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!"

New Years Resolution Horsey Style

So I know I shouldn't be blogging this week as I am preparing for my final Bank exam this Saturday....ahhh!But I said I would do a quick blog in line with #ITWBN theme of New Years Resolutions. So this will be a quick post but might get my horsey friends thinking ahead of the 2014 season and may make life a little finanicially easier.

Last year it was safe to say it was the most expensive year for me with the horses as we decided to travel further a field to some more national competitions in the yards new truck (very exciting). Of course with all of this comes more entries, stabling fees, most beauty products for the grooming box, some celebratory drinks, etc, etc.

So being very analytical as all the girls know I am, I decided I was going to put a few bob aside each month into my horsey account. You may think oh ya she works in the bank so of course she will be good with her money but no way, not when it comes to the horses. As most horsey people know you never second think the mares shoes every 6 wks but you second if not triple think about buying shoes for yourself. Then grooming products...no problem handing over €20 for highlighter for the mares but again you think about that fab new highlighter in benefit but yet question yourself.  So instead of scrambling money together during the summer months where you love your weekend shows but also love your summer nights out, fashion & make up then why not make a new years resolution to set up your horsey account. I am paid monthly (dose) so a standing order leaves my account the same day and arrives into the "Coco/Rosie Account". As of today I have €100 in that account unknown to myself and its only January. With the help of God we plan to visit some more of the bigger shows this season so I will be giving myself a pat on the back for starting this account. Why not give it a try, screw the diets, gyms, etc and think of yourself and your horses! ;-)

All I want for Christmas is..............

This weeks theme for the bloggers of #ITWBN is "All I want for Christmas is..."

There are loads on my list but for my equine followers here are my top 3 equine must haves on my wish list......

Ardall Pro-Fit Studs

One of my pet hates is studs! When getting ready for the ring it is most definitely the most stressful part of the whole thing. For one you have to leave this task till last as you cant have the poor horse standing on their tip toes on concrete while plaiting and tacking and if you are like me you only remember to put them in when you are dressed and ready to go....the sweaty face from the stress of taping and screwing them in is not a good look! My biggest horror story was the RDS 2010. All set to go and then BANG..no studs in. Rosie is the type of mare who needs a few days to recuperate after visiting the farrier so her shoes were about a week old. Even though we had kept an eye and stuffed the stud holes we still had problems with putting the studs in on the morning of the class. In the end we failed and hoped for the best...not a nice feeling but she went foot perfect thank god! This year at the Dublin Horse Show a few people had mentioned these amazing studs were on demo with the "crowd with the dummy!" so Sandra and I set on our way to find the stand to see what the fuss was about. Ardall gave a demo and you could test them out for yourself. Of course there were people trying their best to find a fault but there is none. They are amazing...with one good tap the studs are in and there is no way of them falling out and the best of all.....no tapping the threads of the shoes! Imagine the time you will save. Sounds ideal...the studs were not on sale at the show but they are on my wish list for the 2014 season...make sure to check them out! If Santa thinks I am worthy of these studs I will do a review and share my thoughts.

Ardall Pro-Fit Stud

Dy'on Leather Blinkers
So as you may have seen last week, Coco and I were in The Irish Field for the Spooky Mare award...we were thrilled, great craic. However saying that Coco can be a spooky mare. I noticed a number of showjumpers sporting new blinkers and I thought what a great idea. When Coco is unsure about a situation I notice she looks back at me. I have searched high and low to find something neat and discreet for her bridle as I dont want her to look like a racehorse with sheepskin blinkers heading in the showjumping/working hunter ring. So I followed in the showjumping league and stuck some vet wrap onto her bridle (not a good look). I am not so sure if it is working to be honest as we havent been out much with it being the end of the season. With that said I came across these beauties on the fab Tailored Equestrian website. They are exactly what I want, stylist but effective. I will definitely be adding these to my list at a great price of €22. If we get them I will most certainly do a review on how we get on with them.

Dy'on Leather Blinkers

Caldene Royal Show Jacket
Last but most certainly not least is a present I want for myself, the Caldene Royal Show Jacket. I have changed Coco's colours for next season to a navy and brown set of numnahs, sheep skin pad and fly veil. I purchased the numnah and fly veil at the RDS and Coco bought the saddle pad from Horse Health with her winnings from the championship at Equifest. I like the look of the colours on her as they go nicely with her dark bay coat. Then to dress myself, I have a perfectly fine navy show jacket but I stumbled on this jacket on equestrianclearance.com and thought perfect this will complete our look for 2014.

So if I get one of the above for Christmas I will be one happy girl with happy horses :-)

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 :)

Lows and Highs

Rosie is not the only mare in my life....there is also the little black mare called "Coco". She is the other apple of my eye whom I bought as a 3 year old with my 21st birthday money all those 5 years ago. Coco was (& still can be) a tough little cookie. My time was divided equally between Rosie, Coco and any other horses who passed through. March 2009, we were jumping some walls out the field and disaster struck. Coco spooked at something and reared up and fell back on top of me....leading to a halved collar bone and severe hemarthrosis in my leg. That put a swift stop to my riding for a considerable amount of time. Coco went into the bad corner and was taken on by some friends to keep this fresh little maggot working while I tried to recover. In the meantime Rosie had well deserved long break for a few months. During my recovery I decided to treat myself to a brand new John Whitaker saddle. Throughout all this time I was studying in UCD. Sitting in Simmoncourt stables finishing my exams with one arm, little did I think the next time I would stand in those stables I would have Rosie in my right hand.

Recovery was extremely slow with me placed in a back brace and mentions of surgery. Each time I went for a checkup the first thing I would ask the consultant is....when can I get back at the horses....never given an answer. As I began to heal I would sit up on Rosie to get myself back to action. She was such a lady and minded me every step of the way as if she knew I was hurt. The first evening I sat up I had my new saddle on and it felt amazing.....it was like going from a little Micra to a Roll Royce! I gave her a trot around and then a gentle canter. Everything felt great. Then Mary stuck in a cross pole, up we went and no problem we popped over it (which was great considering I was holding on with one arm). I asked Grace to sit up on Rosie to give her a few right jumps and up she jumped....down to the jump....BANG.....on the ground....hated the saddle. Then Mary put Rebecca up.....down to the jump....BANG.....on the ground.....hated the saddle. Rosie was only delighted to have the girls riding her properly and felt so happy with life that she was bucking them off (even to this day the poor Whitaker saddle is hated!!!). So all in all Rosie was my road to recovery and each day we took things a step further and went on again to win the winter league in Galway Equestrian Centre. 

This leads the story to 2010 where I was fully recovered and Rosie was in tip top form. Although we had occasionally thrown the idea of the RDS around the table we never fully committed to the idea until a certain project caught our attention. A retired racehorse was the center of media attention as he had been rescued and was aiming to go to the RDS in August 2010 with the help of sponsorship. Highgrange began to follow his story on Facebook and watch his vlogging (Video Blogging I believe it is called). It was so interesting and really heart warming to see this fellow get a second chance at life through the help of these people who were going to invest so much energy and time into. We all became addicted to his story. Each week another update would be published and he would be the topic of discussion over a cup of tea after the riding was done in the yard. He lit a fire our bellies and then there is was....on the 25th April 2010 it was decided....Rosie was on the road to Dublin.