19 February 2017

From Blue to Float Disaster!

NLEC Summer Dressage Series Day 2

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Well today was a little bit of a mixed bag!

With both horses performing brilliantly at the second day of the North Loburn Summer Dressage Series and bringing home plenty of blue.

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By Hoki was far more relaxed, attentive and swinging through his movements scoring just below 70%. Not bad for a horse who has been in hibernation for months on end!

Dunrobin Gancanagh is finally getting the hang of this balance and self carriage nonsense.. it has been a challenge for him to organize over 17 hands of leggy, boisterous muscle!
With just one slip up due to traffic leaving behind the hedge, he finished up strong and showed much improvement.
Very exciting future for this one!

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Thank you once again North Loburn Equestrian centre for a fantastically run show!
And a shout out to Richard Woerlee of Bayleys who is sponsoring the Graded Levels 1, 2 and 3 series.

But a massive thank you has to go to all helpers, judges, officials and sponsors for enabling these days to continue, much appreciated.

 

However the day does not finish there...

After a great day out at dressage on my return home, just a mere 2 minutes from home. I was tailgated by a Truck driver who insisted to travel far too close even when the speed limit was saying 60KM/H. This resulted in both horses to become unsettled and throw themselves around (take note these are fantastic travelers and have traveled the length of the country under all sorts of conditions) and this was on a bridge too which makes control and options very limited.

It is hard to say whether one or both horses went down but both bars were dislodged with one pin snapping and Dunrobin Gancanagh getting the worst of the damage.
Luckily he has only suffered superficial cuts and a large haematoma on his forearm, however I don't know the extent of damage throughout their muscles and soft tissue as if they both went down, the straining could be quite severe.
I believe in this case I was very lucky By Hoki was aboard who keeps a very cool head under different situations and in turn gives confidence to the other horses. However with a downed 17hh+ neighbour and with a snapped pin leaving no support, this can make any horse uncomfortable.

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This sort of thing should never happen, and it frustrates me to no end that some people are only focused on themselves and shaving off a potential few seconds. Not the life or lives of the people/animals in the other metal boxes travelling on the roads.

This could have ended with major injury or even death to either myself, the horses or other road users.

I find that attitude to horse owners/riders has become worse on and off the roads. I can't count on one hand anymore the amount of times I have almost been side swiped by cars, or even driven through just because I was in someones way whilst I was abiding the road rules.

I am a courteous road user who will ensure that myself and others are as safe as possible.
I will always move aside/pull over if there is following traffic.
I wont take horses on the road if they aren't suited or safe to do so.
I always use the verge and stand to the side whilst traffic approaches.

Please think before you act in a childish and irresponsible manor as I don't want to be responsible for the loss of someones life due to someone else's ignorance. It isn't just blood on your hands. It is something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life.