# Weekend plans



## milliepops (11 January 2018)

It's Thursday, hurrah!

Anyone out and about this weekend?

I'm feeling the January blues, feeling very very poor which is limiting activities 
That said, Salty really really needs to keep on going so I'll drag her out somewhere.  Was hoping to get her out to an indoor tomorrow but looks like work is putting the kibosh on that, boo!

Bit of teaching over the weekend, Kira will do some hacking as she's done a few hard days in the school this week - worth it though as she's finally twigged what canter piris should look like 

Lesson on Tuesday.

Have fun everyone


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## iknowmyvalue (11 January 2018)

Im meeting the owner of a pony I might be starting sharing on Sunday! I miss riding very much when I'm at university so it would be great if it all works out. Fingers crossed!


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## HufflyPuffly (11 January 2018)

Dressage, lots of dressage :eek3:...

Saturday Skylla is doing her first novice :eek3:.

Sunday Topaz is doing her regional practice and an Adv Med for AF hopes.


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## LeannePip (11 January 2018)

That sounds exciting IKMV - hope it all goes well 
Good luck for both girls AH!
Have fun MP - Shame on work for encroaching into horse time! 

I've had a very explosive week with Ruby  She's been wild since dressage on Sunday - Mix of alternate day turnout, increased fitness from more work to make up for the days in and go faster oats has made for a very bouncy pony!  

Tonight I am just going to try and school quietly, she was out today and has disgraced her self so much she'd just having chaff for dinner.

Tomorrow we have a jump lesson in the evening which i'm looking forward, new instructor has been revolutionary for us.

Saturday i have some work in the morning, then two to school and will try and hack Ruby.  Then I'm going to spend the afternoon sanding down the cabinets in the living so I can re-paint them  

Sunday trecking up to Merrist Wood on my own for the Arena Eventing - If this goes t*ts up I need to come up with a plan for the start of the season to get us out of this funk, at least i'll have a long drive to think about it on the way home


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## LeannePip (11 January 2018)

Double posted


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## The Fuzzy Furry (11 January 2018)

Tomorrow NF is being reclipped and as am taking her to sj trainers yard (as his groom who clips for me hasn't got his car at present), it would be rude not to have a short lesson after.
Saturday prob hacking.
Sunday going to rc sj comp,  doing 1st class and then whizzing box back home, hopefully to then shoot over to assist with friend doing arena eventing at Merrist. If short on time will just drive from my comp to hers!  
Still trying to decide whether or not to compete this year, or just happily amble and charge around countryside......


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## Wheels (11 January 2018)

Oh good luck with the share horse iknowmyvalue.  

I will hack Saturday and have another polework / gridwork lesson Sunday


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## Alibear (11 January 2018)

I'm going to a barrel racing clinic mainly for the trip out but it should be interesting!


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## DabDab (11 January 2018)

IKMV - good luck, hope it works out
AH - very exciting, hope both carriage ponies have their dressage socks pulled up
Have fun everyone else, glad to hear of everyone out enjoying training etc as, like MP, I have a serious hit of the January blues so you guys are lifting my spirits. 

Just hacking for me, and might get back on the midget mare after abandoning backing efforts following snowgate and a growth spurt. She's a bit of a buzzy, whizzy blur in the field at the moment, but she likes this whole riding malarkey so hopefully she will be quiet enough for me. 

Have fun everyone - 7 weeks until March is here


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## {97702} (11 January 2018)

I am..... I hope....picking up my newly mended Landrover.  After that, anything is possible    

I am seriously lacking in motivation after being knocked back by work issues, so I'm looking too book some clinics to MAKE me get out there and do something!


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## Bernster (11 January 2018)

Exciting stuff. Look forward to hearing how everyone eats on. Hopefully with lots of success and fun and not too explosive!

Flatwork lesson tonight. Will work on a few bits of a Prelim test as I've entered for dressage and a baby combined event which have the same test.  Has some horrid, for us, walk work in it which is currently our worst pace. Go figure.

Tack shop trip with friends on Saturday although terrible timing after Xmas and before pay day!  Prob hack out. Then I've booked sj course hire on Sunday to crack those sj demons. Whoop.

Plus I'm getting stuff done!  Spent a merry few hours filling up my new snazzy planner, started on a confidence building course and am setting myself some small but hopefully achieveable goals, inc to remember to have fun and do stuff we really enjoy.


