Week 13...Hell on Earth

I am going to continue with Rosie's story as this is the main intention of my blog....this leads to week 13 of Rosie's road to Dublin. Each season Loughrea show takes up two days of the third weekend of every July. On the Saturday is the horse showjumping and Sunday is the pony showjumping but 2010 was the year Loughrea show would change forever in Highgrange. Saturday turned into a hectic type of day, we arrived to Loughrea with the truck filled with the showjumpers. Coco was a 5 year old and making nice progress after starting the season at 80cm and now jumping in the metre classes. In her usual style she flew around the course to come home with a ribbon.

Usually after the Saturday of Loughrea we would have whatever ponies ready and in for Sunday but this year was different as Rosie and Macken were both showing on the Sunday. After arriving home after a long day on Saturday we had to face exercising and washing the show horses and repack, fill haynets, etc. It was straight to the shower and bed that night I can tell you! The beauty with Loughrea showing is that the ridden classes come after the inhands so you have that bit more time to get ready and settled at the show. It was a misty horrible day and no one likes hanging around in that weather. There was a huge entry for the Ridden Hunter class and at the last minute was split into Small/Lightweight hunter and Middle/Heavyweights so after waiting all afternoon all of a sudden there was a bust to get her ready for the Small/Lightweights. Rosie was fully tacked and groomed and ready for her warm up and in true horsey style the horse is head to toe ready before the rider even thinks of themselves. The girls had a hold of Rosie while I went to get ready in the jeep, hang on where are my clothes?!?!? There I was sweat running with the fright of not being able to find my gear...I was in deep trouble...I wasnt sure what was worse, admitting to Mary I forgot my clothes or not having enough time to warm up for what looked like a good class, this was hell on earth. I spotted Grace on the way back with Macken, at that moment she looked like a little angel coming towards me, I ran at her and told her to get off him and give me her gear (it was like daylight robbery!). There we were in the jeep swapping clothes hoping Mary wouldnt notice then all of a sudden I had no tie as she was wearing Ian's and he was in a ridden class straight after Rosie. Shane went running and found one...best part was the hat! Grace and I have different sized heads, I was hoping to God that I wouldnt loose the hat in the gallop or inhand. Tensions were high and my heart was racing, I jumped up on the mare and straight to the ring wearing small boots and a big hat! Thankfully Rosie held her own (and the hat stayed on) and was pulled in 3rd. She went beautifully for the ride judge, I stripped her off for the inhand judge who was an old gent from the north and spent 10 mins complimenting her and asking me to go north for Racehorse to Riding Horse classes to promote the retraining of these beautiful types. All in this time I was trying to not pass out with the stress of no clothes and how was I going to manage the trot up, would the hat come off or would I get a cramp from the size 5 boots squeezed on my huge size 7 feet? Someone was looking down as I managed to complete the trot up accident free. Rosie finished the class moving from 3rd to 2nd so I was delighted and the photo of  my face in the lap of honour says it all!

Strutting her stuff

Relief!

The look of relief! Thank god for Grace's clothes!

Smiles all sides and I could finally admit to Mary that I had forgotten my clothes as we had a ribbon in exchange of a few words. We packed up and made our merry way home delighted with the girl having another super day and in the ribbons yet again. After a weekend of intense competing all you are either fit for is bed or to let the hair down, in our usual young carefree humor we had every intention of hitting CPs and having a few giggles and a dance. We arrived home turned out our super little horses, unpacked our gear to get a phonecall to get home ASAP which is never good. Tragically I had lost a very close relative and it felt like the whole world was caving in on what was turning into one of the best summers and being given the most amazing experience. Never mind the forgotten clothes that afternoon as this really had turned into a real hell on earth. This is when I learnt real friends who are family step in and keep the show going in a time of need. This led to one of the worst weeks of my life in the run up to the biggest show of our careers to date, Tattersalls in Meath. Mary, Grace and Ian took Rosie's reins for the week and kept our ball rolling with the intention of hopefully loading up the jeep and box at 4am on Saturday the 24th July 2012 and heading for one of the biggest days of our lives.

I cant live without my......

This weeks theme on #ITWBN  is "I cant live without my...." and I have to say I cant live without my river boots or wellies, especially in this weather.

