Arthur's first test

Er....so I need to try being less cocky in the future! Clever Arthur took home first place and a score of 71.4% in his prelim test and 72.2% in his Novice test! Not bad for a horse who has only been back in work for 2 months!

So now, on to the winters.....come on little Arthur, you can do it! Please Baby Jesus keep his footsie from falling off, Amen.

Helfie

Warmup

Pretty Arthur

A new chapter

So I feel like every time I write in this blog it always starts with ‘Phew, so much has happened since I last wrote’…but this time it really, really has.

But first..........

 

So when I last wrote, I was getting ready to do our first medium test. And I had planned on writing straight away about the test, how amazing it was and how we walked out of there to fanfares and banners and people screaming our names. Alas, this was not to be. And it was my own fault. I was tense and uptight and stupidly changed his tack last minute and to cut a long story short it wasn’t the best test I’ve ever done – BUT we came 6^th and we were the only medium riders in the mixed group of elementary and medium tests. Deep breath, and move on.

 

Beau was going really well. He started to learn flying changes and was doing half passes in his sleep – such a great boy. But lots was going on with me, my life and I think we were getting to a stage that it just wasn’t working for us both anymore. I HATE that I am so goddamn competitive but I wanted to move up the levels quickly. I wanted to have a horse that could help me to reach my goal of number 1 dressage rider of all time, AKA Carl Hesters muse, AKA Olympic dressage star of the future. But Beau needs someone who is patient. So, I decided to sell him. Gasp. And the plan was to go to Holland and get a slightly younger, more advanced horse-of-amazingness. Double Gasp.

The last ride

 

But then life got in the way.

 

Work got crazy, life got crazy and it actually made more sense to sell Beau but actually to try NOT owning a horse for a while (please note, anyone thinking of doing this….don’t do it. It sucks). I thought I should probably spend SOME amount of time with my boyfriend for a change…he had been hanging in for the last 6 years after all so I guess giving him a couple of evenings a week wouldn’t be so bad…would it? So a few people came to see Beau, I had quite a bit of interest in him (of course I did – he’s freaking gorgeous….biased much???). But the day that Tracy and her family and instructor came down to try him changed both mine and Beau’s lives forever. I just knew. They were perfect. The yard sounded perfect. Everything was perfect. And Beau now resides near the pretty south coast of the UK, I’m sure getting fatter than a pregnant mare and enjoying life.
 

I can’t even talk about the amount of tears I cried when he left though. Everywhere I turned I saw his name. Every song on the radio seemed to be about Beau and I. Somewhere amidst the tears I remember declaring ‘I want babies’, to which my boyfriend softly responded ‘we need to get you another horse my darling’. Who would have thought my boyfriend, of all people, would be an advocate of my addiction.  

So I decided to look for a horse to share, or loan. Which brought me to Arthur. A 16.3 Dutch by London who has had a lot of work done to his hoof lately – basically blood started spurting out of the middle of it, and therefore has had some time off. So was unfit but adorable.

 

I accepted Arthur into my life like an addict taking a hit of their poison after being denied it for a long time. I felt the eyes rolling back in my head and the feeling of panic starting to subside. There is life after Beau.

 

I’m not sure how long I will keep sharing for but for now it is the right thing for me. I don’t know how long Arthur will be in my life for but right now he’s perfect. I plan on taking him out to our first test next Sunday and after the last competition, I promise to be slightly less cocky and will be happy if we manage to stay inside the dressage markers.

 

Until next time,

Victoria (and Arthur) xx

Arthur (aka Hannibal Lecter) and his Irish friend, Jimmy

 

2 years on and we're hanging in there....just about!

OK – sheesh, a lot has happened since I last wrote! Again! I have now had Beau for over two years and from the last post I shared in May 2012, when we had done our first prelim test together, we are now preparing for our first medium level test next weekend. See, if you pray enough to baby jesus, miracles DO happen!