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## JFTDWS (11 January 2018)

I have polocrosse training on Saturday with the lovely orange pony.  All she has to do is remain moderately sensible and keep her feet to herself, and I'll be happy.

She was terrific today, planning to pony her out from Fergus tomorrow.  She'll have Sunday off and I will hack Fergus and play with Dae instead.


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## blood_magik (11 January 2018)

Last Elementary test for Raz on Saturday then well be taking a break to focus on training before moving up to medium (hoping to be allowed out to do our first test in April ).

The 4yo is being restarted next week so will be bathing/clipping/pulling her mane to make sure shes semi-presentable for her session with Dominique Flament next Wednesday. Shes off to jumping bootcamp next month so need to get her fit before then. 

Depending on time (my times for BD on saturday are awful - three hours between tests so might withdraw from the second test or just come home in between) the others will probably do a quick 20 minutes to keep them ticking over.


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## AdorableAlice (11 January 2018)

Dim Tim is doing 2 long arena prelims, where he will find the energy from is anyone's guess, I may have to rush in with a can of Red Bull and a banana.


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## mavandkaz (11 January 2018)

Schooling session tomorrow to run through my dressage test. Hack on Saturday, and give him a good tidy up. Then off to combined training at sparsholt on Sunday, for our first competition of the season.


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## {97702} (11 January 2018)

AdorableAlice said:



			Dim Tim is doing 2 long arena prelims, where he will find the energy from is anyone's guess, I may have to rush in with a can of Red Bull and a banana.
		
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Please post videos     I love Dim Tim


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## rara007 (12 January 2018)

More schooling and hacking for the two ponies...

Off to &#8216;cob school&#8217; clinic with the hogged one Saturday as prep for our potential showing plans and a chicken show down at SOE showground on Sunday.


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## CMcC (12 January 2018)

Taking my 4 year old Connemara to her second in-hand Arena Trec. First time out she came third and scored 89 points. Am looking to improve her score this time by adding in trotting some obstacles (in training to get some post-Christmas lbs off me).


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## Snowfilly (12 January 2018)

Show jumping again. Last week's clear round was thwarted by time of the month trouble but fingers crossed for this one. Meant to be doing two classes but will check on temperature and entries before waiting a couple of hours for the second.

And baby pony is having a wearing a bridle session on Saturday if everything goes to plan. He's at a mouthy stage so a bit should be just fine.


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## j1ffy (12 January 2018)

Sounds like lots of you are very busy! Have loads of fun. Alibear - we need a report on the barrel racing clinic!!

Hacking tomorrow for Pocholo, then combined training at West Wilts on Sunday. We had a jump lesson last week and he was in great form, pinging everything and mostly completely ignoring me. Doing two Prelim tests will feel a bit odd now though, I'll pretty much use them as a warm up for the jumping.

I'll school Indio tomorrow then see what we have time for on Sunday (probably not a lot, I may well be exhausted after two classes of CT, I get so much more nervous about jumping that it tires me out). He has a busy week next week with a lesson at AMD on Wednesday, then his first two Elementaries next Sunday


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## beatrice (12 January 2018)

Jump lesson tomorrow and hack Sunday. Lovely Lil would much rather be an eventer pony than dressage pony so I must try and crack my Jumping nerves. 
Jake will school tomorrow and hack Sunday. 

Hope everyone has lots of fun!


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## [59668] (12 January 2018)

Have fun everyone!  I have a poles clinic tomorrow and then hacking on Sunday


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## {97702} (12 January 2018)

***sobs*** Landrover not ready until Monday    

No fun for me this weekend


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## Bernster (12 January 2018)

Lévrier;13705121 said:
			
		


			***sobs*** Landrover not ready until Monday    

No fun for me this weekend 

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Boo!  Playing at home then &#55357;&#56835;


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## Auslander (12 January 2018)

I am getting antsy about not riding. Two of my liveries are off out showjumping tomorrow morning, and another one is off to a clinic in the afternoon, so I am sulking about everyone else having fun!


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## JFTDWS (12 January 2018)

How is the big man, Aus?


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## Auslander (12 January 2018)

JFTD said:



			How is the big man, Aus?
		
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Looks pretty sound belting round the field, so it's seriously tempting to hop on! Am staying strong re giving him the winter off though.


