Had a good ride in sector 3 and got some new flying mane pictures on 17 and N trails. The scent of the wildflowers was a delight, and we got surprised by a deer. 🦌
So its the last night at the ranch in the steppes, or grasslands, of Hungary. Its mostly quite flat in an undulating kind of way with patches of forests and marshlands. This national park is a bird sanctuary and we see the occasional deer along the way. While much of it feels familiar because of the sand and pine forests, there are a few notable differences. First, the sand roads go on for long distances which has us often cantering 3-5 km stretches. Thats 3-4 times the distance we generally do at home. Second, there are no electric high transmission power lines to mar the view. Third, the grass sections stretch out for miles in each direction with a view that is not customary. The ranch is great. We figured out a good rhythm after a few days that had us gathering in the sauna and jacuzzi in the evening because there is literally nothing else to do. The beat here is very relaxed, and we have all achieved a great zen state. We had a good reining lesson this morning when they p
I do lots of different kinds of rides, with lots of different kinds of riders. But cantering always has me stumped. I have an established checklist of rules, but not everybody shares my view on this. Here is the short version I do not ride on trail with anybody who is not comfortable cantering their horse (at least in an arena). I don't want their first canter experience to be the spook and bolt when their horse sees a deer. I will occasionally make an exception to this rule for very short and controlled trail rides within proximity to the barn. I do not race. The order we start in, must be maintained until the end. No passing. With some of my trail buddies we will canter side by side, and it is glorious! I do not gallop. I have made a few exceptions to this rule with individuals that I trust, and on a trail I know well. The gallop stretch never lasts very long. I do not canter up ravines or anywhere I do not have a long line of sight. Again, I sometimes make exceptions to this on
We had another trail accident this week, the fourth this season, that required an ambulance. All four accidents involved solo riders in English tack. Our club facebook posts were all atwitter about the safety of English vs Western tack. As an amateur rider having spent equal amounts of time in both types of tack under similar conditions, I feel reasonably confident in my perspective. Western tack is safer. The saddle fork on a western saddle (also on an iberian, australian, and some endurance saddles) blocks a certain amount of the centrifugal force that comes with a sharp spook, hard buck, abrupt turn or stumbling horse. The stirrup leathers provide more stability and it is more difficult to get your foot caught in the stirrup during a fall. However, the bulk and heft of a western saddle can also make a wreck worse, such as riders getting bucked onto the neck and caught in front of the saddle, horse and rider falling and getting pinned under the saddle, boot stuck in stirrup with no
The weather has been spectacular in London since we arrived, so as soon as I saw my husband off to work at the nearby tube station I headed two blocks over from our hotel to the Ross Nye Stables and hired a horse to go traipsing through beautiful Hyde Park. Once my lovely Polish guide Dagmara figured out what kind of rider I was, she had a new plan. We would trot over to Rotten Row, intercept the Queens cavalry in their drill formations and gallop towards Buckingham Palace. How was a girl to say no to that? Albus, my trusted grey-dappled cob was super into the plan and I have no idea why they gave me a crop. This horse had more zoom-zoom-zoom than a racing motorbike. As soon as I would say “ok”, we were off in the lead and he kept his steady pace throughout. No nagging this smart cob. Dagmara was also a super guide and we talked politics, Polands role in the EU, Brexit. As a graduate in journalism and political science, she had so much to share and the time literally fl
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