Horses | Chris's Blog

Tweets from Talygarn

Mini Show Jumping Wed 8th feb 5.45pm Schedule A To be held indoors. Classes LR 1'6 1'9 2' 2'3 2'6 Entries £7 per... http://t.co/tY4nnghO 2012/02/01
Dressage Feb 5th cancelled Next Dressage Sunday March 4th 2012/01/28
25th Jan Wednesday evening show jumping 5.45pm starts with 2' clear round then 2'3 2'6 2'9 &3' qualifiers for... http://t.co/lKilSp6L 2012/01/25
Tuesday 14th Feb Taster lessons in Equestrian Vaulting, suitable for riders and non riders from 4 to 18yrs of... http://t.co/rUFqMIzx 2012/01/23

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October Half Term

Sunday, November 6th, 2011

October Half Term has been a hectic week. On the monday Steve, Jen and I travelled to Northampton to continue our training to coach vaulting. We were both assessed and passed and are now Level one coaches for vaulting. We took the trailor with us to pick up a barrel for vaulting practice. It was a long day and we didn’t get back till late. Tuesday we had Pony Day and lessons in the evening and I had all the preparation to sort out for the team jumping. Wednesday morning was an early start and late finish for the team jumping. Thursday Client show jumping I thought would be quiet after the team jumping but it turned out to be quite busy in the tipping down rain. Thursday was also my birthday so Steve and I left for Bristol after the client show jumping. We had a nice meal in Bella Italia (curtesy of Tesco’s clubcard vouchers) then went to see We Will Rock You in the Theatre. We stayed over and came back the next day. Ready for the Halloween Party on Saturday. Another successful event organised by the Pony Club Centre committee made up of the older members. There was a good turn out and great to see so many adults supporting the event and even dressing up. The Halloween Party finished about 11.30 after a clean we had a few drinks in the house, five of us went to sleep in my lounge and I woke up on the floor in the early hours, so I assume it was a good night. See photos in the Gallery.

Posted on Sunday, November 6th, 2011 at 11:53 pm You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Show an Hunter Trials

Monday, September 5th, 2011

We have been a bit short on help on the yards the last couple of weeks and Kate Malissa and Zoe M have turned up every day to help out. I had planned to take Jimbob to a couple of competitions so we decided to take some ponies for them too. Last sunday it was the Millbrook/Llantwit Riding Club show. Sarah took Jimbob, Kate has grown out of Hannah and just bought a new horse Bodie so Kate took Hannah for her final outing and we took Jasper. Kate had a 2nd on and a 4th in the jumping on Hannah and Zoe had a bit of a stumble after planks on Jasper, nearly fell off but then had a fence down. Sarah won the 2ft 3 on Jimbob and was 4th in the 2ft6 and Malissa had a 3rd in the Best horse for riding club activities on Jimbob. The girls did the gymkhana classes at the end of the day winning several rosettes. Kate won the one up polo beating the ‘games ponies’ and Zoe fell off in the bending. I took my camera but forgot the card so Photos were taken by Pat Blake (Sarah’s Gran). This Sunday we went to the Hunter Trials at Alps. Sarah and Carys took Rosie and Jimbob in the pairs and Zoe and Malissa took Jasper and Foley all went clear. Bethan and Angharad were also there and did very well on Diesel and Sid. Toni Thomas won the Minimus seniors on Emma. In the Novice class Malissa and Sarah had a few stops, Zoe went clear and came 5th in the junior section and Carys and Jimbob won the senior section. Julie Whiles took the photos because I took my camera and card but forgot the battery. When we go to competitions I always say to the girls – Have you got your hat, Whip, Bridle etc and they are now going to reply with – Have you got your camera, battery and card. Photos on the Gallery

Posted on Monday, September 5th, 2011 at 1:31 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Horse Sales

