keeping Rubic busy!

[joosie]

So you might have gathered by now that I have kidnapped Rubic for a week under the guise of a "working holiday". My boss has jetted off to Argentina for her honeymoon (lucky sod!) and not looking forward to the prospect of doing all the work on my own for 18 days I asked some people over to help me out in return for loads of riding, homecooked food, and sightseeing opportunities. And our lovely Rubic is my guest (or victim if you will) for the first week

She arrived on Wednesday night, and around 11pm, not long after we had all gone to bed, we got a phone call from a neighbour saying that there was a group of loose horses up by the main road Didn't have a clue if they were ours or not but obviously had to go up and look! Pulled trousers and jackets on over our PJs (I was impressed how quickly Rubic reacted lol), grabbed some headcollars and drove up. The police were there plus the village mayor and a couple of neighbours, turned out there were 8 horses in an unfenced field next to the road, thankfully not ours! I recognised one, so the police went off to pick up the owner. We got headcollars on four of them (the others were uncatchable!) and walked them the kilometre home by torchlight. So yeah, that was a nice start to Rubic's holiday

Thursday morning we did morning stables and then squeezed in a quick hack on Jam and Picasso (sorry no pics, rubbish!) before we got picked up for our afternoon outing to the Haras du Pin. A friend of ours who competes in carriage driving is off to the French championships soon and had a lesson booked there with one of the country's top professional drivers. I volunteered to groom for her, as it would give Rubic a chance to see the Haras (albeit from a distance - last open day of the year was last week!) and learn a little bit about carriage driving. We got home too late to ride again so did evening stables and called it a day. A very easy day as far as my work goes but I think Rubic was a bit knackered



Friday has been nice and busy! After morning stables we went for a hack, and Rubic rode horse number 1 for the day, Varana. Just a gentle plod before lunch to warm up Rubic's leg muscles



After lunch we took Jam and Picasso in the school. Rubic got to learn a lot about what it's like to ride a true schoolmaster - "yes, I know exactly what you're asking me to do, and no, you're not getting it right, so no I won't..." and Jam made her work very, very hard! I forgot to take photos in the school, but we shall rectify that another day. Here is one of Jam refusing to pose!



Rubic was in need of a sit-down and biscuit by then so I lunged while she had a break and then we went out for another hack. This time a nice brisk trotty one and I put her on Tricks, aka Flying Donkey, who does brisk trotty hacks better than anyone!



Then we did evening stables, and finished up with horse number 4 for the day - my Anniepants! Have to say that not only was Rubic the perfect size for her but they were also very well-suited. Annie went nicely for her and was so well-behaved! She has trouble getting the correct canter lead on the right rein and we worked on it for about 10 minutes before she got it right, but instead of getting stressed about it Rubic stayed so calm and quiet and Annie responded really well to that. Once that was sorted they finished up popping over a couple of little jumps, Annie's concentration had almost gone by then so we got 3/3 perfect jumps and called it quits for today.



Jump videos

 

[domane]

What a lovely opportunity for Rubic! And how nice for you to have the company (and help!), Joosie. Keep them there photo's a-comin', won't you....?

 

[sophie33]

Looks like a great (but knackering!) experience for you Rubic! Thanks for the pics joosie - keep them coming!

 

[mystiquemalaika]

This is so lovely to read joosie has help company and rubic has a well deserved holiday and horsey time and the pictures are fantastic! Rubic your smile say a lot

 

[PePo]

So pleased for both of you (and a little bit jealous!) x

 

[Rubic]

I'm having so much fun! Today I got to go out in the carriage with Pif and Paf which was fab. We only went one ride and got soaked through (it just reminded me of home!).

 

[joosie]

Pif & Paf normally go on their winter holiday after their last competition but we decided to keep them in work until Rubic's visit so that she could see what carriage driving was like. They went out in the morning while I did some lunging but I'm sure Rubic took some photos! Straight after lunch we headed out on a hack and Rubic rode her 5th different horse - our 4-year-old Amazon (aka Hamster, don't ask me why but I called her that once and it has stuck!). About 20mins into our ride the rain arrived, heavy rain on a bit of a sideways wind (lovely), and we got quite literally soaked to the knickers When we'd sorted the horses back at the yard we actually had to go home for a change of clothes! Photos not brilliant as my camera was not impressed by the weather conditions... but you can probably make out that Rubic was still smiling despite being soaked through. Plus the lovely Amazon was good as gold despite the sideways rain and showed that being 4 does not a difficult horse make



