Retraining Desert Sea

Dessie has made his second foray into the world of showing- this time doing the SEIB Racehorse to Riding horse Horse of the Year Show qualifier at Onley Grounds.   Nothing like throwing him in at the deep end.

But before we report on that, a quick catch up on the week.

A friend and I hacked Amezola and Dessie out one evening after work in the pouring rain.  I only have one water proof sheet and  Amezola wore it, with Dessie looking at it rather longingly.  I did ask him whether when he was in training he was given the option of not going up the gallops because of the weather.   Dessie looked sheepish and said okay but next time could he have the sheet?

A gratuitous picture of Amezola – just because!

The day after, I had a lesson with him at the yard with Helen and we worked on quickening up his canter transition.  I am still just pleased to get the transition whereas Helen very rightly feels I should be working on the quality of it now.    Towards the end of the lesson with Helen dispairing slightly at me, she got on Dessie and had him doing the nicest canter I have seen from him yet.  I was, as the saying goes, well impressed.

Then on Sunday, off to Onley.   It was around a 2 hour drive and it was really pleasing that he didn’t sweat up at all.    We warmed up in the second indoor arena, with Dessie being very well behaved.  It was really muggy and although only working for less than 30 minutes he got quite warm so I had to wash him off.    He still has a bit of winter coat left, so unfortunately that did not result in a particularly good look once he had dried off.

Then into the class.  Rather stupidly I went in first – something I often do with Amezola but a bit daft with a very green horse.  Anyway he led on round bravely though I think I would have got a better quality walk if I had him in the middle of the pack.   Note to self for future.

He settled well and bearing in mind that his canter is still really a work in progress, we got good transitions and a nicely maintained canter in the vast arena at Onley.

Dessie went quite sweetly for the ride judge, particularly in canter and we got some nice comments.

So, we haven’t set the world alight but a very pleasing performance for his second time out.   In some ways I may be wrong in throwing him in at the deep end and exposing him to the showing world before all the basics are in place but combined with his riding club outings, I think it is the best way for us to develop.

And the things I have learnt are – I could work so much more on Dessie’s canter if I had a huge indoor school – so if anyone knows the winning lottery numbers for next week, please let me know preferably before they are drawn.

Dessie enjoying a well earned roll

More sensibly things I have learnt - I need to practice plaiting,  I must take a  thinner warm up numnah so that he doesn’t get so hot and I need to generally sharpen up his turn out, practice standing him up in hand and generally learn to ride properly.   Not having really shown much since 2011, I was surprised at how rusty I was at this showing game.

So a long blog this week.  Next week’s will be short as an easy few days for Dessie whilst I catch up with work, housework and various mundane non-horsey things.

A bit of busier week for Dessie and suddenly he feels very grown up.

We had a lesson with Helen at the yard during the week and  worked on improving his shoulder in.  Quite a basic exercise but it really does help.  The next day he had a visit from the physio and enjoyed a massage.

At the weekend  we went to a very blustery riding club lesson.   This was at a new venue to us and ideal for a windy Saturday – at the edge of a disused aerodrome with the wind whipping across the open fields.  The school though was lovely and it is really good to have to work somewhere different with distractions ranging from tractors to cows mooing to other horses being unloaded and a show jump falling over in the wind.

Dessie was well behaved and by coincidence the group in the lesson worked on shoulder fore and shoulder in for straightness and really flexing through the corners, so a useful follow on to our lesson during the week.  He felt so grown up and did some stunning trot work.

This venue was a bit further afield and Dessie loaded and travelled really well, not sweating up at all either way.   I could tell we were in the Cotswolds when we stopped at a fuel station on the way back and it sold Eventing magazine!

It seemed to take most of the day to go for a one hour lesson, by the time I had sorted the horses out, travelled (arrived a bit early), had lesson, travelled back, then I rode Amezola and sorted the horses out for the evening, there was just time to do some housework and watch the F1 qualifying.

Separately I went for a lunge lesson with one of the other riding club instructors as I want to get to grip with my lack of balance on the right rein.

