Author: Sandy Gorman
Sunshine in winter is always welcome; and it was very welcome for TRV’s July club ride. I didn’t say it was warm. But unlike June’s meeting, the sun did manage to shine and stay out most of the day – and if you were sheltered… well you could nearly say it was warm. Nearly.
I arrived Friday – and for what has been the first time in months, both Kim and I were in time for a Friday ride. Our ponies slipped straight back into the routine of a S-L-O-W Friday ride (what IS it with these two??). We did a short trip to check the fences, then headed over to Dave’s to do the cruise around. Just about every gate was shut – so Idaho and I practiced opening and closing the first half or so of the ride – then left it to Kim and Bluey. We saw my Steve arriving from the top of the hill, then on the down side I noticed my pony is NOT happy on the steeper sections (yes, he can just be a grump for no apparent reason, but this was obvious even to me that something was amiss). He wasn’t so bad when we took the gentler slopes, so we adjusted to cater to his issue and enjoyed a pleasant ride regardless!
I’d advertised to members that I was in charge of catering this month and promised “nothing special” for dinner. Whether it was my great self promotion, or just “that time of year” – we didn’t have many takers for this weekend. Kerry arrived Friday night for the social side of things and we (Brian, Kaye, Kim, Kerry, Steve & I) enjoyed dinner post meeting thanks to Kerry. You, my dear need to come more often!
Saturday morning was a little frosty, but clear. Sammie arrived in time for our small group of four to head out with lunches packed (and Kimmy’s cake). We headed up McNally’s road to Horans Track. The sun was lovely when the wind wasn’t blowing. Sammie had Chase in “top gear” and we enjoyed the views and took a few pics from the heights. We stopped for lunch at the lookout at Murchison’s Gap. It was a busy spot with plenty of tourists coming and going enjoying the view. Sammie showed the Chase the views – what a calm and trusting pony he has become since his first venture out with TRV! We took Murchison Spur road all the way through to Sailor Jack track, enjoying walks, trots, canters along the way. I was a little anxious about how Idaho would handle **** Hill on the way back, but although it was just as steep as usual, the few hours warming up prior to the hill must have done the trick and he handled the descent much better than yesterday! Back onto Falls Road and we were on the home stretch. Idaho had a little shy but then we saw the wombat and he was understood, if not forgiven! We followed the wombat for a stretch before he or she crossed in front of us and headed bush. Those little fellas can move fast when they want to! Our last few rides have certainly been good for exposing the horses to all the native wildlife. We took Dave’s paddock on the way home and everyone was relaxed and happy after our 28klm ride.
Dinner wasn’t bad – with just six we had roast lamb with all the veg, then sticky date pudding for dessert. Thanks to Steve for organizing the Weber and handling the Lamb cooking and carving!
Sunday was even more relaxed as we decided it was time to do some training. We took to the obstacle course and then practiced catching/leading off our horses. Sammie did a much better job than me – for some strange reason the other ponies are a little wary of my boy. It’s not easy to catch a loose horse when you want to get close and your pony is screaming STAY AWAY FROM ME! at that same horse. Challenging. But so much fun. And something to work on. This learning to be a horse whisperer stuff isn’t as easy as the movies (and Brian) make it look. Once we’d played Trail Boss’s for a bit, I jokingly suggested it was time to try the obstacle course bareback. I didn’t quite get whiplash when Sammy appeared no saddle, but that girl was very quick to unsaddle and give it a go. Guess that meant I’d better, then Kim followed suit. Kim makes the bareback canter look easy… I might just work my way up to that – although did do a little trot… baby steps!
All in all, I’d say our July meeting was a great success, and hopefully we’ll have more numbers next month to share in the fun.
Oh, and just so you know I’m not totally nasty, I had the bodyworker out for Idaho and he really enjoyed his hour plus massage. He did have a few sore spots, nothing major. He is good to go, and was given an “A” for fitness (okay, maybe he wasn’t scored, but we did mention what good shape he is in for this time of year!)