June was cold, wet, windy and very busy!
I received my 10 year service medal from CFA and was due to graduate from my first scholarship when my very good friend Renae from Wagga Wagga invited me to visit for the weekend and have a ride on her amazing horses and compete at our Club’s Winter Woollies event. I am an associate member of the Wagga and District Adult Riding Club.
It's always good to catch up with Ren and her horses
I really needed a break and I decided to bail on the graduation for a number of reasons and booked a train ticket. I love getting away and the train trip was such a hoot! It went really quickly and five and a half hours later, I was given the biggest bear hug by Ren and off we went to her house where we settled in and headed off for her show jumping lesson! I was able to watch her and video her lesson and get some tips from her coach, which is always a bonus!
My little legs didn't stretch very far down on Ren's rather large horse Tark
Saturday, we were up and as Ren has two horses, I had a ride on each to see which one would suit me. Tark is a 17hh TB/WB cross with beautiful and responsive paces and Akubra (who I affectionately call The HAT) is a 15hh Arab/WB cross and an absolute dressage rider’s dream! I really liked riding Tark and Ren was happy for me to ride him at the comp.
After we’d ridden we went and did some necessary shopping, feed, Horseland, Saddleworld, (you know the important things) we headed back home for lunch and then later that arvo we decided to wash the horses. Of course it rained and we didn’t have any hot water but horses were really good and we rugged them to the nines to get them warm and finally headed inside in the dark once the float was packed with the essentials and then cleaned our gear and watched a movie.
Up early the next morning we were soon on the road. Fortunately, Ren lives about 10 minute from the club so we arrived in plenty of time. As Ren is on the Club’s committee she had to do a few things for members but soon we were getting ready for the first class and warning up. Ren and the Hat looked stunning with a beautiful blingy browband, which I wanted to nick for BSP!
Akubra - otherwise known as THE HAT
Classes were run by grade and luckily for me, Ren was grade 3 so I didn’t have to compete against her, as she’s an absolutely brilliant rider! Tark and I headed in for the Smartest on Parade and the judge asked us to walk, trot and canter. She then asked us to line up and to my surprise, we came 4th! There wasn’t any inspection of the gear or horses, so it was a pretty quick class!
I really enjoyed riding Tark
Next was a led class, which we failed, as Tark didn’t want to run with me, despite my legs going a million miles an hour - me the midget with the giant horse!
Ridden mount was next and we placed second and then it was the Rider class and to my utter delight and surprise, we placed first! I was over the moon, especially when the judge said she wished she had my core strength! I was wrapped.
It's always great to come home with some ribbons
We stayed in the ring for the Champion class, which was very hard to ride in because I was up against Level 1, 3 and 5 riders. Of course, the Level 1 and 3 riders won Champion and Reserve and rode beautifully.
Mount most suitable saw us place 4th. I was absolutely thrilled with the day and had so much fun! I have really loved riding other horses and have been learning so much from the opportunities and as much as I love BSP, it is nice to have a ride on an balanced, forward and responsive horse that can do what you ask.
Ren and The Hat
Ren did her very first jump in the Mount most suitable and came 2nd! I let out the biggest WHOO HOO ever because Akubra really doesn’t jump and only does dressage but she rode him so well that he simply popped over it like it was nothing!
Monday, we had a quick breakfast and another ride and then it was time to say goodbye. I didn’t want to come home as it had been wonderful to be able to spend time with a friend who I miss a lot. Being able to ride together and just hang out was amazing.
A huge thank you to Ren and WADARC for having me and making me feel so welcome yet again as part of the team. I always feel at home.
The view from on top of Tark
A massive thank you to Tark, for being such a good boy and trying so hard for me. He was an absolute pleasure to ride and I loved his canter so much! He made me feel so proud and I am sure his mum feels the same way. Thank you, Ren for trusting me with him!
Until next time,
Live the dream!
Love Jenna, Tark, The Hat and BSP xxx
