What a fun day we had. Five girls came all the way from Waimate to spend the day with myself and Julien. The day went as planned, (even the weather was on our side). Coffee on arrival (mums were happy with that), then tacking up and out to the arena. For the next hour and a half, flat work, covering various topics including upward and downward transitions, bending and of course riding position, no stirrups being the favourite part for everyone!! Isn't that right Chloe!!
Horses were then untacked and put in our little paddocks to stretch their legs. There were a couple of ponies not as tired as they should of been. We knew then that in the afternoon, we would work them extra hard.
The girls had their lunch of marshmallows and quiche. Some party!! Then free time after lunch and the main activities were either a nap or hide and seek.
At 1:30 the girls were rounded up for some horse handling activities with Julien. They learnt how to be respected by their steeds on the ground. The horses were then ground tied to be tack up and they were not to move.
The last session of the day was jumping. After practising jumping position on the flat, the girls trotted down the grid. The jump stayed at a very reasonable height as we worked on staying balanced and going with the horse. Jumps were gradually added onto the grid. Last exercise of the day was to turn at the end on the chosen canter lead after the jump.
The day passed quickly and ,before we knew it, it was time to untack, find all their bits and pieces and load up the horses.
As the last horse box drove away down the road, we knew that the five Waimate girls would sleep well that night and so would we!!!!
I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to Chloe, Eilish, Sophie, Hayley and Paige for an excellent day in their company. Also to the mums for driving them here and keeping busy until it was time to take them home.
Here are some photos of the day. The camera was only out for part of the jumping which is a shame. I will be better organised next time.
