Horse of the Year 2025 Part 3: Nooitie Ridden

 With my young horse out of the way for the day, I could relax and focus on my beautifully behaved, impeccably schooled, super docile and sweet 18-year-old horse.

Ha. Hahahahahaha.

No, seriously, though, Arwen was being really super. She had loaded and traveled in the four-berth for K and BarnRat in the dark (as had dear little Raya, and of course Rene and Faith), and Dad had brought them over to the show for me. (If he ever thought he was going to get out of the horse show dad thing, well, sorry, Dad. You're the one who paid for those first few lessons when I was four, after all. You're stuck with this now.)

Anyway, Arwen had arrived with a bellyful of omepracote and not a drop of sweat on her, so she was all but spotless when I started prepping her for our first class of the day - the open show riding. Erin had shown me how to use this other magic stuff called Wampum to make her legs white, and boy, did I ever make them white. After quickly getting Rene ready, I spent a peaceful half-hour in Arwen's stable, fussing and primping until she looked perfect. Arwen enjoyed (or at least tolerated) the attention, and for once, we looked pretty professional as I tacked her up and headed to the warmup.

Rene and her kiddo were in the show ring---her kiddo was on the wrong diagonal for the entire show, but she's a level-headed, independent rider who handled herself admirably with minimal support from me---and I could focus on Arwen, who had immediately forgotten that she was a Quiet Old Show Horse and proceeded to dragon-snort and do a few handstands for my benefit. Desperate not to get her all sweaty and gross, I did a bunch of trot work with walk breaks to bring her down to a dull roar, but I wasn't worried. She wasn't holding any tension in her body or calling to friends; she was just doing what she always does, reveling in her own fierce glory.

After a few minutes' work, she settled right down and started to behave like a good girl. I'd switched her back into the double bridle after her fussiness in the Nathe and it was paying off. I had to be aware of my hands and occasionally work to pick up her head, but we were doing just fine, and I felt relaxed and confident as we went in.

Last year, I remember her not putting a foot wrong in the show riding class. This year was more of the same. Honestly, it was one of my favorite show experiences of my life. We were so in tune. I felt like I barely had to touch her to get her to do anything---I would just think it, and it would happen. She finds this work so effortless compared to the dressage that she felt like she was just floating around, barely breaking a sweat.

The judge pulled us out second after the rail, which I expected, as our main competitor was a beautiful and powerfully moving horse but not as experienced as Arwen. I hoped we might be able to ride ourselves up to the red ribbon in the individual test. Erin had helped me to work out a fancy little test that really shows off the dragon well, and I was excited to ride it.

Our competitor went first and showed off his truly breathtaking movement, but had a little moment of tension. I thought if Arwen went well we might have it in the bag.

Arwen did not go well---she went perfectly. She had, of course, gleefully memorized the test, and I tried to sit there and look pretty while she did it mostly on her own. We walked out, changed rein in trot, and gave an extended trot down the long side that felt absolutely glorious. Then we had a lovely obedient canter transition into the first loop of a serpentine, where we halted, reined back, and proceeded in canter. I put the reins in one hand at this point and we did our change through trot with one hand, followed by an extended canter down the long side, trot, and halt, all with one hand. Her way of going never changed (helped a bit by the double) and she was impeccably obedient. I couldn't have been happier or prouder of her.

Nonetheless, we didn't quite edge into the lead. The judge pinned us second and said that we did a very good job, but I needed to add a lip strap to the curb and wipe my bits before going in. We also came nowhere in the championship. 

Much as I enjoy showing, this is why dressage is my sport.

It didn't really matter. My horse had just given me the ride of my life.

Faith had a really good show riding class as well but didn't place in a very big and strong novice show riding, and then it was time for us to all hack over to the other side of KPC for the working riding. By this point, I was starting to run out of energy, and faced the working riding with some trepidation. Arwen was being perfect, but winning it two years in a row has somehow made it more daunting than ever.

I hounded everyone over to the Peter Minnie because I was convinced we would be late. Then we all sat there for ages, waiting to go in, because I miscalculated. Sorry, kids. Arwen was still feeling a little spicy as we did a few working riding things in the warmup, but Faith and Rene were being admirable, and Rene's kiddo wore a mask of determination as they headed into the ring.

