1/5 lame, which is not bad when you're a 35-year-old horse. The old knees will never be young again but they don't appear to impede anything she wants to do - galloping up the hill or lying down to roll or just grazing in the field - and that's a gift.

Arwen rounded off the week by being super good for her kid, which she always is. This kid actually rides well even though she's quite small and Arwen has started to bend and connect a little bit for her. She jumps with great gusto, only little fences, but the cardio is good for Madam Lardy Dragon.

She's just really hairy right now and starting to suffer a bit since it's still hot and she always sweats like a pig. I'm going to need to try and run the clippers over her next week even though it's a little early in the year.

God is good 💜

Horse of the Year 2023 Part 5: Supremes Day

 I woke up on the Sunday of HOY feeling like I'd been chewed and spat out by something. Everything utterly ached, but I was also so excited to be able to do working riding in the big arena - the Bob Charter - for the first time.

First, though, Addy needed to be handled in the pre-judging for the gelding supremes, where the champion geldings of each breed compete against one another for the Supreme Championship. I had trouble dragging my sorry bottom out of bed and we were a little late when we got to the stables to find that everyone was still there, still quite happy and demanding their hay. Arwen tried enthusiastically to climb over her stable door, but was placated by the sight of breakfast.

Horses fed, I scrambled into my show clothes and ran to get Addy, who was snowy white and perfectly turned out, as usual, by Erin. We jogged up to the show ring and slipped inside just as the class began.

Pre-judging can be an awful bore or really fun, depending on the horse. It takes forever, and if your horse won't stand still, it becomes utterly hateful. But if you have a perfect gentleman like Addy, you can relax in the lineup and watch all the other beautiful breeds go past. My personal favourites were the little black mini, the gorgeous Appaloosa, the floaty bay Arab, and the drop-dead-stunning German Riding Pony. I stood next to a friendly man with the champion Percheron (and would later discover that his Percherons are working horses who do nearly all of the work on his farm), and we admired the lovely horses together while our own horses behaved perfectly. I also saw Shy Boy, who was champion Friesian, which was nice.

photo by Denford Studios

As Addy and I walked out for our inspection, my number - tied on with a string around my waist - fell off. I arrived at the ring steward in a mess, struggling to tie it with gloves on while juggling my cane and two sets of reins. Addy thought this was delightful and happily started to eat the lovely green grass while I struggled back into my number and stood him up just in time as the judge arrived.

Of course, Addy behaved perfectly, and I had high hopes as I handed him off to Erin and then went to sort out my own. It was no surprise at all when he went through to the top eight geldings in the entire show, no mean feat at all.

Arwen was in fine spirits. She hasn't overnighted at a show for a while, not least because her legs tend to fill overnight if she's stabled. I'd wrapped her legs with IceTite, wet paper and stable bandages the night before, and when I took them off, her legs were as dry and tight and perfect as if she'd slept out, so that was great. The other difficulty with overnighting Arwen, however, is that it allows far too much time for her Dragon Energy to build up, and clearly being sixteen years old and having had a foal did absolutely nothing to impact the amount of Dragon Energy she is capable of producing. She was pawing and head-tossing and snorting while I took Wynnie for a little walk.

Wynnie, by contrast, was perfectly content. She and Midas were probably the most well-behaved horses we had at the show. I took her for a little hand graze and she contentedly nibbled some grass, no pulling, no calling, and no fuss at all. Suffice it to say that she is knocking it out of the park as far as behaviour at shows so far.

The same could not be said for Arwen. By the time we'd had breakfast, washed her tail again and sorted out the others, it was still an hour and a half before our class and Arwen was utterly raring to go. We tried a gentle hack around the property with K on Faith and Erin on Addy, wherein Faith and Addy were quiet and happy, and Arwen was a plunging, snorting dragonstrosity. She threatened to have one of her mini-rears a few times, tossed in a buck or two and generally made me pretty glad of the double bridle several times. I had forgotten, in riding and showing my two perfect little geldings, that Arwen is utterly incorrigible. It's actually one of my favourite things about her, but badly timed that particular morning.