Only last Sunday night the girls and I sat down to watch old showjumping and hunting dvds of the days gone by. We laughed and laughed at ourselves and the excitement and screaming when someone went double clear or when you met a nice stone wall out hunting. As we watched the good oul days we talked about our old ways, one being our footwear. When we were kids with no money and our parents were sick of spending more money on ponies, we used to wear our riding boots to shreds (literally)! We all wore our uber cool Aigle rubber (rank) boots as if it was a secret fashion club. Then one of us would start to complain of wet socks and run to the kitchen to grab a Flynns of Lackage plastic bag and slip it over the sock putting your foot back into the boots hoping to buy some time before the wet would creep in again. This could last for weeks with maybe 3 - 4 bags on each foot and then if one of your trusted stable buddies was worse off than you lent a bag in a time of great need. Then along came the government duty of 22c for plastic bags which broke our little pony hearts, how on earth would we survive? But alas every cloud has a silver lining...the reusable bag. We would rob a bag for each foot and it would save wearing a few bags and on the plus side they didnt rip so easily. This would keep going until your mother would notice starting to go lame and your toes coming out through the top of the boots, you were marched into the local tack shop and awarded with a brand spanking new pair of Aigles...just as good as Santy. When I reflect on it now I doubt our parents were begrudging us of boots, we probably enjoyed the bag drama (sometimes). When we evetually got paying jobs and out into the real world with more variety of boots we burnt the oul faithful Aigle boots and began to act like normal human beings.

So after that intro it leads me to the whole point of this entry, proper footwear.    I have tried and tested loads of different boots and wellies in my years. I have learnt that lovely fancy leather boots cant stick this wet weather so after ruining many a pair I have made myself have two (or more) sets of boots in the tackroom at all times. I have my leather boots for out on the horses and then my yard boots.

My favourite yard boot is a purchase made by Shane Christmas 12 (with the help of thetackroom.ie) and they are the Dublin River Eskimo Boot. After a full year of putting them through their paces with trying to avoid the saddle with them on I have to say they still look like new. They are so cosy in winter with no need for an extra pair of socks and cool enough in summer to stick on between your classes at a show or washing your horse, etc. They get a big thumbs up from me. They can be purchased off www.thetackroom.ie

Next on my list are Joules wellies. I am on my 4th pair. I had a cool short ankle pair which I lost to a fall 2 summers ago. While I was lying in the sand ring after myself and a lovely mare taking a tumble (I was her air bag!) I lay there balling crying not because I couldnt move my leg but crying because Mary was cutting these fab wellies off my fat cankle (Not the first time Iv cried over boots being cut off from a fall!) So ever since then I was on the look out for new Joules. I came upon my current ones at the Dublin Horse Show and tried them on...they were made for me as I always try to tell myself. I cant resist the design and patterns Joules make. Nicest surprise was the price tag...€55 down to €22.50...nice one. I adore them and dont feel too much like a farmer in them while Im running around Dunnes on the way home from the yard. Joules have an amazing range of wellies on their website www.joules.com and are stocked worldwide. I love how they constantly change and update their styles.

So there is my weeks blog on "I couldnt live without my Boots!"

Winter warmers!

This weeks theme for #ITWBN is warmth.

In the last few days the temperatures have dramatically dropped with even a sleet shower in Galway City today! That means one thing....time for heavy weight outdoor rugs for our blessed steeds. At Highgrange Stable we are firm believers of our horses & ponies living out as much as possible. We are lucky enough to have enough land and shelter to do so. Even in the height of rain and snow we have been in a position to keep them out, big animals in a small space just aint healthy!

In order to leave them out we have a vast amount of rugs suited to each and every one of the horses. For example, Coco needs a rug made of steel as she loves to shred it to pieces and needs weight as she is clipped during the winter, Flirtini needs the warmest rug possible as she likes to feel sorry for herself even though she is a connie with a big coat and then we have Rosie who is constantly trying to pull a "Houdini" and strip off. With all that said it is fair to say we have tried and tested our fair share of rugs and here are my favourites....