The determination paid off. Rene is about as bombproof as they come and performed a magnificent working riding test that rightfully won their class (or came second? I can't remember). Faith and K, too, did a really nice test and won by kilometres. And then it was time for the dragon's big moment.

My guts were all in a knot as we rode in. Arwen felt alert but focused and calm. The judge explained the test to us: mount from a mounting block, immediately canter over a small vertical, trot some trotting poles in a straight line, trot through bending poles, pick up the canter on a sharp turn away from the lineup, trot over a mat in a lane, jump a straw bale, do a trot circle with a basket, and halt between the drums at the end. It was a nice long test with plenty of room for things to go horribly wrong, but I immediately knew Arwen could handle all of it.

The other riders went admirably; only the canter transition caught out a few people because their horses wanted to drift back toward the lineup. Then it was our turn. The dragon might not stand still all that great most of the time, but she's a rock at the mounting block, so I easily popped on, sorted out my reins, and then actually found a nice distance to the jump, which was a nice surprise. We trotted the poles and bending poles in fine style. Of course, she did her canter transition perfectly and barely noticed the mat existed.

Two years ago we knocked down the straw bale jump at HOY supremes, and Arwen remembered it. She read the obstacle well this time and hopped over nicely.

She wasn't quite steady in her halts at the basket, but I played it off as well as I could, and we kept it together long enough to get a good square halt before and after. She stayed beautifully round and on the aids with one hand, too (thanks to the one-handed bits in our show riding test, I'm sure.) Her halt at the end was impeccable. People clapped. It was nice.

The judge placed us first, citing her obedience and softness in the bridle, and then it was time for the championship. Here I started to sweat all the more, but it was a good kind of nervousness, a buzz instead of a paralytic. It was a big class and Arwen had time to doze in the lineup---always a good thing for her---while everyone else went, including Rene and Faith.

The test was a bit more forward and bold than working riding usually asks for. We had to canter the jump twice on a circle like in equitation, then extend the canter down the long side, canter over the bale, trot, and halt between the drums. I immediately felt confident. Arwen is amazing at the bold and obedient parts of working riding---it's the fiddlier stuff that makes her fidget.

Rene pleasantly surprised me. Her kiddo, who is more into showjumping, was good about kicking her forward and she stayed on the right leg throughout, which always helps. It was a very nice test to watch and I was super pleased with her. Rene is 19 now with a wealth of experience and the kindest personality in the world---unsurprising that Raya turned out the way she did.

Faith's test was okay, but not world-shaking, with no major mistakes but a bit of trepidation on her part about having to go fast. The other riders were really solid as well and I knew I'd need to ride for my life if Arwen was going to successfully defend her title.

Madam Dragon came out boldly. I somehow found two good distances to the jump and she landed on the correct lead despite the sharp turn we had to make to get around the trotting poles. She lengthened her canter and came back beautifully when I asked, popped over the bale without difficulty, and halted perfectly at the end. It was just a smooth, easy test and she was a superstar.

spoiler alert

Our happy surprise of the day came when they announced the reserve champion and it was Rene and her kiddo. Then Arwen got the championship. It was the second time that two Morning Star horses have been champion and reserve at HOY working riding, and it's a pretty good feeling. They brought out a whole lot of ribbons and sashes and the champagne bowl floating trophy that Arwen has won three times now. The previous two times there were carrots in the champagne bowl, and she was most unamused when it turned out to be empty this time. She checked.

"What a clever horse," said the judge, "what a clever, clever horse," and I agreed.

Then we hacked all the way back to the Stubbs arena, where Arwen and I still had some ridden classes. We'd bought entries for the best walk and best trot, and I was starting to regret it. Arwen was fine---perhaps not quite as dragonish as earlier in the day, but she'd had plenty of breaks and water and hay and still felt peppy---but I was starting to melt into a puddle of exhaustion.

She accordingly toted my exhausted puddle self around the best walk and best trot with minimal input from me, which also involved accidentally cantering a few times in the best trot. We got second and third places to round off our day and nice compliments from the judge, despite some more scolding about the missing lip strap.