I’ve realised a lot about my horse. I’ve realised he needs someone to have a calm but firm hand. I’ve realised he needs patience. I’ve realised he relaxes  once his rider relaxes. I’ve realised that he will 99.9% of the time shit his pants going up the centre line in a test when he sees the judge. But I’ve also learnt a lot about myself. I’ve learnt that I’m NOT patient. I’ve learnt I’m NOT relaxed and I’ve learnt that perhaps we are not the best suited pair in the world. But we have learnt so much together and finally Beau trusts me and I trust him and I know when he’s going through a hard time.

So we’ve moved around a bit for various reasons and have found the right yard for us – it’s a nice small, quiet yard, which Beau likes, and it’s close to 2 competition yards so the crazy competitive freak girl within me is also satisfied. Due to lots of combined factors, along with the help of our great trainer, Louise Evans, we are no longer as worried about doing the bucking bronco in the middle of a test while fancy dressage types on their plump horses with shiny over reach boots and sheepskin everything look on in disgust. We are now more concerned with the amount of cadence and impulsion Beau is showing (if any) and whether or not he is shaped like a banana or a plank. He has his tantrums still and I have to admit they annoy the life out of me. I can picture myself in the future if I ever have children knocking on the door of the hospital dangling the kid by the leg to see if the hospital want it back. I have had that moment many a time with Beau but right now I’m very happy I made the decision to stick with it. We’re doing a medium test for chrissake…never did I think I’d achieve that in 2 years.

The amount of sheepskin goods has increased ten fold in the hope that the equation ‘fluffy things = amazing dressage horses’ is correct. It seems however, that it is not. 

We have also gone through a few new sharers and we now have such a great mix, I’m so lucky that I have some really great people to help me out with Beau. Trying to find the right sharer is a TOTAL nightmare. Finding the right sharer is a dream come true with cherries on top. Said new sharer has started to jump Beau. He jumps over poles as if you were ask a cat to jump into a bath of water. He is very clearly a dressage horse. And while you can almost hear him saying ‘Excuuuuuuuuuuuse me but what the DEVIL are you expecting me to do here.....tallyho…snarf’ he actually quite enjoys it. Not the cleanest jumper you’ve ever seen but it’s good for him to try a few new things from time to time.

Thankfully throughout it all, one thing Beau has been is healthy. He went through a brief stage of not being great for a month due to various external reasons but when I hear stories from friends about horses on box rest, horses with colic, horses with half a fence stuck in their faces etc, I feel very lucky that Beau has only given me a few bumps and scratches. And he is a dream to handle in the stable and around the yard. Except when you go near him with a clippers. NEVER go near him with a clippers. Sorry previous yard manager, whom he tried to kill with one swift boot to the head (that’s when I discovered the beauty of the twitch).

We have been out and about a lot and we now focus on venues where I know he will chill out – ie venues where there are other horses within sight! We’re on the way to qualifiying for the regionals at Elementary level so watch out Carl Hester and all the posho fancy pants dressage people ala paragraph 3.

Highlights from the past 2 years:

• Starting to compete in affiliated BD competitions
• Winning the overall ridden section at the Chiltern and Thames showing championships
• Beau receiving his first over 70% at elementary level (unaffiliated)
• Onboarding Lynda and Camilla to Team Beau
• Getting our highest elementary affiliated dressage score, 69%, beating the fancy pants Lucitano stallion that I was giving evils to
• Qualifying for the Petplan championships
• Seeing Lynda win her novice class at Oldencraig
• Doing our first flying change
• Competing at the south east championships in Hickstead (even if I left my mum's wedding celebrations early to get back for it)
• Finding our perfect yard and seeing Beau make friends

I promise to be a good blogger and update this much more often Amen.

The highs and the lows....and the highs again!

Wow. So a LOT has happened since I last blogged (including numerous vehicle write offs, health issues, family pet deaths and just general bad luckery). I have gone from feeling excited about my future with Beau to selling him in my mind, looking for a new horse, trying things out and finally realising that I have an amazing horse on my hands.

