15 More Questions

You know what I miss? A good ol' blog hop. Luckily for me, Anna had even worse weather than I ever do, so she posted one!

1 – What would you consider to be your favorite item you’ve purchased for your horse?

Oooh, tough one. Y'all know I'm not big on shopping, but I'll have to vote for the nearly-new brown Wintec 500 I bought for Arwen in 2023. It was such a literal Godsend - the first saddle I tried fit the horse great and I got it from a friend, so there was no fussing around with awkward trial periods or couriers. Although I have to say that my cute show ear thingy is also very high on the list.

okay so this helmet, these Nu Angles, the double bridle my friends and hubs got me, and the blue glitter browband are also on the list

2 – When you found your current horse, what drew you to them?

I found my horses and my husband the same way - they kind of just showed up. Skye and Arwen arrived so long ago that I barely remember any specific reason about liking them, I just liked them because I was a horse kid and they were horses. (Of course, I found lots of reasons to like them later on). Thunder I loved because I was a horse kid and he was a foal - even better.

I picked Faith out of her group of two-year-olds at the time because she had an ethereal, airy-fairy beauty. Not the greatest reason to pick out a horse, but she really still looks not-quite-real, and is far bigger and more athletic than those same peers today.

Lancey was a repo case - I claimed him because his people couldn't pay his stabling. I originally planned to resell him, but his perfectly cuddly, goofball personality made him too irresistible, and I realized that you only ever get one Lancey in your life. It would have been silly to let him go.

Finally, I picked Wynnie and Raya's sire primarily for his movement. He had all the basic things that would have been total deal-breakers for me if they weren't in place (good feet, good mouth, good brain, good back), but his free, elastic movement set him apart from others in the breed.

3- If you could move your horse and yourself anywhere in the world, budget is no problem; where would you go and why?

I think it would be really fun to spend one season in a super horsy neighborhood overseas like Ocala and be fully immersed in that culture, but only for a season. I love where we are. It's far enough outside the city that it feels very rural, but all the major shows, vets, and other amenities are an hour away. Absolutely perfect.

4 – Is there something on your horsey wish list you’re coveting? What is it? (new pad, halter, bridle, a trailer, etc)

I'm dying to completely level out and redo my arena footing, but without a tractor, it's proving to be a challenge. We'll likely have to hire a tractor next spring to do it. In the meantime, trusty old Flash has been harnessed to the harrow and has to pull it around every time it rains, so that's fun.

5- Do you have a playlist for your horse? What is on it?

I don't have a playlist, but Arwen does have a song. It is a relic of my upbringing as a homeschooled teenager whose friends were only allowed to play Minecraft and delved the oddest corners of the internet. You have been warned.

6 – In 3 sentences or less, describe your horse- bonus points if you can use a gif. (inspired by Mamas Magic Way being described as one of Boyd Martin’s kids in a recent article tbh)

Ages ago we assigned an animated movie character to each horse. This is the perfect time to showcase them.

Arwen is obvious.

the Nightest Fury there ever was

Thunder is warm, cuddly, and always patient with my general BS. He's also chubby and in his extended canter you can practically hear him say, "I am not fast." He's obviously Baymax.

Me: Oh no I'm bad at life! Thunder: There, there.

Lancey is another obvious one. "Some people are worth melting for."

7 – If you could go see a clinic or participate, who would you audit/participate in? (Again, budget is no question here)

This one is tough for me, because as much as we all want to ride with Olympians, I do not ride an Olympic-bred horse. I love having J as my coach specifically because he has shown many off-breed horses all the way to GP, so he understands how to break down movements into tiny bite-sized pieces and introduce them to horses to whom they don't come naturally.

I think it would be really fun to watch a completely different clinic to the worlds I'm used to, like Western or saddle seat.

8 – Favorite fictional horse?

This is super niche, but I loved Ardanwen from The Letter for the King. Not only is Ardanwen the fastest Friesian in all the land (as they always seem to be), he also spends most of his time rescuing the hapless main characters from all kinds of disaster. He also carries most of the plot on his back, let's be honest.

9 – Opinions on Devacoux’s latest saddle design?

I'm neither smart enough (or, let's be real, in the right price bracket!) to know what it's really about, but I will say that it's a little silly-looking. If it works, though, who cares?