Horseware Rhino Original Turnout - Rosie has this rug for the past 6 - 5 winters and it is like new. I can't praise this rug enough. Mary bought a batch together and they are still as good as new. We never "dry clean" our rugs as we think they loose their proofness and warmth and I think that is why these has lasted so long. If they are dirty a bit of elbow grease and a power hose works perfectly and saves money too. Rosie is a "bucker" with a rug on so she has really tested this rug. A few little alterations have been from her gig acting in the field but the weight and waterproof of the rug is still perfect. The main selling point on this rug is the tail guard which stops the rug from travelling up the horses hind during high winds. These rugs are the upper end of the price scale but reasonably priced in terms of Horseware's price ranges. These rugs are true to size so it is easy to select the right size. Definitely a good buy at €124.95 from thetackroom.ie

Premier Equine Winter Buster - Coco is sporting this rug at the moment. She is the greatest divil for ruining her rugs. She has succeeded to shred numerous Horseware rugs which is an achievement (she has more rugs bought than I have coats for myself). When Sandra and I were at the Olympia last Xmas I came across these rugs and took note knowing I will possibly need to recloth Coco shortly after she has her way with her current rug. So when I returned home I ordered the Winter Buster for her. When I am shopping for a rug the first thing I look at is the rip stop denier of the rug. This illustrates how strong the material is, this rug won me over with a brilliant weight of 1680 denier. It is really heavy with a 450g filling and a detachable hood. Coco is 15.1hh so I ordered the 6ft 3 rug, when it arrived it was HUGE...Jameson (17hh RID) ended up claiming that rug so I reordered a 5ft 9 and it was perfect so bear in mind these are very big fitting. Cinnamon (15.2hh RID) ordered the 6ft and it is swimming on her too. Coco is heading into her 2nd winter with this rug so fingers crossed it survives!! I added to hood on last weekend with the bad rain as she is freshly clipped (I am imagining heading to the field to see a hood on and no rug) These rugs are a little more expensive at £164.99  but keep an eye on their site for 20% off deals (every 2 - 3 weeks). 

So there are my favorite picks for nice warm good quality rugs as we head into the coldest part of the year. So each time the wind and rain starts lashing down on top of the warm cosy office I don't feel so bad for the horses when I know they have one of the above rugs on. (We usually end up double rugging ours as Christmas draws closer....they are spoilt rotten). There is a whole argument on whether horses should live in or out but our horses love being out. When they come in for a feed/clip/riding and you rug them up to get ready to head out they are pushing down the doors so they must be happy to be out with all their buddies in the fresh air! Who likes being on their own in a room at home so why would the horse want to be in a stable all winter on their own? :)

All work and no play makes Barbara and Rosie boring girls.....yeah right! :)

So after our winning debut in Corrandulla a mighty session was had as always with the gang! We always take the following day off after a show unless we are back on the road to the next event. Thanks be to God there was nothing on as the winning was well and truly celebrated even if we had thoughts that it could have been beginners luck. One thing to remember with horses is everyday is a school day. This is one reason why I love the sport as you and the horse are constantly learning. My opinion is you are never too good, even the professionals, your only as good as your last day out so you may win today and the following day you are end of the line. Mary has always thought us good sportsmanship which I think is so important and is seriously lacking in the show ring. Whenever you leave the yard that morning you have a job on your mind but the main thing is that everyone comes home safe and sound. Anyhow back to the story......as Rosie and I began to develop in this new game of showing Ian would push us that bit harder each week and when times got tough and you felt like this is never going to happen you would hear a bark across the field "Keep going Love or you will never fit into that dress on Saturday night!" Mr Motivator we should call him because all of a sudden this surge of temper and determination would erupt inside you and you would get over yourself and get on with the job.

Ian putting us through our paces.

Mother hen keeping a close eye.

The week of Ardrahan always signals a big week in showing. Not only is it one of the biggest and a favourite show in the west but signals the Dublin Horse Show entries are soon to close. We were one of the greatest lunatics in the game, we had one show under our belts and away went the big cheque to the RDS for Rosie's entry....but hey it worked...YOLO and all that ha ha. So the blood, sweat and less tears were put in the week leading up to Ardrahan. We had never been to the show other than as a child spectating as this is a pure Showing show with no jumping so we would have never "wasted" our time with Ardrahan. Alas, this year was different, I was dying to see the show. Ian had told us it had loads of classes and held two All Ireland classes so competitors travelled from afar and it would be a super education for Rosie and I. Grace and Macken were also taking an interest in the showing ring so Grace had entered the small working hunter class (jumping class). I was extra excited for this show as there was a Thoroughbred Riding Horse class (which is exactly what Rosie is) so there were some Galway entries for Dublin in the class. This would give us a taste of what was ahead. We were told to get Rosie into as many dog fights as possible before Dublin (I know here we are after sending the entry off with one show done :) ).
One major adjustment in showing is the timing of the classes and ring etiquette. In showjumping if you are first class and it starts at 9am, you are in no rush as there could be 100 entries and could go on for hours but this is completely different in the showing ring. You need to be there well before your class as all competitors must be at the ring on time as there is no late admission into the ring unless you have a very good excuse and a forgiving judge and the judge will possibly dislike you immediately for your ill manners.

