Saturday morning, the snow had finally cleared up and we were able to go on a hack!! The ponies were very happy to be out and the riders were happy as it was the first day of half term.

Due to the snow we were unable to ride on Saturday so we had a best turned out show day instead. The standard was very high as for many people it was the first time they had done a best turned out show. This may become a regular event with the horses particularly during the holidays as it is useful practice for getting horses prepared for local shows. Many thanks for everyone who got involved with the day, everyone put in a huge amount of effort into making the day a huge success. The rosettes had to be specially ordered so they and the certificates will be handed out next week.

Getting prepared. The ponies had their manes tails and legs washed in warm water and dried off quickly with towels.

The little ponies were very patient but many had to wear rugs while waiting as it was a cold day.

There was some help with the plaiting but everyone was encouraged to have a go. Justine was particularly helpful in plaiting tails!

Indy won first prize overall as she had a good overall turnout with the bridle having been cleaned, legs being washed and mane and tail cleaned and plaited. It was also taken into account that Indy's legs had been coverd in stable stains as she is currently on box rest and also Tom had been working on his own and had not had practice preparing a horse for a show before. Tom also won best individual effort.

Belle won second prize overall with Alice Teah and Jade getting her ready. Her mane had been plaited by Alice and Teah with no outside help and her tail had been very difficult to plait as she is a sweet itch sufferer in the summer so her tail had not fully grown back. All three of her helpers had worked hard getting her coat clean as she has very poor skin so suffers from dandruff. Bell won the best improved overall as she had looked quite poor to start with but looked great afterwards!

Tara was third overall with Jasmine and Penny. Tara also won the prize for the best plaited mane and tail as both her tail and mane had been well washed and plaited with a feather in her tail which the judges felt matched Tara's personality well.

Coco came fourth overall with Shona and Ellie. He also won the best legs as a lot of work went in to getting his legs clean as they were covered in stable stains and mud. His mane was very difficult to plait but a good effort was made with very little help.

Maisey came fifth overall with Maria and Tarin and was the most improved little pony. She had been very dirty and so had been difficult to clean up. Her tail was particularly good as it had been filthy but was cleaned up nicely. her mane also had been nicely plaited.

Toby came sixth with Kezzia and Leanne. He looked great and also had the best coat overall (despite the bites from playing with Ted). His legs were clean with his socks coming out as particularly white and his mane and tail had been well finished with two pink bows. Heidi had her first go at plaiting a mane which looked great! He had been very patient to be washed and plaited which was good as patience is not Toby's best quality!

Minnie with Katy and Amelia won the special prize for the best legs for the small pony as his had been washed particularly well and had no shampoo left in. His coat also looked great as he had used lots of coat conditioner.

Freddy with Sophie and Amelia got a special prize for the best mane and tail for a little pony. he looked lovely and his legs were also very clean.

Bess with Shona and Ellie won the Special prize for best tack as she was one of the few who remembered to clean her bridle. Bess looked stunning but ran out of time as Shona and Elly had two horses to do.

Bobby with Kezzia and Leanne had a special prize for the cleanest head. Unfortunately Bobby only joined in at the last minute as he was feeling left out so he did not have the same amount of washing as the others but he still looked good.

We took Coco and Bobby to the Tuesday Night Jumping. The first round was 2' and the next round was a qualifier and was a little higher. Coco could only take things steadily as he is still getting fit but he took things at his own pace and jumped clear with Kezzia with his ears forwards the whole time. In the qualifier Coco only had one pole down with Alice. Shona warmed up Bobby and Jasmine  rode in the qualifyer. Bobby ran out three times but was allowed to finish and once he got into it was jumping well. It was a good evening and was well worth going. Many thanks for Ros for driving the trailer and Alice's and Shonas' parents for giving lifts.

This show was at Houndsfield Lane Wythall. Amelia,Jasmine, Alice, Kezzia, Jemma, Nina, Billie and Heidi took Maisy, Bobby, Bess, Merlin, Indy and Freddie. It was a very windy day and even the jump wings were blowing over so the horses were very unsettled so almost every one fell off at least once. They still did well as Freddie won second in the Mountain and Moorland and second in the youngstock, Maisy came first in the pony with filmstar quality and also got a clear round, Merlin came first in the L-plates Jumping, Bess got three clear rounds, Bobby came fifth in the family pony and Indy won the prettiest mare, came second in the best riding club pony and got a clear round. Well done all for coping with difficult conditions and especially for getting back on after falling off. Special thanks go to Leanne and Lauren for helping and for Ros for driving the trailer.

On the 8th of june was the ponyclub show which was held at the kings heath showground. We took Merlin, Bess, Belle and Bobby. (Results to follow)
(Sorry I havent Written for ages but I have been busy doing uni Stuff)

Today was the Alvechurch show. We took Merlin, Bobby, Ted and Freddie. Merlin came second in the novice warm up but unfortunately knocked a jump down in the 2'3" jumping both with jade. He also did a clear round with Alice, Kezzia and Lauren. Bobby had one refusal and one run out in the 2'3" jumping with Jasmine but finished the course and also jumped in the clear round jumping with Lauren, Billie and Kezzia. Ted Jumped a clear round with Jasmine and they also went in the ridden mountain and moorland and came 5th. Freddie was 5th in the best turned out, 6th in the Young stock and  3rd in the Mountain and Moorland. Many thanks to Ros and Heidi's Dad for transporting the Horses and Nina and Amelia for Helping.

Today Saturday morning riding was at the home field  as the horse and Jockey field was too wet. We used Indy for the first time and she was very well behaved. Unfortunately Bobby had mild colic as he had broken through the fence and had eaten the rubbish from the bin bags (including the wrappers). It was not serious enough to need to call the vet so he was given Andrew's salts and was walked round gently and had lots of tlc. By the afternoon he was feeling much better and was eating and biting people as normal!

Today was the tuesday evening clear round showjumping. Unfortunately there was not time to ride Buster today but Indy and Apollo were worked at Solihull.  In the afternoon the horses tails were washed as well as their legs and we took Ted, Bobby, Bess And Merlin to the jumping. Bess was much more confident about traveling as she loaded straight away and had not sweated up when she got there. Ted and Lauren jumped well and although they did not jump clear they were much better than last time as this is now Ted's second time at a show so he understood what to expect. Bess was a little excited as she had been jmping much bigger last time she was in the ring so jade found it hard to steady her and to turn so although she jumped clear she turned over her own track so she did not get a rosette. Lauren also rode Bobby who was much improved on last time as he did not throw her off and he completed his round confidently. Jemma and Merlin jumped clear over the  1'6''  so did the next round which was 2' and that was almost clear but with one run out. As the people handing out rosettes were not concenrating Jemma got the rosette anyway as they gave it to her before she had chance to say that she hadn't jumped clear. All in all the horses did very well and Kezzia also rode Merlin over the practise fences as well as Jasmine warming up Ted and Alice warming up Bess. Nina also rode Bobby as he managed to unseat Lauren when practising the higher fences but Nina also came off as she is rather tall for Bobby so finds it hard to stay on when he refused and then did a cat leap. It was a very funny looking leap that he did so it mostly made people laugh and no one was hurt. The horses traveled back safely and were happy to come home to their stables although none of them had got very sweaty as they had only been worked steadily. Well done all and many thanks to Ros for driving.