10 – If money was no problem, would you get a custom saddle?

Absolutely. With many sparkles. Nothing really fits my oddly-shaped little round horses perfectly, so as much as we happily make do with what we have, it would be cool to get the perfect fit.

11 – If your horse wasn’t a horse, what animal would they be? (basically copy paste your horse’s personality into another animal – what animal would they be)

We've long since established that Arwen is a dragon (and so is Wynnie) and Lancey is a unicorn. Thunder would be a big, fluffy dog or an orange cat. Skye is a pegasus. I will die on this hill. (You never said they had to be real animals).

12- Favorite horse and rider combo? (i.e Boyd Martin and Fedarman B)

That's an easy one: Becky Moody and Jagerbomb. They look like such a harmonious partnership even though Jagerbomb is clearly a bit of a live wire, and her social media is humble and hilarious. Plus he's a homebred like my Thunderbird. Love it.

13 – What was your favorite or best advice for horses you were ever given?

J said to me once that every horse is a Grand Prix horse until proven otherwise. Sure, not every horse actually will be able to compete at Grand Prix. But if you set aside barriers like soundness and extreme age, approaching every single horse like they have the ability to go all the way puts a measure of belief behind them that might just surprise you with its results. That doesn't mean pushing or forcing a horse to be something they physically can't or mentally don't want to be; it's just believing in them and daring to dream audaciously.

14 – What is the best and worst registered name for a horse that you’ve seen recently?

I don't really want to pick the worst name because, you know, somebody did pick that name and thought it was a cute name, but I do find the Friesian names kind of funny. 17 hands of midnight and fire bound by muscle and lit with strength - and you show it under the Dutch equivalent of, like, Joe or Henry or Pete. Hilarious.

Magic had the stupidest racehorse name I've ever seen. He was called Gadsfly, poor bro.

I love lots of the old Afrikaans names that the Nooities and Boerperde have, like Voorslag (the cracker on the end of a whip), Vastrap (firm steps, also a traditional dance), Bomskok (shellshock), Voorspoed (prosperity), and Haastig (in a hurry). Waaksaam (alert) is another favourite. One used to come across lots of horses with Boer War names but I haven't met a De La Rey in a while.

15 – Do you want to try another discipline or something fun with your horse?

If I had unlimited time, Arwen and I would 100% be doing working equitation. SO fun.

16 – Free space! Leave a funny story, photo, advice, a quote, or something you want to pass along to the next person!

This is a Sebright (albeit not a show quality one). They're adorable and about the size of a pigeon. I thought you should know.

God is good.

Back Again

Here's a really quick recap so that I can get back into the swing of things with posts for 2025.

As fantastic as 2024 was, our plans did fall off the rails a little toward the end of the year. Although Arwen rocked our socks in October by winning Medium 3 at Champagne Tour and we had another really fun show after that, we didn't quite manage to get our ten grading points for Advanced yet. No regrets - we had an amazing year of showing together.

Thunder also went to Champagne Tour and had a very tense warmup, but settled in the test for a decent score. He started his 2025 three-legged lame with the kind of swelling that makes your heart turn cartwheels, but after a set of ($$$) x-rays, the vet proclaimed that he was merely bruised and would be sound within ten days. I was riding him again the next week and he is completely fine now, having lost much less fitness than I expected over the holidays and after his injury, so good for him.

Lancey went to our provincial Arab show in the end of November to finish off our show season. He was absolutely superb in every way, not putting a foot wrong for three full days of classes, and we brought home a little bit of satin to boot. Our highlight was coming third in a large and strong hunter pleasure class even though, truth be told, I have absolutely no idea what hunter pleasure even is. Someone told me to ride forward so we just zoomed around basically. He makes everything so fun.

Faith was diagnosed with bony change in her left front navicular, the result of an injury she likely had as a foal before we got her. It explains the chronic short-stepping issue she has, as well as the tightness in her back. We gave her a shot of Legend and put bar shoes on in front and I put her into boot camp with me for four or five weeks to lose weight, get supple, and regain the musculature she needs to move comfortably. It worked insanely well, and Faith was going the best she's ever gone by the end of November, when she somehow ripped a hole in her right front. After (more $$$) stitches, it healed like a charm and she lost hardly any fitness. She and K are looking incredible together.

