Almost Tuesday again. Where did the week go? Oh, right. Eaten up by watching the Olympics and by going to the Göteborg Horse Show on Thursday and Sunday. This week will be spent trying to get my sleeping schedule a little back to normal (which still isn’t all that good) and letting my back and legs recover from sitting on those terrible seats at the Scandinavium arena for many, many hours.
But, it was good fun. Saw some exciting show jumping, an interesting clinic, some awe-inspiring dressage at liberty with Honza Bláha, fun mounted games and agility and did lots and lots of drooling over riding clothes at the associated fair. I think I could collect riding coats and jackets and breeches. ;P So much more stylish than other sports wear, and more to my tastes in terms of colours and everything. Though finding breeches that fit me is always an adventure; apparently someone imagines all riders are tall and do not have hips, and certainly not stocky legs.
What about last week’s lesson, though? Well, thanks to (and I do mean thanks to) too much snow on the arena roof, we had to ride out. I was hesitant at first, since Murphy is the only horse at the stables I’ve dared to ride out on, but at least Heddvig is the right size. And once I got up on her outside, I was calmed immediately. She clearly liked it without being too excited, and the total lack of tension in her body made me settle right in.
Then the fun started. I don’t think I’ve ridden out in winter since a riding holiday some ... 20-22 years ago. To start with, we don’t ride out at the stables during winter, that’s for late spring and early autumn. Plus, we haven’t had this sort of winter for ages. I just hope I get another chance soon, because it was amazing. We rode in deep snow in the wooded area where we have a few trails (its not great around the stables these days, too many new residential areas) and it was quite dark, with just a bit of light reflecting off the snow. Everything looked a bit spooky and magical, almost all in black and grey and white with the dark sky, the trees and the snow. We galloped more than we ever do in summer and we and the horses loved it.
I brought the camera to snap some pictures, but my hands were too cold, so I just managed a few when we got back to the stables. Will try to get one or two of Heddvig up somewhere soon.