After our hack I gave her some water, put on my show clothes and headed for the warmup a full hour before our class to see if I could put a lid on the dragon. At times like these she is genuinely fresh - there's no spookiness or nervousness, she just has too much energy. So we cantered and we cantered and we cantered and we cantered until I could at least get a quiet halt on a loose rein with no rearing or piaffing. By then she was drenched with sweat but still felt like a firecracker under me, so K gave us a wipe down and some water and we went to stand quietly in the shade for a while. This seemed to do the trick, and she was calm and settled when they called our class and we headed into the big, beautiful Bob Charter.

This was the part where the wheels fell off a little. Not for Arwen - she had used up the worst of her dragonness and doesn't really care about her surroundings anyway. Arwen's mother, however, took one look at the big arena with the big grandstands and felt that supremes day atmosphere and promptly melted into a blob.

The good news is that I was by no means miserable, actively frightened, or even all that anxious. I didn't feel it in my belly or in my breath. (I used to feel it in both places every time I was on a horse, as recently as maybe 18 months ago). My brain just got a little bit scattered, and I consciously felt slightly tense. That's all. We'll say it was about 2 out of 5 on the nervousness scale. For context, I only actually started breathing in the dressage arena about a year ago, and rode every test at a 3 to 4 out of 5. So 2 out of 5 in the Bob Charter was not too bad.

It was enough, though, that we didn't have the test we could have done. I, irrationally, decided that I was not going to be capable of putting the two sets of reins in one hand when we were already cantering, and thus struck off with one hand, leaning forward, and on the wrong lead. Arwen obviously fixed it fast as we approached the spooky bending poles next to the grandstand with one hand. She pricked her ears at the first one but didn't particularly care about them; I was a little tense and tipping forward and not supporting her canter, so she obediently cantered through but disunited around the last two.

Next we had a simple canter around to a dog's leg with a straw bale on its side at the end. We trotted in very neatly and halted by the straw barrel, then had to rein-back all the way out. I was worried she'd step over the poles and overrode the rein-back a bit, then overcorrected in the end so that she knocked the inside of a pole with one foot. We cantered forward and popped over the straw bale, which to my surprise she didn't mind doing at all, although I looked down and unbalanced her so she pulled one hind foot through the bale and knocked it over.

photo by Denford Studios

We cantered smoothly away from that and had to show an extended canter from one barrel to the next, which we actually did quite nicely; I rode the canter boldly, and she gave it to me in fine style.

The final obstacle was the spookiest thing I have ever done on horseback in my life. It was a green mat with an enormous flag on each corner, right next to the restaurant, which many horses spooked at before they even saw the mat and the flags. As we cantered up to it, one of the flags blew right over the entrance to the mat, which was not all that wide to begin with. Arwen didn't give a rat's ass. She brushed the flag aside, cantered onto the mat and halted the instant I asked. Regrettably, between my tension and the general atmosphere, the dragon did decide that this was a really good moment to pull out a sterling piaffe. We piaffed for a few seconds, managed a halt (still on the mat - maybe she does have GP aspirations after all) and then walked quietly off.

I fell on her neck and rubbed and hugged and petted her to death. She was so incredible over a course that caught out a lot of the contenders, and these were all working riding champions in their own right. I don't think there's another horse in the world I would have ridden onto that mat. And while, sure, the test was a bit messy, that was on me. She was obedient all way, except for a bit of DragonPiaffing in the end.

photo by Denford Studios

We went back into the lineup where she stood perfectly as everyone else went. I think, if I'd gotten to go a little later in the class, I would have been more relaxed as well, an interesting thing to remember for future working riding and maneability tests. Anyway, while many of the horses did have to skip an obstacle or two, a lot of the tests were very solid. We knew who the champion was as soon as she finished her test - it was incredible, although I think the lady who tackled it sidesaddle on an OTTB should have been given a medal. (Her horse was foot perfect, I might add).

We cheered on Addy and Erin, who went utterly perfectly, and cheered even harder when the results were called in and Addy and Erin came fourth. They absolutely deserved their placing; the Addycorn was a consummate gentleman, expertly shown by my truly epic best friend. The warmblood won the supremes overall and an elderly, perfectly shown, completely wonderful Welsh pony and his small kid were second.