Skye is beautiful, perfect, and still living her best life with no apparent signs of slowing down even though she'll be about 37 this year at our best guess. Her joints remain creaky, but honestly, I'm not seeing anything get worse. She had biliary when the first round of ticks came out in the spring and recovered like any young, healthy horse would. I even had to reduce her concentrates because she was getting rather portly on the summer grass. I know she won't be with us forever, but I'm grateful for every happy, healthy day we get to have with her.

this is me teaching K to ride on Skye like a thousand years ago

Raya handled her weaning with aplomb and is living out now with a cute little two-year-old colt friend who is, in fact, smaller than she is. She has a super-sweet, submissive, totally calm personality with nothing pushy or dominant about her - very similar to her mom's, but more expressive and personable.

Finally, and most excitingly, I started working with Wynnie in November. She already had all the citizenship skills nailed down (after all, she's been to three Horse of the Year shows), but as her third birthday approached, we started playing with ponying off Lancey and then little bits of groundwork. Wynnie has an insanely active and agile mind and is the only horse I've ever seen who actively gets bored in the field. I also took one look at her big personality, loud opinions, and girl-boss energy and decided to sit on it sooner rather than later, thanks. Her physical maturity was there, too, so we did very gentle and basic groundwork and then I popped on for a few little sits in December and January. I'll try to do a full post just about backing her, but in case I don't, here is proof that the baby dragon did not, in fact, launch me during her first few rides.

The stableyard is chugging along fine, with plenty of training horses to keep K and I busy and a few new darling retirees. We nearly closed our doors in November when the terrible drought persisted, but Abba provided the most beautiful rain in December, and now we are full steam ahead with breeding plans for this season and a string of ponies getting ready for HOY.

this child raked in the ribbons on Sunday riding dear old Mawarda

Looking forward to staying caught up as much as possible now, although with so much richness in our lives, it's not surprising when we get too consumed with life to journal it.

God is good.

Winter Dramas

(CW: laceration to a horse's face with pictures)

Highveld winter weather is some of the nicest we get all year. The nights are cold, going below freezing, but there's little wind and almost no rain and daytimes are balmy and comfortable, usually around 20C. It's one of the reasons why many of our major shows take place in midwinter, when they generally don't get rained out.

The only bummer when it comes to riding is that the daylight hours get pretty short, but I can still usually fit a horse or two in most days. With SANESA season heading toward winding down and the kiddos busy with exams and holidays, I was really looking forward to a productive riding winter. So far... that hasn't happened.

Because of the family member's mental health, I've taken over running the Jersey herd. It's really fun - also cows are amazing and do not spend 90% of their lives coming up with inventive new ways to be sick or injured - but has eaten my time somewhat while I adjust to the extra responsibility.

I also suspect I'm operating under a low-level sort of burnout. It's not the stressed, getting-no-sleep, one-meal-a-day, can't-keep-my-eyes-open burnout that I had last year, thank God (sincerely), just a vague sense of not having the emotional or physical energy for much. This autumn was really rough both emotionally and physically and I just need a minute to recover, I think. Something to focus on during the upcoming school holidays.

There are exciting things in the works, though. On Saturday, we dropped Thunder off at J's for the winter to get ready for Advanced and beyond. It was a really hard choice for me, because Thunny and I haven't ever really been separated for more than 8-9 days, and he's going to be away for three long months. But J made me an offer I couldn't refuse and honestly, it's just not fair on the big guy anymore. He's doing so well in his Medium work and riding him is so exciting and fun, but we're genuinely struggling with the pirouette canter and the pirouettes. That old issue of not having him active enough keeps biting me in the butt and I don't have the toolkit to fix it to the point where we can do a pirouette on my own. It's better for us both if he can learn the fancy tricks from an expert, and then teach them to me.

Also, thanks to the aforementioned loss of daylight, I just don't have the time to school all three. Thunder was the obvious choice to go for schooling and I'll have Arwen and Lancey at home to play with all winter. Plus, I get to visit him and ride him at J's, so it's really exciting. I'm so grateful for the chance to get Thunder produced to his full potential.

On the same day that we dropped Thunder off -- he immediately went to graze happily in his fancy new field, while I was a blubbering mess, sorry J -- Wynnie did this to her face.

(Mega gory photo below. Do not proceed if squeamish).