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## ShowJumperBeckii (12 January 2018)

I am on nights so between sleeping and riding the tb will be popping over to bury farm as other horse is at their premier show jumping fox tomorrow and 7 years olds Sunday 
Will take x racer to addington clear round Monday night as oh has lorry this weekend and the only affiliated this weekend is bury which is too big for him so least he gets out after a amazing lesson Thursday 
Good luck everyone x


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## Reacher (13 January 2018)

Just seen saddler for check up now waiting for lesson. Tomorrow arena eventing (65 - 75cm) horse has no problems except for rider who finds it hard to remember course of 18 jumps!


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## Pie's mum (13 January 2018)

The ancient one and I went for a hack today managing to avoid the rain, then if all goes to plan showjumping tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!!


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## Cortez (13 January 2018)

Despite it being effing freezing, I did this today with the new mare:


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## j1ffy (13 January 2018)

Cortez said:



			Despite it being effing freezing, I did this today with the new mare:





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She looks sweet! Does look bloomin&#8217; freezing though...


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## JFTDWS (13 January 2018)

Lovely photo...  But rather you than me!  Brrrr


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## JFTDWS (13 January 2018)

Auslander said:



			Looks pretty sound belting round the field, so it's seriously tempting to hop on! Am staying strong re giving him the winter off though.
		
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Probably wise, but always nice to see them looking sound and happy in the field!


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## milliepops (13 January 2018)

j1ffy said:



			She looks sweet! Does look bloomin&#8217; freezing though...
		
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^^this!  Unless you've just been careless with the cotton wool, Cortez  rather you than me.

Good day here, started with a bang (not in a good way) as Salty kneed me in the eye while I was putting her boots on. It's going purple now and will be an attractive shade of yellow-green by the time I have to see people in work I'm sure.

Putting that aside, she was 100% better at arena hire this morning than last week... last week felt decidedly iffy as she absolutely couldn't take her eyes off any horses coming and going, so we kept having little tantrums. This week I've been a bit firmer about being in charge of where her attention is all the time, so she was able to mostly knuckle down to her work. 
Was a bit apprehensive as she's been a cheeky sod at home, standing on her back legs in hand etc  so I actually got her to be tired and bored, hurrah!  And quite sweaty, which is a first!  She did all her sideways and then some civilised canter with hints of shoulder-fore... feeling a bit more positive now.







And then Kira, who ended up skiving off yesterday so she had to go to skool today... just love this pony so much!  This week I've felt the penny dropping about canter piris more and more, so today we got proper little tight ones, cantered in, prepare, turn, canter out, change.  Both ways. Amazing!    When we first started the quarter turns a year ago she couldn't fathom how to turn without pushing against the outside leg. Today she just sat and turned   Followed it up with four 2s, awesome.







She's got a hacking date tomorrow so will be glad of the down time.


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## blood_magik (13 January 2018)

Not our day today. 

The boy warmed up beautifully and we made it round the outside of the boards without any spooking. The judge is known for being tough but this was a new low for us - 62.68% and 5th. Only one mistake but a few tense moments, which we were crucified for.

Anyhoo... test sheet will be going in the bin once my trainer has had a look at it. Onwards and upwards. 
At least we dont seem to be getting behind the vertical comments any more


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## JFTDWS (13 January 2018)

My little mare was super cool and behaved herself at training


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## rosiesowner (13 January 2018)

Bernster, that all sounds really good! My mother got me an equestrian planner for Christmas and I'm absolutely loving using it every day!! 

Mum and I had a tack shop trip today to get Trapper (mum's horse) all his own grooming stuff and a few small bits and bobs. Chilli got some Light Berry Eskadron bandages because, you know, she's spoiled! I can relate to the 'after Christmas but before payday' feeling though!

j1ffy, good luck with the CT. Also, will the magical wonder boots be making an appearance for the Ele tests?!


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## j1ffy (13 January 2018)

Looking good JFTD and MP! Shame the score wasn&#8217;t what you were hoping for BM . 

RO - I hope we&#8217;re going to get pics of Chilli in the new matchy . And yes the boots will definitely make an appearance for the Ele tests! Sadly not for the CT as there&#8217;s no way I can jump in them. They force me to keep my legs long, I&#8217;m discovering muscles I didn&#8217;t know I had (and a few bad habits that I knew I had and am now having to fix..!).


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## rosiesowner (13 January 2018)

j1ffy said:



			Looking good JFTD and MP! Shame the score wasnt what you were hoping for BM . 

RO - I hope were going to get pics of Chilli in the new matchy . .
		