 

So where to begin. I guess after I last wrote I was feeling excited about Beau's progress. He was still very spooky and napped like a b*gger, but I felt like he was less spooky with me and was slowly beginning to gain trust. We got a sharer on board. Tick. She could ride 3 days a week. Tick. She had a BHSAI qualification. Tick tick tick. But I realised that qualifications do not a good rider make and unfortunately Beau got progressively worse over the few weeks that she was with us. She-who-will-not-be-named rode with confidence and an "if he says no, push him forward and make him do it anyway" attitude but I have learnt that Beau, who she suggested was "not fit for purpose" and was "evil" is actually a very scared, nervous horse. So after an evening which ended on said sharers bum, she was gone as quickly as she came. Good riddance!

 

So after that I was feeling incredibly low and I will admit now, through gritted teeth, that I regretted my decision to get a horse. Not only was he difficult to ride so I wasn't enjoying the time I spent on his back, I also didn't have a sharer which meant I was up there a LOT. 5 days at the yard + 2 days complaining about the horse at the yard = a very unhappy boyfriend. Sad face. I was spending all my money on Beau, getting his back checked, his saddle checked, buying calmers for him and just spending every spare penny I had trying to get remedies, cures, bells and whistles to help my poor horse learn to relax. No Beau, the world is NOT trying to tear you apart. And if he had been a total ass in the stable it wouldn't have been a hard decision to make. But he was adorable. He is adorable. If I could take him home with me and let him sleep at the end of my bed, I would. I reckon that would be the end of my 4 year relationship with my partner, however, so a stable does him just fine. For now.

 

It all came to a head when I had a friend up to see him and as I rode around the ménage she said "wow, he moves beautifully". Before you could say "eat your words" he started bucking like a lunatic. I couldn't ride him forward. I couldn't ride him sideways. I couldn't ride him around or backwards or any way in the world. Other than vertical. And to cut a long story short it ended up with me sitting on a bench having a panic attack with people around me searching for a paper bag, which I have now come to the conclusion do not exist in this very plasticy world anymore. So that day I came home with a heavy heart and sobbed to my boyfriend that I was going to sell Beau. I was so heart broken.

 

But then.....like a beam of light shining from the heavens a friend handed me a leaflet about a product which I can only describe is for horses with ADHD (or more scientifically looks at the amount of calcium stored in the brain). I figured it was my last resort and within two weeks of being on this supplement he was a different horse. Oh I had great fun smirking at the yard manager who told me "in all my years of working with horses, those supplements have NEVER worked...you're wasting your money"....stick THAT in your pipe and smoke it little miss cynical. I'm such a believer in this product. I'm not saying that it works for every horse and even if it was flour that they were putting in his feed, I'm believing in it so it's making me confident and him confident and it's just a beautiful, quite expensive, cycle. So he is still a massive scaredy cat and his little ticker goes crazy if he sees PONIES IN THE DISTANCE...petrifying things. I've realised that it's actually the unknown that scares him the most. So if he can hear something, or smell something, or KIND OF see something in the distance.....well, lets just say it's taught me to have a sticky arse. But he can take on luminous balloons hanging off barbed wire. Car boot sale? No problem. Big yellow noisy tractor? His best friend. But turning a corner when he doesn't know what's around the bend....HELL NO.

 

But the difference now is while he's still a nervous horse and will always be hot, he is a warmblood after all, he is listening to me. So he's not turning into a complete rodeo pony. If I use my voice and my leg he will react and if I can keep his mind active and keep him moving forward he is a total dream. Then, to top it all off, I got THE SHARER FROM HEAVEN! She has trained horses back in Poland and has competed to Advanced Medium in dressage. Beau goes so well for her and hasn't put a hoof wrong (although I'm not holding my minty fresh breath). She is also a doctor. OK, I made that last bit up. But she's fantastic!

I nervously entered us into a prelim test a couple of weeks ago and by some total miracle we got a total of 64.2% and a blue rosette. I was delighted with us and there is a SLIGHT chance that I shed a tear, although that's not hard for me.....I cry at Don't tell the Bride. I cry at 16 and Pregnant. I cry at Made in Chelsea. So two things we can take from this: 

1 - I am an emotional mess. 

2 - I have horrendous taste in television.

