Ch-Ch-Ch-Chilly…

So Winter is here… How wonderful!

I know it is a bit of a paradox, buying a farm in South Africa and not enjoying the sun or heat, but really, working in anything about 30 degrees centigrade is just not fun, for anyone; ponies, children or myself!

We took a walk yesterday…

Samhain taking a dip. The chilliness of the water is evident on her facial expression!

A new little family

Lughnasadh doing her best to stay dry! The dam is lined with plastic, and when your feet are wet, it is incredibly difficult to stop slipping on the plastic!

Samhain LOVES to swim.  She is a true water baby.  In fact, she regularly makes a nuisance of herself by lying in the horse’s troughs and muddying the water.

3 Fat Ladies! Kerry, Wicklow and Dolly

 

Gasun and Cordoba sharing a 'moment' together

Seamus, Kerry's 1.5 year old son, Wicklow's grandson.

Showing me his many talents...

Seamus was the result of my neighbour, G’s, pony breaking onto the farm, and having a romantic encounter with Kerry…  Definitely unplanned and not something that should have been bred.  But, he has a super temperament and will just stay here and eventually become a school pony.  The stallion has since been gelded, so no more unwanted miracles!

The Free Rangers....

Goldie

Goldie hates the ‘click’ a camera makes, I have no idea why, but to snap this involved me standing there for about 10 minutes before hand taking shots of her jumping away…  She’s a strange one!

Be Good x

Assume Nothing…

So the internet is finally back up and running.  Although I must say, I tend to be far more productive without it!

Wicklow, Debenhams and Dusky Blue competed at a one day event on Saturday.  It all started so well…  Dusky was lying second after the dressage (an unheard of achievement for Miss S!) and Debs had also done okay, however as they were running 40 minutes early, their warm up was cut very short, resulting in a less than stellar test…

Debenhams... not impressed at being rushed...

Debenhams was the only entry in her class, which meant all they would have to do was finish, for 1st…  Something which we all thought was a given…

Resisting, resisting, resisting...

It was Wicklow’s navigators first time doing dressage… and well, lets just say the sat nav stopped working towards the end!  But, no matter, she finished.

Wicklow with her extremely nervous jockey, Miss J, on board

Wicklow was enjoying herself though... This was in the warm up.

Then came the cross country (that is the format for the one day events here, with the show jumping last), and what is usually Miss S strong point, became the undoing of all her earlier good work

Debenhams, starting across the country

Off the bank... Debenhams and S, still clear and having a cracker of a round

So all was going well… Until they came to the water.  They had to run down quite a steep hill, and just pop a log in to the water, one stride and pop out.  All good, except for reasons that are beyond me, Miss S almost fell over Deb’s shoulder coming down the incline, and to avoid an untimely dip in the said water, had to pull Debs out to right herself (she was sitting on her neck, leaning precariously to the right at this point).  Once she had righted herself and presented the horse again at the water, the horse just decided “no way lady!” and, well long story short, they were eliminated!  Wow it was frustrating watching it all unfold, but, that’s horses.  It was a very warm day, and I think the heat and perhaps not being as fit as she should be got to Miss S, and when she presented the horse to the water again, she just hadn’t the strength or the will to make it go…  what a disaster!

Next up was Dusky Blue across the country…

Over the first... Looking now, I can see S was close to exhaustion at this point...

"Are you sure this is okay?"

After a hairy moment at fence 2, they continued on with an extremely mediocre round, until they got to the water again…  I think Miss S may have had it in her head that the water was a problem, because the normally compliant Dusky Blue decided to give her a hard time as well, and with two refusals under their belt, they eventually made it home.

A very tired Dusky Blue and Miss S over the last

Lastly was the show jumping, and being the lovely organisers they are, they allowed S to pop Debenhams around the course for the experience.  Dusky was graded, however Debs was entered into the training category.

Debenhams, clearing all in her way by miles...

And, sods law, she produced a clear on each horse…

Dusky Blue, doing just enough!

Oh well, there is always next time…

Be Good X

To show or not to show…..

So this weekend was spent at the Bathurst Agricultural Show, at (yep, that’s right) Bathurst.  It is a brilliant show, and the arena is, in my humble opinion, lovely.  However I made a bit of a boo boo, and somehow managed to forget the camera.  So you’ll just have to take my word for it  While there I developed an itch, not of the contagious kind, more of the competitive kind…

Happy (photo taken from my other blog! The photo challenge was black and white, so... but I think she is just so lovely, I had to share here as well)

I have always said it’s an awful waste, Legacy just sitting in the field and how he would be wonderful in a working hunter class…  Or something similar.  This coming from someone who has never had anything to do with showing before!

Can you see us.... Sorry about the really 'quality' photo... I set the camera on the fence post, and apparently I should have zoomed first... Will do better next time There appears to be a definite art to photographing yourself while riding, which I apparently have yet to master...

Decisions, Decisions….   Rode him today, just to test the waters and it was just so much fun!  So seriously considering beginning to work towards something with him.  I would really appreciate input on the topic, being a newbie to showing and all

Miss S and Debs... (please, again, excuse the quality of the photographs, they are taken from a video)

Otherwise all good, Debenhams is going well

All going well for the next O.D.E on the 14th of April

Dusky Blue has managed, again, to lose her shoe…  and is currently being confined to the stable with blinged out feet (duct tape) in a desperate attempt to make sure the hoof stays good so as the shoe can be refitted tomorrow.  I am beginning to think she loses them on purpose!