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

The maddening thing about trying to buy horses from private sellers is the time it takes. Once you have found a suitable advert, tracked down the sellers, cleared at least half a day off work, travelled 30 plus miles and thats if its local, got lost then eventually found your destination invariably one of the following occurs – the horse/pony takes 3 steps forward and you can see its lame (the owner can’t or doesn’t want too), It has sweet itch, its 14hh (was advertised 15.2), It is not quiet in fact bordering on wild, it has several confirmation faults. I tend to find one in twenty matches the advert. I try to see at least 3 in the same direction if that is possible and I’ve been known to have to take the entire day off to do this then find none are suitable, get stuck in traffic on the way home, forsake the diet and buy a very unhealthy meal to ease onset of depression. The other option is to visit the horse sales, easier because there are several horses to look at in one place but not without its problems. When buying the private horse the owner will lovingly tell you everything about the horse down to what it eats for breakfast, they even tell you things that eventually put you off buying the horse. At horse sales the majority lie at every opportunity, favourite saying when selling small ponies is “only selling because I don’t have anyone small enough to ride it” , one wonders why she bought it if she doesn’t have anyone small enough to ride it. The other classic is we have to many so we are selling some from our riding school, on that basis would you take the best or the worst to the sales. Most of these people are dealers. You do get the odd genuine people at sales but it is hard to work out which is which and some people are very unscrupulous. Being short of ponies we decided to take a trip to Leominster Sales. The sale starts at 11.30am with the biggest horses and works its way at a rate of about 40 an hour to the smallest ponies. We decided to aim to arrive about 12 noon in order to give us time to look at the ponies before they went in for auction. Unfortunately half way there the engine overheated and set fire to the insulation under the bonnet. Slightly worrying but glad the diesel tank is at the back. Arrived at the sales just before one but in time to have a look at the ponies. I marked off a few in the catalogue to look at in the ring. A small palomino and a grey I was interested in were bought by the same person, both looked lovely but didn’t look sound and a couple I liked the look of were much sharper and spookier in the ring. In the end we settled on a 12hh bay pony who appeared to have a laid back nature, called Evan and still stopped on the way home for an unhealthy meal of pie and chips. I am glad I am not a dealer I don’t think I could cope with buying and selling horses every day, its bad enough just trying to buy for the riding school now and again.

Posted on Sunday, June 26th, 2011 at 12:46 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Summer Shows

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

During the summer months May to end of September I prefer to hold our show jumping competitions in the outdoor arena instead of indoors. The winter dressage series finishes which is replaced with Mini Hunter Trial events throughout the summer. Last year we were very lucky and managed to hold all Mini Hunter Trials and most of the show jumping outdoors. May this year has been a bit of a wash out, so far we have managed only one Show jumping in the outdoor school (I’m glad we have the option of going indoors) and we had to replace our first Mini hunter trial with indoor Show jumping last Sunday. Lets hope June and the rest of the summer is going to be better. The initial tryouts for the Open Day take place randomly in May and priority is given to level 4 and 5’s and some level 3s that have given their time free during the year to help out on the yard. Most of the try outs for the Open day have been done now except for the Gymkhana and serious practices start next week. It is only 6 weeks to the open day and there is a lot to organise. Horses for displays are going to be difficult this year as we seem to be going through a phase of having a lot of new horses some being a bit on the young side, although we have got some exciting displays and a couple of new ones this year. The open day is Sunday July 10th. Gates open 1pm, tickets are £4 to raise money for the Pony club. Refreshments available, everyone welcome.

Posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 at 1:29 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

R.I.P Simply Blue

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Last Thursday at 8am Blue was found in her stable and appeared to be cast. She struggled to stand but seemed unable to hold her wait. The vet arrived and on investigation discovered that she had broken her leg (Femur). I am not sure how long we had Blue I think she was a 7yr old when she arrived and she would be 12 now so around 5years I guess. I remember the evening that Blue arrived on the yard, it was cold, dark and raining. I didn’t know that she had arrived as they had unloaded her at the top of the drive and walked her down. I assumed that she hadn’t travelled well as she was quite worked up and had a cut on her head. We had prepared a stable for her and soon discovered that she had quite a phobia about being in a stable. if something alarmed her she became extremely upset and pannicky. Over the years she had become a lot calmer in the stable although still somewhat temperamental and prone to biting. She could never be tied in the stable but was fine to tie on the yard. She was difficult to shoe and impossible to clip. She was an attractive 16hh black mare but despite her moodiness many people enjoyed riding her. She never reared bucked or ran away. When she first arrived I rode her for awhile. She was excellent in traffic and good to hack out. I had assumed she may not travel well as she didn’t like being in the stable but she was fine on the lorry and I jumped her over a few small courses at Sunnybank and Broomes, she wasn’t very careful or talented then. Eventually Carys Morgan took her on. Carys persevered with the jumping and improved Blue no end. They had a wonderful partnership and I truly believe that Blue trusted Carys completely. Carys gave her confidence and she became easier for others to jump but she was always at her best with Carys. No one would have thought Blue would have jumped the 4ft planks at the open day and leave them up but she did for Carys. She will be missed by many and it was a sad and tragic day to lose such a nice horse in the prime of her life. Our thoughts this week have been with those who loved and cared for Blue especially Carys who had a special bond with her.

Posted on Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 1:07 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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