horsey UK trip report with forum meet-ups 'n stuff!

[joosie]

((This will come in several posts as I have got quite a lot to share!))

Back in February I had just under 2 weeks off before the competition season started. I decided to go to the UK for a bit of a busman's holiday - my grandma down in Cornwall was having an eye operation so I wanted to go and see her anyway, so I thought I would combine a visit home with some visiting of various horsey friends from forums - some of whom I had already met on previous trips, and some new ones too.

I headed out on the Thursday ferry to Portsmouth and spent the rest of the day on various trains up to my first destination - Mansfield near Nottingham. I stayed with my friend Steph from another forum, who I have known online for a couple of years and eventually met back in June, when I invited her (and another forum friend who I had "known" for ages but never met) over to France for a week.

DAY 1

In the morning we went to the yard to see to Steph's horses. Once we'd got the mucking out and other odd jobs done we tacked up Berry, her 6-year-old Welsh Cob, so I could have a ride on her in the paddock. Berry is mostly a hacking horse and isn't keen on schooling so we kept it quite short - I just wanted to see what she was like, I have always loved the look of her and it was great to meet her in the flesh. Her trot was to die for, sooo comfy, would have loved to take Steph's saddle home with me too!

Streeeetch!

Then we grabbed some lunch from a drive-thru and headed off towards Derby to meet up with Beth, the other girl that came to visit me in France (she is WonderBolt on NR but I'm not sure if she's currently active). When we got there Beth and her friend H had our four steeds all tacked up and ready to go - Beth's horse Cleo who is partbred Clydesdale, her 4-year-old piebald mare Daisy, H's youngster Nuts (great name!) and Maizy, a little 11.2 who she had recently bought from a local riding school. Now can anyone guess who my ride was...

Maizy had been out on leadrein hacks with the kids but hadn't hacked out off the leadrein before and H wanted to know what she'd be like, so having a small-pony enthusiast like me there was a perfect opportunity to find out. Put the stirrups down onto the last hole and they were more or less ok (although I would have had them a bit longer if I could!). Anyway we hacked out for about an hour and what can I say about Maizy other than that she was super sweet and super fun! She started out a little joggy because she was keen, but she'd had been out of work for a long time and was quite unfit so she stopped that quite soon. She was really well-behaved bless her.

Giving Maizy a hug (it was quite hard to get back up after this!)

Yes, I am 27 going on 7. What's yer point?

When we got back to the yard we went in the back way across a couple of fields. H had mentioned that she wanted to start teaching Nuts to canter but that she found their school too small and uneven and couldn't balance in it. I suggested trying in a field as she might be more forward and could go in a straight line, H said she wasn't confident enough but I was welcome to have a go if I fancied it. Nuts had been quiet and sensible out on the roads so I thought why not! We trotted up the field the first time to make sure she was happy going away from her friends – she was, and she was sensible walking back down too – so we turned around and headed back up, and this time I asked for canter. She didn't quite understand at first and it took a lot of leg and a few taps on the shoulder with the whip, then she got the idea and popped up into canter and was absolutely perfect! Walked back down, cantered up a second time and this time she was really forwards and seemed to enjoy herself. H was really pleased and I hear Nuts is cantering confidently now on hacks and in the school, so job done!

Since that was a success I decided I would do the same with Maizy just to see what she might be like for the kids. She did a super power trot up the field the first time, we walked back down, turned around again and I asked her to go up into canter. She was super, whizzy but not strong, we had a couple of mini bucks of happiness but they were harmless and she was in a wide open field after all – small ponies do tend to like that sort of thing! Great little pony, I loved her (as usual).

I wanted to have a go on Cleo, and Beth asked if I'd do a bit of jumping with her as she enjoys it but hasn't done it for a while, so we put the others away and then headed up to the school. It was so cool to ride Cleo at last, because I'd known her on the forums for years and always really liked her! Now by Beth's own admission she doesn't ask Cleo to work very hard so I wasn't surprised when Cleo was rather hard to get going – luckily I can do a superb "pony club kick" when the need arises and combined with a few taps on the bum with the schooling whip I managed to get her going – albeit very begrudgingly!

Err, ***, you mean you want me to trot?? (Nice grumpy face you've got there Cleo)

Canter was hard work for both of us! I love this pic because I am quite clearly going for "effective over pretty"...