So all the homework was done and it was Friday evening with Rosie and Macken scrubbed and bedded for their show the next morning. We were up at the crack of dawn , plaited, loaded up and on the road to Ardrahan. As always there was a drama. We arrived and there was Grace's class at the closing stages....opps we still didn't have a handle on this timing craic just yet! So there was an exchange of words amongst us (of course Grace and I sticking together as thick as thieves) and even Ian was pointing at his watch from the centre of the ring whilst waiting on the judge to ride his mare....not good!

All had to be forgiven and reassess where Grace and Macken would go...ah ha the Small Hunter class. They tacked up and got ready and off went Grace. When she was walking around all we could hear on the ring side was "Ian, Ian, Ian, Ian" we had forgotten Grace had been getting ready for workers and had no idea what to do in the ridden flat classes, all we could do is laugh and as Ian still says it was the most craic he ever had in a show ring with all the laughing and shouting Grace did....ring craft and manners out the window :)

"Ian, Ian, Ian, Ian, Ian....."

So Rosie was up next. It was easy spot the riding horses as they are dressed differently to the hunters. Hunters are plainly dressed with leather browbands (as seen above). In the riding horse section the horse wears a velvet coloured browband with their rider matching their shirt and tie to the horses colours....very girly. This was a huge transition for Grace as she loved her colour coordination particularly pink so you can imagine the rows between Grace and Ian while he tried to wean her off the bright colours! Before the show I trotted into Olympic Saddlery to pick out a coloured browband for the show. I was dying to choose a colour but when I arrived into the shop there wasn't sight nor sound of a coloured browband. Damn....Mary was going to kill me for the lack of organising. I ran into Hickeys picked out purple and gold ribbon, grabbed an old browband and broke up a pair of pearl earrings and made this little beauty....

So I warmed Rosie up and she felt amazing. There were loads in the class so I picked my spot and made sure I was seen at all times by the judge as people get crafty with blocking you off from the judge. After a nice gallop we were pulled in 3rd out of 12. I could not stop smiling. The judge rode her and she went foot perfect (Horsey way to say perfect!) Ian had drilled me to not be shy and ask for feedback if the judge was talking. You know you're not too bad when the judge comes back to you with the horse and they have a smile on their face. She was a fantastic rider and said we had a fantastic job done with her and I said we were entered for Dublin, she was delighted and said best of luck and keep working her towards that. I was thrilled. If I had gone from 3rd to 12th it didn't matter because the feedback was what I wanted to hear. We finished the class in third to 2 big bay horses so may be it was on height as Rosie is small and compact. After another successful ribbon the morning episode was quickly forgotten about and we packed up and went home with smiles on everyones faces. I think we were getting the showing bug. Then reality began to strike....I was beginning to get too tired to have a few sociables (plus a lack of money from a new showing wardrobe). Next stop....Loughrea show.......lord above not one to ever ever ever forget......

All smiles

With the Judge

Another ribbon......friends again :)

Operation Transformation

The race began.....not just any horse race but the race towards getting Rosie and I ready and fit for the biggest day of our careers. First things first, feeding. Feeding is a minefield and especially when it comes to a racehorse because they are full of hot blood. If you over do the feeding you can "blow" their heads particularly if they are naturally a tense or anxious character. In this regard we were winning as Rosie is a calm and collective type of mare with over heating her not being an issue. The other factor we had to take into consideration was her stomach and not to upset it through overfeeding or a high concentration of a particular supplement/mineral.

