For no other reason

Than to post this lovely pic of my boys! Coming into their boxes on a cool Canterbury evening...

3, 2, ones!!

Well we finally have the ones! Having just had three days off I got back on Gosh today. We had a bit of breakthrough last week, finally having 3 tempi changes and the next day 5. We got them through just making him wait and slowing everything down, with lots of canter-halt-canter transitions. Today I went out and 'voila!' they were there. So excited. The only problem now is that now we have them everywhere!! Will have to go back to working on the single changes and get him on my aids with them, but at least he can now do a line of one time changes without standing on his head. It is looking like we will be on target for a training Inter II start next month... Yay!

A weekend of firsts

Have just had a great weekend training with Bill Noble. It was a huge weekend of firsts for Des (Da Vinci) - First time to the Equestrian centre at McLeans Island, first time hearing the orangutans at feeding time (the zoo is just over the road!!) First time ridden indoors (at Canterbury Park). He coped so well with everything -including another rider being bucked off in the indoor - and Bill is delighted with our progress. Slowly but surely we ask a little more each day and each day he impresses me with his movement and trainability.

Gosh also had a good weekend. His piaffe and passage are 'Inter II' ready now and he is gradually coping with the increased requirements as we head towards a start in that grade. His tempi changes were erratic all weekend. Bill is sure that we are on the right track and one day they will just 'happen'.

Both horses will have a quiet winter competition wise. Gosh will come out when he is ready to ride through an Inter II in public and Des will first be socialised at Canterbury Dressage's young and green horse series (3 indoor and 2 outdoor 'shows' - VERY low key) and we will analyse what is best for him from there.

From wherever I sit the year ahead looks exciting!

And now it's Thanks to the Sponsors!

Have to put a wee plug on here for my fabulous sponsors. I have been fortunate enough for the last year to be sponsored by Quadrant Insurance. Truly the best there is in Equine & Livestock insurance in New Zealand, Mike Parkinson has been providing peace of mind for us for many years now and we are delighted to have him on board.

And coming alongside this season is Zilco NZ. I have always been a fan of Zilco products - their rugs are simply the best and with a variety of ranges available they make something for everyone. For something special, check out their sheepskin lined dressage saddle pads. You may have seen me out with them last year with the Quadrant logo on, now the Zilco logo will be right alongside!

In the Stable

First there is Gosh, my stable star. He is a 14yo NZ Sport Horse (euphamism for bitza). He is my first 'proper' dressage horse and together we have bumbled our way from Elementary (about US 2nd level) to PSG/Inter I level. I'm hoping we haven't finished yet - we're aiming to come out at Inter II this winter with a view to tackling GP next season. He is an awesome creature with stunning movement but is super sensitive and has been rather tricky to train at times.

A new arrival is Da Vinci, a 4yo warmblood by De Niro out of a Flemmingh mare. With generations of performance breeding, he was always going to be special, I guess time will tell just how special! So far he shows exceptional movement and temperament so the world is our oyster...

And then there is Prospector, a 2yo Hannoverian gelding by Gryffindor. He has awesome movement and type and I can't wait until he is under saddle sometime next year.

Post the First

I'd far rather have some flash website complete with stunning flash media applications and quick easy navigation however I'm a struggling dressage rider so this will have to do to keep my public up to date. Feel free to post comments although you'll have to join first - I want to keep some sort of track of my stalkers...