I was going to give Rubic another horse to ride in the school after that but unfortunately it poured with rain for the rest of the afternoon (well, until we started evening stables - then the sodding sun came back out!) and the school was a bit too wet to do proper work. Instead I recruited Rubic to be my pole assistant so that I could quickly pop Annie around a course of jumps. Despite the rain Annie was really focused and willing and jumped beautifully, I was glad I got a chance to show off to Rubic what my lovely girl is capable of. Mouse and Annie have a training show tomorrow and I am hoping that my round with Annie will go better than our last show back in June. I have learned that she is a very willing jumper (and enjoys it) and will jump anything for me IF my riding is good enough - in other words I need to man up and kick on! I have given Rubic permission to shout at me while I'm jumping tomorrow

 

[Flipo's Mum]

Awh it's lovely to hear you having a good time Rubic, you deserve it, and very jealous too! Joosie I love your updates, you write so well and know we love photographs! Keep us updated on your antics and good luck with the jumping tomorrow, I'm sure you'll do fab.

 

[clare123]

Really enjoyed reading this, hope the show goes well. Rubic great to see you smiling horse therapy is the best.

 

[Jessey]

Oo sounds like great fun

 

[sjp1]

How really fab, am super pleased for both of you - and Joosie, you must encourage Rubic to get another. There will be lots out there who would be super pleased to have her as a Mum!

 

[Rubic]

I'm having a great time. Yesterday we went on a little trip to Bayeux, the American cemetery and the beach. The weather was lovely and we had a nice time exploring. First time I've driven abroad and it wasn't as difficult as I was expecting even though we did get lost!

How really fab, am super pleased for both of you - and Joosie, you must encourage Rubic to get another. There will be lots out there who would be super pleased to have her as a Mum!

I will get another but I just can't afford it right now but joosie's boss' mum told me that when I'm looking again I should let them know and come over and they'd find me one. She said I'd probably get more for my money, even including the transport. However my riding today proved that I need a lot of work so my aim is to work on me over the next couple of years, save up my cash then get another horse. I need to get fitter and much more effective [emoji12] Poor Jam had to suffer my horrific riding this afternoon before Jess saved him! [emoji15] I do have a share horse to go back to though so hopefully that works out and I don't ride that one like a sack of potatoes!

 

[joosie]

Oh trust me, if your riding had been horrific he would have let you know! He may be a grumpy old git but he doesn't suffer fools gladly, he was co-operative enough to show me that he didn't think you were that bad!

 

[joosie]

We were really lucky with the weather on Sunday! After morning feeds we went straight off to a local training show with my pony beasts. Mouse and his rider got a clear round in the 40cm and won his first rosette



The warm-up area for the bigger class was teeny, so Annie and I trotted round the 40cm as a warmup. They were too small for her to jump properly and she knocked one over because she couldn't be bothered to pick her feet up but it meant that for the next class we just needed to go into the miniscule warmup, canter once on each rein, pop over an upright and a spread and Annie was set to do a round of the 60-80cm. Having given myself a kick up the bum and having Rubic and my boss's mum there to shout at me ("cheer me on", whatever...) I made myself send Annie forwards and ride every stride, and in return Annie put heart and soul into jumping them and cleared everything first time including the fillers. She had a couple of poles down when our stride was poor but she was super and tried her heart out. So proud of my little horse (and it was such a relief that Rubic got to see my ponies at their best and not their worst! lol!).

My super girl (please excuse the sloppy riding!)

After the show we mucked out the remaining stables (farmer neighbour had done most of them for us while we were out) and then popped out for a quick hack before lunch. Rubic rode Picasso who I believe was her 6th different horse. As usual out hacking he did his best Riding School Plod impersonation - I think Rubic may have found him unrecognisable from the broncy-broncy showjumper she has seen in photos!

 

[joosie]

We had a quick lunch and then headed out on our road trip for the afternoon. Rubic did a fab job of driving a French car and although we got lost on the way to Bayeux we did make it in good time. We had a wander round the town, admiring how well the old buildings have been maintained, and remained in use, rather than just being replaced with new builds, had a nosey inside the Cathedral, and then popped into a patisserie on the way back to the car, where Rubic tried to chicken out of speaking French by getting me to order for her. I think not, Rubic!

