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.

Today Rosa came to join her mum at the stables. Rosa is Maisey's foal and will be two this summer. She was excited to get here and was pleased to see the other horses. They were all in as the weather was poor so there was no real chance to see the other horses but she did meet her mum. Rosa seemed to recognise her mum or at least was pleased to see her. Maisey wasn't too impressed and pulled faces at first but showed more interest after having a good look at her. Rosa was happy pulling faces at her next door neighbour mini but Maisey ignored them both and was much more interested in her new likkit.

This is a photo of Rosa at her previous home when she was much younger with her mum in the background.

Maisey and Rosa take a first look at each other... its been a long time!!

Rosa is there to meet everyone as they come home from school!

Today was a lucky day for Alice and Jasmine as their school was shut due to a water leak and will be shut for the rest of the week. This meant we could set off for the clear round jumping a lot earlier and we were the first ones to book in. We took Bess and Maisey and we only entered in the smallest jumping 1'6''-1-9'' so that we could leave early. Jasmine rode Maisey, Jem and Alice did a clear round each on Bess. They each got a rosette and we left early and were home by about eight o'clock! Well done everyone and a special thank you to everyone who helped and particularly to Ros for driving the horse trailer and Alice's Mum for giving lifts.

This evening we went to the mix and match cross country at Solihull Riding Club. Nina and Jasmine took Bess and Maisy. We had wanted Alice to take Merlin but unfortunately he was a little lame so we were unable to take him this time. The ponies jumped well but gave the jumps plenty of space- often giving the jumps so much clearance that it was difficult for the girls to stay on! Fortunately no one went swimming in the water jump although neither jumped clear (bess did come close with only one refusal). We hope to get more of the horses introduced to cross country in the near future. Well done to all involved in taking the ponies... particularly to Ros who drove the trailer.

Today was the dressage test at Solihull Riding Club. We took Apollo and Maisey as many people are at school and others were short of money.  The ponies warmed up well and it was nice to be inside out of the rain as the weather outside was terrible. Maisey was calm in her test and although she wasnt on the bit all the time she did well for her first test with Jasmine and got 58% and some good comments. Apollo despite warming up well was far too excited in the main arena and wanted to leave as soon as he got in. He got 54% which is his worst score yet but on the plus side he did get some sevens on his test sheet he just was let down again by his walk on a free rein and his submissiveness! The ponies were generally well behaved and Apollo boxed well to the event despite the fact he has never met Maisey before.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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.

This was the day of the spring bank holiday and the Kings Heath Show. As the weather was due to be so bad we took the little ponies for the in hand showing classes. We took Maisey, Ted, Minnie and Freddie. They went in lots of classes including the fun classes at the end of the show and really enjoyed the day even though it was very wet and cold!

As it was still wet on the field all the horses had to be ridden out on Sunday. Nina and George rode out early from the Solihull field on Indy and Apollo. They rode up to the club but the grounds were closed and the members field was very wet and boggy so they went down Conker lane and into Knowle village. The horse were both very good but Mona was upset at being left behind and han managed to escape from her paddock and had been galloping round the whole field as she had left lots of hoof marks in the grass. She was settled and grazing when the other horses got back so they were left together in her paddock and after a quick canter round they settled to graze. At the home field Jemma, jade, Alice, Lauren, Kezzia and Jasmine rode out on Merlin, bess, Belle , Ted, Bobby and Maisey. They went on a long ride out and ended up at the back of Swanshurst Park. There they praciced jumping ditches. Some of the horses were quite confident at this but Maisey and Merlin were just led over as they seemed unsure. All went well and the horses enjoyed the work as the field has been very wet so they have not had much turnout.