Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for 2012

Here we go again, Christmas time. I know it comes around every year, but I'm never ready.

I haven't been taking many photographs recently, and some that  I have taken I've not uploaded onto a computer, so below is one of my Christmas card designs and that will have to be the only illustration in this post.

The end of November Agnes, one of my college chums arranged a get together at Rab Haws. In the end there were only five of us, Dave, Tam, Janice, Agnes and me, but some of these guys I hadn't seen for 15 years! Well, you'd have thought we had just walked out of the classroom,we just picked up where we left off. Great to see them again, all looking a little older .... but not too much.

The following weekend I went up to Ann Hunt's yard, just along the road from Gleneagles equestrian centre, to learn to lunge. Oh, it was so bitterly cold, I couldn't stay warm at all, vibrating I was! I did learn a lot and was worth being miserably cold. No photographs.

The next weekend was Dad's Birthday. we all went to Uplawmoor Hotel bar for dinner which was excellent. Chris and Michael had steak and raved about it for about a week. Dad seemed to enjoy himself, although he was quiet. I gave him two audio books. He used to love reading - thrillers mostly - but his ability to concentrate has diminished, so I thought he could listen to someone reading to him instead.

Last weekend there was quite a lot of snow, and actually we had very pleasant cold Artic weather, but it did prevented me from riding Bombay. In fact, these past few weekend the weather has been exceedingly unfair, preventing me from riding the horse at all because of very high winds. I'm not sure how much time I'll get over the break to ride out or do any work in the garden for that matter.

Very briefly talking of high winds, my house did suffer a little roof damage of few fallen slates, but I have one small patch with no slates. It looks a bit rummled and there are about two missing slates, leaving a gap so that the wood underneath is exposed. Oh and the RAIN.

It has constantly RAINED.

Still making Christmas  presents - becoming quiet flustered, so I've simplified my ideas to save as much time as possible. Will have to make an effort to clean and tidy the house on Christmas Eve, as Chris and I are having Mum, Dad, Michael, Bozena, Bertie and Morgan over for a pressie swapping session and dinner on Boxing Day Night.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year, lets hope 2012 will be a happier year, and perhaps not such a wet year too!

The Royal National MOD 2011

Chris and I are just back from a week in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, filming the Royal National MOD for An Comunn Gaighealach. This was the third year we have filmed this event, and although the weather was absolutely awful, we had a superb week.

Some of the fringe events planned for this year that we wanted to film were Historic Walks, Spinning Sessions and Art and Archaeology at Calanais Stones, but due to the weather these events didn’t happen, however there were plenty of Ceilidhs at night in the pubs and hotels.

The torrential rain didn’t quite ruin my favourite event of the week, the final Saturday morning Choir and Pipe Band March through Stornoway. The March was cancelled but the choir members did gather in the Nicholson Institute Hall for their traditional end of the MOD sing-a-long. 

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We visited Abhainn Dearg Distillery near Uig, to sample a brand new, three-year-old single malt whisky, and the first legal whisky from the Western Isles! Our host Marko (Mark Tayburn) and Daniel his apprentice were fantastically entertaining, warm and welcoming.  Marko explained that when he learned that the MOD would be in Stornoway in 2011, that spurred him to lay down the first batch of whisky in time to launch Abhainn Dearg, which means Red River, to coincide with Royal National MOD week.

My comments on Abhainn Dearg three year old single malt are: it has a pleasant light straw colour, and was nicely thick in the mouth, but had a very young immature taste. (I did think it tasted just like straw, which could be the cask wood I tasted.) I can happily wait another seven years to try Marko’s malt again, because I think at 10 years, it will be fabulous.

WOW, that was a brilliant day out at the Barskimming One Day Trec Competition!

I’ve done it!

I have completed a Trec event and I had an absolutely wonderful time!

The weather on Sunday was simply awful, with constant rain and wind. Even though we were all soaked to the skin, I think everyone involved enjoyed the day, or least they appeared to. I admit I became very cold by the end of the day, as my waterproofs turned out NOT to be waterproof.

 

Maud had a ball; she really enjoyed herself, eager to the end. She was pooped by the time we had finished, but would have done more if she had to. Honestly she is a star. As for me, I’m ready for the next competition, but I’ll hold back to let all my kit dry out first. When I got home, after feeding Maud, Ruth and Bazil, then transferring all my stuff out of the lorry and into my car, there were still pools of water at the bottom of the saddlebags! Gosh, it was wet. 

Okay, I’ll not mention the rain again; I think you get the picture.

On the Saturday night, I went with Mum to walk the obstacle phase of the competition. There didn’t seem to be much that I didn’t think Maud could not cope with. The raised S-Bend she had never encountered before so could be an issue, the drop down perhaps she’ll hesitate and look at, the step up, mmm, maybe not with me on her back and the other obstacle out of 16 that I knew she might not be able to do was the reverse. Other than that, I was confident she could do all the other obstacles in her sleep as they say.