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Really bad lighting and so really bad photo but as you wish!






there's always plenty of photos of her outfits on instagram though  instagram.com/harriet_courtney


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## AdorableAlice (13 January 2018)

AdorableAlice said:



			Dim Tim is doing 2 long arena prelims, where he will find the energy from is anyone's guess, I may have to rush in with a can of Red Bull and a banana.
		
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https://www.myshowsecretary.co.uk/myshowsecretary/LiveStream/LiveResultsFeedDR.aspx?e=250487

A 66% and a 65% for Timmy's first try in the long arena in very poorly supported classes.  Just 3 and then 5, where is everyone !

I didn't go and am very grateful for a friend stepping in.  I had dental surgery on Tuesday and still feel a bit delicate !  Apparently he was a very good boy and acted way beyond his 4 years.  Lovely comments and the judge picked up on his walk which will be scoring a 10 when he is grown up, it is phenomenal.


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## rara007 (13 January 2018)

No action shots but a great time a cob school  Frankie was a star as always. Really need to up my fitness if I want to do some of the qualifiers this year- it was shockingly embarrassing!


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## JFTDWS (13 January 2018)

Very pink matchy there, RO!



j1ffy said:



			And yes the boots will definitely make an appearance for the Ele tests! Sadly not for the CT as theres no way I can jump in them. They force me to keep my legs long, Im discovering muscles I didnt know I had (and a few bad habits that I knew I had and am now having to fix..!).
		
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I fear your boots are very different from mine, which as you can see, are filthy in that photo (although at least not held together with bandage tape like the rider in the background  ).  What are these pain inflicting beasts anyway?


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## JFTDWS (13 January 2018)

rara007 said:



			No action shots but a great time a cob school  Frankie was a star as always. Really need to up my fitness if I want to do some of the qualifiers this year- it was shockingly embarrassing!
		
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He's a smart chap   I sympathise on the fitness thing.  I am attempting the running thing again.  It's painful and unpleasant, but it's got to help, right?


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## rara007 (13 January 2018)

Ive always taken it for granted that whilst not a marathon runner Ive always been young and fit enough to do anything I wanted to do. Until now. Hes quite responsive but hip splittingly wide and needs quite a bit of riding to ensure he stays off the forehand. It really isnt his fault Im just like MrBlobby after 10min of trot! Its a whole body experience unlike my comparatively sharp little guys. Going to try to ride Frankie atleast once a week for a good hour... I really need this blinking darkness to lift before running as Id need to take the dog and thatd be a bit lethal in the dark  Has it even got light in the last few weeks?!


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## JFTDWS (13 January 2018)

I understand that - schooling Fergs was always a whole new level of work out (mostly because we were always pushing for as much out of his paces as he could give - he's easy to work if you don't do that  ).  I run in the dark with the dog, but mine's loose and, other than nipping at my heels because I'm too slow (damn collie!) it's alright.  But running with leaded dogs is a pig in the dark - and it's gone from dark to grey back to dark again for weeks


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## ester (13 January 2018)

I'll bring my kettlebells over


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## iknowmyvalue (14 January 2018)

Met owner of potential share pony, she is lovely and just grateful for any help! So I now have a very sweet pony who I'm going to be riding 2-3 times a week (maybe more) to help bring him back into work and give him something to do. His name is Sebastian and he's a 14hh New Forest. Looking forward to getting out and about on the Wirral !ay, which has a beautiful bridlepath that I have been absolutely dying to use since I moved here!


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## Tiddlypom (14 January 2018)

M went to oudoor arena eventing yesterday with her young jockey on a very cold day. I didn't manage to go along to spectate, but heard reports back later from a delighted jockey. They came 2nd in a class of over 50 in the BE90, 0.5 sec outside the optimum time.

Maybe I should stay home more often !


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## Snowfilly (14 January 2018)

Currently freezing the proverbials off at showjumping. Everyone has crawled out the woodwork, huge classes so resigned myself to an hour in the gallery watching. Horse is tucked up in a spare loose box.

Stay warm people!


