Sorry for being inactive for so long. The last few months have been full of struggles with Mythical. We have taken x-rays of Mythical’s back to see what’s wrong. From then I did a rehabilitation program with him. (Go read more about that in my previous post) After the rehab, Mythical was a totally different horse. He jumped rounder, meaning I had more control after the jumps. I didn’t want to rush going to a show. I took it really slowly with getting Mythical to where we last were. When I finally felt ready to attempt a show, Mythical started to act up again. I took in slower again because it seemed like his back was sore. My coach and I worked out a new training schedule. Which we’ve tried over the last few weeks. The schedule entails me lunging him on a Monday, as usual. Ride a group lesson on Tuesday. Wednesday and Saturday I’ll just work with his...

In the last few months, major things happened. Where should I start? At the beginning of December 2017, Silver Oaks Equestrian Centre had their annual Pony Camp where the older kids (that’s my besties and me) see if we can give my instructor some grey hair before the year ends. It started out as lots of fun. We had a quick session on the basic anatomy of the horses. The session was unplanned because it rained cats and dogs. When the rain finally stopped, we had our first riding lesson. It was absolute torture for me. Not only was Mythical extremely fresh but also my instructor’s eldest son gave the lesson. He really knows how to teach because he had experience from learning from top instructors all over the country. We trotted for what felt like 3 hours and barely jumped, skipping one of my favourite parts of horse riding – Jumping. Later the afternoon we played a...

On Sunday I had one of my best shows. It was my first 80 cm course. Mythical Music had a busy week. He had the previous weekend off to rest and I rode him on Monday. I could not ride on Tuesday as I spent the whole day in Johannesburg. On Wednesday I worked him thoroughly, knowing that there was an upcoming show and he had to be well prepared. On Thursday the freshness struck like a bomb.  At the beginning he was going fine, just nodding his head now and again. The next moment he unexpectedly reared. I fell. I had to get back on to retain his and my own confidence. Fortunately, my coach was close by and she helped me to finish working him. At that stage, I thought I might have to skip the show. Mythical must have had a fright because on Friday he was an angel in the arena. To be honest I was concerned that he might be naughty. I rode him again on Saturday morning just to ensure that it...

Yesterday I had one of the best shows ever. It all started that morning just before six o’clock when my dog heard me turn around in bed. She leapt up and laid her million and one-tonne body on me. I knew it was almost time to get up so I didn’t get too mad at her.  I waited for my alarm to sound, which didn’t take too long to happen. My other dog, who slept with my mum, heard it and she came running down to greet me. I got up quickly to pack everything for the show. We had to pick up one of my friends on the way, which made me more excited for the day ahead.  When I reached the kitchen, my father was already preparing some coffee. When I wanted to pour myself some, it had barely started to brew, so I decided to get dressed in my jumping attire first. When I finally finished eating, I made sure that we had everything. After we picked up my friend, we were off to the...

I am super excited today. Tomorrow will be my second show on Mythical Music.This weekend was supposed to be the second SANESA Qualifier, but after some difficulty of finding a new venue, it was postponed. Now, I am going to Fourways Equestrian Club’s Training show.I had a rough week preparing. I had a rough week preparing for the show. When I rode on Monday, Mythical was very spooky and ran with me. On Tuesday he was quite fine but on Wednesday, eish… He gave my grandmother a huge fright after bucking and running at the fence, and me almost falling. I must say I sat the buck really well. 😉 On Thursday, I lunged him and the dogs chased him, resulting in a nice galloping exercise with a few bucks in between. Yesterday, he was so tired after all the exercise, that he was so sweet. he did not do a thing wrong. I had to work him hard that he can learn that being naughty will...

Last Monday, when I arrived at the stables, I was informed that the horses had their flu vaccinations, which meant that it would be two full days before the horses could work again. No work leads to loads of energy (freshness). Mythical Music had last been ridden the previous Friday. By the Wednesday, I still couldn’t ride and thus had to ask my coach’s son to do so for me. Luckily I could ride on Thursday. On Friday, my coach could not teach and I was cautious to ride because of extraordinary winds. Sometimes horses spook at peculiar things, especially when they are fresh. This is one reason why I did not want to take any chances. I also have to be cautious this close to my karate nationals. The weekend came and went, and I still cannot ride – Now because of pouring rain!...