We jumped a few crosspoles first, then moved to uprights and eventually added some tyres to make it a bit "fuller". Cleo miraculously became more keen to canter when jumping was involved! She was lovely and comfortable to jump, really fluid and straightforward. We both enjoyed it and Beth was happy to see her jumping again too. I think she would have gone higher if we had more jump blocks!

Afterwards I tried to get Cleo to "pose" next to her jump – I have noticed a trend amongst kids to do this to show off what they have just jumped, and I thought since Cleo hadn't jumped for a while she might like a pic to show her buddies. She didn't seem to know what I wanted at first and kept trying to follow me so I had a bit of trouble at first...

But we got the shot in the end!

So that was day 1 (a very long one!). Horse count: 5.

 

[joosie]

DAY 2

We all stayed at Steph's on Friday night (Jurassic Park III with surround sound and a Chinese takeaway, very sophisticated) as it was her birthday the next day and we were meeting some local forum people for a pub lunch. After present-opening we went up to the yard to take Berry for a hack. The yard is about 15mins' ride away from Sherwood Forest so we had some lovely terrain to ride on, I can see why Steph enjoys hacking Berry so much as she was so comfy to ride! ((good thing too, I was really sore because my pelvis was out and unfortunately I'd forgotten to pack my chiropractor, so excuse the wonky seat in pics!))

At one point we got to a good grassy bit that riders like to use for a good blast. I rode Berry down into the dip and then turned around and cantered up to the top of the hill, passing the girls and their cameras on the way. As we came level with them I started asking Berry to pull up... nothing! - cheeky moo decided she wanted to keep on going. I had a slight brake failure and it took me a while to pull her up, I think she may have been enjoying herself...

It was a bitterly cold day and a few flakes of snow fell not long after we got back from the ride. We sorted the horses out, went back to Steph's to shower and get changed and then went back to the pub to meet for our lunch. We could see Berry and her friends out in the field from the window! We met up with two other people from the forum – neither of whom I had met before, but I "knew" them quite well so it was nice to meet them at last. I had been really cold at the yard but a massive burger, chips and salad soon warmed me up!

After lunch I got the train to Oakham to stay with another forum person, who I have followed with her horses for about 5 years.

DAY 3

We had a leisurely start in the morning, headed to the yard around 10am to turn out C's lovely ex-racehorse Major and then got the SatNav on and navigated our way through Leicester to visit another forum friend.

I had been on a two-day trail ride with H a couple of years ago and we'd got on really well, so I wanted to see her while I was in her neck of the woods – and since I had always been itching to have a go on her mare Libby I thought why not combine it with a ride. Unfortunately the weather was really awful, it was very cold and by the time we got to Helen's yard it was also hammering down with rain and a sideways wind had started to pick up. Lovely. We got Libby in from the field, tacked up in the barn, waited for the rain to let up a bit, which it didn't so we just went out in it anyway!

Exactly as H had warned me, Libby decided she wanted to go backwards while I mounted up. After repositioning her a few times and getting the same response, I backed her up much more than she'd anticipated until we were at the other side of the school and her bum was up against the fence. Told her there was no need to turn it into an argument, if she wanted to go backwards she could go backwards but it wouldn't get her out of being ridden! We did about 20 minutes on the flat and to Libby's credit she was really quite good despite the cold rain blowing in sideways across the school :cold: She had a lovely trot and canter, really smooth and regular, although we had a few little bucks going into canter but she got over that quickly when she realised they were just going to be ignored! She was a really sensitive little horse and I could feel that she was very tuned in to me the whole time – like she was constantly trying to read my mind and work out what was coming next, and whether she wanted to cooperate or not Really pleasant to ride. Unfortunately I don't have any pics because I didn't want my camera to come out in the rain!

After that we did a little bit of work with a single pole on the ground. H had found that Libby was really wary of poles and they were one of the things that triggered her anxiety and the rearing that tends to go with it. We walked around it on a small circle for a while, and she was happy enough to be next to it, but as I straightened her up and pointed her at it for the first time I could feel her tense up immediately. H told me she would walk up to it easily enough but when she got close she'd suddenly shoot forwards and leap over it. I just got my reins short enough to keep her straight and then hooked my fingers under her neckstrap so I wouldn't clonk her teeth, put my leg on and left her to deal with it in the way she felt best. I got exactly the reaction H said I would, the poor girl really was very worried!

