Holly's new Pony

Eagle Rock Moon Dream aka Cindy arrived on Sunday much to the delight of my 2 year old daughter, bit young I think to start but her grandparents found this pony and were keen to buy it as it also pulls a cart so that will be the next thing that comes and I am sure we will have fun being towed around with this pony...
in the mean time Holly is loving the riding and I will be doing a lot more exercise from now on leading her around the track (not such a bad thing for then!!)
She is very woolly so the clippers will be out tomorrow and a new hair style will be done...new cover purchased, so she will be feeling like a new girl tomorrow!!.

Dressage season over

Its actually been a long season this year for me, the most I have competed in a long time. I got to 4 Championship Dressage shows and 4 local ones, Autumn has upgraded now to level 2 and hopfully will start to train at level 3 within the next couple months, still got a few issues to sort out with forwardness and keeping her head steady but she is getting there which is awesome. Autumn has been such a great horse this year and I have been placed at all the shows I went to except 1 which was s disaster from start to finish, as in the weather, gale force winds and show jumping right next to arenas, not a good mix for a horse who has never really jumped before.
yesterday was our last of the spring/summer/autumn sereis before our prize giving and I was the convenor, have to say that was not the easist of jobs but it did come together on the day just a few long night organising the draw and wrtiters for the judges, plus a long day at the event. I rode and was 2nd in one class and then not so great in another although autumn went really and we had 2 judges and one placed me 3rd and the other pretty much last, i took that one with a grain of salt as the judge who placed me 3rd was sitting at C and a higher level judge then the other person, but you get that sometimes, and the gin and tonic i had went down a treat at the end of the day...Rock on the winter series!!...

its Autumn and the weather is magic

Its hard to believe we are in our second month of Autumn, we have had over 20 degree days for the last week or so and its just glorious...
Went for a long farm ride yesterday, weather just perfect and wonderful scenic farm to ride over, although it may have been a bit long for my horse and me it was still great to get out and about. My friend Sally came and she took some photos which she will no doubt put up on her blog, just a great farm to ride on, except for the emu's!!, horses don't really like them and we had one right in our path to get over the farm and back again so a few detours and we made it past.
can't wait to be able to ride out again over this farm..lets hope this weather keeps up for a while yet..long may the sunshine, grass grows and no mud!!..

Horse of the year

I have been so absent from doing any posts I think since before xmas time...I thought I had better get back into it...I have had a great season with Autumn and been to 4 Championship shows around the north island the most travelled distance being 6 hours away...
Anyway this is just a quick post to show a photo of my dressage coach Jutta at Horse of the year last week in the Hawkes Bay, riding her beautiful stallion Vollrath Lessing, she got reserve champion level 5....not bad for a stallion who had had 6 weeks off and then a about a 3 weeks of work before the show...this was only his 2nd outing this year so he bahaved so well in the big atmosphere.

Dressage Road trip to hawkes bay champs

last fri there was a few of us Taranaki riders that took the long trip to Danevirke for the southern hawkes Bay Dressage champs...its a great road trip but the Gorge at Palmerston north has been totally wiped out so we had to go over the Saddle road which is pretty knarly in a truck, very windy and really steep on each side, but you get to go thru the wind farm and that was pretty cool to see up close how big those wind machines are...
Anyway 5 hours later we arrived...all a bit tired of the travel but glad we made it there all right and horses were great considering I have never truck autumn before she was great and she didn't even poo the whole way, she must have been quite comfortable and happy....
So I am first up on saturday to go the girl in front of me on the draw scratched so I jump on at 7.30am autumn feels great, she does a really nice test after having to warm up for nearly an hour as they had a bit of a stuff up with the judges and surposed to ahve started at 8am I think I rode about 20 past, anyway I am back at the truck by 8.30am and its already sooo hot, I already have sweat running down my back and its only 8.30am!!! going to be a long hot day, thankfully the grounds have trees all around and lots of places to stand and watch under trees while horses can have a bite of grass...my next test doesn't go as well Autumn a bit flat and hurried I am only guessing it was so hot that she just didn't really want to be there since we were riding at 1pm part of the hottest time in the day...thankfully the truck I am in has a nice shower and was so nice to jump in and cool off...that afternoon was so nice, we sat in the grandstand with our bubbles and blue cheese and crackers and got to watch all the advance and grand prix horses do tehre musicals, was so nice and relaxing....first day I came 3rd and 14th...not to bad since there was 33 in the class.
Sunday wasn't going to be my day either my challenge class I just tried to hard that I really lost the whole feel of the test and came 14th again but my last class I really concentrated and we ended up 4th, once again it was a hot day but autumn was really great the whole time and we did have a wonderful horsey girly weekend....rollon the next one can't wait already just got lots of schooling to do so I can do so much better at taranaki champs in january.

End of an era

Well as of today my restaurant is no longer ours settlement happens tomorrow, the new owner has already made her mark on the place by being in over the last few days doing alot of redecorating, hope for hersake it all goes well, will be a bit weird going in there and having to actually pay for my meals and drinks but at least now I won't have that worried feeling when friends are there for dinner and hoping they aren't disappointed with there meals etc, it was always on my mind and trying to please people all the time is really tiring...its been 7 years our baby and tomorrow is a new start for us and I know its a better one too....I have soo much work still to do on the book work side of things but roll on this weekend off the Dannevirke for the southern hawkes bay champs will be a fun get away with the girls...just hope Autumn goes on the truck!!...

BYe Bye Waiau...it sure was an experience I won't ever forget...

Back in the sulky

Oh my goodness, I have not trained the race horses since before Holly was born so nearly 3years ago now I think and this morning I had to get up and go help my fatherinlaw train his horses and we had to do a fast run, first day back and a fast run!!! its actually quite freaky to go flat out round his track which is only just wide enough for you to go side by side...the wind today is incredible, my hard hat was getting pushed right back off my head, the track was swirling all over the place so there was grite in all the places it could fine, including the eyes....anyway I did survive although I did get a bit freaked out, as davids young mare kept trying to buck him out of the sulky and then when we were going fast the track was a bit to tight for her and she would swing quite wide and push me over to the fence, so glad thats over with but have to go back tomorrow and do it all over again....hope this wind stops before then though....