As we walked out, I was a little bummed that I hadn't ridden the test we could have ridden. There was nothing in there that was too technical or spooky for her - if I'd ridden her like I rode the qualifying class, she would have gone as perfectly in there as she did then. Still, in hindsight, I was less nervous in the Bob Charter than I had been at my last ordinary local dressage test before I left the professional riding world. That says a lot for the progress I've made, and I'm proud of that, even though we still have work to do.

As soon as we were done, we got the horsies ready and hit the road for home, after every single one of them loaded perfectly - including my little Wynnie.

It was the most fun I've ever had at Horse of the Year Show and I'm just so honoured to be surrounded by the people and horses in my life. Riding with friends was a blessing to treasure, and riding my brave dragonmare again is a massive highlight.

God is good.

photo by Denford Studios

Horse of the Year 2023 Part 4: Show Riding and Working Riding

As K had been plaiting Faith's mane before dressage, I had thought it best not to point out to her that the plaits were on the wrong side, hoping she wouldn't notice. Sadly, K noticed. She started to redo them in a flurry while I helped BarnRat get Midas ready. We decided to try Faith in the show riding with the idea that if she took a lame step we'd just retire.

BarnRat had never done her own plaits before and she did a really admirable job on Midas - I was so impressed with her. She took Midas for a walk and topped up the hay and water - that child really worked all day, in the best traditions of all great barn rats - while I checked in on Wynnie. Apparently, this show thing was tiring but not very stressful in Wynnie's eyes, because she was utterly covered in shavings. Clearly, she had had a lovely nap. She also ate twice as much hay as any of the big horses all weekend, to my awe. I have no idea where that little body puts four fully stuffed haynets a day, but clearly growing is a lot of work.

When I returned to K to make sure she was ready to warm up, the new plaits were only half done, and I managed to gently persuade her to take them out and show Faith natural. We eventually got K and Faith into the show riding ring. I'd given Arwen a short break to eat some hay and have some water, and I went back to tack her up and rode up to the show ring in time to see some of K and Faith. 

photo by Denford Studios

Their rail was really good, and Faith was as sound as a brass bell on the grass. All was perfect until Faith picked up the wrong lead in their individual test, which was a pity but just a little green mistake and to be expected. The judge was very complimentary and told K that she had a nice horse and was winning it until that mistake, so that was really nice. K really exhibited my lovely mare really well; they are a great team and I loved watching them go.

Hoping to spare the dragon after a long dressage warm-up, I didn't warm up for the show riding, since she's always good for the rail. We rode in and walked around once and then the judge lined us up and explained that since all the horses had multiple classes (and the heat, by this point, was horrifying), we would only do our individual tests, no rail. I think this was an admirable decision and one that many judges would have missed out on - sometimes they seem to forget that we are humans on flesh-and-blood horses who have needs.

For me personally, though, it gave me a bit of a wobble. I haven't ridden anything other than dressage in competition for a long time, and I got used to that predictability. The fact that we hadn't had a warm-up was also a little nerve-wracking for me. We watched as two others went and then Arwen and I headed off for our test.

photo by Denford Studios

Arwen, of course, had absolutely no need of a rail or a warmup to be a superstar. She's done this same test in this same class so many times that she could probably do it blindfolded. Our walk and trot portions were gorgeous, with a super cool lengthening thrown in there.

Then I buggered up our trot-to-canter transitions. I was a little scattered and not quite with her and I asked for the wrong lead, which she promptly gave me. She immediately snorted in disgust, trotted a step and fixed it all on her own (when did my dragon become a schoolmaster?), but the mistake was made.

photo by Denford Studios

The rest of the test was super. We did a three-loop serpentine with some really nice simple changes and our lengthening one-handed, and Arwen finished with a perfectly tidy little halt.

Unfortunately that little mistake cost us dearly, no matter how good the rest was. A super cool half-Nooitie, half-Spanish mare won the class, and a really steady little gelding came second. We pinned third, just ahead of the one who bronced spectacularly halfway through his test. The judge was super kind and told me that we had done a very nice test "except for that little mistake". I appreciated that she didn't berate me or try to carry on about bad transitions like some judges have done in the past - we'd had a mistake, I knew it, she knew it, it was just one of those things.

photo by Opus Proprium

I was a little bummed out that I'd made that rider-error slip-up, but Arwen still gave me a great ride, and anyway there wasn't much time to worry about it. It was finally BarnRat's turn to shine!