From hacking in the sunshine last week and a lovely early morning hack out on Monday morning  the weather has gone rather downhill.        The yard does get the worst of the wind and rain and a lovely old oak tree came down one day last week.

Dessie drying off after a rather rainy day in the field

The sun has arrived and at last the winter coats are finally starting to go.    I think I have two of the fluffiest thoroughbreds around and Dessie seems to be more determined to hang on to his coat than Amezola.

When I was ill during April the grooming rather went by the wayside and I am now making a concerted effort to get both horses looking tidy as Dessie does have another show entry.    I had planned to do the BSHA Spring Show but missing out much of March and April put us on too much of a back foot.     The when and where of the next outing will be revealed at the time.

In the last few days, Dessie has been out for a nice long hack which included a canter up a steep narrow track and a river crossing.  It had a potentially interesting moment when a bit of tree broke off and whacked him on the backside whilst going up the track –  I don’t think he was too impressed but fortunately it didn’t  bother him.

Then another day a friend came up to ride Amezola and we hacked them out together.  Amezola had bit of a bath so is clean enough to share the photo opportunity with Dessie, although I could possibly have found a more scenic bit of our route to photograph.

On the schooling front I had a short lesson with Helen with instructions to her to work on me as time off has meant I have reverted to all the worst of my riding bad habits.

Dessie has also done a couple of sessions of lunging over raised poles and I must try to keep up the good work on that front.

More soon.

So after a few weeks of not doing a lot, Dessie has been doing bits and pieces and trying to catch up a bit on the lost time.

Dessie normally comes out every time having made progress but during the week when I rode him at home he wasn’t going as well as normal, which really isn’t like him at all.  Cue panic from me as to whether I had ruined him and should send him to someone who knows what they are doing, particularly in the light of all the positive comments I have had about him and his conformation.

I managed to book into a riding club clinic so off we headed to see if we could be fixed.

The answer was there really wasn’t anything to fix and I had been getting myself in bit of a pickle.   If I ride him properly he goes properly – simple!

He worked nicely in the group lesson, doing some very good straight line work  and right canter which we couldn’t get at all a few weeks ago now happens with a very light aid.   The canter also is now starting to have some power to it as well.     No photos as the super groom was ensconced inside the cab of the lorry staying warm.

Then on Sunday Dessie went for a nice hack with two of his yard friends.   We haven’t done much hacking out recently as it is difficult to fit in over winter so he had a lot of sightseeing to catch up on.     He was really good, either leading or going in behind and generally having a nice time.

Amezola has been off work as well as I have not been riding but he is back doing some hacking.

It would be lovely to have a sunny weekend to give them both a good bath – the only drawback of course is that as soon as it goes sunny the flies will be around.   Amezola is starting to live out at nights and then come in for a snooze of a daytime.   He was very funny on Saturday – when he heard the lorry turn up he laid down and pretended to be sleeping just in case we were after him to go somewhere.   He is going to get a sign ”do not disturb”.

At present Dessie is still in at night – he has asked for some warmer weather before going out.   I have pointed out to him that he is considerably younger than Amezola but he wasn’t convinced by that as he likes his creature comforts.

Dessie had a change of company this week – some geese from the farm wandered into his field.   Fortunately he didn’t try to play with them – unlike the pheasants – as I am not sure they would have taken very kindly to that.

Having done his first showing class over Easter, I had planned a programme of work for Dessie to continue his progress and really develop his canter hoping to do one of the ROR qualifiers in May.

Unfortunately though things have not gone to plan and Dessie has had another holiday since then as I have been ill – off work and off riding, so not  helpful.   I think Dessie likes showing – one class during which most of the time was spent standing in a line up then followed by the best part of three weeks off.   Easy life.

Helen has ridden him a couple of times and I managed to ride him out over the weekend with his New Forest pony friend.  As I have mentioned before Dessie doesn’t get silly not being ridden and we had a very pleasant hack out, all at walk as I don’t think I had the energy to do anything more.

At least the sun is more or less shining and both horses are starting to lose their winter coats although there is a lot for both of them to lose.  Everything is covered in grey hair (Amezola’s) – it gets on clothes that don’t even go near the yard.

