2009 February | Chris's Blog

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Archive for February, 2009

Pony Club Area Quiz 09

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

The Pony Club Area 10 Quiz was hosted by the Glamorgan Pony Club at the Reading Rooms in Bonvilston. Two Teams from Talygarn were entered made up of Chloe Reakes, Carys Morgan, Carys Reville and Angharad Davies known as Talygarn 1 and Eleri Cadreman, Sarah Blake, Lucy Street and Zoe Hughes made up Talygarn 2. Friday night Jennifer modelled in a show in Exit Club covered in body paint, 6 of us decided to go for support and to watch, it was a really entertaining night but I didn’t get to bed till 4am. Needless to say I felt that driving at 10.30 was not the best of ideas, so Sharon arrived to take the kids to the quiz in the Land Rover. We arrived just before 11 and the teams found their tables, Sharon and myself and Mike and Sharon Reakes settled ourselves at the back. This year we had some competition as there were two teams from Cardiff riding school and two teams from Leige Manor who are now centres as well as all the branches. It was a very close competition between our two teams, after the first two rounds of questions the Talygarn teams were in the lead of the centres and both tying with 39 points, at lunch time Talygarn 2 had a three point lead over Talygarn 1. After the sixth round both teams were tying on 136 points. After the last round we had to wait for the presentation for the final score but we knew it would be close. Talygarn 2 had 1831/2 points but Talygarn 1 won the competition with 187 points and the team will now go to the National Quiz Finals in Warwick on April 5th to compete against centres from all over Britain and Ireland. During the lunch break there was a competition for the best team mascot which was also won by Talygarn 1 and I believe the mascot will be going to Warwick too. The winning branch at the competition was Llangeinor 1 which is Amelia’s team they were tying in 2nd place with 2 other teams after the 2nd round with Dinas Powys in the lead but Llangeinor Hunt Pony Club took the lead by the fourth round and kept it too the end winning with a score of 192. So Amelia and her team will also be going to Warwick. Photos were taken outside at the end of the day and then Sharon Reakes and I very nearly got run over by a mad woman in a 4 x 4 who after nearly hitting me then nearly hitting Sharon reversed at speed into a busy main road with kids in the back. Obviously not a happy loser. Glamorgan Pony Club did a marvellous job of hosting the quiz I thought the questions were very good although I think the worst questions are always the odd one out section as often there is more than one correct answer. The scores were up on the board very quickly and the cakes were delicious. Pictures are in the Gallery on the Website

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Posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Talygarn Team Show Jumping Feb 09

Friday, February 20th, 2009

I thought the team jumping may have been a little quieter in the February half term as lots of people seemed to be going away. We had to make quite a few changes and cut one team out altogether but we still had 29 teams only two teams less then previous competitions. In the 1ft 6 (Lead rein optional) We had 10 teams from Glamorgan PC, Llangeinor Hunt PC, Millbrook RC, Mynydd RC and Talygarn. We had a slight hiccup at the start which held us up a few minutes when someone parked a trailer in front of our top yard and we couldnt get some of our ponies out of the stables but this was soon sorted and we got under way with the first team. The first team class does take up the most time as the children are less experienced and whilst it is lovely to see them having a go we have decided that 10 teams is the maximum we will take for that class so if you are planning to enter next month make sure your entries are in by the closing date. Glamorgan pony club won the first class and we had a team from Talygarn placed third. In fact we had a team placed 3rd in the 2ft and the 2ft 3 and 2nd in the 2ft 6 and Talygarn Team Moose consisting of Paris Stevenson, Amelia Rogers, Jess Brodie and Chloe Reakes won the 2ft 3 team class. Llangeinor won the 2ft and Glamorgan won the 2′6. It was strange not having Leigh here and I did get a quick call from him on the day to see how it was all going so he was obviously thinking about us too. The day ran smoothly without any real problems apart from a heavy downpour in the morning which caused a bit of a problem for those parked in the field but this was soon sorted with the aid of a tractor. The lighting wasn’t great in the indoor school but I managed a few pictures which can be found in the gallery of the website and full results can be found on the website. Next Team Jumping will be April 8th

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Posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 1:58 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Llangeinor Hunt Ball 09