After patiently helping us out all day, BarnRat at last got her chance to hop onto Midas and head into the warmup. Midas, somewhat to my surprise, was all business. He can be a little turdblossom at shows sometimes, but he's grown up a lot lately, and he is the perfect pony for BarnRat. She takes no nonsense and is a beautiful, gentle, effective rider that I've grown to be very proud of. They had a nice long warmup to make sure Midas had worked out any spiciness from a day inside (like all my Nooities except Wynnie, he sleeps out). He was being perfect.

They headed into the working riding, BarnRat's first time trying the discipline, and the judge explained a fairly tricky course. They had to start by mounting at a block, then trot through some bending cones one-handed, trot over some more poles, and halt immediately on a mat. Next, they had to canter over to some drums, halt between them, then canter out over a little jump before trotting through a dog's leg and halting next to a spooky bale dressed up as a miner (a nod to one of our sponsors for the show).

To BarnRat's credit, she always stands Midas very still to get on him, so hopping on was no problem. They did perfect bending cones and trotting poles, but Midas took one look at the mat and said that that was not happening today, no way, absolutely not. BarnRat gave it a good effort, but when he started to panic, she petted his neck and skipped it. I was so proud of that - she was clear and positive, but listened to his feelings and accepted them. They went on with their test totally unruffled, and he was good for the drums and the jump. He gave the miner the hairy eyeball, but BarnRat kept her leg on and talked to him and he was fine. They halted perfectly and she gave him lots of gentle rubs and praise.

photo by Denford Studios

I was so happy with their ride, although unsurprised when they were second out of two. This kid is shaping up to be a super little horsewoman and Midas is growing up!

BarnRat had working hunter very shortly after this, but I was heading into my working riding on Arwen, so K handled it all on it her own. I switched out Arwen's browband, hopped on and did a short warm-up focusing on steady square halts and popping over a little cross. K and BarnRat were heading over to the warmup as Arwen and I went to the working riding.

I knew BarnRat was in good hands with K, although I hoped I'd still get to see her go. Arwen and I entered the ring with three others - including two kiddos - and the ring steward explained the test. She had to do this a few times, because it was twisty and none of us could understand it. Finally, we grasped it, and the poor smallest kiddo had to go and do it first. She did this fabulously with her super cool pony, with whom she came fourth in the working hunter on the supremes day, no mean feat for anyone let alone a little kiddo.

The other kiddo went next on one of the most well-behaved stallions I have ever seen, and finally my fellow adult - riding a fantastic 22-year-old mare - did their thing. I still wasn't totally sure how the test was supposed to go (no one seemed to be) and I watched closely, determined that neither of us was going to win or lose based on how well we understood a test that was confusingly laid out. This lady and her mare were amazing; the mare was a real old hand, and her rider just as stylish and experienced as she was.

My admiration for them was quickly balanced out by gut-wrenching terror at the prospect of both jumps in the working riding. The first was only about 50cm, but I'd have to tackle it on my own two feet, leading Arwen. I am neither athletic nor graceful at the best of times, let alone when I'm tired, sore, dehydrated, slightly heat exhausted and wearing knee-length leather boots and a jacket. I envisioned faceplanting hard, demolishing the jump and being promptly eliminated while my dragon careened joyfully around the arena all alone.

The second jump was about 65cm, but it may as well have been the Great Wall of China to my dressagey ammy butt.

The lady and her lovely mare returned and I set off on Arwen determined to ride exactly the same shape of test that they did so that we would be competing on equal footing. (Besides, their test flowed well). With great trepidation, I basically held Arwen's reins loose and trusted her to look after herself while I sprinted up to the jump with great determination and jumped my little heart out. It was ungraceful, but I made it to the other side, and Arwen was next to me, laughing.