Then we headed up the coast a bit to Colleville-sur-Mer to visit the American War Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. On the way down to the cemetery we had to hang back to let a group of American tourists get ahead of us a bit (including a woman who looked at the people way down on the beach below and went "look how small the people are" ) but luckily once into the cemetery we managed to lose them as it is so big everybody spreads out. There are over 9300 people buried at the cemetery including Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (a Medal of Honour recipient) and the headstones and lawns are beautifully maintained - row upon row upon row of perfectly-spaced headstones, Star of David for the Jewish soldiers and crosses for the rest. Such a haunting yet peaceful place, especially with the rumble of the ocean below. Then we drove down for a walk on the beach before we headed back home.



We topped the day off with a trip out to the pizzeria - we had worked up quite an appetite! - and then Rubic had a traditional Normande dessert, apple sorbet drenched in Calvados. I think it went down rather well!

 

[joosie]

The reason I say we were so lucky with the weather on Sunday is that today's has been really horrid! It was too wild and windy to ride out in the morning, so after morning stables and having horses in the paddock and on the treadmill we finished a bit earlier and trudged across the fields in our waterproofs and wellies to visit the herd of youngsters. After lunch there was a bit of a break in the rain, and the wind had died down, so we chucked some tack on Jam quickly so that Rubic could have another ride on him in the school. Jam was his usual grumpy but begrudgingly cooperative self, and gave Rubic's poor legs another good workout. Who needs the gym when you have a horse?!



I rode Jam for a little bit and then we finished off as the rain reappeared. The rest of the afternoon was a write-off, so we put the rest of the horses on the treadmill and sat up in the nice warm flat looking at photos. To finish off my boss's mum took Rubic off to a local farm shop to get some Calvados and presents for home. Hoping Tuesday will bring some slightly drier weather...!

 

[joosie]

Tuesday's weather much better thank goodness, it was dry and sunny for most of the day, aside from a few patches of light rain. We had finished morning stables by 10.30 so had time to hack out twice before lunch. Rubic rode another new horse, Toscane (number 7!) on the first hack, and then Tricks again on the second. Toscane is usually very photogenic but wasn't going to play ball today...!



After lunch it was still sunny and looked like it would be staying dry, so we went for another hack. Rubic's 8th different horse was our 5-year-old Virgil who is probably the soppiest horse on the yard. Rubic has fallen for him, as everyone does! I don't know why but when he saw me with the camera he started pulling silly faces.



By the time we were half way round the hack, the rainclouds had appeared and we got a little bit rained on as we headed home, but nothing like the other day! When we got back to the yard the sky was clearing again and as Rubic fancied doing a spot of jumping with Annie I suggested we did that first while the school was still good. A rather ominous-looking silver cloud was coming towards us as we tacked her up, and it turned out to be a VERY good thing we hadn't set out for another ride, as Rubic and Annie had been in the school for about a minute when the heavens opened and an awful lot of hail came out! We took shelter under the barn roof and watched one of the heaviest hail showers I have seen for a really long time. We would have been in a bit of trouble out on a hack in that!

Rubic had quite an "interesting" ride at first as Annie, who hates getting her feet wet, did a lot of funny trotting and wiggling and throwing her legs all over the place trying to avoid all the wet patches Unfortunately for her, that was pretty much the whole school - there was a LOT of rain on Monday! - so she did eventually realise she couldn't miss them all. I put up four of the jumps to around 50cm (we had to leave the rest as the sand was too wet or deep) and then Rubic and Annie had a little play over them. I have to say they both did a good job, as a green horse and an out-of-practise rider and a soggy school isn't a great combination for jumping I was so proud of Annie as she had never jumped with anyone except me, but she was so willing and genuine despite the conditions and did everything she was asked. I was also proud of Rubic for jumping a strange horse in front of its owner, not easy at the best of times but definitely not when you've not really jumped much for a long time.

There are some videos which Rubic may or may not want to share later but here's a little taster Annie thought there might be monsters in the barrels to start with, but she did manage to jump them normally too



We finished off lunging a couple of horses and then did evening stables and finished work at a reasonable time. And Rubic had another new experience at dinner - snails!

 

[Mary Poppins]

I am so jealous! Glad you are both having fun. x

 

[Kite_Rider]

What a lovely thread, Rubic you look so happy Sounds like you are both having a great time and well deserved too.

 

[Jessey]

Haha that first jump looked interesting