Area 4 & 14 - Spring Events

[DalesLady]

Jennie has said that nobody has rung her yet regarding directions, but that if you are visiting in a lorry, you need to know about the alternative route if you don't already.


Also, I need confirmation of times, although we are happy to take things as they come.

We will be there from around 10am and Sue's session is 11am

[mickey]

I will give Jennie a ring not fussed about times. Whatever suits. Just need to persuade Becky to let me ride her

[DalesLady]

That's great Emily, really helpful, becuase planning aint always that easy - we will take it all as it comes
Tell Becky that if she won't let you, threaten her with Nicola

[mickey]

It's more a case of trying to work out if she's taking the mickey out of me or if I do need to get her checked out by the vet. It's bizarre. So will be good to see what happens in a different school.
I know planning isn't easy so am flexible. We've no plans for the day so wouldn't mind when we go even if it means a gap between the lessons if that helps

[tattyhead]

Thank you all for making us so welcome today It was great to meet you all

[mickey]

So sorry we didn't make it. I'm debating taking up knitting. We'd just set off and the exhaust fell of the wagon. Thanks to baler twine we got back to the yard safely. So the 1st trip out in the new old horsebox consisted of a jaunt round the village

[SuzieP]

Sorry you didn't make it Em. We had a good time and missed you. Bea especially missed Becky because he was the only non-Dales and did his best to blend in by eating almost non-stop.

It was great to meet Tattyhead (you WILL have a Dales one day), Alison and Sam and his new owner who seem to be made for each other. Jennie and Evelyn made us very welcome and served up the best choccie cake I've ever had.

Nic gave me loads of help with Bea - and permission to forget what I look like when schooling and concentrate on getting Bea going really well. I get so tied up with sitting absolutely correctly myself when I'm schooling that I'm not effective. Nic persuaded me to work on Bea when schooling and once he has built up his muscle tone and is in self-carriage, I can then sit pretty.

My aim for the lesson was to understand how to get Bea to canter more slowly for TREC control of paces. Nic watched us work for a few minutes and then pointed out that Bea's canter was long and flat and his back end was almost struggling to keep up with the front, which is why he can't easily slow down. She said we needed to work on more collection and to do this, the power had to come from the back end with more lift off his forehand (that's how I understood it - I'm sure Nic will correct if I've got it wrong). It seems counter-intuitive to use more leg to get a horse to canter slowly - but done right it really works.

By the end of the lesson, Bea was going beautifully and felt so different - he had lifted his back, softened his jaw and was powering from behind. My asthma kicked in (sooooo unfit! LOL) and so Nic got on for the last 10 minutes and I saw for myself how much better Bea was using himself.

Nic suggested that a Pessoa might help, so I've ordered one (the Zilco version - can't afford the real thing, hell they're expensive!!) and will give that a go as part of this year's schooling regime.

Thanks for the lesson, Nic. I got loads out of it. Looking forward to working on your suggestions and meeting up next time you're over. Hopefully we'll be able to show some improvement.

[tinkerdorisalison]

Well we had a lovely day too, unfortunately there are no photos as I forgot my camera and Em was not there! Sorry about the wagon Em, better luck next time.

Reallly nce to meet 'Tattyhead' (who has lovely hair!) and her daughter. I hope they picked up lots of info about Dales personalities, and are not put off

Judith came with Sam and Nic gave them a proper work out! I could not have trotted so much

I did not see much of Sue and Bea - too busy chatting.

The cake was fab!

[DalesLady]

And Nic and I also had a lovely time - the drive over was a bit hairy as the fog was so thick from 2 miles from home until almost the whole way there and yes we were a bit late, but I don't think it spoiled anyone's day.

A variety of different lessons were given:
We had a long-reining starting session with one pony which was fabulous and he and his owner picked it up really quickly and looked like they had been doing it for ages.

Then Sue with Bea (as above) which I found so interesting to watch and at the end of his session Bea looked fabulous and showed just how capable he is - he is such a trier, he really listens and focusses on his rider. He is a star Sue and you have a wonderful partnership with him and even when you thought you were being sloppy, you didn't look anywhere near as bad as you imagined.

Thirdly came Judith and Sam, well, what can I say. Again, they are a brilliant pair and for someone who has not been riding very long, Judith is amazing. Another very strong partnership. Alison said Nic is a hard task master, but she only asks of a rider what that rider is capable of, so its a compliment to Judith.

Then, poor Emily and Lucy had lorry problems and couldn't make it. Such a shame as we were looking forward to seeing Rory again and meeting Becky. I hope you have a better week this week Em and hope you will make it to the next day we have.

No pictures though sorry. The chocolate cake and scones were lovely and Nic and I really thank Jennie and Stuart for allowing us to hold the day there. Thank you to everyone for coming and nice to meet "Tattyhead" and her daughter.

And, the fog lifted as we finished and the sun shone through warm and bright for our journey home

[DalesLady]

On to the next event! The ride at Clowbridge, Dunnockshaw near Burnley.

Nicola went up to check it all out on Sunday and we need to let you know there is now a parking charge of £5.80 for horseboxes and trailers. We hope this won't put you off and look forward to seeing you there for an 11am start