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(I did warn you).

At 6:15 when the guys fed her, she was fine. At 7:30 when they went to take her out, she had THIS on her head. It was difficult to see the full extent at that point, so I cleaned it up, put some antibiotic cream on, put her fly mask on and called the vet. He came out that afternoon, sedated her, injected some local anaesthetic, and then gently pulled the flaps of the wound aside to assess it.

And I looked at my baby horse's skull. At her BONE. I have seen my share of gross animal injuries (and gross human injuries as a first aider) but I'll admit my stomach did a little cartwheel at the sight.

The vet cleaned up the edges, flushed the wound, and sewed it up.

He was sure it would heal nicely, since the bone wasn't damaged, and it did look much nicer once it had been sutured. Then, a few days later, when I went to clean it a bunch of gunk came out of the top. I squeezed lightly and there was a glorious explosion of chunky yellow pus. Absolutely delightful at eight in the morning on a bellyful of eggs.

Despite the antibiotic injections and cleaning, there was an infection under the stitches and it was disgusting. Poor Wynnie's wound was puffy and red. I called the vet again and got instructions to continue the injections and flush the wound twice a day with lukewarm saline, then squirt a little penicillin directly into the wound. Let me tell you, I was not particularly looking forward to this activity with an 18-month-old horse. 

Despite my misgivings, Wynnie has been amazing. I used a lot of positive reinforcement to make the injections a non-event -- she now turns her head for a treat when she feels the needle -- but the flushings are still a bit of a wrestling match, understandably. They're sore and uncomfortable. I have my lovely groom M hold a bucket of the nicest muesli I have under her nose, and she chomps away while I flush the boo-boo. It's not fun for anybody, and she still moves her head around trying to escape, but there have been no fireworks. I'll take it.

fun fact: unlike her mom, Wynnie is a very cheap date

There was significantly less pus this morning, and her temperature has been fine even though she's off the flunixin now, so I think we're winning. Her magnificent stitches-on-a-Saturday vet bill is a whole 'nother story, but luckily I'm on the brink of finishing a novel so we'll be fine.

Despite being gross and dirty (my clippers have been in for repairs for 6 weeks now... yes, 6 weeks), Lancey is still managing to be a fantastically good boy. We're exploring more power in his gaits as well as playing with the later EM work, and yesterday we touched on the changes again. He gave me one each way, very clean and easy, after a few attempts, so we called it a day on that high note.

Arwen has been similarly fantastic. She still DRAGONLEAPS into her change from left to right, but the right to left one is easy and soft now, and she's significantly more supple. Once we have paid Wynnie's Bill of Magnificence I hope we might get to do some dressage this winter.

And old Skye is doing really well. Not quite as fat as she is in summer, but coping nicely on her soupy diet and wreaking general havoc when the lesson children are unwise enough to leave treats lying around.

It's chaotic, but we're okay.

God is good.

Week Recap

Monday started with plenty of motivation as Thunder and I looked forward to our first show of the year - Easter Festival at Kyalami Park. We started with riding through all the movements of Medium 3 on Monday morning while waiting for the horse chiro to arrive. The test seemed long and scary when I read through it, but there was actually nothing in it that we haven't done a thousand times before. The newest movement was the canter to halt at the beginning, which he cottoned onto really quickly and offered after only a couple of attempts.

The hardest part was the counter canter to flying change. Thunder loves his changes and anticipated them quickly, so I had to really ride that counter canter until he got the message that we need to wait for the letter like a good boy.

I took zero chiro pictures so have Azai and the ball he destroyed

I was untacking him when the chiro arrived and she got right to work on the big boy. There was nothing major, just a restriction in his right hip, and she loved him as always.

We did a bunch of other horsies in the yard, including a few liveries, Sahara the schoolie, and then Arwen and Faith. Arwen felt good to me but I was concerned about her saggy back after having Wynnie. There was a tightness at T14, where her thoracic sling meets her pelvic sling, and her back looked noticeably different once chiro fixed it. She gave me some belly lifting exercises to do to help for that, too.

have sleepy Noah toebeans to break up the wall of text

Faith had been mildly unsound since HOY with that soreness behind on hard ground and I wanted chiro to have a look before we went down the X-rays route. Turns out she had a sprain in a large muscle in her butt (I forget which), likely one that occurred when she foaled Lassie. It healed to the point where she was sound as we brought her back to work but was reinjured as we increased her workload before HOY. Chiro was able to release a lot of the spasms surrounding the sprain and she has been noticeably better since. She does tire and go a little sore later on in a session, but she's sound as a bell to start with, which is much better than what we had before she saw the chiro.

