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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Denford Studios

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

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

Photo by Denford Studios

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Opus Proprium

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

Photo by Opus Proprium

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

Photo by Opus Proprium

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

Photo by Opus Proprium

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

God is always good!

Another Photo Dump

 I've spent the past couple of weeks wrestling with very irritating eyestrain, which annoyed me deeply. I only have to be at my desk 4-5 hours a day, unlike so many of us who are chained to their offices for 8 or 9 hours, yet still my eyes decided it was too much, ungrateful brats. Anyway, after DH (yay! I finally get to call him that!) dragged me forcefully to the optometrist, I'm getting my prescription glasses next week and then I can settle back into writing and blogging as much as I please.

So for today, enjoy a photo dump.

Faith looking resplendent, as usual. HOY is only a month away!

Thunder had a much nicer two weeks with me not hanging on his face and also not expecting very much of him while I sorted out my hands. I ride him without a whip on alternate days, and this is going much better than I'd hoped.

Our newest livery, Vortex, was rescued by his lovely mother from a horrible situation. He arrived in heartbreaking shape two weeks ago this Saturday, with a body score of maybe 2/9, so many ticks that I'm still soaking the scabs out of his mane, mud fever, and tendonitis in all four legs. So far, his rehab is going better than expected.

Red and his kiddo just enjoying one another 💜

Riding carefully between the beans to keep from squishing them!

Watching E2 jump a little log on Ladybug. Thunder coped with this mini-hack really well

I have enlisted riding school kiddos to make sure Arwen gets thoroughly worked (cantered and jumped) on the days I don't have time to ride her, just to shake off some of the dragon chunkiness

Schooling Lancey has gone much better now that I don't try to nail his head down all the time, although I am still bad at downward transitions, no surprises there

Baby Azai and his mom, Tarka, got demoted to sleeping in one of the small paddocks at night when their rehab-needing brother Vortex arrived, but Azi is handling everything with aplomb. He is, obviously, the life of the party right now

Lancey has done plenty of hacking, sometimes ponying my mom on sweet little Spirit.

Looking down at the yard from a hillside 💜

Ladybug starting to look very grown up under E2.

Sahara's mane is amazing. She has a new lease kiddo since Dawn was sold (to a fantastic home), and they seem to be getting along pretty well.

First Mugg n Bean breakfast as husband and wife 💜 I love being married to this magnificent creature

After much debate with myself, I moved Diablo in with Tarka and Azai. They mostly ignore each other, which is OK for now, since I worry Diablo will get bullied with his one eye. He's very shut off from the others at this point. Hopefully Azai will bring him out of his shell.

Stardust is really starting to recover from her horrific abscess. She roams the yard pretty much freely during the day and the grass is starting to make a difference, even though we're desperate for rain. She'll need several months of self exercise before I start to consider if she can slowly return to gentle school pony work, but I'm more optimistic than I used to be.

I reduced Skye's food because the old lady is CHONKY this summer! They had their shots last week and she had quite a big sore lump from her tetanus shot, but it resolved in a few days.

He had a few days off, and felt a bit flat on Monday, but was back to his usual perfect self on Tuesday.

Flashy is also getting very chunky, so he spends his days inside eating hay instead of grass and babysitting Vortex. When the others come in at night, he goes out to the herd. So far he still looks like a pregnant pony sausage.

One of Dusty's students gave her some love and she absolutely lit up. Motivation for us to try to bring her back to work, even if it's just lead rein ploddies.

Fat ponies are becoming a recurring theme. Ladybug regained every kilo she lost in the winter and then some.

Midas has been extremely good lately. He will forever be half Welshie, but he'll be 9 this June, and he's finally maturing into the sweet little superstar we need in the school.

More hacking 💜 No complaints from me!

E2 fell off someone else's pony and hurt herself. She'll be okay, and recommended a friend for the interim, E3. E3 was mildly horrified when I suggested we herd the cows in but she was a good sport about it and Ladybug didn't mind.

I put the double back on Arwen for schooling. I do regret introducing her to it as easy as I did, in my cluelessness, but she's happier in it. I think the curb sitting quite low has something to do with it since she has that melanoma on her inside cheek. If she's happy, I'm happy, a view J shared in his lesson with us yesterday.

I've surrendered to the fact that I can only really enjoy nonfiction or thrillers as leisure reading. I love spec fic but I get paid to write it, so my brain counts it as work. Deaver is my ultimate favourite, followed by Francis and then Patterson.

A teaser of the rain that's hopefully coming soon 💜

So happy with his coat and body fat this summer, although we're working on building more muscle.

Arwen was in the veld when I wanted to school her Thursday afternoon and behaved perfectly to be ridden in with a halter.

Obviously she followed that, once I had her tacked up and turned away to put on my spurs, by thundering off and spooking the cows. When I reached her she turned around and came up to me. My sweet geldings have lulled me into complacent habits, which the Dragonchaos factor will surely break.

Baby bod is slowly vanishing.

Wynnie is still growth spurting hard, although at least the front end has caught up again. I like the long neck and shoulder she's developing.

Arwen had her first ever lesson with J yesterday. As expected, he focused heavily on the basics of rhythm and contact, and she worked her body in a way she never has before. It was hard, but good!

Finally, some of our wedding photos 💜

God is good.

In Which Working Equitation Gets Dragoned

 Is "dragon" a verb? I think Arwen makes it one.

Had my saddle slipped forward? Yes. Was this a direct result of ferocious Dragoning? Maybe.

