I Love The Western Saddle and Poplar Park Horse Trials

Woohoo its been warm!! Tee-shirt weather. The Daffs are everywhere, as are bumble bees at the moment. We have spring cleaned the hay shed and removed miles of tarpaulin that kept tripping us up. And we have been working the ponies. They have been naked and shedding winter coat at the speed of light. The fields look like a pillow fight in a kids dorm!

Charlie has been long reining daily and is being a star. The other day I tripped over a molehill and face planted the ground. As I let go of the reins so as not to jab him in the mouth, he lept forward one stride, then came back for me. Many horses would have galloped off at high speed. He's also had a sack of bran on his back and me leaning over him at the mounting block again. My other half (Mark the Mechanic) has been working on a car at the yard all week with tools and blankets etc spread around. Charlie walked straight onto the blanket to eat the carrots I had left there. Later I rode Daisy over it with no hesitation. Madam Lu kicked up a fuss, but at last put one foot on it. Charlie is so nosy he stuck his head in the back of the van and also examined the engine. 

I hacked Daisy out Tuesday. Having not been ridden since about last October she was slightly excited. Having failed to get a girth around her I abandoned my english saddle and used the Western one, even though the breast plate is too big to do anything. I thought I had cinched it up tight enough. Anyway she jogged everywhere having a fine old time, while I lounged around and experimented with just hooking the reins over the horn so I didn't have to use my hands at all. Riding for the chronically lazy. I love it! On the way home, unusually she spooked at at pheasant. Then followed it up with a bronco bucking fit. That saddle is brilliant for bucking. You just don't move. Poor Daisy...she throws her all into it, but its still not unseating. I laughed all the way home. When I get off remembering to step down, the whole saddle swung with me. Guess my cinching needs to be a lot tighter!!

Last weekend it was Poplar Park horse trials. They are the first biggish ones in the eventing calendar and Jo and I did a couple of hours on the gate....all in aid of the RDA. The weather was spring-like and we had a fine old time watching riders coming up and down the track.....either off to jump, or trudging back having finished. Pippa Funnell seemed to have so many rides, I asked her if she had a twin. She is a very nice lady, not to mention extremely talented, and introduced us to her horses each time she passed us (once every 10 minutes). I gather she did very well....So well done Pippa.
We were able to watch a bit of show-jumping and walk the course which was very well built. I used to work at Poplar Park, and its a great course. Very undulating and sandy soil so always good underfoot. Always makes me want to jump again............