That brought an end to a productive (if absolutely exhausting) day of ridden classes. It was a fantastic time with my magnificent dragonbeast. We decided to keep Rene with her to be her overnight friend as they waited for Supremes, and both girls happily ate their hay while we bundled Wynnie, Charlie, Raya, and Faith off to go home.

I was particularly pleased that she won the working riding---not just because it's always nice to get a sash, but because it gave me the opportunity to conquer my nerves in the Supremes. More on that later.

God is good.

her smug little face cracks me up

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.

Horse of the Year 2024: Ridden Classes

 Our first ridden class for the show was Arwen with a tiny little kiddo. This kiddo rides Faith at home, but she's a bit small for her and Faith can be a handful at competitions, so I gave her the option to ride Arwen instead. Madam Dragon is kind of a legend at the stableyard so the little one was positively starry-eyed at the prospect.

I was desperate for this particular kid - who's had a hard run of it lately - to have a good show. I'd been stressing for weeks about whether Arwen would be good for the tiny tot and my stress levels did not decrease when I saw that she was all alone in her class, so she'd have to go off to the spooky end of the Bob Charter on the dragon right away.

my lil sister came over to watch which I loved 💜

With this in mind, I'd sacrificed prepping Wynnie to perfection in favour of warming Arwen up before the chaos of the in-hand classes began. I needn't have bothered. The second I got on Arwen that morning, she was ready for anything. She was absolutely relaxed, focused, obedient, soft, and willing, but with that little bit of sparkle that makes her special.

After Wynnie's group class, I saddled Arwen up and popped the kiddo on, and they had a relaxed and easy warmup. She was only doing the best walk and best trot classes, so we stuck with that, and Arwen was perfect.

Finally, with my heart in my hands, I sent them in. I knew Arwen would never hurt the little one or chuck her off or do any of her usual dragonishness with a little kid on her, but this kid's confidence needed a boost and I was desperate for her to have a really good class. And Arwen performed like a total pro. They walked around, they completely ignored the stallion who arrived for the best trot class, and Arwen even went in a cute little frame like a proper kid's show pony.

They were alone in their age group and obviously won both, but no kid is ever mad about a bit of satin. The little one was floating in the clouds when they came out. My whole heart unclenched and it was time to relax and enjoy the show.

Things had settled down significantly by this point. I let Arwen have a short rest in the stables while I got my stuff together and did haynets and water for everyone. Wynnie was chilling and eating her hay, happy as a clam; K was getting Faith ready for her class. K and Faith disappeared for their class while I was tacking Arwen up, and I barely saw them to wave to in the warmup before they went inside.

my turn!

I didn't have a ton of time for Arwen's warmup, but it was long enough to establish that we didn't have time to prepare her flying change. So we abandoned that idea and headed in for our class---congratulating K and Faith as they came out with a lovely second place ribbon---with the plan to do simple changes through walk instead.

classy girls 💜 photo by Denford Studios

All I can say about our show riding class is that I rode the best I've ever ridden and my horse went the best she's ever gone. It was one of those rare moments that both of us were totally focused, totally delighted by our work and each other, and in total harmony. Those are the rides we all live for, and I'm always honored when they happen at home. For the first time in ten years of competing, that ride happened for us at the show this time. Arwen was absolutely effortless. I don't remember a single flaw in her rail or in the individual test.

my dragon 💜 photo by Denford Studios

We'd been placed second after the rail - our competition being a gorgeous half-Spanish stallion with incredible movement - but after the individual test, the judge pulled us out and pinned us first against this extremely beautiful horse with a professional showing rider. We earned that ribbon. The judge mentioned to the other ride that Arwen's superior conformation also nudged her into first, so that was cool to hear as a breeder.

The championship class followed and it was a little weird. She stopped to poo as we went in and that's the only reason I can think of that we ended up in the placing were we did. The stunning stallion who came second in our class won the championship and the pony rider came second. We got the gate. I wasn't super mad because qualifying for ridden supremes would have given us a really long day on Sunday, but I'd have loved to know why the placings shook out the way they did; we literally trotted and cantered large for five minutes before we were placed and both horses went about the same as they'd done in the open class ten minutes before.

I was still beaming as we came out. We've never won the show riding at HOY before, but this time, we did it---and we earned it.

