Well! My season has started and I am quite possibly busier than I have ever been in my entire life!
Sizzle at Deloraine ODE Photo by Elizabeth Hughes
To start off... Sizzle. If you have read my blogs before I think you might have gathered that he is my little favourite. He got off the boat and then a week later cantered around his first event for the season. It was a local event that I have attended for longer than I remember. It was a lovely course and the Deloraine pony club did a great job creating a new track that tested some riders but was still safe and fun at the same time. I entered Siz in the EA 105 and he did a lovely test for 71% and then cantered around clear but a bit of time (he isn't quite fit enough yet) and then achieved the only clear of the section show jumping to win by 10 penalties!
Sizzle eating grass at Lucy bootcamp
It was a fantastic confidence boost going forward to our second 1* at the Northern Eventing Championships in a couple of weeks. We have also made the trip down to Hobart to spend the week with Lucy Bennett doing dressage and XC schooling. There is nothing like intensive everyday one on one work to get improvements. We made some big leaps and have established a lot of the elementary movements while still being really on the bit and swinging. It is just the most amazing feeling! We also jumped many of the 1* and 2* fences and lines with no problems. Big pats for the Sizzleman! A big well done to David Gardiner who also made the trip down and made improvements that bordered on the magical. Look out world - here comes David and Harry!
Then there was the Trials. The biggest event in Tasmania is without question the Pony Club State trials. It is like the Melbourne IHT of Tasmania. This year it was held in the north and Bethany was the only Hirst riding. She had two horses... Butterscotch Brittle (nix) and Bandman (Dennis) in the Grade 3 and Grade 2 respectively. She did a great job in the dressage on both, then went double clear XC on Dennis in the grade 2 (clap clap!!!) and clear but time on Nixi. Then she went clear show jumping on nix to place 5th and had a bit of a shocker show jumping on Dennis that dropped her from 2nd right down... But she did exceptionally well for a 12 year old! Well done to Emily Ruffo (another Lucy student) who CLEANED UP leading from start to finish and took out just about every award possible in the grade one including the grade one associate trophy! Great job!
A mutant strawberry!
In between all that I have been working at a berry farm picking strawberries, teaching all over the state and schooling some lovely horses. I am also starting to progress toward my goals of funding myself to get to Melbourne - I have my boat fare... now I need entries and spending money!! Aaannnddd guess who is coming back into work this week.... Mighty William! And he has been showing off, telling me he is ready to get back into it by demonstrating his medium trot!
I can't wait to see what next month brings - in the meantime here are some more photos of the other ponies
Until next time,
Alice 
Poppy looking a lot like her famous uncle Pluto Mio in XC schooling! (above) and Schnapps, one of the babies, learning how to jump (below)