Before chiro left, I also asked her to check old lady Skye over, and the news was good. Of course the old girl's knees are very arthritic but there was no sign of spasms or anything causing her undue pain. She has a tightness in the fascia of her left neck from an old abscess which I can currycomb to help release it a bit, but it's no big deal.

surveying her domain

A couple of the horses needed some time off after their appointments, so Arwen played stand-in schoolie that afternoon, a role at which she is impeccable. A bit of jumping isn't bad for her chonkiness either. I rode Lancey after lessons and he was hard to ride - really against my hand even in the working gaits and trying very hard to run above the bit even in trot. I had my work cut out for me, but we did improve towards the end, even if we didn't get to play with any movements and just went walk/trot/canter on a circle for the entire session. I love my Lancey, he is the most magical unicorn ever, but this issue can be unbelievably frustrating and there doesn't appear to be a physical root. It's just a training thing. It's gotten so much better, but relapses like this one can feel very disheartening.

still my sunset unicorn

Tuesday morning was fun and a little chaotic. We were out and about bright and early for Faith and K's photo shoot and to take some sale pictures of precious Ladybug. I'll post more of them later, but suffice it to say that it was much harder to get the six-year-old warmblood standing up to her eyeballs in flowers to prick her ears. She was more intent on eating flowers than anything else. I handled her the whole time, and nervous though I am, I never felt like I was going to get trampled, kicked, squashed or reared on. In fact, I don't think I ever actually had to pull the lead rein except to get her to stop eating and pick up her head. Someone is going to have a real gem in this mare and if I didn't already have Wynnie, it would probably have been me. Also, Ladybug wants a jumping and hacking home - she thinks the sandbox is pretty lame.

K and Faith had a fabulous time and were unbelievably photogenic, even if Faith was feeling a little spicy and very good after her adjustment and threw a few bucks here and there. I'm so grateful that Faith has found a rider who loves her for who she is. They're fantastic together and they have a genuine, loving bond that makes me so, so happy.

The rest of the day was a little chaotic, with a bunch of lessons and a ton of writing on my plate. I only got to Thunder late that afternoon between lessons. The chiro had recommended a stretchy ride for him. We kept it short, but he seemed a little more willing to stretch than before, and gave me some really nice loose serpentines and so on in trot. The canter right was loose and stretchy; canter left started out quite well but he wasn't able to hold it for very long. Canter left is usually his stronger side, so that was quite interesting.

I also rode Arwen for like 15 minutes when I had a tiny gap. We didn't really work on anything in particular with such a short time frame, but we squeezed in walk/trot/canter with some counter canter to remind her that it exists even though we're working on the changes. She was willing as ever, but still resistant to the right at times. I think she just needs to realize that she can bend right more easily since the chiro visit and doesn't need to fight me.

Wednesday was weirdly chaotic, for a Wednesday, but we started with a fairly solid ride on Thunder, going through Medium 3 again. I had reached the point I always do before a show where I have convinced myself that this is the hardest test ever and we are totally unprepared, so I pulled my signature move, which is to wildly override every single movement. Thunder called me out sharply on that nonsense by bucking through the changes, kicking at my leg and running through my overapplied aids. It's not that they're sharp or harsh, it's just that I try to give all of them, all at once. So we rode through Medium 3 and I thought it was a complete train wreck. (On the video later, it was fine - there was one late change and that was it). Then we took a walk break and I took big breaths and thanked him for pointing out my issues, and we rode it again, effortlessly. Thanks, bro.

calling mom out since 2012

There was another heart-melting milestone that morning when E2 got on Vortex, the livery who arrived in January, so lame and so thin and so poorly that I was honestly quite worried he just wouldn't stay alive, let alone ever go sound again. His owners poured a fortune into him even though no one expected we'd ever be able to sit on him again. He had mud fever up to his knees on all four legs, inflamed tendons in all four legs, and the beginnings of support limb laminitis behind from trying to keep the weight off his excruciatingly painful forelegs. I truly hoped we could make him a pasture pet, and even that seemed like a stretch.