 So things are looking up for the Beau Beau. He's a lucky boy....SO close to becoming dog meat. I kid, I kid. But not many people would have kept going. I'm not much of a giver upper type person and I'm not saying I'll have Beau forever, but for now things are great. We are starting to train novice at home now and I have great dreams of us competing at higher levels by the end of the year but I also had dreams of taking over the world, hanging out with Donna Summer and being a winged pig so I won't expect them to come true. But one can hope......

 

Over and out

Victoria & Beau

Post 4: A Positive Quickie!

I just wanted to give my blog the update Beau deserves.....he is now BEAU, THE WONDERPONY! I don't know whether I've already turned into the dreaded horse owner who thinks her horse has gold beams shining from his arse but I swear....he's amazing. His winter coat is falling out and although I'm coughing up hair balls from the amount of hair he's shedding, it looks like he's going to be a really nice colour eventually. 

Something has happened in the last couple of weeks though. He's feeling like a rolls royce. OK, that's an overstatement but I'm seeing Olympic gold. He cuddles me so much in the stable. And not just because he's looking for treats or is bored. And not because I've had a glass of wine so think everything is brilliant right now. I think he actually......LIKES me. Gulp. I think this could be the beginning of a very beautiful friendship. 

I'm looking at a couple of showing shows coming up so I'll update again in a few weeks when we've had a bit of action.....

TBC

Post 3: The Competition!

OK. So I'm not going to lie. My horse has turned into a crazed lunatic! I was fully aware of this "finding his feet" period but holy mackerel he's totally changed. I have to keep reminding myself that he has gone from being on full time turn out to only have a few hours a day and a pretty busy schedule of 3 feeds a day and is ridden 5 days in the week.

 

So this "finding his feet", hereon referred to as Doom Day, happened just before his show. I had mentioned it in my previous post and had put it down to the mirror. But now I'm putting it down to him evading work. I'm getting his back checked to make sure it's nothing more sinister and he's on an incredibly low sugar, very plain diet of high fiber cubes and sugar free chaff but the majority of his diet consists of hay. 5 bales of it. Each week. I'd like to say I don't know where he puts it but I do. He shits like an elephant.

 

So after the mirror incident he was just constantly spooking in the same corner (but he did change it around from time to time so I know it's not actually something in that corner. The second time he turned into rodeo pony I pressed the eject button and catapulted myself off him in case it ended up worse if I tried to stay on. Since then I know what it feels like when he arches his back, I know how to handle him and I know if all else fails I can turn him sharply so he can't buck. But he's starting to trust me more and the more leg I give him he's actually listening to me now instead of bucking. But he's still really spooky from time to time.

 

We came across dreaded SCOUTS the other day. With their smiles and luminous backpacks. Beau acted like he'd seen the devil. He was so so stressed and walked backwards down the hill from the field staring the kids out of it. His best horsey friend, Kirby, thankfully is a happy, adorable, calm cob and she just plodded along beside him so I think he settled down because of her. And worst of all he's started to kick the wall in his stable. I'm thinking that maybe this is a sign that he needs more turn out. But now I'm investing in rubber matting for his stable. Horses are expensive little buggers.

 

So along came competition day and I thought, when he goes well he's lovely and I'd had a couple of lessons and friends had all given the advice and thoughts and I decided to go for it. So I fancied him up, with golfball-esq rosebuds and fancied myself up and posed for pictures, see below.

 

 

I have to say, I was quite impressed with how he looked! And a little shocked! He scrubbed up well. And he was so well behaved when I was getting him ready, I could tell he had done it all before and could almost feel him rolling his eyes when I held his head still to plait his forelock.

 

Next step: Getting past the monstrous horseboxes. GREAT SUCCESS! He didn't bat an eyelid. Then, passing crowds. AMAZING, I was starting to build my confidence. Into the warm up ring, I started to think we were going to win everything in the world. He was going really nicely, listening to me, working in an outline and carrying himself perfectly. And that's where the good times ended. 

