# The Ballerina Mare's first Endurance outing---with pix!



## spookypony (17 October 2017)

Long time no see, peeps! I've been in hiding for some months. The Spooky Pony has been off this entire season with a shredded check ligament: just as we were almost ready to kick off the season with a big ride, after having missed most of last year due to illness, he went just slightly lame...and then made it worse during a stormy night. I'm allowed to hop back on now---if I can catch him---but we don't know yet if he will return to competition at all, and at what level.

Having received a *******ing for not taking the Ballerina Mare out yet (despite my having decided previously that I didn't particularly want to do Endurance with her, since I am by inclination more of a dressage person), I entered her for the last Grampian ride of the season, a 21k Pleasure Ride at Balmoral, with the parking and vetting being on the Queen's lawn---literally. I was quite freaked out about the whole operation: 1. I had to borrow a 4x4, mine having given up the ghost, 2. she hasn't traveled since February, so I was apprehensive about loading under time pressure, although she is usually very good, and 3. it being her first time, I was not sure how she would behave.

I spent Saturday flapping around getting things ready. The mare had a bath, which displeased her greatly, and despite being rugged, she managed to clart herself in mud again within about 30 seconds of being put back out in the field. Then I drove to my friend's house about an hour away, and we swapped cars. Sunday began at 5:15 am (WHY can't they schedule the start a bit later, given it's just a Pleasure Ride, and in a quite remote part of the branch?). Shortly after 6, I was on the yard, where I retrieved the mare from the wrong field (again), gave the other two their breakfast, and shoved her straight onto the trailer. Once she finished her own breakfast (bribe for loading immediately), I drove to my ride buddy's place to pick up her and her mare, shortly after 7 (we had been asked to share trailers, if possible. Something to do with Prince Charles and police cars, possibly?). 

We got to Balmoral nice and early, sorted our paperwork, unloaded our mares and all our stuff and...the Ballerina Mare was pretty much impeccably behaved, relaxed, finishing her breakfast and eating her hay (and the other mare's hay) very nicely! She is experienced at showing, so the idea of hanging around at a busy venue waiting at a trailer is not a foreign concept, but it's been a wee while! She was calm, and stood still for the heart rate (42 bpm), and did a reasonably competent trot-up.

The start was a very chilled-out experience, compared to the Spooky Pony. He went through a very long phase where I had to mount just as the count-down was reaching 5 seconds, or else spend the entire wait at the start spinning backwards in circles and trying to sit on the starter's table. He's gotten better of late, but I'm still apprehensive about the start. On Sunday, we managed to amble across the parking area, amble to the starter, and just wait calmly until it was time to go. No fuss! However, like hunting, I'm told it's the second or third time, when they clock onto what is happening, that the good-behaviour-honeymoon-period is over, so we shall see!

The ride itself was gorgeous: a lollipop-shaped route, which took us through the pony stud and then up a very long climb in the forest, before looping down again beside Victoria Falls and retracing the route. The pony stud was very exciting: one particular paddock contained a pony that took a particular shine to the Ballerina Mare, and was turning himself inside out as we came past. We are still not entirely sure if this was a stallion or a gelding, but the Ballerina Mare appeared to think he was quite sexy, too, and I was very glad of the other mare in front of us, so that there was a barrier to contain her airs above the ground (she is 1/2 Lipizzaner, after all, and felt the need to demonstrate this). We kept quite a steady tempo after that, but put in a long wait at the second check point: we saw that there was a cluster of many horses bunched up just ahead, and we were not interested in trying to pass all of them at once. No racing needed! So we let the two riders whom we had passed earlier pass us again, and waited until the huge cluster of horses was out of sight. I was a bit concerned about my little mare's fitness, since we've not done a huge amount, but although the big long climb tired her, she recovered well, and still had petrol in the tank at the end.

As we cooled off, I was trying to take a HR, but couldn't find a pulse. Since her tugging on the haynet suggested that she was not, in fact, clinically dead, I assumed that this was not a bad sign. We got in the long line (all those horses bunched up in front of us were there, too). The vet couldn't find her pulse either, initially, but eventually determined that it was a chilled-out 39 bpm. Not bad for her first outing!

