Juggling Act

https://www.equestrianworld.ie/category/samshield

Speaking of obsessions, Rocco is back, there is no better feeling in the world than having my Mr. Consistent back in the ring and doing what he loves. Regardless of how my day is going, Rocco is my safety net, as I know he will take care of me and make up for my shortcomings. He is one in a million, although I don’t share the same sentiment at 6.30am on Saturday morning when he has decided to cover himself in stable stains despite a fresh bed and his weatherbeta xlite. I don’t know what I would do without stain remover for his legs and neck. I think he aspires to be a piebald. Saturday the 19^th we went to coilog with Rocco and Paris, the wisest and the wildest. Pixie decided she needed a dental appointment and would have a weekend off. Pixie, a bit like myself always finds room for more food, after riding her on Thursday and having a jump, she ate her treats but not with as much gusto as we are accustomed too, uh oh, panic mode on my behalf when she didn’t try snatch some extra mouthfuls of grass. I decided to sacrifice my fingers and check inside her mouth, not that I would recognise a problem, there was no obvious obstructions, redness or blood, her dentist was booked for Monday as it wasn’t classified as an emergency. By the time show day arrived Pixie had made a full recovery, I think she was just having an annual leave day, we all deserve some me time after all. Thankfully the dentist only found some sharp teeth and she is back to being a team member.

Coilog with two was a successful day, there was big entries in all of our classes and the show ran really well, it was great to have time to catch my breath and not rush to get the horses warmed for the next class. Paris started the day off in the 95cm, I walked the course and was happy with my plan and all the distances walked even. There was a triple bar on course not something we had encountered previously, with Paris I am still working on my confidence and reading her green moments. She had a super round, a small look at a photographer on the bank, maybe they didn’t get her good side. I was really pleased with how well she listened to my aids and how smooth and collected her canter was on the distances. There was a course change for the metre and I thought there was a lot of questions for a small class, the course had three doubles, a lot of related distances linked together, for example fence 7 was an oxer, 4 strides to a vertical onto a dog leg of 7 strides to a double of verticals, around the corner to fence 10 another double and 6 strides to a triple bar, I was hoping Rocco wouldn’t go into express mode, or I might be in trouble. As always my horses like to keep me on my toes and prove me wrong. I think he went into a state of shock I didn’t overhold him to fence one and allowed him to use his natural canter, if he wasn’t in shock I was, why wasn’t he running away, this trend continued for the entire course, we worked together and had one of the smoothest rounds in years. Was it a fluke? Possibly, only time will tell. My last round of the day was the 1.05 even though we were only moving up 5cm I was worried about the technicality of the track, I even tried to talk myself out of going, she was good, we didn’t need another round. Thankfully Dad was having none of my nonsense. We had an eventful warmup, Paris likes her own personal space, and finds it difficult if its busy in the warm up and she is enclosed by other horses. She was incredible in the ring, and we grew with confidence each jump, she made all of the lines I thought were difficult feel easy. Fingers crossed, she will continue to progress.

Diva, is in work and almost ready for a show, we had intended to bring her for a school last Wednesday, however after Pixie missing a show day, she stole her spot on the van. I really need an extra few hours in my day. It’s a juggling act most days, feed and muck out before, I log on to work at 7.45. My finishtime is 5pm but depending on how eager they are come home from the field it can be after 6pm before I start to ride. Excuses aside, I am really looking forward to getting my sassy grey back out. She isnt pleased with me leaving her at home, while her buddies go off to shows. I have been browsing the wedsite for something new for her comeback and the new Eskadron pro flex sport tendon boots look great. I love that they are navy, its so unusual, I think they will match in lovely with an equiline nadir saddlecloth I recently purchased. David mentioned there is only one left in stock, ill leave the link here, in case anyone else is a fan of navy and gold.