15 – Season End

But first a bit more for Horse of the Year… 

Getting back to the show grounds from the middle of Havelock North was a bit of a nightmare.  They had organised horse transporters – all good – but there were hours of waiting before all the horses were home… and Lace fell off the ramp and skinned her leg a bit, not serious though.  A bit tricky being the last to load in those trucks when you’re not used to it.  The horses are three across the width of the truck with the ramp on the side, so the third horse needs to turn 90 degrees as they reach the top of the ramp to slot into their stall.  As it’s a narrow stall they can’t easily see where to go especially if they have never been in a truck of that type before, as was Lace’s case.

Unfortunately Emma’s leased horse in Argentina had vetted out at the end of the first loop.  So disappointing after all the effort and expense of getting there.

Next day we all went into the main arena for the prize giving.  There was special notice taken to make sure there were no lame horses, nothing was said about qualifiers only, so Lace and I went along too as she was totally recovered and feeling fine.  Lots of waiting around for our turn and then the thrill of riding out in front of the crowd.  The video taken the day before showing on the big screen, which was awesome.

Best Conditioned had been judged outside but they did a mock judging for show.  Kylie had won the race, Lois won BC.   There was also a special award for Nana, for being a hero at the river crossing.

This was when I discovered that Lace DOES NOT like applause.  And you can see it from her perspective… every now and then with no warning and apparently at random there was a sudden burst of horrible noise from the stands.  She got most agitated, luckily we were able to stand close to her friend Portia so it wasn’t too bad.  Shimar couldn’t help with support as he was with the South African Team, he was actually a flag bearer!

Then we got to go charging around the arena to the Stand up for the Champions song.  Interestingly having gone back the next year and been a part of the successful team, Lace was even worse in the arena for prize giving… and they played the same song.  The next year base was at the equestrian centre rather than the show grounds, but we all trucked in for the prize giving, only to have it not happen in the arena after all and the prizes given out just amongst ourselves.  Lace was calm and relaxed… until she heard the music coming from the main arena some distance away, instant distress, she absolutely hates that song, it has become associated with scary clapping people! 

As the horses all charged around the arena together, barely under control, someone in the stands overheard a comment, “What are they like if they haven’t done 100km the day before?”

Then there was the night the Clydesdales came.  They were going to the Night Spectacular show and were parked near to our trucks and yards, all getting ready and harnessed up, in nasty, jingly jangly harness… and then they proceeded to drag a large wagon past, jingling the while! Most of the endurance horses were not happy.  It was even worse when they came back in the dark, but at least we were expecting them so were ready to hold and comfort our horses.

And what about the time when Richard ran from the truck full of women in the dark in his underwear? !!!  Much to Nicola’s amusement.  Actually someone’s horse was loose, or at least that’s his story and he’s sticking to it!

Having bombed out in the ride all I actually wanted was to take my pony home, so staying two more nights was a bit difficult, even with all the stalls with horse stuff for sale!  Probably good for Lace to have the rest though as it is quite a long trip home.

On the whole, it was certainly a worthwhile experience to be part of HOY and also to see all the other horsey types – freakily big dressage horses, ridiculously overdressed show ponies and insane games ponies!  Before our ride we would ride our horses around the grounds oogling at all the expensive trucks and horses.  It is a shame there is  no longer an endurance ride there, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to arrange with no endurance community in the area at present, and the timing is not ideal as being in March it would often clash with the Endurance National Champs held at Easter every year.

Lace and I did 27km at Whatawhata five weeks later, all good, she was absolutely fine again.  I have to say I don’t remember anything about that ride, not even sure which base it was… probably up Karakariki rd.   We had a few rides at that base and so they tend to merge over time!

So on to the last ride in the calendar at the end of April – 80km at Waimiha.  Lace was good to go and I ended up in the lead with Jenny Hearn.  I felt that Jenny was in a competitive mood, so I said quite early on that all I was interested in was a completion after doing badly at HOY and that I would not be racing for first.  So we had a lovely ride together, keeping an eye out for any other horses behind us… it’s ok to have an arrangement, but you wouldn’t want someone else butting in! 

A successful end to the season – Time for a bit of a break, it had been her first full season – 687km including getting to Open for both of us, successful completions at 100 and 120km, and a whole lot of learning!