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## buddylove (14 January 2018)

Recovering - pile driven into arena floor on Thursday night. God knows why but properly knocked out, ambulance, CT scan, the works. No serious damage but v. Concussed, today is the first day I've been awake for more than 3 hours in a row!! Was just getting all prepped for our first dressage comp as well &#129301;


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## milliepops (14 January 2018)

buddylove said:



			Recovering - pile driven into arena floor on Thursday night. God knows why but properly knocked out, ambulance, CT scan, the works. No serious damage but v. Concussed, today is the first day I've been awake for more than 3 hours in a row!! Was just getting all prepped for our first dressage comp as well &#55358;&#56597;
		
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Ooooooh not good!  take it VERY easy, hope you feel better soon


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## Reacher (14 January 2018)

buddylove said:



			Recovering - pile driven into arena floor on Thursday night. God knows why but properly knocked out, ambulance, CT scan, the works. No serious damage but v. Concussed, today is the first day I've been awake for more than 3 hours in a row!! Was just getting all prepped for our first dressage comp as well &#55358;&#56597;
		
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Ouch, hope you are feeling better soon


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## JFTDWS (14 January 2018)

buddylove said:



			Recovering - pile driven into arena floor on Thursday night. God knows why but properly knocked out, ambulance, CT scan, the works. No serious damage but v. Concussed, today is the first day I've been awake for more than 3 hours in a row!! Was just getting all prepped for our first dressage comp as well &#55358;&#56597;
		
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Very not good.  Definitely take it easy, hope you feel better.


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## Reacher (14 January 2018)

Reacher said:



			Just seen saddler for check up now waiting for lesson. Tomorrow arena eventing (65 - 75cm) horse has no problems except for rider who finds it hard to remember course of 18 jumps!
		
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Well,  we arrived in good time for me to learn the course. Left Mr horse in trailer. Blooming cold wind so you'd think he would appreciate it, but he was VERY CROSS and kicked up such a stink that Mr reacher had to phone me to come back and sort him out!
A bit excitable in the warm up, felt a bit unbalanced, falling in on left rein. (This is his weaker side due to historical atrophied back muscle). 
19 jumps, first 8 were SJ, rest were Xc including a water jump. Round was a bit unbalanced and got too close to a couple of jumps and knocked one down, but other than that Mr horse enjoyed it. At least I remembered the course!
Am wondering whether the shim the saddler told me to try (saddle was twisting a little) might be having an effect on his movement? (Saddler did say some horses don't like it).  Saddle felt more stable but he didn't feel quite right. Will see how he goes in next lesson


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## mavandkaz (14 January 2018)

Super pleased with my boy. 69% in the dressage and a clear round jumping, to win our class. Only 3 entrants but I'm still proud of him, as he just felt great, and we haven't jumped since September.


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## Wheels (14 January 2018)

Went for a gridwork lesson today with M

on top of a very very windy hill.  M was supercool - he really loves his jumping, had one oops moment when he went very green on me on jumping the grid in the opposite direction to the way we started but that's babies!!  Super pleased with him.


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## Pie's mum (14 January 2018)

It was a day of 2 halves for us. Im our first class all going well until we approached fence 4 and Pie spotted an alien death ray just behind it and saved both our lives by running out. After a small discussion he realised it wasnt in fact going to kill us, it was merely a bright sunbeam. The runout and subsequent time faults saw us out of any placings.
Into the second class. Eager to make amends he jumped a super double clear and I was both surprised and delighted to be called in first!
Then managed to scrape my lorry on the way home and now Im waiting for recovery to come and help as my car has overheated. 
Perhaps I should have stayed in bed!!!


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## DirectorFury (14 January 2018)

buddylove said:



			Recovering - pile driven into arena floor on Thursday night. God knows why but properly knocked out, ambulance, CT scan, the works. No serious damage but v. Concussed, today is the first day I've been awake for more than 3 hours in a row!! Was just getting all prepped for our first dressage comp as well &#55358;&#56597;
		
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Jeeze, hope you're feeling better soon! Hat shopping time?

I had a very naughty ride last Wednesday and again today (because it took 3 days for me to stop hurting so much after the Weds ride!) - just a stroll up the road and then 5 minutes in the school but it's good to be back on board. My back isn't great but, equally, isn't awful when I'm riding - it's the aftermath (and getting off) that's not good. Maddie is being practically saintly in her behaviour but is quite confused as to why her rider seems unable to sit straight or use their right leg properly! We're having a lot of unrequested lateral work moments; it has been suggested that I use a schooling whip as replacement for my right leg a la sidesaddle so I might be tempted to give that a go next time I get on board, which I estimate will be Thursday .


