Time is Flying By....

Where is the year going? A week ago we shot down to Christchurch and the boy child had a little bit of a party with his cousins since he was 3 on Monday.

Put entries in for our dressage next weekend, first of the winter series and doing ALL Elementary tests (eek). On a plus side Mac is working really well, and we've certainly stepped it up a notch, well over due but still, we're moving and thats the main thing!

Smokey got ridden in the rain last night, a nice soft drizzle and it seemed completely natural to be on him in it. I think that little bush pony could convince me to be more than a fair weather rider! He was watching Mac doing all his canter work yesterday and decided in his excitement during his ride afterwards that he could do that too LOL, 1/2 a canter stride before I thought better of it. He's responding brilliantly to just lifting and dropping the energy for transitions, a true blank canvas to play with.

So overnight was the first of our Autumn rains, a bit of a drought breaker thankfully and soaked up so fast by the grass today I feel like I should still be watering the garden!

May will be the usual fundraising month for the Kaimanawa Wild Horse Welfare Trust Inc, to help them with costs incurred during the muster usually held sometime in May. I know first hand what a great job they do, without their involvement Smokey would be dead...... so 25% of all consults paid for in May will go to them.

Happy Easter!

Right, who actually knows where the Easter Bunny and delivery of eggs came from? I don't remember hearing that one in school and it makes absolutely no sense to me!

Good Friday wasn't so good for Nicole and Roger, she came from town to ride him and right at the end she fell off! It was a good splat too eh Nicole, right on her butt, poor old Rog was terrified after that, people are supposed to stay on him not go flying!

Had a ride on Smokes, another hassle free ride and then he watched me ride Mac, ears pricked forward the whole time LOL.

Saturday was a trip into town and that resulted in a nana nap when I got home so horses got a day off hehehe.

Easter Sunday and I had a ride on Smokey again, did a full 20 mins and about 1/2 of that was trotting. Nice big long trots. He responds really well to the lifting of the energy to go into trot, don't need so much leg and clicking encouragement when I concentrate on riding him properly LOL.







Then a nice ride on Mac, even told Pete he had to get out on the balcony and get some photo's of us too! Last ones were over 5 yrs ago of me riding at home!!!! He managed to pop out on the balcony JUST as I got on, so we're not warmed up, then he chopped off my head, chopped off Mac's legs, made a couple blurry and I'm left with 2 semi decent photos LOL. Poor old Mac!





Was a gorgeous day too could have almost believed is was Spring! Even left the 2 hotties covers off last night!

Finally Flying Solo....

After having not been ridden for 2 weeks I hopped on on Friday and Smokey was FRISKY!!!! Can you believe it?!!!

He was looking at everything, ears pricked forward, the dogs were out in the paddock with us while we were riding too, for the first time, so he was wanting to head to them all the time, Marcus and daddy were wandering up the paddock and he was ears forward watching them too.

And then!!! He'd STOP! LOL, that's Smokey being frisky hehehe, he'd get so "oh oh oh" he'd just stop! It was so cute.

So hopped on him again Sunday afternoon when we got home from visiting a preggy friend and since it was Marcus's dinner time, I left daddy inside with him and we went solo :)

Not a care in the world, not a worry, dogs out with us again. No stubborn stopping in sight not even when I got right back down by the shed and bellowed out to Pete to get the camera and take some photo's off the balcony. (Lighting wasn't the best so had to lighten one of them up.) While we were waiting for him to come back with the camera, we turned Smokey away from the finish line (the float and his feed and apples!) and circled up towards the top of the paddock again, he was happy as larry to do it too, so nice to see the stubborn streak is mellowing.

I got off him and while he was eating and getting big cuddles, I was talking to Mac who was behind the tape about 10 metres away and while I was talking to him about Smokey I was searching for the right adjective for Smokey..... it finally came to me.... "innocent". That's Smokey, he's innocent.

Then a lovely ride on my far from innocent Mac and hey presto it was dark while I was trying to pick up poo at only 7pm *sob*

I hate the end of daylight savings!!!

The Koala's say "Thank You"

to those that got consults during the last 2 months, thank you all for your support. I can now send off over $200 to help the Ozzy Fire Victims. It's not a huge amount so I'm going to send it all to the Victorian SPCA who have been helping the wildlife too.

Thanks again guys :)