My name was called so off we went. Walking into the arena he stopped. And started going backwards. So I growled at him (I've realised that he actually does listen if I growl, literally). And on he went. Warming up at the end of the arena, great. Off went the bell, fabulous. Enter the ring, fine, first circle, lovely. Working trot down the long side.....cue BEAU THE RODEO HORSE WHO SHITS HIS PANTS AT TREES. He through a massive couple of bucks but I managed to stay on and actually started laughing, out of nerves as we continued our test. I have to say I found it hard to concentrate and take it seriously after that but he was going quite well again until....THE DREADED PHOTOGRAPHER. Thanks to the dreaded photographer we have photographic evidence of our test, see below:

 

http://www.everybodysmile.biz/susanyoung/eq11/146506/page_es39.php?Cat=Rapscallion%20134

 

But the noises her monster camera made brought on another "episode". So understandably we did NOT win. But when he was going nicely I was really happy and if I'm honest I think the judges 57.9% was a bit mean. Her comments were that he has lovely paces but needs more confidence. I smiled at her at the end but she was having none of me, sitting stony faced in the judges cabin. I was happy with him though. Although he'd had two moments of boldness he was really nice when he was good so I was trying to focus on that.

 

Since then he's started to spook at a lot more things, the aforementioned scouts, rabbits, anything with colour, things that don't exist etc. He's still a loving horse and a dote to be around when he's calm so I'm getting him out hacking as much as I can to build his confidence. And I'm feeling hes getting better when I ride him, he's trusting me more, I think.

 

But at the end of the day I have to remember I've only had him 7 weeks and in hindsight have probably rushed him a bit too much. We've gone back to basics, lots of lunging and hacking and hopefully he'll get over his teenage strops. My horse is 10, going on 4.

 

But the good times make it all worth it......onwards and upwards for me and my Beau Beau (who's show name is aptly Rapscallion). He's getting much better on the lunge, we've been using the Pessoa to build up his topline and he has come on in leaps and bounds, a nice change to the mentalist he was the first day I lunged him. I'm hoping to do a few sponsored rides with him over the summer, just get out there and start enjoying life together. I'm sure there will plenty more blogs about our journey together.

 

TBC........

Post 2: The Decision!

So the weekend after I last wrote was an eventful one, to say the least. I woke up with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. I was hyper. I skipped down to the post office in Vauxhall (well, I didn't skip, but it ads to the drama of the story) and collected my 5,600,357th package of the year. I've been getting tack delivered bit by bit...scuse the pun, if you get it. Work have NOT been impressed with the amount of stuff I'm getting delivered to work. Items included: 

 - 3 Rugs, one heavyweight outdoor, one heavyweight stable and a fleece

 - Lunge whip (that gathered a lot of interest on the trading floor)

 - Travel boots (again, a few of the traders had these on and were marching up and down the office with them on)

 - A bridle

 - And amongst many other things, a WRP (weird random package)

This was a TONNE weight and the box was the size of my living room. Not hard. I was informed by the post room downstairs that a saddle had arrived for me. Pretty good seeing as I didn't order a saddle. It was NOT a saddle however, it was iron dressage markers which had to be brought up on a special trolly because they were too heavy for anyone to carry, cue angry faced delivery man. I had to send them back, via the angry faced delivery man, and since then have been careful to not order anything else to work.

So, where was I....ah yes. Vauxhall. Delightful place. So I was skipping along with my plaited hair and checked dress (please note, some of what you read may be exaggerated for dramatic effect) minding my own business when up cycled two ruffians and grabbed my phone off me with an evil smile on their ugly faces. I won't go into the full details of the story but it involved me chasing said muggers and biting them to get my phone back. I then chased them around Vauxhall until the police told me to get a grip or get stabbed and then I went home. Quite the Saturday morning. And I won't lie, I thought I was the bees knees. DONT MUG THIS IRISH GIRL....SHE BITES.

Off I went to view the first of 3 horses I was to view that weekend. Rolo. 9 year old branded Hessan by Ruben Star N (Rubinstein). I was told he was skinny and in poor condition because he had been left in a field for 6 months without any exercise or extra hay. I got to the yard and he was already tied up, waiting for me, accompanied by the lovely Anna. And yes, he was in poor condition. His hind quarters had literally no muscle and his bones were poking out all over the place. But what a face. I got his background from the owner and then watched him being ridden by the yard manager. I loved him. I was trying to hold on to my knickers in case they shot off with excitement and I had not yet ridden him so I had to keep my cool. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. And OF COURSE there was another lady coming for a second viewing later that day so I HAD to make a decision pretty much straight away. Whether or not I'm the most gullable person on the face of the planet or not, it worked.

