Starting a blog is often the hardest bit. It makes me understand writer’s cramp. Sometimes it just flows, other times you think does anyone really care? Then you have random people, just normal nonhorsey people, your parents run into in the street going ‘where’s Sonja we haven’t seen anything from her for ages’.
There is nothing like that for producing a guilt trip. The poor old (hey less of the old!) editors that have been chasing it for months have little chance but the people that seem to have found my exploits a bit of light relief and supported me with their quiet goodwill can do what an editor can not … unlock writers cramp!
So what has been happening in the mad house of Parkiarrup?
Rather a lot really. I seem to have three full time jobs: farmer, athlete and coach. So to start with the one that supports my habits and is really in many ways my favourite here goes.
The farm
The sheep are well even if we have a dry dam that I’ve never seen dry before. It’s a shame because it watered 5 paddocks. (not little ones either). Fortunately a good bore close at hand could be replumbed to solve that problem.
That wonderful exam time known as shearing is underway in the stud ewes. It’s always exciting to see the wool, soft, white and gleaming in the bins. Probably my best win of the year last year was ‘supreme clip of the sale’ with our flock ewes (yes I am bragging). The ewes are about to be synchronised for the AI program which Mojo's 'dad' Simon Bell does for us so well each year. Basically apart from the fact you basically can’t sell sheep at the moment (prices are way down. I wish we were getting what you guys have to pay for it - or at least a fair share) all is good in the sheep world.
Out on the farm with the cows and showing off some fancy trot work!
The cows look well even if grumpy that we wont let them live in the silage stack and the crop was ‘not to bad’ So that sort of covers the farming news.
Coaching
Coaching is firing up again. I did my normal yearly trip to Tasmania in January, coaching for Deloraine and Huntingfield pony clubs. It is amazing how much these guys achieve with limited access to competitions and coaching. Perhaps that is why they soak it up and spit it back at me. I’m not sure if it’s a sign that I’m getting soft or just how much better they are getting as I barely got any champagne out of them on this trip for falls! This made for a very sober trip.
Perhaps the most amusing moment for most was day two at Deloraine when I picked up a stomach bug for 24 hours. The photo of me lying on the ground unable to stand without falling over being sheltered by two umbrellas but still coaching is really quite funny - now!
After the coaching I spent time as I always do at Norwood in Tasmania, which is our parent stud. Didn’t get to do much sheep work but my knowledge of irrigation continues to expand (don’t do it, it’s way too much like hard work) as did my knowledge of deer.
A pretty scarey time with some deer
Norwood has a fairly large fallow deer herd and as they needed drafting I obviously offered to help. Let me tell you that being in a very dimly lit shed with walls that you have no hope of getting over or under with about 50 deer at a time who all seemed to have very large antlers is quite confronting. Something I did discover is that men who own deer herds really dislike Viagra. It ruined the market for deer horn as velvet, which has been used for hundreds of years as a natural alternative for those sort of problems!
A very cute Bambi
The other thing I did manage to do was bring home a really good souvenir from Tassie. A new working pupil. Georgia, known as George, is on her gap year and as I have coached her for 5 years I knew she could stick on, which is just as well as she is on the four year olds. Lucky George.
The ponies
So finally to the ponies. Yes they are all well.
Ben (Parkiarrup Illicit Liasion) has a new owner, well sort of, as his mum Nikki recently got married to the wonderful Mick Harwood. Mick was a professional footballer in England so even though he doesn’t know a lot about horses he does know rather a lot about elite sport.
Ben himself came into work at the beginning of January and looks amazing. For him he is fat. On hearing that Shane Rose, with a big grin on his face, said ‘gosh has he made 400kg yet!’ Anyway mum rode him for the first month then I started doing some dressage and jumping on him. He could at best be described as enthusiastic others may call him a naughty little toad. However once he starts his gallops he will be a much happier child. He loves his gallops.
