Festive greetings, everyone!
I hope you are all have an excellent time regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not! I love Christmas, mostly because of the decorations. One of my fondest childhood memories is walking the dogs in the evening and going down this one particular street where everyone seemed to have lights on their roofs and some had giant inflatables and the likes to create various Christmas scenes. I also love Christmas because it means that I get a break from school, and let's face it we can all do with a break!
This year I feel very spoilt as my parents gave me a lot of presents even though I only asked for one. I always feel guilty asking for things, especially as my birthday is so close to Christmas, but I really wanted some half chaps/gaiters (which I will be doing a product review of either January or February most likely). I didn't ask for anything else, but they still felt the need to buy me miscellaneous items. One of my favourites is a panda onesie, which is the most comfortable thing I have ever worn, although the tail does have to be shifted for some positions to be pain-free! I also got some festive socks, which makes me happy because I always seem to be in need of more. Is it just me who finds socks getting threadbare ridiculously quickly?
I didn't get to enjoy my presents for too long as family came over to ours for Christmas dinner, so I had to be somewhat presentable (and by that I mean dressed in something other than a fluffy panda onesie). I don't think we ever really thank Mum enough for all the effort she puts into Christmas dinner. There isn't a lot of counter space in our kitchen, so it can be difficult and what with me being vegetarian she has to juggle an alternative for me. This year I had a rather delicious nut roast cutlet and as yummy as it was, the most delicious item on the plate was the roast potatoes. Who doesn't love a roast potato? The delightful potatoes were followed by a heavenly Yule Log that left us all feeling rather full and sleepy. Brave was on TV so there for me the afternoon was perfectly relaxing. Disney on Christmas just makes perfect sense. Although I think Frozen would have made more sense given it being set in winter (sort of) and all. Or 101 Dalmations.
One of my other presents that will no doubt come in handy is a boot bag. For things like travelling to and from uni it will definitely be handy to have somewhere secure to stick my jodhpur boots (especially if they've gotten a bit muddy!).
Anyway! I hope you have all had a fantastic day. Did you get something from your wishlist? I'd love to hear what you are all getting up to.
Happy Holidays!
Friday 25 December 2015
Saturday 19 December 2015
The Competition
Hello, everyone!
First off, I'd like to apologise for taking so long to get around to posting this. I became quite busy and didn't really use my laptop at all, so sorry about that. With that out the way, on with the post!
I did manage to have the Pony Club session before the competition a couple of weeks ago. It gave me a good indicator of what Bails would be like at the competition, and was really good fun - even if we basically destroyed the last jump. I'm getting much better at riding courses now, and so I felt as prepared as I could be for the competition the next day.
The competition itself was really good. Bails was ridden by two other people before me, which was a
bit disappointing as he only went clear with the first person. After that there was one fence he wouldn't hit on the right stride, and he generally was just too excited to think about his feet. Nevertheless, I was mostly just there for the experience as opposed to claiming 1st place. I'm just not that competitive. So I walked away with a rosette that has special written on it, and I am perfectly happy with that. My instructor said it was the best course I had ridden, so whilst I may not have place highly it was still a personal best, and I think that's all that really matters.
My Dad did record the jumping, although I haven't actually seen that video yet, but I think it'll only prove that my position was a bit over the place. The jump that Bails wasn't hitting on the right stride in particular meant I was out of sync with him. I love riding Bails though because I never feel panicked in the approach to a jump, because he is so honest. The only scary part is when you finish the course and he won't stop, and you're not convinced he'll avoid the jumps!
One thing I would really like to work on is changing leg over a jump. Or just a generic flying change. Bails can be quite hard to bring back to a trot, so being able to do either of these things would be helpful in keeping relaxed so I'm not fighting him to come back to a slower pace. On the bright side, my instructor taught me a trick of sorts that enables me to know if I'm going to fast. Instead of counting '1, 2, 3' (because you can count that faster and faster), she told me to recite the days of the week. It being two syllables automatically means you can't say it quite as fast as the numbers, and if you start emphasising each half of it, then you really can't say it all that fast. So 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday' is my new jumping chant!
Well that's all from me. I hope you are all well, and I'd love to hear about your competition memories!
Until next time :)
First off, I'd like to apologise for taking so long to get around to posting this. I became quite busy and didn't really use my laptop at all, so sorry about that. With that out the way, on with the post!
I did manage to have the Pony Club session before the competition a couple of weeks ago. It gave me a good indicator of what Bails would be like at the competition, and was really good fun - even if we basically destroyed the last jump. I'm getting much better at riding courses now, and so I felt as prepared as I could be for the competition the next day.
The competition itself was really good. Bails was ridden by two other people before me, which was abit disappointing as he only went clear with the first person. After that there was one fence he wouldn't hit on the right stride, and he generally was just too excited to think about his feet. Nevertheless, I was mostly just there for the experience as opposed to claiming 1st place. I'm just not that competitive. So I walked away with a rosette that has special written on it, and I am perfectly happy with that. My instructor said it was the best course I had ridden, so whilst I may not have place highly it was still a personal best, and I think that's all that really matters.
My Dad did record the jumping, although I haven't actually seen that video yet, but I think it'll only prove that my position was a bit over the place. The jump that Bails wasn't hitting on the right stride in particular meant I was out of sync with him. I love riding Bails though because I never feel panicked in the approach to a jump, because he is so honest. The only scary part is when you finish the course and he won't stop, and you're not convinced he'll avoid the jumps!
One thing I would really like to work on is changing leg over a jump. Or just a generic flying change. Bails can be quite hard to bring back to a trot, so being able to do either of these things would be helpful in keeping relaxed so I'm not fighting him to come back to a slower pace. On the bright side, my instructor taught me a trick of sorts that enables me to know if I'm going to fast. Instead of counting '1, 2, 3' (because you can count that faster and faster), she told me to recite the days of the week. It being two syllables automatically means you can't say it quite as fast as the numbers, and if you start emphasising each half of it, then you really can't say it all that fast. So 'Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday' is my new jumping chant!
Well that's all from me. I hope you are all well, and I'd love to hear about your competition memories!
Until next time :)
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