There was time to grab a snack and shout some words of support to K as she rushed between arenas, and then I hacked over to the working riding with Arwen. She was feeling fabulous by then, and I was on cloud nine; it was a perfect thing to have my husband riding alongside on his bike as my Arwen strolled merrily on a loose rein.

K and Faith were in the working riding warmup, ready to go in the novice class right before ours. I kept Arwen's warmup short. We popped over a jump or two, did a little work with one hand, and then stood in the shade for a while to reinforce the fact that we can stand still nicely with a rider on. K got a ribbon for being the only novice working riding adult and wrangled Faith admirably; Faith was squiggly but not bad, and boldly tackled all the obstacles, but K had to work for it.

Then it was time for the open working riding---Arwen and I versus a pair of little kiddos on excellent ponies. Both kiddos have given me a run for my money in the working riding before. One in particular was a formidable competitor despite being, like, 10 years old. (You know how it is).

Arwen and I went first. The course started with trotting through a lane and over some trotting poles, no big deal. It continued with cantering through bending poles on a curve, a challenging feat unless you're a Medium dressage horse who has done a lot of counter canter, so she popped through that with no trouble at all. Next we had to halt between two drums and move a basket from one to the other. Arwen was good for this, but I had a complete hand-eye coordination failure, parked her too far from one drum, couldn't figure out which hand to use, and almost bonked her in the head with the basket. She wiggled in protest but we got it done.

Next we cantered over a little jump, which went fine, and then we had to trot around and halt on a green mat. Arwen halted like a stone pillar and got a lot of big pats for that.

It wasn't a particularly tricky test but I thought that the canter bending poles would help us out - she does better the more spooky and the more technical a test is. The kiddo and pony also did a super nice test but didn't halt quite steady between the drums, so we squeaked ahead and got to win the working riding by a nose.

The championship class followed immediately thereafter. K and Faith as well as the novice child rider winner joined us in the arena and we repeated exactly the same test. This time, I not only rode well but actually behaved like a functioning human and moved the basket easily, so our test was pretty much perfect. I was super happy with it.

K and Faith went well too, barring a wrong lead into the jump, and Faith was happy to relax in the lineup next to Arwen. We watched the child riders go with some trepidation---they had nice ponies and they all could ride---and then the results were called. K and Faith were reserve champion. K was so flabbergasted by this that the judge had to call her several times before she actually went forward to get her rosette, and then Arwen and I were the champions. As far as show moments go as a breeder, having a sash on both of my mares was a pretty good one.

K was grinning all over her face as we headed back to the stables. It was her first sash, and I was really chuffed for her. 

Arwen's win qualified her for supremes the next day. We packed up and I sent Wynnie, Faith, and Erin's mare home for the night. All three loaded with no further ado. Arwen settled admirably into a stable next to Erin's riding horse, and Erin and I hung out for a while until it was time for her to go home, and then I just chilled in Arwen's stable with her while waiting for hubby to get back with the two-berth and our overnight stuff.

Supremes would follow---more on that later. God is good.

Horse of the Year 2024: In-Hand

 I can hardly believe another year has passed and it's time for the best and most fun show of the calendar again. Despite the fact that HOY is always the most pressure, stress, and effort of the year, it's also always the most epic. Hubby and I consider it a huge highlight. Spoiler alert: this year was no exception.

I woke up on the Wednesday night before HOY and realized with horrible suddenness that I haven't actually bathed Wynnie since HOY 2023. Not that she really needs it - she is solid bay, after all - but I was gripped with panic that she wouldn't stand for a bath.

a riding school aunt took so many photos

My concerns were deeply unwarranted. Not only did Wynnie stand perfectly still to be washed from head to toe, she was perfect in our handful of in-hand sessions to prepare for her classes. At first she didn't want to trot - until she got her first click and reward for a few trot steps. After that, she trotted up effortlessly with a voice command. I didn't have to pull to get her to go or stop or stay beside me - it was pretty cool.