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## Snowfilly (14 January 2018)

The dear funny fjord jumped his little heart out today. Clear in the 75, and there were loads of us in the jump off so I decided to gamble on seeing if our work on sharp turns had paid off and go for a dog leg into a related distance. It hadn't, and bless him, he stopped dead. Turned round, represented and he popped round the rest really nicely.

80 went well, made the one stride double feel really easy and we had a lovely clear. First to go in the jump off and it was a long running track - he doesn't do speed, so we just cantered round for another clear. I think we were 8th from 13 in the jump off but he went so nicely and it's not his fault he's got little legs and build more suited to pulling a plough!

It was freezing though and there were close to 30 entries in both classes - feet havent thawed out yet.


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## Xtra (14 January 2018)

mine are just back jumping after hols and now I hear Scotland is to by a "snow bomb" on the plus side mental mare jumped round a 90 at an arena hire  and "reliable but being ruined by idiot rider" jumped 1m05.  now2 I felt confident as was lied to. any tips on transferring that to a 1m class


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## Mule (15 January 2018)

Oops wrong post


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## Mule (15 January 2018)

buddylove said:



			Recovering - pile driven into arena floor on Thursday night. God knows why but properly knocked out, ambulance, CT scan, the works. No serious damage but v. Concussed, today is the first day I've been awake for more than 3 hours in a row!! Was just getting all prepped for our first dressage comp as well &#129301;
		
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Oh dear. These things happen so out of the blue. I hope your feeling better. Be sure to follow the doctors advice. It's very important with head injuries x


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## j1ffy (15 January 2018)

Ouch buddylove! Good to hear your on the way up again though.

Pie's mum - what a stressful day! But well done on the win 

Great to read everyone's reports, it sounds like lots of fun has been had! Sadly I decided to withdraw from the CT - things at home are tricky at the moment and having had a difficult Saturday evening and very little sleep I felt physically and emotionally exhausted. If someone else had been driving I would have gone but towing a trailer for 90 minutes in each direction felt like a very bad idea! So I got a bit more sleep, talked a lot then took both horses in the school for some pole work. I think it's the first time I've withdrawn from a comp other than for horse lameness!

I'm looking forward to this week though, lesson at AMD on Wednesday then dressage comp on Sunday all with Indio


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## rosiesowner (15 January 2018)

j1ffy said:



			Ouch buddylove! Good to hear your on the way up again though.

Pie's mum - what a stressful day! But well done on the win 

Great to read everyone's reports, it sounds like lots of fun has been had! Sadly I decided to withdraw from the CT - things at home are tricky at the moment and having had a difficult Saturday evening and very little sleep I felt physically and emotionally exhausted. If someone else had been driving I would have gone but towing a trailer for 90 minutes in each direction felt like a very bad idea! So I got a bit more sleep, talked a lot then took both horses in the school for some pole work. I think it's the first time I've withdrawn from a comp other than for horse lameness!

I'm looking forward to this week though, lesson at AMD on Wednesday then dressage comp on Sunday all with Indio 

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Hope all is as okay as it can be j1ffy and that your lesson and comp goes well with the frankly stunning Indio!! Very interested in his progress (just can't beat a good grey)


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## LeannePip (15 January 2018)

Oh BL that sounds awful, hope you are feeling a bit more normal soon - concussion is so horrendous 

MP Salty is looking more grown up everytime you post pictures of her, and Kira just sounds like an absolute blast!

RO - I've just followed your instagram for more Chilli goodness, shes so pretty!

J1ffy, sounds like you made a good call,  driving all that way and trying to compete in the middle when your head is all over the place is more stressful than its worth. Hope things can work themselves out for you soon.

Our weekend came to and end before it had really began, Ruby was a nightmare again on Thursday, just felt ridiculously hot and agitated, i'd put it down to lack of turn out and too many oats.  Went to our jump lesson on Friday and she was still being overprotective on her left rein but quite flat and not happy, we worked through a couple of pole exercises not using the reins at all and she was ok, but I knew she wasn't right so wasn't really riding properly so that wasn't helping, so I had a little breakdown and we called it a day.  But positives to take away, at the begining of the lesson my instructor and I were chatting and he was asking me about aims for the horse and he just said, 'if you want to go 1* this horse will go 1*, if you want to go 2* this horse will go 2*.  Just stay patient' - which nearly made me cry especially when I feel that at the moment getting around a 100 is beyond us.  Then at the end after my breakdown he got on for 5 mins because I thought she was broken (i'm always in quite a delicate state when it comes to this horse ) and declared that if I didn't want her, he'd take her off my hands, horses like her don't come around very often.  

