We took five ponies and two dogs to the Christmas fun show at Solihull Riding club. Mini and Ted went to compete in the in-hand classes and Coco and Maisey competed in the jumping class. Coco went in the horse and Hound class ridden by Alice and with Jasmine jumping Candy  and Jasmine rode Maisey in the same class with Shona jumping Cassie. Neither were placed as both ponies were instructed to jump steadily and there were some very fast competitors but they enjoyed competing. In the in-hand classes Kezzia and Ted came sixth in the fancy dress and Amelia and Mini came fifth in the pony the judge would most like to take home. Mo did not go to compete but instead she went to soak up the atmosphere and became much more relaxed in the show environment including working with other horses and listening to the loud speakers. She did very well although she was initially very nervous she over came her fear of other ponies and people in fancy dress although the Star on horse back did get her particularly worried! Many thanks to Ros for transporting the horses and the Jordans as without the use of the Chase getting the ponies ready would have been very difficult! After the show a Christmas meal was enjoyed at the Robin Hood Carvery which was much welcomed after a cold day and it is likely that this will become a regular fixture in the calander!

Today Jemma took Freddy to the Nots and Deby In hand Show. Alice went for moral support and as a groom. Freddy Was in the Registered Mountain and Moorland class which he won. He went through to the Championship and won Reserve Champion. This qualifies him for the North County (NCPA) Pony of the Year 2009 in Cheshire. This is a while away in September but is a big achievement as Freddy is only three years old. Well Done Jemma and Freddy an many thanks to Alice for her help and Ros for transporting Freddy.

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.

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.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Tonight we went to the Tuesday night jumping at Solihull riding club. We took Bess and Merlin. Unfortunately it was a late night as the event was very crowded but the horses were generally well behaved. Merlin jumped clear both times with Kezzia and Alice. Kezzia jumping 2'0'' Alice jumping 2'3''. Bess was jumping well with Lauren and was going clear until they were coming past the exit on one of their turns. Lauren turned right but Bess decided to jump left! Lauren came off onto the floor of the indoor school which is very hard and as her foot continued to hurt it was decided it would be a good idea to get it checked out. Whilst some of the group stayed with Ros and Nina jumped bess in the 2'3'' and got only one refusal Kezzia Lauren and George went to Selly Oak A & E for a check up. The X- ray didn't show anything and at the check up at the children's hospital the next day day it was decided that it was soft tissue damage. This is painful but heals much more quickly and they hope lauren will be ok in two weeks. Until then they decided that a plaster cast would help her to rest it!

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.