Three months later, Vortex still needs a lot of weight, but he's shiny, healthy, gambolling around in the field like a foal, and sound as a brass bell on the lunge. So we put E2 on and he proved to be a total delight. Sound in walk/trot/canter for a short little ride, not spooky in the slightest, and responsive and easy to all the aids. It didn't take him long to find a delightful new adoptive home.

Thursday morning was our last ride before the show - Thunderbirdy prefers a day off the day before a show so that we have full batteries on the day of - and this time it was Thunder who needed to be called out on his nonsense. He did the bare minimum when asked and was sluggish laterally off my leg. We started riding the test and he gave me some very bored half-passes and late behind changes, so we went and did some turn on the forehand and leg-yields to remind him that my leg certainly does mean something, sir. With that sorted out, we rode the test twice very easily, with no major mistakes. I rushed the walk pirouettes the first time, but they were better the second time, and both of us were very chuffed with ourselves by the time we were done.

DH spent the entire afternoon building our new wash bay, which is now nearly finished. We're working on lots of small improvements to the stableyard, which is in dire need of some much-needed TLC after we built everything as cheaply as possible about five or six years ago. We did the best we could with what we had, but now we can do a little better.

On Thursday afternoon, Spirit's smallest kiddo tried Ladybug, with the view to perhaps getting her as a future junior horse. She is a tiny kiddo and fairly beginner so we kept things very simple, with E2 first showing Ladybug off and then helping kiddo with her in the lunge ring, but she didn't put a foot wrong.

I was tired by the end of Thursday and decidedly not in the mood for riding, but Arwen and Lancey had both been neglected all week, so after lessons I began to summon my motivation only to be surprised when kiddo and her parents surprised me with the cutest sunflower numnah, ears and brushing boots. It was out of the blue and just unbelievably sweet. I'd had a tough week with clients and honestly it meant a lot more to me than they could possibly have known. So of course Lancey immediately got saddled up with his new stuff.

He was a lot better for his ride, still wanting to argue occasionally, but I remembered what J said about his arguing being about my leg instead of my hand and worked to push the little dude to the bridle instead of pulling him into a frame. We didn't have the longest ride but it was much more solid.

On Friday morning, Shaila's kid enjoyed a last ride before the show (she was doing Novice 3 and 4), and then I enjoyed giving Thunder a bath in the new wash bay. He was impeccable in the cross ties, of course, although I just washed his mane, tail and socks because it was unseasonably cold and overcast.

Lancey also went for a very quick hack. Even though it was less than twenty minutes, it was still good to get out and have a little canter and then a nice loose rein walk. I'm trying to be better about squeezing the rides in on Lancey and Arwen even if they end up being short; a little bit is better than nothing. He was super well behaved and lovely, and felt quite spicy and excited to be out, but not pulling or doing anything silly.

Friday afternoon, after a couple of lessons, I got Arwen all dressed up in her blue outfit (I'm sorry, I'm a DQ, matchy matchy soothes me) and we had an absolutely fabulous ride. She was fresh and very stroppy at first, bouncing and breaking to canter while I was asking for walk half-pass, but then cottoned on that she has a much smoother right bend since her chiro visit. Once we had tamed the dragon a bit, this resulted in the best half-pass in trot and canter I've ever ridden on her.

We finished up with a couple of changes. They are boisterous and bouncy, but she absolutely knows what she's supposed to do, she's just still working out how to do it in one stride. We did two on each side, and most were a stride late in front, but the last one was perfectly clean and resulted in many pats and cuddles and kisses for a very clever dragon.

I haven't been able to clip her yet - last week was just too cold to bath a woolly fluffdragon - but she is getting a bit desperate for it. I really can't wash her down in the evenings anymore but she gets unbelievably sweaty. So hopefully this week the weather will give us a gap; it's school holidays and we have some more time than usual.

DH surprised me on Friday evening with my stirrups looking absolutely brand spanking new. I had made a bid at painting them (after he cleaned them for me) and buggered it up that morning, but he fixed them and made them beautiful that afternoon. Glitter purple stirrups had to be a good sign. I was excited for the show on Saturday.

God is good.

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 💜