Afterwards we had a real poke around in her mouth and she has a small split, not in the typical place so not sure what/ how that's happened as shes been going so well, its on the right side not the left but its enough to upset her so have given her couple of days off and will ride in the hackamore for the week to let it settle.  Withdrew from the Merrist Wood Arena Eventing so just has a nice chilled day watching TV, hand grazing Ruby and faffing in the lorry


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## Alibear (15 January 2018)

We had a fun day out yesterday. The plan was to go somewhere local and fun so Daisy stops associating the trailer with 2+ hour trips and lots of hard work; after a recent 2 hour task to get her to load to come home.  
This is also the first time she's been anywhere other than where I keep her and where she was born; I think.  We had a slightly lively ride on Saturday and also a trip round the block on the trailer.  
Sunday morning got everything ready and went to load and she stopped at the bottom ramp and said are you really sure, I said yes and on she popped   Instantly started river dancing and shouting but she stops once were moving so hopped in the car and off we went. 
Got to the venue very early as I allowed a lot longer for loading but this meant it was all calm and room to park up, although  more shouting and river dance from Daisy whilst I did the gate. 
She unloaded fine and I loaded her back on twice just to check, no problems there. Stood happily munching haynet when surprised by a free range Shetland. I'm not sure Daisy has seen a horse smaller than she is before and was most bemused as was I, however Shetland was very polite and wandered off in search of food.
 I was very nervous but the lady who was teaching arrived and was very understanding of my terrible nerves so tacked up and lead Daisy round the arena and a little in hand work just to check she'd settled then time to get on. At this point it go very busy outside, horses, trailers, lorries, quad bikes, kids you name it so getting on was difficult as the mounting block was right by the commotion and my nerves froze my legs!  So move horse and mounting block to other end and hop on no bother, she didn't move a hoof.  Happily mooching round the arena with another nervous lady and the kids came in , really nice kids but small children on small whizzy ponies trotting around was another new thing for Daisy , especially when the tiny tot on an even smaller Shetland arrived. Daisy was shocked that both horses and humans could be so small, she couldn't taker her eyes off them for a while but it's hard to be nervous with a happy toddler singing away on the back of his Shetland led by his Dad! So cute! So all settled down and I remembered to breath. In the end there was 10 of in a small arena so rather packed plus tea urns, stalls at one end, barrels with flags on and a crowd in the viewing area with things falling off the side into the arena.  So busy atmosphere! 
I enjoyed the clinic, Daisy was most intrigued  by the barrels but happy to slowly approach them in ever decreasing circles and she demonstrated stopping on voice commands very well. Apparently the idea for barrel racing is to get the horse responding to your voice so you can keep other aids to minimum. So we just did the barrel patterns in walk and jog and worked on turning and stopping off the voice.  
Then the next group came in and although I could have stayed it was getting up to about 13 in the arena with a few more high energy horses than I was comfy with so we exited. 
Thankfully I wasn't parked in as the place was packed, such a big turn out but now the big test would she load?  
She hopped straight on and despite shouting her head off as we left seemed very happy with her day and even happier to be back in her field by 1pm. I did pop her back on the trailer twice at home as soon as she came off, again no bother. 
I'm very pleased with how well she behaved and how chilled out she was, I do need to stop being so nervous as she is really no bother.  The instructor was lovely again but for future I might try a clinic with her somewhere a little less busy; although free range shetlands are now on the OK list  Also the arena and surface at the venue yesterday were both fab, really nice it was an odd sort of sand and fibre mix that had actually mixed to from a sort of springy matt, I've not seen it before but Daisy seemed to like it too. 
I will try and add a couple of photos, apologies if they come up huge or not at all.


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## JFTDWS (15 January 2018)

Sounds like a positive outing Alibear - your mare is lovely.  Where are they doing barrel racing now?  They were using Norton Heath, but I presume not now - if there's any local to me, I'm totally taking my QH - she'd love it


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## j1ffy (15 January 2018)

rosiesowner said:



			Hope all is as okay as it can be j1ffy and that your lesson and comp goes well with the frankly stunning Indio!! Very interested in his progress (just can't beat a good grey)
		
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It will all be ok in the end (probably in under a month!) and if it's not ok it's not the end   I promise to post pics of Indio as long as you post more of the gorgeous Chilli!

