What a month!

Well, it's been a while and so much has happened since my last post it's hard to know where to start! In fact, there's so much to talk about I've decided to post a separate post just on Tuxedo's feet with some pics I took at the last trimming, just to show the amazing changes in his feet since the shoes were removed.

So, first things first, I have finally finished my damn law degree. It's been eight long, boring, tiring, frustrating years. Some of my friends who started years after me finished years before me. But none of that is important. What's important is, I did it. Woohoo!

Since my last post I've managed to still squeeze in a bit of judging and a bit of riding, but not too much of either. The highlights have been judging at a local Pony Cub ODE and then following that up with judging a local dressage event with other judges the following day. I hadn't judge with another judge before so it was quite helpful and more than a little intimidating as both the other judges were very experienced. This obviously means they were also very opinionated!

I came away from that day with a slightly bruised ego, but also a much deeper appreciation of the attempts by EA to standardise judging as much as possible. It's all very well for me to have taken up judging with the idea of doing it my way, but that's in reality quite unfair and arbitrary. It leads to frustration and grumpiness on the part of riders who are training and riding thinking judges want to see certain things. Like 'roundness' or 'collection' or 'in a frame' or whatever the hell judges call it when the horse has its head tucked in like a knight's charger. At the lower levels I judge, this can be a recipe for disaster and the majority of horses I see are not in the correct frame at all, being forced into a very stiff and hard contact and completely jammed up in front.

I used to be cross with the riders, but now I find myself a little cross with a lot of the judges I meet, too, who penalise riders who don't have their horse in these tight, stilted and unnatural frames. At the Prep, Prelim and even Novice level, there should be no evidence of 'collection'....just a relaxed outline with the back swinging rhythmically and a soft contact between the rider's hands and the bit. But, since many judges knock off two marks for being 'above the vertical' (which is perfectly correct, by the way) or 'resisting', riders feel pressured to simply pull the horse down and make it stay there. This produces tense horses with inconsistent head carriage who simply cannot use their hindquarters. Shouldn't happen, but that's how it is.

Anyway, enough about judging already! We have a new pony called Jellybean. The cutest, tiniest, furriest member of our family by far, Jellybean arrived this morning. She's a little Shetland and she'll be training the kids about horses. :) Pics to come!!

Tux and I have been coming along in leaps and bounds since the Andrew Mclean clinic. I've been working very little in the arena and a lot out in the paddocks, on the slopes to help build strength through his core and stifles. We've had less and less blow ups and the last ride featured nil blow ups and lots of great slow trot. We're really nailing the stop button with lots of repetition, not holding for more than two beats, increasing the pressure very rapidly when there's no, or too slow, response to the initial very light pressure. And he's really responding.

I've also been doing a lot of groundwork (well, a lot for me!!), using the dressage whip to tap him to ask him to move calmly and promptly away for two steps. He's really quite reactive around his hindquarter which tells me he's been whacked with a dressage whip before I think. But we're getting to the point where he will semi-reliably move the right way without freaking out about it.

I've also noticed that, after the groundwork, he's a calmer and much more pliable horse to ride. He used to shake sometimes as I mounted him, start plunging around like an idiot as soon as my bum hit the saddle, and take 5 to 10 minutes to get his act together. Now he will, 8 times out of 10, stand still while I get on, not move until I ask, and be quite calm once I do ask him to move. Goes to show that groundwork has quite a big impact on the horse when you're on.

Had a really fun saddle adjustment today with Super Julia from WOW. Apart from Tuxedo throwing in some whopper bucks when I asked for canter, it was a really great visit. We actually went down a headplate size which is not unusual, but that probably won't last long as he keeps developing muscle across his topline. At the moment he's a lean, mean fighting machine and carrying no extra fat at all. That should change as he relaxes more and the spring grass does its thing.

And poor Rose is going to foal any moment. She's massive, ungainly and lumbering around over at Piplyn Lodge like an elephant. She's primed but the right moment obviously hasn't presented itself yet. I'll keep you posted!

Next event isn't til the beginning of November now - Canberra Horse Trials. I'm judging at the NSW State Eventing Championships in a couple of weeks, though, which should be seriously fun. I'm also judging at Canberra which should be seriously interesting! And at Berrima a month later, where I'm also planning on riding. Will have to see how that all works out. :)

Happy riding!