We also worked on standing square, which she didn't quite do on her own by the end of the sessions but she easily went there when asked. As an aside, this is the first youngster I've clicker trained, and I am absolutely going to do the same with Raya when the time comes. She's at the point where she immediately looks around for a treat when she sees a Scary Thing.

click treat, feat. ugly plaits

Getting her ready that evening in the dark was effortless. She didn't move a muscle as I clipped her legs and face. She even stood sleeping on Friday night while I plaited her mane, which was a total disaster through no fault whatsoever of Wynnie's. Her hair is really long and thick, but has a missing chunk in the middle, so I couldn't show her natural. We ended up showing in the biggest, ugliest, fattest pull-through plaits you've ever seen in your life. Sensitive viewers should avert their eyes.

Faith's prep was less promising. She has been working hard with E2 and K, but often moved short with K and we couldn't quite figure out why. I think her obesity has a lot to do with it, possibly leading to a little tenderness on her feet, but then again she would move beautifully for E2 on the same surfaces. Anyway, the week before HOY, Faith was better than ever under saddle.

Studvet Turbo, Wynnie's paternal grandsire, who is 26 now and still going strong

Show time clashes meant that I'd be showing her in the hand, so I practiced a little with K screaming at me to run faster (I've got little legs) and she was really super in hand. K had done a fantastic job before last HOY getting her to stand square and trot up easily.

Arwen's prep was pretty unremarkable. We've already settled into a fun routine of bathing, manic tail-scrubbing, and plaiting. She snoozes in the cross ties while I work; I listen to the Compelled podcast to keep my perspective, and it's almost as much fun as the actual show. While she was not amused about being locked in a small paddock for the night, she only galloped around for a couple of minutes before resigning herself to her fate of eating a huge net of hay.

Raya and Wynnie's daddy Dakota as a young stallion

We finished up on Friday afternoon with a bit of box training, just a refresher for those who hadn't been in the four-berth box before or hadn't been out for ages. Wynnie walked right in, obviously, but Faith was extremely dubious. We could get her in, but I physically couldn't shove her over enough to close the partition. Everyone started to get stressed out at that point, and it was getting late, so we took her back to the stable in the hopes that BarnRat would be able to help me close the partition.

At half past four the next morning, however, all four mares (including Erin's lovely mare and Arwen) loaded like a dream. We put the lunge line behind Faith and she was unsure, but it only took ten minutes to get her in, and hubby was able to push the partition closed. It appears I no longer need to wrap him quite so heavily in cotton wool.

With that, we were off to Horse of the Year Show 2024: my poor husband with a literal truckload of girls and mares. They traveled perfectly and unloaded calm and happy at the show, even - perhaps especially - Wynnie. She seemed to look around and say, "Oh, this place again," then immediately settled down to hand graze. In fact, I handed her to BarnRat so that I'd have both hands free to wrangle Arwen, who turned out not to need any wrangling. She was chill from the moment we got there.

We tucked the mares into their stables and immediately leaped into action. C and BarnRat helped Erin and K to turn out their Boerperd mares to the nines while I got Wynnie ready and helped with Faith. For the record, bay horses are the best thing ever. I sprayed some shine spray, brushed her tail, wiped her face and put her halter on while everyone else ran around painting Wompom on white legs and bemoaning grass stains. In a flurry of activity, everyone was ready, and we all set off for in-hand: K and Erin to the Boerperd arena, and Faith and Wynnie to the Bob Charter arena. Arwen came along so that she wouldn't be all alone in the stables.

Faith and I arrived at the arena gate with a little time to spare. The gigantic Bob Charter was divided in half, with the showing happening on the far end near the restaurant. Faith and I hung out on the other side for a while and I immediately knew that we were going to have a rough time of it. Faith couldn't see Wynnie and Arwen - although there were other horses in the arena with her - and it worried her hugely.

I walked her around a little and we discussed the fact that feelings are okay but running over your handler is not okay at all. She was still tense and pulling but no longer trying to squash me when the steward called us in and I showed the big girl for the first time in years.

photo by Denford Studios

She was understandably worried but actually the best I've ever seen her in hand. In motion, she was perfect. She wasn't into standing still, but did so long enough for the judge to look at her. Her trot was really cool despite my tiny legs and she pinned second in a medium-sized class, her best in-hand result yet.

After Faith's championship class, where she didn't place, we quickly trotted out and I handed her off to the girls in exchange for Wynnie. We went straight in with no time to get her settled, which turned out not to be a problem at all, because Wynnie was utterly chill. She called to Arwen once or twice, but never really looked around for her. Instead, she marched into the show arena like she owned it.

