Not your typical Easter Monday but a bloody fabulous one despite everything going on..
I am so lucky to field share with my friend Katy, she embraces my madness and crazy bareback ideas and it seems she is now also a rogue rider haha.
Katy told me to be at the yard for 9am as she was setting ‘something’ up. (At this point I will point out that of course we are being sensible with our riding and are sticking to the social distancing requirements).
When I arrived to our field there was an equine obstacle course set up in the field which consisted of; Two wooden posts on the ground which we had to walk through as a tunnel, then onto the three tyres on the ground which was the closest thing to running barrels I am going to get for a while, once out of the tyre pattern we had to go to a fence post which had a hi-vis jacket hanging on it and put it on, after this it was a pole bend down the three fence posts and lastly (the obstacle I struggled with the most) the make shift gate which we had to unhook, ride through and then do back up.
Of course when given the option of which horse and saddle I went for Gem and the bareback pad, shes just a good girl I really do love her and feel so grateful for Katy letting me ride her. Shes so honest and did all the obstacles. She was not impressed at my lack of gate opening skills whilst I just flopped over her neck laughing. Katy had to pick up the pieces and keep retrieving the dropped line. Of course me being stubborn meant we changed tactic and went through the gate the wrong and managed to get it done back up.
We then had a switch around and put the bareback pad on Flo so Katy could have her first bareback ride on her. Its safe to say she really was grinning like a kid at Christmas! Then I popped on and could not believe how comfy she was even compared to Gem which I really was not expecting.
The weirdest experience was putting a saddle back on Gem for a trot round the course, I had forgotten how to get on with stirrups and felt like I was on an 18hh Connie.
Princess then came out for a play in hand and fortunately being the clever girl she is meant she remembered all her groundwork, she even backed up through the tunnel just on voice command and went round the tyres whilst I stood int he middle from arm signals. Her willingness to try everything meant she went round it all in a relaxed manner.
I had intended to get Apollo out but putting Princess back in the field was quite clearly wayyyy too exciting as they then both galloped and threw their best moves. I’ve actually never seen either of them move like what they were doing so loved watching them. Apollo is going to be quite the pocket rocket! He got himself suitably sweaty meaning he dodged the obstacle course bullet.
A Cob That Can 