The mounting block was about 10m from the jump and the other competitors had had to circle back to it, but I stumbled to a halt (I had had done enough running for one day, thankyouverymuch) and Arwen obediently halted beside me. We walked over to it and she stood perfectly still while I sorted out my reins and stirrups and got on. Then I took the reins in one hand and we trotted on and immediately went through the bending cones one-handed.

That was piece of cake for a dragon, of course. I retook the reins and we turned towards a fan of poles, which admittedly I've never actually done before. It was a bit of a mess, but she picked up her toes and didn't knock them, so we made it to the other side and trotted a sharp turn onto the mat. Arwen halted perfectly on this, square and steady, and didn't move a muscle until I asked her to canter on and then to gallop. She did this with a good will and trotted easily when I asked, then halted between two drums and trotted a big figure of eight, going up and down some of the derby banks. She didn't turn a hair at this even though we passed right by the judge's box.

Then we had to canter boldly out from between the drums and jump the terrifying jump. As soon as she saw the jump, Arwen's ears locked onto it. I kicked and flailed hopelessly, and we popped easily to the other side, to my intense relief. She trotted into the dog's leg the moment I asked, halted at the end, reined back perfectly halfway out, and cantered up to the scary miner to halt on a loose rein with no trouble at all.

I gave her lots and lots of pats and hugs for that one. It wasn't an easy test, and honestly, I don't think it could have been any better. She didn't put a foot wrong and I was over the moon with her.

I was a little surprised when the judge called us up and the lady and her beautiful mare were first - they'd been great, but I thought we'd been a little better - and then as I went to stand in second place, the judge laughed at me and said, "No, no. You're number one." And then Arwen got absolutely draped in ribbons and sashes and the lovely owner of Arop Luther, Faith's grandpa who won the working riding a thousand times, came up and held out a giant silver champagne bowl filled with treats. Arwen was all for that part, and was fed numerous apples while they took pictures. Not gonna lie, that was a pretty cool moment.

photo by Denford Studios

"Do you want to get these at the judge's box later?" asked Luther's mom, holding up the prizes.

"My husband will get them," I said.

"Where is he?" she asked.

Right on cue, DH shouted from the sidelines, "YEAH! GO LIEFIE!" (which is "lovey" in Afrikaans) and she laughed and hurried over to him. Being married rocks, you guys.

We cantered out on a suitably sedate lap of honour and I immediately looked around for BarnRat, K and Midas, only to see them walking back to the stables, all smiles. Midas had dumped her in the warmup for making a habitual mistake (which is, needless to say, no longer habitual), but after that they went on to win their class and get lots of compliments from the judge. So BarnRat was grinning from ear to ear.

That ended our day on a high note, and we put the ponies to bed exhausted but merry and then headed to the lovely guest house we'd found five minutes away only to discover that loadshedding had depleted the local water supply, so we had neither electricity nor water. Luckily, my brother-in-law lives nearby, so after night check we invaded their house to shower and then got back to the guest house just as the power came back on.

Erin was nice enough to check on everyone at 9:30pm (the middle of the night, to this old lady) and had to redo Arwen's stable bandages because she had dragoned out of them. Otherwise, all was well, and we were all finally tucked away safe and sound for a nice rest after an epic day, knowing that tomorrow was the Supremes.

photo by Denford Studios

Horse of the Year 2023 Part 2: Dressage

 After in-hand, we had only a brief break before dressage. I spent most of it lying on the picnic blanket with no jacket on, drinking water until I wanted to puke. The heat was intense and I was baking in my jacket. Did I mention that my long boot's zipper stripped in the middle of Wynnie's class? K and DH sewed me into it again, and thus there was no changing into my white breeches for dressage. I was in my boots and there was no getting me out of them until it was all over. So there was no respite from the baking.

the face of one who is baking

K had somehow managed to plait Faith's mane in time for us to head down to the warmup, and we trotted briskly over together, a smidgen late and sans K's dressage test, which was on my phone and had been kidnapped by BarnRat. Then we trotted over to the wrong arena and mercifully discovered that we weren't far from the right one. To get there we had to thread through an ocean of showjumpers - a major jumping show was happening at the same time as HOY, which made for even more cool things to watch! - and we dodged around all the big names and their warmbloods, who stared at us two girls on our little round grey mares like we'd come from another planet. It was the kind of conundrum only K and I could ever get ourselves into, but we at least got ourselves back out of it.