Lughnasadh and Happy on the bakkie... Happy was not impressed, having to share! She is an extremely jealous dog!

If looks could kill....

Beautiful xxx

Be Good X

 

 

Where’s the fire…?

Its been busy…

All is going well with Ruby, we are hoping to back him by the end of this week

He's a sweet horse... Extremely kind and intelligent... Which is good news for Earrach and Seamus, as he is their father

Debenhams, Dusky and Wicklow (!!) are all preparing for the next one day event on the 14th of April

Legacy and Spunky finally have their shoes on, and so are available for lessons again

Hmmmm... Looks like we have footprints here...

And the cats have been busy as well…  We came back from our walk last Thursday evening  to find the kitchen engulfed in…  well, to be honest, at first we weren’t sure!

... Leading to the object in question... Naughty Naughty cats!

I had a moment of blind panic where I thought I’d left the stove on and it was on fire (again) but there was no smell… And through the great white cloud that was the kitchen, I could just make out two of the cats inspecting, what turned out to be, their handy work.

This is how the kitchen floor looked the next morning... what a mess!!

Brats had somehow managed to set off the fire extinguisher…

I’m still cleaning!

Be Good X

 

Chocolate Bunnies and Stuff…

Ah, children… They’re great!

A fish eagle that was circling over the river during the week

When I asked two of my little people last week what Easter was and why were they having holidays from school, they informed me (in a tone that was seriously questioning my intelligence) that it was about chocolate eggs and rabbits….  I could almost swear I heard them mutter something about the stupid grown up that talks funny. (I have been informed by quite a few children here that the pirates speak like me!  I’m still unsure as to whether they meant it as an insult or a complement!)

Coolagh cooling down in the dam

When I pushed further and suggested it was perhaps to celebrate Jesus coming back from the dead, so to speak, they looked at me as though I was mad and exclaimed, with such a shocked look in their eyes, “Jesus never died!”.  Hmmmmm….

Then he got stuck..! Every time he attempted to climb out, he slipped back in on the wet plastic

So I asked them why he was on the cross?  They were stumped at that one, “because…., because……”

Looking around, rather panicky... At which point D stretched in a pulled him out by the scruff of his neck

Well, they must have pondered it at home during the week and asked a few questions, because yesterday I was told (more than twice) the whole Easter story

The neighbour's tomatoes

Ah well, at least it’s not all about chocolate bunnies laying eggs anymore!

All million hectares of them...

Be Good X

Great Expectations…

So Miss E and Mr Cordoba seem to have hit it off like a house on fire.

The beginning... He was resisting a wee bit, she was a bit stiff through her arms and riding in a very defensive seat...

She is in love with him… However I have warned her he is to be sold  I would love to keep him, as he is such a lovely lovely horse, but…

She was very nervous riding him in these shots… So they’re a bit rigid and stiff looking, but I am confident it will improve in time.

He is such a gentleman

Improving....

This is typical Cordoba... But I am confident she will soon wise up to his silly ways

Will keep you posted as to how they are getting on

(All these pics were taken with my phone.. Sorry about the quality!)

Be Good X

La Le Padraig…

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Hope you all have a great one and do something a little bit Irish for the day

Part of the Ring of Kerry... The other parts were hidden in mist, clouds and rain...

Adare village, Co Limerick

Here in South Africa, most people do not know what Saint Patrick’s day is, so it’s not celebrated.  I personally think it’s because the South Africans are very conservative and straight-laced people… So therefore don’t do craic agus ceol very well…   Strange really because the rest of the world goes crazy for the day!  In fact, St Patrick’s Day is great as the whole world celebrates our little country’s patron saint… Except South Africa  There are, to my knowledge, no other national days celebrated globally!  I personally reckon it’s the old adage of there being two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were! (This of course in my very biased opinion!)

Irish National Stud

Irish National Stud

What happened in Sydney last year was brilliant!  What a promotion for the Emerald Isle  My own personal experiences of Irish dancing are less elegant and graceful.  All (seriously.. ALL) children in Ireland go to Irish dancing lessons at some point in their childhood.  It is drummed into us…  I still have memories of having my shoulder almost dislocated by my dancing teachers attempts , in vain I might add, to get me to “LIFT one two three, LIFT two two three. LIFT one, LIFT two, LIFT one two three”.  Each “LIFT” roared, was accompanied by a desperate attempt on her part to, well, lift me up higher than I could apparently jump on my own.  Perhaps this is why I decided to get a horse to do the jumping for me… Stranger things have happened!

My wonderful niece... Irish dancing!

The next generation....

The other thing ALL people who grew up in Ireland know, is how to ask the teacher permission to go to the toilet, in Irish.  If you didn’t ask in Irish, you didn’t go, simple as!  I’m sure lots of people Irish people who live abroad, when asked to say something in Irish, will respond “A mhúinteoir, an bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas, mais e do thoil e?”  To those who do not understand, it sounds impressive… When really all you’ve said is “Teacher, can I go to the toilet, please?”

A view over the River Shannon from Moylussa, Co Clare

The villages of Killaloe and Ballina, from Moylussa, Co Clare

The Co Clare... It's a long long way from here to there...

So folks, enjoy your day, drown the shamrock and all that… I’m going out later and who knows, maybe with a bit of support, the uisce beatha, I will do an auld jig or three and sing a couple of songs…

The River Boyne, Co Meath

New Grange, Co Meath

Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Phádraig daoibh

Be Good X