Photo Compilation - Accents of Horse & Rider

Accent - Noun A distinctive feature or quality, such as a feature that accentuates, contrasts with, or complements a decorative style.


Recently I got some inspiration and I thought while I was out and about I'd capture the small little accents of larger picture to create a more close up, draw your eye picture. They're of both showing, riding and polo.. 

I like the idea of highlighting the subtle things that make an riding outfit or horses tack from standard or boring to effortlessly cool

TARRA define amateur for TARRA/ROR Qualifiers

I made a discovery last night while reading the Gransden Show news section and it was new news to me so I thought i'd share it. 

As some of you may know the ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) and TARRA (Thoroughbred and Retired Racehorse Association) have joined forces to give another branch showing series for horses who haven't raced, or that have raced overseas and cannot compete under the other ROR rules (have to have raced in GB and can be ridden by a professional or amateur alike) thus creating the ROR/TARRA in-hand and ridden series.

Well as mentioned horses can have raced overseas, or been in training but never actually raced can now compete in this new series. As well as all scars and blemishes on the horse being overlooked (ROR they're not). But I read this last night and thought i'd share it as so far from what I've seen in speaking to other showing 

TARRA have defined the term ”Amateur” as follows: An individual who has not received any remuneration, from the showing, riding or production of show horses in the last 5 years, sponsorship included.  Individuals employed in other equestrian disciplines shall be classified as amateurs for the sake of the TARRA show series.  

Interesting. So by the sounds of it anyone who has competed at HOYS, not just won there, cannot enter under this rule definition. Looks to be taken very seriously too as Gransden have written this, and I'm sure that applies at other shows too -

"Any breaches of this ruling will be taken seriously and may result in disqualification from future classes."

So there you have it, feel free to share this blog post on facebook, twitter and wherever else and make sure that your showing friends looking to compete in this series know about this rule. 
It may be very new and now widely know yet (Gransden only published it on Friday 29th May) which was 4 days ago but helps to spread the word..

First Show of the Season

As you'll know, if you've been reading the blog for a while, Beanie has had a lovely time this winter drag hunting and eventing with lot's of fun galloping and jumping, but today we had our first outing of the show season to a small show in Fordham, Suffolk for the Worlington Riding Club Show. They were holding a Thoroughbred and Retired Racehorse Association (TARRA for short) qualifier for their championships that this year are due to be held at Aintree Racecourse in August 2015.

As well as drag hunting, and now Cross country we have been schooling B at our local Riding School which has a lovely ménage as we do not have our own and it is somewhere we've been going since we are very little girls and really enjoy visiting.

I spent the Saturday morning in the sun cleaning and polishing boots, then followed by lunging Millie the Shetland while Georgie lunged B. We've found it really helpful as as well as responding to Georgie's physical commands while being ridden, it has helped Beanie really listen to Georgie's vocal commands while working on the ground and on the lunge.

I do polish a pair of long boots rather well, if I do say so myself! I find it rather therapeutic.

The up early today to plait and spruce. Mummy P the pro plaitter below! 

I also got to try out some new pressie's this morning too so watch out for those posts coming soon!

The turn out was good with about 6 or 7 competitors in each class which is good for the very start of the season and braving the cold weather. It was freezing and even spat a bit of rain at times. Not the spring weather we would have liked!

Admittedly Georgie was a bit tense and rusty. Her shoulder was playing up from an old injury today so lot of reminders to stretch and relax. Looking forward to Tuesdays Bio mechanics lesson with the ROR to see what they say about it! (look out for that post later this week)

Beanie is also very very fit. He was quite tense but was forward and active in the ring, and was listening to Georgie.

After a slightly disappointing individual show with a car starting up and moving off next to the ring just as Georgie asked for canter, it made B lose focus for a second and strike off on the wrong lead. Despite that it had it's lovely moments and was good. B did a gorgeous square halt at the end which we were really pleased about. Carl Hester would have been pleased! 

We were pleased to be pulled into second, behind the lovely Purple Moon and our friend Chantal Wooton who took the first spot. And a second placing meant we had qualified for the championship up in Aintree! Not too shabby for our very first show!

George and Beanie sharing a little kiss in the ring. Very  lovely ginger boys!

B scrubbed up very well and overall we're pleased. We've decided to make a few changes to B's feed and routine as he is really fresh at the moment being so fit and well, we are going to turn him out in the field the night before a show, rather than stable him all night. It will really help him relax so he can graze and mooch about. B is a very clever horse so nice relaxing situations keep his mind calm and occupied, helping him keep chilled.

We have some lessons coming up, and then onto some big shows so looking forward to seeing how Georgie and Beanie do this season. Everything we do with horses is a learning experience of trial and error. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, it's just learning from your experiences and making changes for the better. B is a lovely boy, who does try really hard but like all horses he gets a bit rusty. It's hard to change between galloping and jumping big cross country courses to then slow right down and gather back up to then go showing. The more we do, the better we'll get.

See you at Aintree!

Sophie x