On the day, the first phase was CP – Control of Paces. Here my concern was to keep Maud in canter for the full distance, regardless of the speed. I know she tried to throw in a buck, but I’m unsure if she broke the gait. I did ask if we had completed the canter in the fastest time and was told that we hadn’t. Heavens, someone before us had done the canter section faster than Maud!

 

  

The second phase was the Obstacle course, with sixteen obstacles to negotiate correctly. Hey, not a problem, I do Horse Agility and train my ponies most nights and elementary clicker training too. Only 16 obstacles, that’s easy! WRONG! Oh dear, Maud apart from being very excited, was just not playing the game. She hadn’t seen red and white plastic flags before, either on the ground or on poles, she also hadn’t seen painted onto grass, yellow circles or squares before, and I was asking her to get close to them, even walk over them. Am I mad? Well obviously, as we scored 0 for most elements.  However, I did ask and took the opportunity to lead her in hand over these scary obstacles, which meant an awful lot of mounting and dismounting. 

 

So now I’m going to make little red and white flags, leave some on the ground and put others on poles in the paddock so that she becomes desensitized to them, and in theory the next time she encounters them, she’ll be cool and hopefully not even notice them. A lesson learned.

 

The final part of the day was the orienteering section. This was the section I was really looking forward to. A six-kilometer ride round Barskimming estate, new territory, new views.

It should have taken just over an hour to complete, but through experience I told Chris I’d be back in about an hour and a half. I clocked out just after 12pm and was clocked back in at 3:30pm! Okay, I met up with an orienteering pair and we took the wrong turning and ended up at a check-in point for Level 2 competitors only! I left the girls and retraced my steps to where I had met them, found the correct route and made it round the course. 

 

 

About a kilometer from the finish line I met up with another pair, and the three of us managed to find our way back to the finish line. Hurrah! We were not the last people home, one pair were still out but made it home about 5 minutes after us.  

Chris had a miserable day, spent sitting in the car, reading the paper. His treat for his patience was fish & chips on the way home.

I could not have safely competed this Trec event on the horse, apart from him having Head Shaking Syndrome, his brain would have fried, seeing horses disappear round corners, over hills, trotting past him in the opposite direction. I made the correct choice by taking Maud and the experience gained, helps her education in becoming a well-balanced pony.

A big thank you to Liz and Alan McKay who organized the event, to Rhoda McVey who was the Technical Director, to Lord Strathclyde and William Galbraith of Barskimming Estate for their kind permission to hold the event and finally the volunteers, without their help events such as these just wouldn’t happen. 

Three days to go before my first Le Trec competition

Three days to go and it is still raining!

This afternoon I plan to walk Maud in-hand round a 5 mile circuit. I'm not going to ride her as she lives outdoors and will be wet through, also the evening light is disappearing fast now that Autumn is on it's way. Safety first!

Rain is forecast for tomorrow (Saturday) as well, and so I have a feeling the event will be cancelled.

My three Dartmoor Ponies. Right to left - Maud, Ruth & Bazil

Four days to go before my first TREC competition

Maud and me. Photo taken in May 2011

This Sunday, Maud (Sherberton Jollytime) and I will be competing in our first ever Le Trec competition, Level 1, and I'm so excited! It is a one day competition held at Barskimming near Mauchline in Ayrshire.

Although I have a lot of the kit required to compete in a Trec competition already, I did have to buy quite a bit of stuff otherwise I would loose points, and there is no point loosing marks before you even start! The stuff that I had to buy were; first aid kits for Maud and one for myself, saddlebags for all the said stuff, new flexible map case (which I was going to do anyway), batteries for my torch, address tags for us both and a BE Medical Armband. It all adds up at the end of the day, but will be worth it.

Due to the weather this week, my training schedule has gone completely to pott! The rain has been heavy and incessant, and the light levels too low to safely ride out or even walk in hand. The fields also have been water logged and exceedingly slippy too. So I have just been clicker training Maud to stand and stay and other wee bits that will help in the cross country section.

I received my number (16) and start times today. At 10:45 we start with the control of paces (CP) and six minutes later we start the cross country or obstacle phase (PTV). After half an hour, we start the orienteering section (POR), which is the part of the competition I'm really looking forward to. I think we are expected to cover the distance in an hour, which means Maud and I will have to "run like the clappers", as it takes her twice as long to cover a kilometer as it does the horse! However, I plan to try and complete this section in the allotted time, but being accurate is more important and I just want to enjoy myself and take in my surroundings - after all, it is not every day you get to ride around beautiful countryside.

On Saturday afternoon, there is a guided walk around the obstacle course, which will be very useful, knowing what obstacles have been planned and what the ground is like and how it might be after many horses have travelled it. I think by the time it is our turn, the ground will be very chewed up, which will affect how fast and how we approach the elements on the day.

So Saturday night there will be NO gallavanting around town (as if!) as there will be tack to clean, my kit to check, Maud's kit to check, water, buckets, hay nets, the lorry to fuel up, rugs, packed lunch, the COFFEE flask (most important). Oh, and a hundred and one other things to do.