Mojo (Belfast Mojito) is also well. He spent his summer holidays with his mum Rebecca and returned to us early February. He says he wants to go home as I tend to tell him he has to go forward ALL the time. He is however his normal wonderful self. Both Ben and Mojo are aiming at 3* Melbourne in June.
Max (Riverside) is also being cute. He is so straight forward and such an athlete.
That sorts of sums up the horses I have blogged about before so it is time to introduce the new kids on the block
Jackie took Fred out to his first dressage competition
Firstly there is Misty Isle Valentino or Fred. Fred belongs to Elizabeth Nicholson. He is chestnut with a blaze and 3 white socks (now that’s unusual for me - not) Fred is four and one of the nicest horses to be around that I have met. He is an attention seeking monster who likes to crawl through wire fences but he says it’s only to be closer to us. His breeding is interesting, warmblood mare, quarter horse X Arab stallion. Oh well who cares because so far he ticks all the boxes. My good friend Jackie Sept took him out to his first dressage competition while I was in Tassie and he was a dood. I have jumped him at home a bit and when I took him cross country schooling at a local course I started to believe in reincarnation. He just felt like he had done this all before in a previous life. It was so much fun.
The unexpected cute black 'pony'
The other new boy in the stable was not something I expected to be riding this year. Michael Procter, my good friend and the vet who kept Jag at world level until Jag was 20, asked me to take his very handsome 17.1 premium licensed imported Hanoverian stallion Showdown down the farm for a summer holiday. I was supposed to just hack him around the farm but it wasn’t long before me being me was rapidly asking if I could jump him. Permission was given and Froshie as he is known is about to start an eventing career. So far I’m pretty excited.
Other than that George has two of our own breeding to work. There is the arrogant black gelding Peregrine and the big strong mare Windswept. Both horses are aiming to get out there competing fairly soon.
The other thing I have done recently is attend the first National Squad clinic of the year at Wallaby farm in NSW.
Now I had heard a fair bit about this place but until you get there you don’t actually realise just how fabulous a place it is. Not only is it a sensational setting and facility but Alex and her band of merry helpers make you so comfortable and welcome. We had three days of camp all up and I have to say I felt a bit sorry for Prue, Sam Lyle and Pottsy (vet) who had just flown back from doing the same thing in England.
On the first day there were no ridden lessons but video critiques of jumping with Sam, physio screenings with Emma Vowles and HP individual planning meetings with Prue. That evening it was a general info session with Prue and a social gathering for which Anwen Keeling had cooked for us. For those of you that don’t know Anwen if you are looking for a sensational painting of horses, humans, dogs or probably anything else give her a call. We are talking about one multi talented lady here.
Day two saw Rod Brown and Brett Parbery on hand to do dressage and jumping lessons. I was a bit confused about the wet stuff falling from the sky as I haven’t seen much of that for quite some time so it was really rather nice, (says she that hid in the indoor watching Brett till the weather cleared.)
Even though I didn’t have a horse there I took lots of notes on things to work on with my boys on the flat and jumping exercises to torture everyone with. I actually had to comment that it was like Brett and Rod had been in discussion and decided the whole clinic focus was on softer more relaxed more supple horses as that was the theme they both kept returning to.
Again at night there was another social evening where Nat Blundell, Wendy Schaeffer, Nat Sallinski and I proved who had the staying power with Geoff Spears from Wallaby Hill. Geoff and I gave Wendy lots of ‘good’ advice for her forthcoming marriage. Not sure how much of it was helpful but Geoff did suggest as long as you keep laughing at something or other else it was bound to result in a great relationship! It was wonderful to see Wendy so happy.
Day three and it was a quick run through a dressage test and a show jump course before camp was all over. Most people were heading on to Sydney event while I headed home to relieve my poor mum of sole responsibility of shearing. My mum is amazing!
So yes life is busy but who would want it any other way.
Cheers
Sonja