Mercifully, when we arrived at the dressage, it transpired that they were running late. Perhaps thanks to the heat, Arwen was being unusually civilized. Faith, too, was perfectly behaved with Arwen mentoring her. K had enough time to do a quick warmup and, when she finished, BarnRat appeared with water, wet wipes and my phone, utterly saving the day.

photo by Opus Proprium

I hopped off and joined K in the dressage arena, leaving BarnRat to get dragged around hopelessly by Arwen (poor kid is only 12). Then Faith was marching up to the judges' box for her first ridden show in four years and her first time ever in a dressage test.

She was beautifully behaved. She didn't spook at anything, or even lift her head or call out to Arwen. Every movement was steady and consistent, although she was tense enough to not quite give a good stretch in the walk or trot stretchy stuff in Prelim 2. I give my young horses a pass on that one as long as they stretch at home - it's nerve-wracking. K rode a good, solid, accurate test (apart from using her voice), but as they went on there was a definite unevenness in both hind feet on Faith. She'd seemed OK in the warmup, but had been a little off in their last ride before the show, which we attributed to her being a little tired after a busy week. The judge obviously had to mark them down for the unevenness but told K that she'd ridden a good test on a nice horse, so that was fine.

photo by Opus Proprium

I had a couple of tests before Arwen, so we did a bunch of trot-canter transitions, which I anticipated could be our worst mark. Then I drank a ton of water, grabbed my jacket from BarnRat the Magnificent and headed on in to ride from memory. (Novice 2, for the record, is much easier to ride from memory when you've spent a few years at EM). BarnRat, EM, Mom, my sister (who is called Steve for blog purposes), and DH cheered us on from the sidelines.

I wish I could give a detailed recap with scores, but honestly, at the end of the weekend I was so done that finding my dressage test - which wasn't at the main show office, as it turned out - just seemed like far too much. So I have no idea how it scored, but my guess would be low-to-mid 60s. Arwen was all business when we headed in, solid and steady, but we had a few small mistakes and nothing was particularly wow.

Our first centreline and halt were really super. Then we had the little ice cream cones - change rein M-X, half circle X-B - and she was a little stiff in these but rhythmic. Her lengthening felt the best it's been, although once or twice she asked if she should canter, which was my bad - what I get for doing so many trot-canter transitions in the warmup. It caused a minor bobble in the rhythm, though. This was followed by a messy walk transition where she thought maybe popping out of the arena at A would be a cool thing to do, with which I strongly disagreed. Confusion solved, we changed rein in her signature free walk with her nose on the ground, which is either a 6 or a 9 depending on the judge.

photo by Denford Studios

She was just the tiniest bit tense going back to medium walk but didn't jog, which I was happy with. We trotted on at C and had a decent canter transition at H, followed by a nice solid rhythmic canter circle. Her change of rein with half the diagonal in trot was much quieter and more obedient than I anticipated it would be, but she threw her head a bit into the canter, something we've been working on of late but not yet mastered.

The 15m circle was good again and then we had a decent lengthening with a slightly resistant transition back to working canter. Next it was a good transition to trot, and then a stretchy trot circle that didn't particularly happen, partly because of Dragon Reasons and partly because my brain did not brain. We finished with a decent half circle onto the centreline and a very nice halt.

Like I say - there was a 7 or two in there, but most of it was pretty ordinary. Still, I was all smiles as we left the arena. I was on my Arwen doing some dressage again and she was as stoked to be there as I was. There's nothing that beats that feeling.

photo by Opus Proprium

With that, dressage was all done, and it was time to go back to the stables and get ready for some show riding!

God is good.

Horse of the Year 2023 Part 1: Prep and In-Hand

 Horse of the Year Show has always been a highlight on our calendar. I don't think we've missed one in seven years - although in 2021 all my good mares were pregnant, so I volunteered as gate marshall instead. 

There's nothing else quite like this show, where all the breeds compete at one venue and then against one another during the supremes on Sunday. Seeing all the breeds is always so fun, and for the Nooities, HOY is our national show as well.