So a very short blog with not a lot to report.  As we have effectively lost most of April, I haven’t entered the ROR class I had been aiming  him at.  It is one of the problems with county level showing that entries have to be got in early to most shows but with the price of entry fees, it isn’t really viable to enter on the off chance that we may be able to go.

One thing – when Dessie does do his next show he should look smarter.  I am embarassed to admit he didn’t even have hoof oil on last time as I didn’t have any of the right type.   That has been remedied though as we have won a prize in a magazine and received a lovely box of showing goodies through the post.  Shiny Des!

No blog last weekend as a really bad cold (me not him) meant that Dessie didn’t do anything much and there wasn’t a lot to report.

Anyway, moving on a week and Dessie is now officially a show horse.   He has the photo and rosette to prove it.

The Spring Horizons show at Quainton on Easter Monday is a new show with lots of RIHS qualifiers but also had training classes for hacks, riding horses, cobs and hunters.   These were qualifiers for the Grass Roots championships at the BSHA national championships but also open to more experienced horses and riders looking for an early season warm up.

When I entered the show back in February, I had grand intentions of doing a lot of schooling with Dessie during March  – unfortunately the weather and me not feeling well meant that did not happen.   We managed one trip out to an arena to do some canter work but had done nothing like I had hoped.   As a result his canter work is still not really there and I was not really sure whether to do the class or not.

Anyway we decided to do it as experience for him accepting that the canter would be what it was.

His first warm up at show was in exalted company as the other riders in the school were Katie Jerram and Jane Webber.

In the class, Dessie went quite nicely, nowhere as nicely as he can do (blame the rider) but he managed to canter in the right places and fairly much maintain the canter and gave the ride judge a safe mannerly ride pretty much doing what she asked when she asked.   At this stage, I couldn’t really expect any more.

So, he hasn’t opened his showing career with a win but was placed, moving up after the ride judging and the general concensous is that he has excellent conformation.

Whilst that is very nice to know, it is also slightly concerning me as to whether I am good enough to bring out the best in him.   See blame the rider above.

He did look quite unfurnished next to the some of the other horses but he is still very much a work in progress.   It ws the first time I had plaited him and he was quiet as anything whilst I did that.      In the class he stood in line like an old pro and I think had rather nodded off to sleep so we didn’t get the best of trot ups for the conformation judge – note to self to work on that.

I cannot recall having been as cold at a show – everyone and every horse and dog looked frozen.     We need some warmth for the grass to start coming through as everywhere looks so barren at present and the horses would definitely benefit from some spring greens.   I know I would benefit from some sunshine as my cold seems to have returned or possibly had never gone away.

No blog from Dessie last week as he had a few days off – he seems to thrive on short little holidays – wouldn’t we all!

He then did a couple of days really good schooling before the cold weather came back with avengance and it was too icy to ride out.

Then the temperature rose – unfortunately not the weather outside – - but my temperature.  Both the super groom and I have colds of the variety which border on flu so very little work for Dessie this week either.

He has had a short hack out with his New Forest pony friend and that has been about that.

So the last couple of weeks haven’t really been quite the solid progress I had hoped for in readiness for his next planned outing.

He did though last weekend try on Amezola’s show bridle  for size.  The noseband needs dropping several holes but at least the bridle basically fits even if it is not ideal.

Not sure of the conversation going on here but I don’t think Amezola is listening

So a little recap on what Dessie had been doing before the holiday.  In his last but one riding club clinic and also in a lesson at home, we had been working on achieving a purposeful walk.

It is important for a show horse to have a really good walk – it is, after all, the first and last pace the judge sees.

Dessie does have a good walk though can curl up and shorten so we are working on keeping the length of pace in walk and it does seem to be working.  I am sure that there is potential for the walk to lose some of its quality in the ring but the more natural it comes to him to use his good walk, the better it will be.   At the end of our last riding club lesson I really felt him stretching down in walk more than he has done before and then in subsequent hacks out he really stepped out well.