We walked over it a few times in each direction, same reaction at first but she gradually got quieter each time, until she was walking over it normally, always with loads and loads of praise on the other side. Then we moved on to trot and got the same thing – tense and anxious, get to the other side as quickly as possible – but slightly better each time. After about 6 times in trot she suddenly objected to the task and with no warning just planted her feet and went up. It wasn't a full-on rear, more like a "warning" rear that indicated she had had enough. I took her over the pole twice more after that and then called it quits while she was still cooperating. It was definitely nerves rather than naughtiness, the tension in her body said an awful lot. I think pole-related anxiety is quite common but I had never felt so much tension going over a single pole before.

We were all frozen and soaked by then so we turned Libby out and went off to a local pub for lunch. We had some good food and a nice catch-up (C and H have met before too so we had a lot to walk about!) before H had to head off somewhere. We parted company and headed back towards Oakham. The plan had been for me to have a ride on Major when we got back, but the weather was just appalling by then and neither of us was really feeling very keen! Instead we had a break at the house, went to the yard later to see to Major and then headed home again for dinner.

Horse count after day three: 6.

DAY 4

Next day, Monday, was meetup at EML's yard. It had snowed quite a bit overnight but the meet was still on, so C dropped me off at the train station and I headed towards East Midlands Parkway where I was picked up by OwnedByChanter. Even more forum names became faces! - OBC, EML, Calluna, Popularfurball and Skib (plus Mr Skib) – we had mountains of food for lunch which we couldn't even finish! Really enjoyed my first go at sidesaddle and the mounted games in the afternoon, and meeting more new people of course. There is a thread and report about it here –

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235890&highlight=sidesaddle

Horse count after day four: 8.

DAYS 5 TO 9

Now it was time to take a bit of "leave" from horses for a few days, as after the meet-up I headed down to Cornwall to spend four days at home.

 

[Innocence]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time! Lots of new horsey's and friends :smile:

 

[Flipo's Mum]

Am loving reading this - more please!!

 

[candyflosspot]

Great thread Joosie.. I love berry..she looks like a lovely genuine pony.

 

[Tina2011]

Great thread Jossie, where do you get your energy?

Cleo is gorgeous, looks like she has never worked so hard bless her, what a lovely mare.

 

[joosie]

DAY 10

On Sunday I left Cornwall again and head back upcountry – not quite as far as the Midlands though! My next meetup was with the lovely MaryPoppins and this famous black hoss of hers. We met at a local station and headed straight to the yard to meet Ben. When we got there he was lying down in his stable having his afternoon nap! MP showed me around the yard to give him a chance to wake up and then we dragged the poor chap out of his stable for a bit of a groom. Admittedly I don't really enjoy grooming that much, but it was nice with Ben as he just stood there "chillaxing" and was so soft and lush I could have stood and stroked him for hours.

MP tacked Ben up and we went out to the school. Ben had only just come back into work after his abcess, and he had lost some of his fitness and was very stiff, so we didn't do anything strenuous – just pootled around a bit in walk and trot, had a little canter to see what it was like (dreamy!) and did lots of stretching/bending/circles and so on. He was the widest horse I have ridden for a very long time and my poor hips took a bit of a stretching, but my goodness he was comfy!

MP took some photos and I was a bit surprised seeing them afterwards, because I felt miniscule at the time but I don't think I look that small on him (I'm 5'6'').

After about 20/30mins in the school the sun had started getting low so we went out for a little hack before it disappeared. We went into the woods behind the yard and wandered around some tracks, Ben was dead relaxed and mooched along on the buckle as MP walked in front of us nattering away. Lovely lady is our MP and a right chatterbox when it comes to her special boy At one point we stopped for her to answer her phone and just at that moment a small group of deer appeared out of nowhere and shot across the track in front of us. Ben went, "oh look, deer, that's nice" and that was about it – just of a dude really. Shame I have no pics from the ride but I'd forgotten to take my camera.

We got back to the yard as the sun started setting, got Ben untacked and turned him out and then MP gave me a lift to my friend Steff's house where I was staying for the night. It was lovely to meet MP and to see the handsome Ben in the flesh!

Horse count after day ten: 9.

DAY 11

On the Monday my friend Steff and her boyfriend were heading up to Manchester for a football match and had to leave at lunchtime, so we got up early and went off to her mum's yard to go out for a hack. Steff rode her jumping horse Sybil, and I rode her old horse Jack, who is now slightly arthritic and enjoying his senior years as a happy hacker with a sharer who is absolutely besotted and spoils him rotten. It was a mild morning and we had sunshine and no wind, so we headed out for a good 2 hours and did a nice cantery-cantery hack. We did some work on quiet roads but spent most of it on tracks in the woods and some other bridleways – another friend who has really awesome hacking on her doorstep!