There's a growing community of working equitation riders on the East Rand, not far from us. I'd only ever seen videos of WE, but it looked like a ton of fun. Arwen has won her share of championships in working riding but always wishes she could go a bit faster. Since the maneability part of WE basically looked like working riding on steroids, I'd always had a pipe dream of trying it out with the dragonbeast itself.

When I saw an introductory WE clinic advertised for last Sunday, it was a no-brainer. We made our (amazingly inexpensive) booking, tossed the beast in the box, and off we went on our first husband-and-wife horse-related excursion.

As usual, Arwen sweated the whole way there. She's always a sweaty person in general and, in eight or nine years of traveling to things, she's never stopped sweating on the way there. (Never on the way back, though). Still, I was a little concerned when we unloaded a snorting, sweating dragon when we got to the small, pleasant yard where the clinic was being held. Arwen has only been off property twice since Wynnie was conceived - once to the vet and once to look after Wynnie when we showed her in hand at HOY 2022 - and hasn't been ridden off property at all for more than two years.

Despite the rising dragon vibes, I didn't have time to stress about it. I was, as usual, late. We strapped on her saddle and headed for the arena, where my trepidation only increased when I discovered that there were about twenty of us. It was a large jumping-size arena with plenty of space around it, certainly enough to accommodate all of us, and on Lancey or Thunder I would not have batted an eye. However, Arwen, being a Dragon, kicks mightily when provoked. Eyeing the couple of young horses already losing their various marbles, I sincerely hoped that she wouldn't be provoked today.

Still, to my surprise, Arwen felt relatively chill as we strolled around the edge of the arena. She tipped an ear toward one or two spooky things but was immediately happy to settle in and get to work. We trotted a few circles, and while she was hot and I did not regret my choice to leave my whip at the horsebox, she was listening well and not running through my aids. I could, however, feel a buck brewing right behind the saddle.

We got right to the obstacles, starting with the stock pen. It wasn't that small - maybe a 15m circle on the outside with a volte on the inside - but, mindful of that brewing buck, Arwen and I trotted it.

clearly applying the lesson to lift my hands lol

While we were waiting for everyone else to go, I schooled her a little on the grass, and the buck magnificently came out when I asked for canter left. It was just a porpoise really, so I put my leg on and growled through it and she obliged. She did offer a few more bucks throughout the day but they felt like pure excitement and honestly, who can blame her? Life is awesomely exciting if you are a dragon, even if you're a 16-year-old one.

The next obstacle was a little lane, at the end of which there was a bell. One had to canter in, halt, ring the bell and rein-back out (there were easier options, like just walking in and doing three steps of rein-back instead, but Dragonbeast and I felt like we had it handled). Apart from the fact that Arwen randomly decided that she couldn't rein-back anymore while we were waiting, which we sorted out quite quickly before actually trying the obstacle, this was a non-event.

The next obstacle was the easiest and also the one with which we had the most trouble, for whatever reason (perhaps not stimulating enough by mare standards). Simply cantering up to a drum, picking up the jug, holding it over my head, and putting it back down again. Easy, right? Not if you have a dragon. Arwen decided that this was far too exciting to stand still, and nearly knocked the drum over with her voluptuous buttocks. We practiced this one repeatedly while waiting for other obstacles and eventually she did remember her manners.

I anticipated some drama around the bridge. Arwen has never minded going onto mats in working riding classes, but this was a very different kettle of fish. When we went up to the bridge the first time, I let her put her head down and sniff, and she stepped onto it without even being asked. After that she took it confidently from both reins, no questions asked. I think it was her favourite obstacle.

We followed this with side-passing over a pole, which was also very exciting in her mind, but we didn't quite managed to complete the full side-pass any faster than a walk. I think once she gets the idea a little more cemented in her mind she will do it easily, so it's just a matter of practice.

The next obstacle was definitely the easiest for us: halting between two poles and switching an upturned flower pot from one to the other. It was done quickly enough that it held a certain dragon's attention and she didn't squirm.

Next was the slalom, which was bending poles in canter, with the emphasis being that you had to go right through the middle of the poles - not hug them like bending poles - and do a simple or flying change between each one. This was piece of cake for her, with easy changes in walk, and loads of fun, even though the many transitions did cause rising excitement and a few moments of difficulty for me.

The garrocha was definitely the hardest obstacle for me. Arwen didn't care at all about the big stick being picked up and waved around her, but the level of hand-eye coordination required for me to pick it up mid-canter was... more than I really have. We had to take several passes at it, with multiple oopsies, before I got it into my head. Something we'll definitely need to practice at home.

The final obstacle was the gate. We practiced this twice, perfectly, while no one was watching, and then as soon as it was our turn, I just... reversed my horse directly into the pole and knocked it over. Arwen even told me that "hey, mom, there's a pole there" and I insisted "no it's all good" and she took a huge step back, knocked it over with her voluptuous bottom and said "MOM THERE IS A POLE THERE". Sorry dragon, 100% my bad.

After this we had the chance to run through the whole thing ourselves. This time we did everything in canter, except for the obstacles that are supposed to be in walk and the side pass pole, and it was pretty foot perfect except for me failing majestically at grabbing the garrocha on the first two tries.

While the first few WE shows of the year clash with SANESA, HOY and dressage, there is one later in the year that I'd love to try out with her, just for fun - because she loved it and that made me love it.

I'm so happy to be riding my dragon again after she took time off for Wynnie, and I can't wait to see where this year takes us.

God is good.

oh look, a husband!