I had a pocketful of small treats and I unashamedly deployed them with frequency because my little two-year-old was foot perfect. She tossed her head a little and had an excited step or two in her trot, but didn't yank me around or jump up. She barely even fidgeted when she had to stand still in the lineup - which is a feat for a baby her age.

photo by Denford Studios

I was glowing with pride even before the judge placed her second in a class of five, which I was over the moon with. She's only two and her class was fillies four and younger, so there were much more mature girls in the class, and she stood up well against them. More importantly, she was pleasant to handle and enjoyed herself. She knows this game now and she likes it. I think she's going to be an absolute pleasure for her first ridden show.

We had a short break before the group class, which gave me time to get Arwen spot washed and polished for her baby riding classes with a little kiddo. (More on those later). I handed Wynnie to C while I was busy with Arwen and she quickly figured out that she could drag poor C all over the place. When I took her back, she tried to walk over me and got bopped in the shoulder with a showing cane. She took the correction with grace but she was starting to run out of patience - understandably for her age. Annoyingly, it took several reminders for her to stay out of my space, and this transferred into her class somewhat.

photo by Denford Studios

We headed in for her group class, where two horses from the same sire or dam are presented, and showed alongside her beautiful half-sister also by Dakota. Wynnie was getting a little irritable at this point and wiggled around in the lineup a little. I gave her the tip of the showing cane to chew and that settled her somewhat. She gave a jump when we trotted up, but never brought any feet near me, and trotted nicely by my side despite some annoyed head-shaking. I had to remind her to stay out of my space a few times, too. Nothing was horrible, she was just really over it by that point and that's okay.

Hubby was having an amazing time. He thinks Wynnie is the most beautiful horse he's ever seen, and we brought his bike along to the show, which was a stroke of genius on his part. He zoomed around happily fetching and carrying and none of the horses seemed to mind. Each time we won a ribbon, he hung it on his bike. It was delightful.

We got third in a fairly large class and then poor baby Wynnie could go for a rest. It was time to get Arwen and her kiddo into the arena, and this was the class that I was the most invested in for the whole show.

More on that later. God is so good.

the first of many

Sometimes Love is a Bridle

 February kicked off with the show at Penbritte and then grew somewhat quiet on the equestrian front. Thunder recovered from a pulled tendon early in the month and then promptly damaged his other front leg by getting into an argument with Diablo (25, one-eyed) about who was Rene's boyfriend. (Rene was content for them BOTH to be her boyfriend during the most violent and raging foal heat I have ever seen). It wasn't major, just a lump on the outside of his cannon bone, but Mr. Stoic got time off until it healed anyway.

Raya continued to be super adorable. She got herself into her first trouble (of much trouble, judging by how the horses have behaved lately) when Samule got away from Kathleen during his lunging session and decided that he HAD to capture and investigate Raya. He ran through a couple of fences (did I mention that a lightning strike took out our energiser, too?) and chased poor baby Raya through a couple more, separating her from her mom. Thankfully, Dusty showed up, chased Samule away, and kept Raya by her side until I got to them. Raya was none the worse for wear except for a small scrape on her nose. Samule spent the rest of the month in jail until we got the new energiser.

Lancey only had a couple of rides in February, but he was fabulous. Amazing to hack - obviously - and even better in the arena. In fact, I would have loved to take him to Horse of the Year, but the Arabs are on a weekday which is difficult to swing at the best of times and impossible given all the vet bills these dudes incurred this month.

Arwen had a chill first week in February. She went for a long hack after the show and behaved impeccably - solo is no problem for her these days. Is the dragon maturing? Perhaps we can hope so now that she's 17.

Rene had a photo shoot with her actual owner, who's hopelessly outgrown her now but had a few beautiful years riding her. Raya photobombed accordingly.

Despite Raya's best efforts, the photos still turned out totally spectacular.

photo by Erin Vogler Photography

BarnRat has her lovely new horse but is still competing Midas at SANESA this year as long as she doesn't grow too much more. He's jumping like a beast for her. We took them out to a clinic at E2's yard in Meyerton and he stopped hard at first, but kiddo rode him thoroughly through it, and they ended with a .90m track in fine style including fillers and things.