Bathroom wash hand basin finally replaced

At last, Chris and I have replaced the bathroom wash hand basin I managed to smash way back in August 2009!




I decided on Friday night that I MUST remove the insipid pinky grey splash back tiles. So I made another trip to B&Q on Saturday morning and bought two boxes of their basic white tiles, and a couple of hours later ... job done.

Ah, but we're not finished doing the plumbing yet as you can see! A bit of a problem fixing the waste pipe to the U bend because the new basin is a different size, i.e. it protrudes further from the wall than the previous basin and has pushed the waste pipe so it sits at an angle and water seeps through the joint - hense the bucket!

Guess where we are going this afternoon? B & Q again. We have been to that store every day for about a week as one problem after another arises.

I suppose with all this DIY, I'll have to remove the ghastly 1980s lino from the floor, paint the walls, and generally have a tidy up in the bathroom. Oh, and remove a most horrid grey plastic vanity thingy from the wall next to the basin. ugh!

Subaru on holiday in Torridon

Chris took this picture of his car because he wanted a photo of his "car on holiday"! Happy memories.

Chris's Subaru is a write off!

The first of August was a very bad start to the month. Chris managed to write off his Subaru Forrester by hitting a patch of greasy road just outside of Lugton. He said he wasn't speeding and the van that was following him confirmed that he was travelling between 40 and 50 miles per hour. Just bad luck.

Chris escaped from this without a scratch or bruise, he was just a little shaken up as it happened so fast.

He is now looking for a new car, one that is less expensive to run and tax.

July 2011

Me and Maud

It was my intention when I started this blog was to use it as a diary. Like most people, I have found the task of keeping a diary quite difficult, although that isn’t really a good excuse.

Another intention was never to moan or complain, but that too has been difficult, so I’m resisting the urge!

BUT ….

The ramp of Mum’s little horsebox has managed to twist itself, which meant we couldn’t close up the box, let alone lift the ramp off the ground. I phoned around to find someone who could repair this bizarre damage. Malcolm’s of Brookfield responded and very kindly sent a mechanic out to have a look. So after a lot of discussion, we used rope and gaffer tape to secure the ramp and upper doors, and I managed to creep along the road to their workshop so that the lorry could be repaired.

I can't find the photograph I took, but the metal cladding is also falling away from the ramp - it's such a mess. Goodness knows what has happened or how.

This all happened a few days before I was supposed to be attending a Le Trec training day organised by Kilmacolm Riding Club. I was successfully practising trailer loading with Maud, as sometimes she can be a bit unhappy about loading.

Do you know, I think Le Trec is an equine sport that I’m obviously destined never to participate in, as every time I enter or try to compete, something always puts a spanner in the works preventing me from attending.

The Riding Club Trec training day I did attend on foot. I took my camera and lugged around with me all morning and didn't take one picture! regardless, it was a really useful day, I learned a lot, but how I wish I had Maud with me. Of course, after the event, my head was full of questions. Typical!

So I have booked myself onto a judges training evening on the 25^th August at Muirmill to learn as much as I can about how to approach obstacles and what the pit falls are in the orienteering section and how they are marked etc. Also, sitting on the kitchen table is the application form for a one day Trec event at Barskimming on the 11^th September.

With the weather this summer being rather wet and dull, I have managed to ride Bombay most weekends without any serious incident; that is not to say that his head shaking is less, he just hasn’t yet lost complete ability to concentrate. !!!!

I’m thrilled that I’m still managing to ride Bombay, however this year he has put on a lot of weight due to not being ridden as frequently as in the past; he’s not my racing snake anymore. Anyway, I must remember that I can’t have everything.

A total of three moans in this post.

Summer Hoildays

This year Chris and I spent an enjoyable but rather a wet week at Red Kite Cottage near Dingwall with the dogs. We saw two kites, also deer, hare, buzzards .. you know, the usual wildlife.

Knockfarral, a hill fort behind the house

A frog that Imogen found and rolled on - we hope it survived!

Fleur needing a help - I had over-walked her and her joints were giving her some pain.

The view down to Dingwall and across to the Black Isle from the cottage, there were plenty of stunning rainbows.

Chris and the dogs at the start of Loch Vaich.

A chambered cairn near the cottage, set on a small hill now surrounded by woodland.

The stones were quite big.

Clava Cairns near Culloden. From the inside, looking down the passage of the cairn closest to the carpark. These are brilliant examples, and are set for the rising and setting sun.

Looking out to sea in Assynt, waiting for the ferry from the Isles to appear and dock at Ullapool.

The view from the cottage when the sun was out!

Red Kite Cottage from Knockfarral.

Red Kite Cottage. It may look rather dull from the outside, but the inside of this 1930s bugalow was beautifully converted.

If you get the chance, you should visit Castle Leod, which is still a family home and open only a few days during the summer. They have some centuaries old specimen trees & they are particularly proud of two Spanish Chestnut trees.