Monday, February 16th, 2009

After being so ill for the last few weeks I was crossing my fingers and hoping I would be ok for the Llangeinor Hunt ball. Last year the ball was held in Brangwyn Hall in swansea as the Coal Exchange in Cardiff is no longer available. We weren’t impressed with Brangwyn Hall but was a little worried when we found out this years ball was to be held in a Marquee at the Arms Park in Cardiff. Martha being 16 was allowed to go for the first time this year and was looking forward to travelling there in a limo, we told her it was too expensive this year with the credit crunch etc and we had hired a Mini bus. She was not impressed her first hunt ball in a tent and arriving in a Mini Bus. So she was more than happy when the pink limousine arrived to pick us up ( a plug for Cavendish Limos from pontyclun, very reasonably priced and a lovely driver). The Marquee was very impressive complete with dance floor and chandeliers. Although I’m glad it wasn’t raining as you had to go outside to the toilets. I thought it was rather funny to see portable toilets on a trailer labelled as luxury toilets but anyone who has been to the welsh performance show (who also have toilets on a trailer) will know that in comparison they were luxury toilets. It starting to become a standing joke amongst our party that no matter where the Llangeinor Hunt Ball is held every year our table is always right at the back in the furthest corner but they excelled themselves this year as not only was it in the furthest corner but they had forgot to get it out at all. So whilst an army of waiters rushed around getting a table and cutlery etc. we pinched someone elses. The meal this year was leek and potato soup, roast beef and dessert which was very nice (last years wasn’t). Its always a bit of a worry as one of our party has a severe dairy/egg allergy. The drinks prices were reasonable and you didnt have to wait to long to be served, the band was good although the younger people did moan that the songs were a bit slow and prefered the disco. Two things I would complain about the tickets said that the bar closed at 1.30pm and carriages at 2 we ordered ours for 2.15 as by the time it finishes and you get outside it is gone two. We ordered drinks just before the bar closed only to find that the music also stopped at 1.30 everything finished and we were left with an unexpected wait of 45 minutes. The other moan that I would have is the absence of the hunting horn. There used to be a hunting horn competition, without it there is nothing that stands out as a Hunt Ball it could be any old ball. Please bring it back or at least have a couple of people blow one. For us people that have given up hunting or just don’t have the time to go much these days its very nostalgic. Funniest moment of the night was when my friend got fed up of the hanger straps on her dress falling out so whilst sitting down tied them together to then find she couldn’t stand up. Fortunately I found a cheese knife to cut them off with.

Posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 1:56 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Horse Behaviour

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

This week at part of our NVQ and BHS Stage 1 we have been looking at Horse phsycology, How horses behave within in the herd.

Below is an example of how the older members of the herd may teach the younger domesticated horse theses days

CHEWING: Hey, it’s YOUR stable so go ahead and do what you want to make it more “homey”. Chew on your stable door, the fence or any other wooden item … leave your own mark!

DINING ETIQUETTE: Always pull all of your hay out of the hay rack, especially right after your stable has been cleaned, so you can mix the hay with your fresh bedding. This challenges your human, the next time they’re cleaning your stable – and we all know how humans love a challenge (that’s what they said when they bought you as a two year old, right?).

DOORS: Any door, even partially open, is always an invitation for you and your human to exercise. Bolt out of the door and trot around, just out of reach of your human, who will frantically run after and chase you. The longer it goes on, the more fun it is for all involved.

FRESH BEDDING: It is perfectly permissible to urinate in the middle of your freshly bedded stable to let your humans know how much you appreciate their hard work.

GROUND MANNERS: Ground manners are very important to humans; Always try to place one of your front feet on their foot, its like a hand shake.

HOLES: Rather than pawing and digging a BIG hole in the middle of the paddock or stable and upsetting your human, dig a lot of smaller holes all over so they won’t notice. If you arrange a little pile of dirt on one side of each hole, maybe they’ll think it’s moles. There are never enough holes in the ground. Strive daily to do your part to help correct this problem.

NEIGHING: Because you are a horse, you are expected to neigh. So neigh – a lot. Your owners will be very happy to hear you protecting the yard and communicating with other horses. Especially late at night while they are sleeping safely in their beds. There is no more secure feeling for a human than to keep waking up in the middle of the night and hearing you, “Neigh, neigh, neigh…”

NUZZLING: Always take a BIG drink from your water trough immediately before nuzzling your human. Humans prefer clean muzzles. Be ready to rub your head on the area of your human that you just nuzzled to dry it off, too.

PLAYING: If you lose your footing while frolicking in the paddock, use one of the other horses to absorb your fall so you don’t injure yourself. Then the other horse will get a visit from the mean old vet, not you!

SNORTING: Humans like to be snorted on. Everywhere. It is your duty, as the family horse, to accommodate them.

VISITORS: Quickly determine which guest is afraid of horses. Rock back and forth, neighing loudly and pawing playfully at this person. If the human backs away and starts crying, swoosh your tail, stamp your feet and nicker gently to show your concern.

RUGS: Catch them on the fencing, rip them in fact damage them as much as you can cause although your human may like to moan secretly they love shopping for new ones.

Posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 11:23 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.