On the way home, we stopped for a quick snack in Aboyne, and then I dropped off my friend and her mare, and took the Ballerina Mare home. There, I decided to let them all through into the next paddock a week early, since she had been indicating (by virtue of appearing in the wrong field) for two days already that it was time to move to more grass. And then I had to drive another hour to exchange cars again! So I finally made it home around 9pm, which is a bit absurd for a 2h Pleasure Ride, and cracked open a small bottle of bubbly!

Some pix (I'm the one with the blue jacket):































Look, it's the Queen's house!







A bit tired, having a wee nap:


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## tallyho! (17 October 2017)

Lovely to read an update! Sorry to hear about spooky pony but glad he's on the mend! Great ride and lovely mares!!! Think I'm a fan of ballerina mare... oh and nice house to ride in front of


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## McFluff (17 October 2017)

Lovely update. Balmoral is stunning - used to ride the highlands there years ago. Magical place. Hope spooky pony comes right.


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## dominobrown (17 October 2017)

Nice to see a competition report. Good heart rates... will you be doimg any more with her?
Healing vibes to apooky pony.


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## Fiona (17 October 2017)

What a great report,  and lovely to hear from you...

I'm so sorry to hear about spooky pony though  

Hope you get transport sorted and can get out again soon   x 

Fiona


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## JennBags (17 October 2017)

What a lovely report, Ballerina Mare looks very sweet. I'm sorry about spooky pony, hope he recovers.


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## NZJenny (18 October 2017)

Lovely to hear how things are going, not so good about Spooky Pony - sending healing vibes for him.  

The Ballerina Mare looks like she is having fun.  Also have a Princess Pony doing 20 km rides for the last couple of seasons.  I can hear the other two laughing at her when she tells them about the really long ride she's just been on ..


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## j1ffy (18 October 2017)

It's good to see you back doing reports again! Sorry to hear about Spooky Pony  It sounds like Ballerina Pony is doing well though, she looks a lot slimmer and fitter than when you first had her! What a beautiful ride, she sounds a lot less stressful than SP too.


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## DabDab (18 October 2017)

Great report, fantastic pics  
Sorry to hear about SP, but BM seems to be stepping up to the mark in fine fashion. 
Have you got any more planned with her?


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## Apercrumbie (18 October 2017)

Great to see a report from you - I always enjoy reading them! So sorry to hear about spooky pony but fingers crossed for a full recovery. The scenery sounds beautiful as always. Will you do much more endurance with her?


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## spookypony (18 October 2017)

Indeed, I'm hoping to do a bit more Endurance with her, although I don't want to lose sight of my dressage goals, and I also haven't given up hope yet of getting back to 80k with the Spooky Pony. 

It is undeniable, however, that she's far more uncomplicated mentally than he is! She is very sweet, unless there is a horse between her and food, at which point she is a cow. She can get worried easily, which makes her get a bit bunched-up to ride, exacerbated by being quite a short-backed, powerful little horse---quite fun when her default evasion seems to be piaffe!  She's also not the bravest out and about, but her spooks and spins are actually very comfortable to sit: unlike the SP, who drops a shoulder and spins (easy to get dumped if unprepared), she goes UP and around, very kindly taking me with her! Her being the official ridden horse this summer has meant, though, that we've become much more confident out and about already. She has even figured out how wide she is, vis-à-vis closely-spaced trees, though she still has to learn how wide I am, or rather my knees are...


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## Mike007 (19 October 2017)

Your pikkies of Balmoral bring back some memories. Your vetting on the queens lawn was ,I can assure you ,far less stressful than when I was there. We were sighting in some full bore rifles for the Argyll and sutherland guys prior to a deer stalk.HRH Prince Philip was wandering about the lawn too. Yes we used the lawn for target practice ! Do not miss Laddie ,no unpleasant ricochets please or were all for the tower was my comment.Later I watched "Matrix" for the first time in the Balmoral lounge /cinema . Totally utterly surreal to watch that film in the queens front room ,surrounded by army guys in kilts.


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## Britestar (19 October 2017)

Sad I couldn't go this time. It's a lovely ride.


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