Hi-ho Silver!

What a whirlwind of a week (or ten days) since my last post. We've had a saddle fit for our brand new bespoke (and bloody gorgeous) jump saddle from Julia at Wow, a dressage comp, a ride at dawn and the Hendra vaccination policy from Equestrian NSW buzzing around the traps like a blowfly on a window.

Let's start with the saddle fit. It was quite interesting actually, as Tux was a complete idiot when we were mucking around with the fitting, doing his old tricks of cantering on the spot, tossing his head and not standing still. I swear that horse raced, even if it was in his dreams!! Julia commented that he looked to have lost weight through his back and wither pockets and that's usually a sign that he's using his back properly. The next stage is 'beefing up' through the same area as he gets stronger over time.

It was a bit crazy hopping on and off as we tried narrower headplates and adjusting the flair panels but I think we got to a good place in the end. Julia said she'll come out in September to assess both saddles and change the headplates if necessary. She's amazing - the H girth she gave me as a 'repeat offender' even matches the colours of the saddle. I told her the pressure was on now coz I had all the gear and no idea - a recipe for people assuming I got game and sneering as they watch my horse 'hi-ho Silver' his way around the dressage and showjump arenas!!

That said, the dressage comp the next day went surprisingly well. Tux was marginally less stressed out compared to the weekend before at Harden and this translated into worse behaviour in the tests but more moments of brilliance too. And that also means we achieved both goals I set us beforehand - finish in the top half of the class and score a percentage over 50% in both tests. I thought they were achievable and reasonable....until I got on! The first test felt quite manageable until he got unbalanced in the left canter (his weaker side) and disunited which always makes him freak out as he knows he's going to be stopped. A bit messy and almost 53%. The judge was definitely better than the one at Harden, but not by much. She at least gave us 6s and 5s for the collective marks! There's really not much to say when a horse is clearly just losing it's shit in the arena, so I don't blame her for the dearth of feedback.

The second test was a bit better. It was also judged by a friend who is very encouraging of lower level riders. She gave Tux a 7 for his paces!!! And told me later he would have won it if he'd just kept his lid on. Since the test started with a canter half pass up the centreline and a little rear at the halt, I figured we had a bit of a way to go with that goal! But she gave us a couple of 7s in the test, too, and some really encouraging comments at the end, including, "tactfully ridden". I can't emphasise enough how one positive comment can really make your day as a rider doing their darndest. Makes me remember that for my next judging gig. All-in-all we got a respectable 58% for the second test and a 7th placing. A great way to end the day.

A couple of days off and I managed to get up at 6am this morning for a dawn ride. Bloody beautiful. Crisp, clear morning with a brilliant dawn and twittering birds. And a bit of frost that I studiously ignored. Tux was working much better this morning. Concentrating for longer periods, responding more calmly to aids for bigger trot, then smaller trot, bigger canter, then smaller canter. We're getting there, just need a lot more practice! His changes of direction are getting really smooth and he generally maintains outline. His leg yield and half pass are generally good - a bit wobbly but he's really willing and tries hard not to lose it which is a great sign. As I said, we're getting there!

Still had a few bad moments, but they're getting less frequent and less volatile. It's very encouraging to see some positive changes after the hard few months we've had. And I think making the effort to ride him just once during the week has been really worth it.

Onwards!!

The Hendra vaccination policy released by Equestrian NSW has been causing all sorts of consternation and concern in my horsey friends, particularly those of us who have several horses they event or who don't event but are wondering if they should vaccinate anyway. It's pretty much a lay down misere for me as I event (and all those will be Hendra Vaccination Events) and I only have one horse to compete, currently. Lots of misinformation seems to be flying around about horses having adverse reactions and vaccinated horses being carriers and infecting unvaccinated horses, and on and on. I get the shits with people who perpetuate that sort of gossip - it's quite unhelpful and not founded in any fact. It also gives people pause when no evidence supports that doubt. Kind of like the anti-vaccination brigade in the human world. Just my two bob's worth - but it IS my blog!

So, we're off for our first jab at the local riding club on Sunday, then another in a month. It'll be a stretch as we have the Sam Lyle clinic in the morning and I'll just drag Tux out to Murrumbateman for the jab, then home after that, hopefully in time to meet the trimmer. Pretty much blows the whole day. As does the stupid compulsory 3-hour workshop on conflict resolution and risk management I'm doing as part of my upgrading to the next level of judging on the Saturday. Considering it's a 4-hour round trip that's the whole day gone there too. Busy weekend!!!

Travel safe and happy riding! I promise some pics next instalment.