The Nooitie attendance this year was breathtaking. There were 52 Nooitgedachters - the breed with the most entries - no mean feat for a rare breed numbering only around 400 horses in total. Our society has been working really hard to improve show attendance and do better by the breed as a whole, and it's really paying off.

For the first time in ages, we had the opportunity to show up strongly with some of our best Nooitgedachters, and so I entered Arwen and Wynnie, of course, as well as Faith and Midas for K and my beloved barn rat. 

My goals for Wynnie were simple. She may have won the youngstock championship last year, but she was an attractive three-month-old foal then, not the gawky fourteen-month-old she is now. I had no illusions of grandeur this year, but I still felt that continuing to go to HOY every year could only be good experience for Wynnie. She would have to deal with a host of completely new experiences: her first proper bath, her first ride in the big horsebox, her first time in the show ring without any of her friends from home, and her first time sleeping over at a show. These are all experiences that Arwen and Thunder didn't have as youngsters, and it still shows. I wanted Wynnie to learn all of this now, while she's still small and easy to wrangle, but also before she has to do anything particularly difficult in the actual show ring itself.

Her first full bath went just fine. With enough blueberries and bits of carrot, she was persuaded that being sprayed with the hosepipe was not actually scary, and I bathed her on my own with no one holding. Things only got a little interesting when she realized that her tail was soaking wet and flicking her with water, and also that she was soaked to the skin on a really hot day. This was cause to be extremely excited about life and she spent ten minutes bucking and galloping on a circle around me before I eventually stuffed her into her stable, where she buried her nose in her hay like nothing had happened.

BarnRat did a fantastic job of her first ever plaits on Midas, helped by K, who also helped me sew in Arwen's plaits properly. They came out super cute. I love how her black plaits look against her white neck these days, and it was so exciting to see my dragon all braided up again and ready to go kick some butt.

Wynnie, for her part, was utterly amazing for her own plaits. Standing quietly for 20 minutes is no mean feat for a yearling, but she dozed through the whole thing, and looked super cute when we were done. I did quick, pull-through plaits to spare her having to stand still for too long, but they were neat enough.

The next morning, we loaded up at 5am. Loading in the dark is always a daunting proposition, but K had done her homework with Faith, who waltzed right in. Arwen and Midas boxed perfectly - as they always do - and then it was just little Wynnie. I went to get her on her own and led her up to the box in the dark, and she had a little look at the headlights shining at her as we walked past, but didn't seem to mind at all. We'd done a brief session about getting into the big box the day before and she had done so with zero hesitation. Now, it was no different. I held out a handful of treats and walked boldly up the ramp, and Wynnie walked in beside me without missing a beat. She didn't quite understand that she had to step sideways for the partition to close, but DH just gently pressed her over while I fed her treats, and she wasn't at all worried. I wish either gelding would load as easily as my yearling did!

The trip to KPC took about an hour and a half, and we arrived quite uneventfully just before seven. Our stables were in J block, near the back, which is kind of a pain as they're far from the parking spaces but also very near our show arena, so that was fine. We had an hour to get Wynnie into her class, so we got right to unloading.

Wynnie stepped out of the box cool, dry, and completely unphased by anything. Arwen, of course, was plunging, snorting and sweating, as usual for Arwen arriving somewhere. K and I left DH and BarnRat to look after Midas and Faith, and headed down to the stables with Arwen and Wynnie. We admired some friendly people with two Percheron stallions, and Arwen dragged me into the stable snorting and plunging, as usual. Wynnie had her doubts about going into the stable, so Kathleen started to gently coax her forward while I went to take Arwen's halter off.

The next minute, chaos broke loose. One of the Percheron stallions had broken his halter and attacked the other. These dudes were BIG, and all I could see was two tons of irate stallions, kicking and biting, stumbling toward about two hundred kilos of slender little Wynnie. I abandoned Arwen to her fate, bolted her door and rushed over to Wynnie, who was balking in front of her stable door. The second stallion pulled away from his owner and they were both on their hindlegs in a proper stallion fight about three doors away when I reached Wynnie and basically rugby-tackled her into the stable from behind. The fact that she didn't kick and did acquiesce to being forcibly shoved inside probably saved us all. I hastily bolted the door, and K, Wynnie and I gaped over the door as the Percherons' owners separated and contained them within a couple of minutes. No one was badly hurt, and luckily they were comparatively quiet drafts, not bloody warmbloods or something, or we would never have been able to separate them. The owners apologized profusely, but I get it. Things happen!