LP - despite the downers that's a very positive update from your trainer. How exciting!!

Alibear - that sounds like a very positive outing too. Well done on getting out there and having such a good day


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## LeannePip (15 January 2018)

j1ffy said:



			It will all be ok in the end (probably in under a month!) and if it's not ok it's not the end   I promise to post pics of Indio as long as you post more of the gorgeous Chilli!

LP - despite the downers that's a very positive update from your trainer. How exciting!!

Alibear - that sounds like a very positive outing too. Well done on getting out there and having such a good day 

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Good out look to have J1ffy, hope you are right 

I did have to point out to him that he said the horse could go 2* but nothing about me being able to


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## Bernster (15 January 2018)

Not sure how to post vids so you'll just have to take my word for it that we whizzed around course hire nicely and both me and horse felt a lot more confident about things. Whoop.


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## buddylove (16 January 2018)

Just wanted to check back in and thank you for the well wishes.
Yesterday was pretty dire as associated whiplash pain kicked in and I felt awful. Toddled off to the quacks this morning (and cried on him, poor fella)! But he kindly gave me some naproxen for the pain and signed me off for a week to regroup my remaining brain cells. So feeling more human now, but one of the worst falls I have had for a while. Let's hope that's my quota done for a while, I am much too old for dirt eating malarkey xxx


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## JFTDWS (16 January 2018)

Bernster said:



			Not sure how to post vids so you'll just have to take my word for it that we whizzed around course hire nicely and both me and horse felt a lot more confident about things. Whoop.
		
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I've seen the vids and confirm it all looks terrific


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## spugs (16 January 2018)

Were doing our first ever local jumping competition and Im already nervous. Its only 50cm and weve jumped higher then that at home but its all fairly new to us.


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## caoimhe (16 January 2018)

spugs said:



			We&#8217;re doing our first ever local jumping competition and I&#8217;m already nervous. It&#8217;s only 50cm and we&#8217;ve jumped higher then that at home but it&#8217;s all fairly new to us.
		
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Good luck! I'm sure you are going to be fine.


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## Mule (16 January 2018)

buddylove said:



			Just wanted to check back in and thank you for the well wishes.
Yesterday was pretty dire as associated whiplash pain kicked in and I felt awful. Toddled off to the quacks this morning (and cried on him, poor fella)! But he kindly gave me some naproxen for the pain and signed me off for a week to regroup my remaining brain cells. So feeling more human now, but one of the worst falls I have had for a while. Let's hope that's my quota done for a while, I am much too old for dirt eating malarkey xxx
		
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It's good that your taking the week off to rest. I'm sure that's your quota of falls done for a good few years!


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## milliepops (17 January 2018)

Glad to hear you're on the mend, bl - sending quick-recovery vibes.

Kira's lesson was bumped a day so we headed over today, really good fun session - I just love her to bits, she's trying so hard and got lots of good feedback that the improvements I am feeling day by day really *are* there, I'm not imagining it!  Good work on the half steps which are starting to develop a decent rhythm, and the little piris that we discovered last week are good enough to press on with - so nearly there! Forgot how to ride in the tempis but that's just a blip   Eyeing up a show at the beginning of feb to try out A105 which will be a good diagnostic 

*waves* to jiffy, hope you had a good ride


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## blood_magik (17 January 2018)

Had a good flat/pole lesson with a new-ish trainer (had one lesson with her about six years ago) Monday night, which made up for our disappointing show results at the weekend - managed to persuade Beau that he *can* do changes and stay round/soft while doing them. Got 5 nice clean changes in a row the next day so ended our session there before I could ruin it... 

Have booked in for a jumping lesson with her the next time shes over using my arena so were prepared for the training show and cat 2 show Ive got pencilled in for the beginning of February


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## Bernster (18 January 2018)

JFTD said:



			I've seen the vids and confirm it all looks terrific 

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Bless ya, thanks.

Buddylove, really hope you are feeling better.  Take good care of yourself!


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## j1ffy (18 January 2018)

MP - it was great to meet you, albeit briefly! Loved our lesson, I wish Adam was closer. Only two weeks until I&#8217;m back there with Pocholo though!

BL - good to hear you&#8217;ve got a week off, take it easy!

BM - good to hear you&#8217;re jumping again soon, you&#8217;ve been doing a bit to well on the dressage front and been putting us divas to shame . 

Bernster - I believe you! Well done


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