At one point we went onto a public bridleway that met with a cross-country course, and had a couple of canter races there and jumped a few things. We kept them small and simple for Jack, who is not known for his jumping ability – he flew over them enthusiastically though and Steff said she hadn't seen him so keen for a long time! I wanted to make a canter video but Jack got a bit full of himself and I had a job to hold him, so I saved it for a moment when we had a little more control!

Obligatory ear shots

Little bit of canter through the woods, had to stop filming to put my hand back on the reins because Jack was thinking about trying to overtake Sybil at that point!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NBErdT5PB-A

After our hack, Steff dropped me off at the station and I headed to Guildford where I was meeting an old friend and staying for the night.

Horse count after day eleven: 10.

DAY 12

Tuesday was my last day. My friend and I took her dog for another walk as she didn't start work until later, and then I walked down to the nearby station for another NR meet-up, this time with Jane&Ziggy. We went to Cafe Mila first for a little bit of breakfast (ok so I'd already had one breakfast, but who's counting?) and then off to Jane's house to meet Mr Ziggypony

We didn't really have time for a hack or anything before I had to head to Portsmouth for my ferry, so we took his bridle and our hats down to the field and rode him bareback instead. It was quite warm in the lovely morning sunshine and perfect for a bit of pony-hugging! Jane rode him first and then I had a go – she seemed impressed that I jumped onto him from the ground, but to be honest it was messy as sin and less a "vault" than a clamber :giggle:

We didn't do much, just walked around a bit and then went over a ground pole a couple of times. Ziggy's behaviour over poles was different to that of Libby from earlier in the week, but the anxiety was the same – so dealt with it the same way, just sitting quietly and letting the horse decide how to handle it and then giving plenty of praise. Basically Ziggy was willing to walk over the pole but wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible when he got to the other side. After walking over it a few times in both directions Jane put down a second pole and we walked over the two together – no sooner had Ziggy stepped over the second one than he was turning sharply off to the left and cantering off with me up the field! He took me a bit by surprise and in my head I was going "oh bugger I'm going to fall off him in front of his mum, this is going to be so embarrassing" but luckily Ziggy is both broad and has a very comfortable canter so I was able to get him back to me in time. Phew! We went back and walked over the poles again and he did them perfectly – he is a very genuine young man.

I'm sorry but I have NO pics of Ziggy at all, I just forgot to take my camera down... I know, I'm rubbish! We put him away and then Jane gave me a lift back to Guildford to catch my train down to the port.

Sooo, final horse count: 11. On a 12 day "holiday"... I really need to get another hobby!

 

[Sunshine-x]

Why have I never seen Ben pics before?? He is is lush!

 

[ponymagic]

Really enjoyed reading this and looking at the pics. Sounds like you had a great time, thank-you for sharing :smile:

 

[newforest]

Love the look of Cleo the face looks familiar if you ask for anything taxing, like above walk! The pop for the jump looks Fab, typical enthusiastic cob.

 

[bitsnpieces]

Really loved reading that!! You look like you had a fab time and met some wonderful horses!

If you ever find yourself in the Suffolk area, you'll have to drop in :biggrin:

 

[OwnedbyChanter]

Oh I have waited a long time for that Joosie. You bus mans holiday sounds amazing I am so jealous that you got to ride Mr Perfect and Ziggy pony two of my fav NR horses.

Your break sounded fab.

 

[eml]

Come back soon Joosie, you were the motivation for our meetup!!

 

[joosie]

It's always nice to meet new horsey people, but especially when they are people you "know" online and you get to put a face to the name. Equally nice to meet / ride the horses you have been reading about for ages!

 

[newforest]

You are more than welcome to visit us on your next UK visit, I am just over the border, promise to have donuts.:wink:

 

[notpoodle]

looks like you had a great time! i'm in love with Berry :wub: ad I don't even like Welsh ponies usually!!!!

Also - just HOW BIG is Erik! I know he was a bit 'high' but ... whoa!!

you are welcome to come see us any time as well btw. same yard as Anna/Soot ....

Julia
xx

 

[Mary Poppins]

What a great write up. Thank you for coming to see Ben and I. He looks much bigger than your other rides, but as you say - you don't really look small on him. I am 4 inches shorter than you! When you are next in England make sure that you come back. We are jumping now and he loves it!

 

[squidsin]

So cool Joosie! Love it.