He's given this poor child a hard time, but she's also developed a fabulous seat, so there's that.

Raya's overwhelming cuteness made it really hard to get anything done. She's been one of the easiest foals we've had, although we had some trouble getting her to quit eating her mom's concentrates - I've never seen a foal eat so much solids so fast. This girl was two weeks old and chowing down on grains and hay already.

Lancey was out of work for most of February because I had a pea-sized melanoma cut out of his butt early in the month. It was the only one I could find and I wanted to get on top of it, so the vet cut it out with nice big, clean margins. He was shaky under the sedation and gave me a fright, but came out of it easily. The wound healed with no fuss at all.

The vet asked if I wanted to biopsy the lump, but like... it was a nasty black thing with octopus tentacles on a grey horse. It was a melanoma. I opted out.

Everyone had flu shots on the 7th as well, so Arwen took it fairly easy that week. The next week, though, we got right back to work and kept ticking over nicely for the rest of the month. We did a ton of work on her halts, trot-canter and walk-canter transitions, and flying changes.

Honestly, I'm not sure how we got anything done at this yard in February because of this Raya cuteness.

This is my new friend and client A's horse, Mawarda, a picture perfect little Arabian. He was kind of ribby when we got him in the winter, but these days he's a shiny, round boy.

(Relax, it's khakibos, an invasive but weirdly beneficial weed. Not that kind of weed.)

Faith was incorrigible at the show, so much so that I didn't even put her kid on her. She wasn't dangerous, just really tense and wiggly - definitely not suited for a 10-year-old. So I switched the kiddo onto Flashy instead. He's been a bit of a dunderhead lately but improving with every ride.

Hubby was allowed to start cycling in the beginning of February, and riding with him has become one of the most exquisite pleasures in my life.

Toy Town and BarnRat joined us on this particular ride, which always introduces an element of chaos. It was some of the most fun I've had on horseback this year - and I've had a lot of fun this year.

Running this place can be stressful, but it's got to be some of the most beautiful land the Lord ever made.

Tarka, also belonging to A, had difficulty gaining her weight back after she arrived with her foal Azai at foot last year. These days, though, she's starting to look a little like an overstuffed sausage.

Despite some very dry weeks in January and early February, the grazing is holding up fine. Perhaps a little too fine - I'm more worried about fat horses than thin ones right this moment.

Despite being in full work, Arwen is one of the fattest ones. We're working on restoring the fences now that we have the new energiser and we're going to move the fat ones off the best grass, so we'll see how that goes. They'll lose much of it naturally in the winter.

Wedding Bliss and BarnRat have gone from strength to strength. Wedding could be quite rude and throw a few bucks, but E2 jumped on her for me and sorted her out with one ride. Kiddo handles her extremely well. They've been jumping gymnastics and tracks of 0.80m already, which Wedding finds practically effortless. She's also finally gaining some weight on the nice grass - hopefully we'll get the ribs totally covered before winter.

Arwen and I took our new livery, Donker, and his lovely owner, IG, on a hack with Flash and her non-horsy boyfriend. He was admirable about the whole thing and Flash, of course, took perfect care of him - despite having launched a poor little kid only a few minutes earlier. This is the first kid to fall off Flashy, though, in four years of riding school work, so I can't be too mad.

Our neighbor is renting our southern pastures this autumn and winter, so he put up a new fence for us.

I'm not sure I ever introduced Samule. Hubby has been pestering me for months to get him a horse of his own, but I did not. Instead, I got him a tiny, somewhat feral mule. He's much less feral these days - we've had him a few months - and becoming a really cute pet. K is training him for me and we plan to put him in harness eventually. His talents include following us around the pasture and escaping from absolutely any fence that isn't loaded with at least five thousand volts.

I sent this to Erin joking that his front legs kept getting injured so I'd just chopped them off. This was actually his first time back at work with two functioning forelegs - a lungeing session that involved a lot of squealing, leaping, and even, embarrassingly, getting away from me and running around the arena while K was trying to ride Faith. Good to know he was feeling fine, I guess.