Uptown Rosie - 24/04/2010

There are sooooo many feeds on the market as every horse person knows. All the major companies have superb marketing skills and all claim to be the best on the market. I can safely say Mary was a "little" addicted to the feeding regime and Rosie tried and tested a vast array of feeds & supplements which were on the market at the time, to name but a few; good old reliable pulp, Blue Chip, Bluegrass Cool and Conditioner, Baileys Outshine, Cool Stance, Chia Seed, Horse First Keep me Sound, Horse First Omega 3 oil, Curragh Carron Oil, Seaquim and good oul cool & cooked. I am positive I have missed loads there but I could never keep up with Mary and that was Mary's thing. I was close to ordering a fork lift to bring Rosie her bucket (slight exaggeration). When the balance was struck and when it was figured what worked for Rosie the results were outstanding. There is a misconception amongst the equestrian world that showing is a  "Feeders" game, who has the fattest horse/pony. This is true in some cases but most definitely was not the case here. Rosie's poor little body was heading towards operation transformation by being pushed to the ultimate level and this required a lot of concentration and strength in order to morph her little racing body into a show horse body. Leading from all this pressure and work the most important thing we used were Electrolytes to ensure Rosie's body could recharge after all the salts lost during sweating from exercise and travelling to shows. 

Rosie after 1 week of high protein feeding

Once Mary embedded Rosie's feeding routine it was my job to get Rosie riding properly. When we began the journey in April, Rosie was a little weak after a hard winter of snow and floods in Galway which was to be expected as she was a light Thoroughbred. To begin her fitness programme we started lightly lunging her in the John Whitaker Lunging System which is widely used in the showjumper sphere. The whole idea before this was to get Rosie's back, quarters and neck to a strong stage before we began to push her with riding she  (nor I) had ever experienced. This went on for 5 weeks and unfortunately exams took priority for me. Grace came to the rescue and took over my place sending me daily updates while I cried (maybe not) in Dublin and day dreamed in Simmonscourt exams halls at the prospect of being there in 3 months time with Team Rosie. The final exam came and off I skipped to The Horse Show House for a cold bulmers waving goodbye to the RDS shouting see you in August.

Week 5 - Rosie's condition after high protein diet and lunging

So I waved a sorry goodbye to Dublin but could not wait to get home to start my adventure with Team Rosie. I decided to be broke and not work in order to give this task my 110% devotion as the last thing I wanted was a job dictating when and what shows I could go to. I lived on beans and toast and did very little shopping (hard to believe with me) for the entire summer....any cash I had went into my RDS wardrobe. While living in Dublin I had the most amazing opportunity of moving in with a friend who is an international dressage rider. Every evening after work we took out the horses. I was in awe of how she got them to concentrate and move. Whilst living with her I had the pleasure of riding her Grand Prix horse and he was out of this world. When I look back now all her hours of trying to teach me and a little mare (not so different looking to Rosie) were really wasted but not all was lost. They say in the horse world if you can take one thing away from someone or somewhere then you have learned something new. In this case I may not have learned a whole lot with flat work but I most certainly learned how to lunge a horse correctly. In my previous life we were told to lunge to get the "hotness" off the horse....I strongly disagree. Lunging is so much more than that and vital for any horse's progression. I fully appreciate that now with current dealings with Rosie which I will touch on again. I must attempt I am obsessed with lunging and find it so therapeutic when your horse is listening and you can see them engaging their hind quarters and strengthening their backs (then you don't feel so bad when you have a sneaky cake or two :P).The second thing I took away from this amazing experience was devotion. Every evening no matter was time it was or how wet it was we were out working each horse because there was an agenda. I rang my friend when we decided to go ahead with Dublin....her advice was to go to a show guru for assistance rather than her in order to learn ringcraft, presentation, etc.

A few of the gang in the yard joined the local riding club. I decided not to join as I was an existing member of the SJI and it was too expensive to join another organisation. I would follow along and watch them school on Friday evenings. One evening I was watching the girls do a dressage lesson at the riding club. Afterwards we spoke with the instructor who led us to our knight in shining armour. Mary gave Ian Delaney a call and he said he would swing by and take a look. The following day in swanned Ian and told me to tack up and give her a trot. Up to the sand arena we went and Rosie went around in true racing style like a mare hitting the starting line. Very politely (which is not a usual case with Ian...(love you Ian)...) Ian said we had a little bit of work to do but we definitely had something to work with "and Love take that f*cking John Whitaker off her...she isnt a showjuming mare anymore!"..... Little did I know how much work (and tears) were ahead of us and was this worth it all for one show????