Ahhh nothing like a good roll!
During the whole hype that is preparing for, what you want to be, a successful season; it's very easy to forget just why you started riding in the first place.
One day during summer I came home from work and thought to myself 'there's so much I have to work on with Drum before the season. This sucks. I don't want to ride tonight' and I didn't that day, or the next. Because I was 'tired' after work... Pfft.
The next time I dragged Drum out of the paddock, his leg was swollen and he was slightly uneven. Yikes! Realising just how worried I was about my dear old sport we did whatever we could to get him better ASAP, including beach swims each morning for the week
In a strange way, I'm so glad this happened. One morning at the beach the most incredible moment occurred in what seemed like a movie scene
As Drum is beginning to age a bit (being 15) I do my best to preserve his joints. This means the majority of his fitness work is trotting through the water. It's also a great tool to build serious topline, and fast!
So here we were down at Balnarring one morning with Drum dipping his head under water repeatedly (yes like a dog... It's a bit odd) and slowly making his way through the shoulder high salty water, when out of nowhere I saw a fin.
After my heart skipped a beat thinking it was a shark and what on earth would I do if we were attacked!? I soon realised there was not one, not two or three, but four dolphins swimming towards us. I kept calm, reminding myself how horses can feel your heartbeat clearly (more on that one later!) and pretended they weren't there. Then Drum saw the four dolphins! He panicked, of course, and then I could feel his heart pounding through his chest. He soon calmed a little bit as we stood there deep in the water and watched the dolphins gently swim past us. Wow!
Once they were out of sight we picked up the pace and went onto our fitness section of the beach (trotting through rump deep water).
The early mornings are certainly worth this sunrise and the other things that go with riding at the beach!
It was incredible!! Absolutely amazing! And there's no other horse I'd want to be sitting on during such a spectacular moment.
Personally, I think it's all too easy to get caught up in the arena and in your training. So much so, from time to time, we simply forget why we ride in the stinking heat and pouring rain. During the remainder of the summer I've had the same goals, start the season 1*, then finish 2* and travel to interstate competitions post-Melbourne 3DE. I've also made new goals, much more important and valuable goals; to enjoy the journey and have fun!
I've always been horse mad. In fact, for the majority of my high school years I'd rather spend my weekends and afternoons with Drum than with friends (sometimes I do question that one, seeing that I fell off a lot back then!). To a girl, and to men who may not admit it as openly, horses are a big deal, a huge deal rather, especially if you've owned them for a long period of time. My fondest memories on a horse have never been when I won this or I did that; it was how I felt!
The time I completed the Wandin 1* clear and under time, it was remarkable. Not the achievement itself, but the ride!! Right now I have this goofy smile on my face thinking of it! How nervous I was warming up, butterflies like you couldn't imagine! Drum was being so quiet that day, this intimidated me as it wasn't normal. Negative thoughts started to rattle around my head wondering if he was okay, had we done enough preparation? Was he fit enough? Was I fit enough?!
" 5,4,3,2,1 GOODLUCK! "
And we were off. He was a machine!! Looking for every jump, perfect take offs, land and gallop, off we go again to the next combination. It was an incredible ride! Filled with so much adrenalin and happiness, I was over the moon that day; EVERYTHING was possible!
We put so much pressure on ourselves to be the best and then some again. Stop. Just enjoy horses, and ride for that little girl (or boy) who fell in a mad and deep love with them in the first place. Because at the end of the day, no ribbon, no prize can ever beat moments like the two above for me, and I hope to see many more this coming year
Happy riding!