My birthday was at the end of February, and I wandered into my house after running around all afternoon to find K, Rain, hubby, and Erin (via video call) gathered inside yelling "Surprise!" like in the movies. They'd all chipped in to buy the most epic birthday present.

After buying Arwen's brown Wintec last year, I didn't really have brown tack to match. It came with a snaffle bridle that mostly matched but had a crank noseband and rubber reins that aren't really showing legal. I bought some mismatched reins and a noseband that also didn't quite match and cobbled them together for Pre-HOY with an old Pelham that I had lying around. She goes in a Pelham - not like she goes in the double, but she goes - so I was happy with that for HOY. Nothing exactly matched, but I wasn't going to fork out a bunch of cash for a bridle that was only really necessary once. Dressage judges might get a twitchy eye from a black bridle and brown saddle, but they won't mark you down like in showing.

At the tack shop where I got the reins, though, there hung a thing of beauty: a brown double bridle exactly the same as Arwen's black one, which is perfect for both showing and dressage and suits her face really well. I thought it would be a good match for my saddle and it wasn't that expensive but, again, I'm still paying off expenses from when hubs was in hospital so it wasn't going to happen. Except that it did. They all got together and bought it for me, and it matches not just well, but perfectly.

Sometimes, love is a bridle.

K put ribbons on it

Donker has been a generally very good boy, but he presumably got into an argument with one of the others - likely Flashy - and received a kick. Being an older boy, he hasn't been healing particularly well, so I spend some time obsessing over his leggy each day.

In the absence of a tractor, an issue we've been dealing with for over a year now, hubby hooked the harrow to his SUV - which he is very precious about - and spent hours dragging the arena for me. It made an enormous difference. This man, you guys <3

M lunged Thunder a few times for me because I was embroiled in HOY prep and not able to pay him a ton of attention in the last week of February when he came back to work. I rode him on the Wednesday, though, and while - as always - he needed a little convincing to get in front of my leg, he felt as strong and supple as ever.

Arwen felt amazing as we prepared for Horse of the Year. We worked on flying changes, hoping to fit one into our show riding test for extra marks, and while she was still a little messy right to left sometimes, her changes left to right got to a point where they felt almost perfect. She skipped softly through them so lightly I could barely feel them.

Her extended trot became effortless again with the arena harrowed, too.

The main herd is quite large now - eleven horses - but they're getting along so well. Arwen is, obviously, the boss mare and she keeps everyone effortlessly in line. Flashy is the Big Stallion in his little mind and Midas acts as a sort of lieutenant. Faith is also quite dominant, and the rest are pretty happy to just eat grass and not have complicated social lives. Flashy and Midas are even getting along, to my surprise.

Raya and Rene temporarily got put into the arena while my hands were busy. Raya galloped madly around the arena but never came close to the non-electrified white tape surrounding it. She is very clear on the fact that fences are not for touching, a great relief to me. There are few things more frustrating than escapees.

I had professional photos taken of Raya because I'm sad not to have better photos of baby Wynnie, so I look forward to posting those.

I may be a little worried about their weight right now, but I still truly appreciate the low maintenance of these Nooitgedachters. It hardly costs me a thing to keep these two beauties in show condition. They're only on pasture with a fistful of balancer for the micronutrients, and even in full work, these girls simply blossom. No shoes, great mouths that only need the dentist occasionally, cast-iron legs, and they don't even seem to need a ton of bodywork. Thank you ladies.

old man Vastrap in the background living his best retired life

Arwen and I didn't practice our show riding a ton - we have Easter Festival dressage coming up so that's taking up a lot of our attention - but we did make the effort to play with a working riding test and ensure that the halts are still steady. Spoiler alert: the effort paid off.

Kiddo and Midas at their clinic at E2's lovely yard. They have SANESA coming up and I'm interested to see how they do. Midas jumped well at this venue last time and both he and kiddo have improved a lot - she's put in an amazing amount of work.

Another livery also went to the clinic and did this to himself in the horsebox, so that was fun. Horses gonna horse. It was surprisingly superficial and he's basically fine again now, but it was not a good moment when I stepped into the blood-streaked box.

We wrapped up the month by finally getting a good picture of Arwen in her beautiful new bridle, all ready for Horse of the Year - which was amazing.

More on that later. God is good.