Then it was my turn to ride him. And I instantly liked him.VERY willing. There were dogs having a spaz attack in the field outside and he wasn't paying attention to them. We did have a bit of a problem with his canter transition but I put it down to him being tired and unfit at that stage (his canter was a dream but GETTING him to canter was NOT a dream). The owner told me to try spurs but at that stage I had a good idea that he was the one. I dismounted, had a few more chats with the owner about his breeding and previous vet reports and then went up to Anna's yard to think about it. I couldn't NOT think about it. I had been so upset when I didn't get Harry and I didn't want to have that feeling again. Apart from him having a nice face and being nice to ride and being a sensible age and his experience, I wanted to get something that if I got into financial difficulty in the future....MEEEEE, NEVER!....that I could sell him on. Like I would EVER sell him on. He was going for such a good price because of his poor condition so I would definitely be able to sell him on for more if it ever came to that. Sob. So I put in an offer and held onto my knickers. I told the other horse owners that I'd found The One....if only I had the time and money to have them all.....

Then came the day of the vetting. Gulp. Gulp. Mini heart attack. Gulp. I waiting until 4pm that day to hear the news....HE PAAAAAASSSSSEEED!!! So that's when my shopping really went on overdrive. I'd admitted that I couldn't go crazy shopping for myself anymore but it's totally fine because the shopping obsession still gets fed as long as I'm shopping, even if it's for a horse! I booked time off to get him settled in, got his stable ready, got last minute bits and pieces for him and after a brief melt down when I found out that Rolo was being delivered when I wasn't there he was finally in his stable. I melted. He wasn't a Rolo though. To me, Rolo is the name of a little pony who's owner is a snotty nosed kid that gets told what to do by it's overly controlling mother so I did the unthinkable. I changed his name. GASP (for those who don't know, it's apparently bad luck to change a horses name but people in the horse industry are crazy. They also believe hedgehogs are bad luck. Or good luck. Craziness either way). I wanted something that sounded a little like Rolo so Beau fit the bill, plus he looked like a Beau to me.

beau

   /boʊ/ Show Spelled [boh] Show IPA noun, plural beaus, beaux  /boʊz/ Show Spelled[bohz] Show IPA, verb

noun

1.

a frequent and attentive male companion.

2.

a male escort for a girl or woman.

3.

a dandy; fop.

My little dandyboy. It suited him perfectly I think so Beau he is. Here is the first weekend I bought him. You can see his condition in the fourth photo so I'll put similar photos up to show his progress, the wee poppet. 

Since arriving on the yard Beau has:

 - Had his face squirted by the mare he is stabled beside...and yes, that means what you think it means

 - Realised (finally) that straw is for lying on and not for eating

 - That when I arrive if he nuzzles my head for long enough I'll give him treats

 - Let Joel ride him

 - Gone on his first ride out (I don't like downhill mum, but I can take on a pitbull)

 - Does not like mirrors. This resulted in "Beau the Rodeo Pony" and he literally kacked himself and it ended in me hitting the deck. Shit the bed. He did come back to me after I landed on my bum and I'm SURE I heard him whisper "I'm sorry". So all is forgiven. I take it that he hasn't seen mirrors before so there was a lot of leading up to the mirror, headbutting it (scarlet for him), walking back to it, headbutting it and that carried on for a while until he was soooooo over it. Since then I haven't had any problems with him and I'm HOPING that was a once off. 

Week 3:

I will be keeping a record of his updates and have already noticed a difference in his condition. He's starting to get a bit more confident but is still a laid back horsey that loves company and cuddles. I'm in love. I'm considering entering him in a prelim class at the end of February but it's only a couple of weeks away so I'll see. He's leaning massively on the right rein so I have to do a lot of circle and flexion work to get that muscle strong again......it's all very technical really  ;-)

Keep an eye out for updates on our first outing, and keep your fingers crossed for me that he doesn't kack himself again. Everything's fine...la la laaaaah...fingers in ears.....