Thus pumped up on adrenalin and wide-eyed, K and I returned to get Midas and Faith. Wynnie and Arwen appeared none the worse for wear and happily chomped on some hay while K and I quickly put some shine spray on Wynnie, slipped on her show halter and trotted up to the show ring.

It was in the Charlotte and David Stubbs arena, which Wynnie showed in last time, but I still anticipated some shenanigans and screaming for her friends. Wynnie did no such thing. She locked onto the filly heading into the arena ahead of her and decided that chasing after her would be a grand idea. I had to work to keep her with me for the first circle or so, but after that she was really perfect. A little wiggly when standing still (again... she's 14 months old) but she listened, kept her forefeet on the ground, and didn't spook or sweat.

Photo by Denford Studios

Even trotting up, she only broke to canter for a step, otherwise she trotted up perfectly without any shenanigans. I was so impressed. It was a fairly large class of 6 or 7 fillies and Wynnie had to pay attention for quite a long time, but apart from wiggling around in the halt at times, she didn't put a foot wrong.

We didn't get a ribbon, but I don't really mind. She's an awkward-looking little object right now and all I wanted was for her to get a good show experience. She'd been perfect all day, so in my eyes, she totally crushed her goals for the show!

Photo by Denford Studios

Erin's horse, the magnificent Addy, had squished her toe the night before and she'd asked if I could show him in the hand, so as soon as Wynnie came out I stuffed her in the stable - BarnRat was amazing with making sure everyone had hay and water - and sprinted all the way around the Stubbs in my full show outfit. That part sucked, let me tell you, and I felt it for days. But Erin already had Addy turned out to perfection, as usual, and in a few moments we were walking into the ring.

Addy is a consummate professional and has done this a thousand times. I felt mostly like I was an ornament and he could have done the class all on his own. He is a fabulously beautiful and correct creature and won champion gelding while I wheezed and panted beside him and brought very little to the table.

I got back from Addy's class just in time to see Faith place fifth in a very big class of mares, which was nice. The judge liked her but said that her back was a little weak, which is fair. Faith behaved much better this time than in her last in-hand class back in 2020, but to be fair to her, she only ended up going to HOY that year because Arwen was sick with biliary so I'd pulled her out of the veld a week before the show. Now, she's had enough prep, and also has found her perfect match in K. They go really well together.

After Faith's class, we had a little break to grab breakfast and look for water - thanks to loadshedding (rolling blackouts), there was no water in the taps at the stables, but we tracked down a tap by the restaurant that worked - and then returned in time for the progeny classes. I had entered Wynnie with a young mare by the same sire, as well as Arwen with her half-sister out of the same dam.

Around this time, EM arrived! She came to photograph and cheer us on, which was super fun. My mom and sister also appeared around this point. It was so much fun to have so many friends and supporters around, and part of what made this the best HOY we've ever had.

Photo by Opus Proprium

I showed Arwen myself, since I've seldom had the chance to show her in the hand, and K took Wynnie. It was a short, easy class with no running, which I was grateful for since the heat had now become pretty brutal. Neither of us placed, but it was fun to show Arwen in hand myself for once.

Photo by Opus Proprium

Wynnie and K were fine, too, even if Wynnie kicked out at her companion in a frisky moment.

Photo by Opus Proprium

The judge asked Arwen's age and if she'd had any foals, which reaffirmed my decision not to show her in hand at this show in her own right. Arwen has won the in-hand enough times, and her topline did sag a little after the birth of Wynnie. Even though she doesn't feel past her prime by any means, I think her in-hand champion days might be behind us, which is just fine. This cast-iron mare is still carrying me as soundly and faithfully as ever, even if her back looks a little different.

Photo by Opus Proprium

With the in-hand all done, we had a short break to get ready for the ridden classes, starting with dressage.

God is always good!