Just a quick pic of Pait. She's starting to look a lot more mature at 4.5years old.

Lovely hack

Pait can be such a sweet pony at times. Went to get her in from the field, got to the gate and she was no where in sight. So I shouted. Cue a little dales face appearing from round the far tree with a "Is that mum?" look. Once she decided was it was me she took off in canter across the field. 4 strides out from me she trotted and 2 she walked so she didnt mud splatter me. She is such a considerate girlie.
We just did a quick hack out with A riding Rory out with us (Id call him the babysitter but hes usually worse than us :-p)
Really lovely hack with Pait doing show trot on the bridle for periods when I asked her and a lovely collected canter which she went into at the first gentle nudge. Really need to mimic this in the school!
She did snarl at Rory at few times and got a smacked behind for her trouble everytime but was nice enough not to kill him when he nearly wiped us out due to a plastic bag.
Pait and Rory do take their surrogate sibling rivalry to the absolute max at times.

Took Pait out to our local hunt meet today. Well she was good but very sweaty and on edge for the drinks and nibbles but once the field set off she got a tad excited. To be fair to her I think if I'd have just got going with the non jumping crowd she'd have been fine but I really wasn't feeling up to it after the week from hell- losing my gran on NY day. I decided we'd bow out and have a very fast hack back to the yard. (the good thing about the meet being on our hacking grounds). 
Oh well prob try again next year.

Back on board part 2

Well I've also been back on board Rory. We have just got access to our hacking back after restrictions put in place after a neighbouring private yard got strangles. It's best for us all to be cautious and health consious but it's still annoying to lose your hacking.
So YM on her newest SJer Whisper and my sister M on her 20yo schoolmistress Becky went out for a hack inviting me along.
So I decided to take Rory who after standing like a rock for me to scrabble onboard (the knee is still unstable) decided it was highly exciting and we piaffed out of the yard following two 16.2hhs. Well he didn't stop piaffing the whole way round unless he was cantering. Daft pony the only time he semi behaved was when Whisper took a dislike to the duck sheds and Bex decided to play up to him so Rory very briefly put sane head on to get them past. And as soon as danger from the ducks was over we went back to piaffe!
I have to love the pony though as when we got back my knee had really gone and I did not look forward to jumping off so decided to park Rory along side M's box and just step off which again he stood perfectly for.

Back on board!!!!!!!!!!!
Today our yard was holding a fun xmas show so in true me fashion I decided that I was going to ride a pony and do a class. :-P
I did go for the safer option of the laid back Pait who will just trot (or in 1 case) walk over fences rather Rory who I know will be fresh to say the least when I get back on and to combine that with his favouritist thing jumping I think I'd be revisiting A&E.
Pait was such a good girl to say she's never seen so many poles in one arena and there were planks in on a couple of fences. She trotted round a mini course of crosses for a clear round. Then getting brave I went back into the novice with straights set at the dizzing heights of the first hole! Still she tried her best even if we did demolish a few fences and stopped then walked over the first part of the double.
She was very good standing in a big group waiting between the classes even if she did pull some awful faces.
Am now contemplating hunting in Jan with her doing the non-jumping ride!

And I'm still not back on board. :-( We have a yard show this weekend and I'll be gutted to miss it. I am contemplating seeing if I can mount Pait from the wrong side and do the trot poles class. But I may then be murdered by my mothership so we'll see.
Boys are both living the life of riley and Rory is just getting an occasional ride from a friend but I am worried to how his joints will be seeing as we'd managed to build his muscle and suppleness back up to jumping level before my little airs onto ground.
Pait is being a moody madame with the boys over the fence as mummy doesn't spend much time with ponies at the moment so it's not appreciated when I give the boys HER attention. I have been cheating and putting her in the stable early so she doesn't see me in their field.
In my cripple state I'm in a nostalgic mood and have found this pic of Ozzie a dales we sold a little while ago.
I took him out to my first and so far only hunting experience where he did the breed proud and was a saint. I think he was 6 at the time.

Well Im still on the wounded list but today Pait's vacation came to an abrupt end as Em offered to ride her. (I do think it was wanting to make her work after she'd squashed Em in the gate yesterday but I certainly wasnt arguing.) Pait really did try the can't sharn't won't move at first but quickly found out that Auntie Em is not a pushover like Mummy. Em got some amazing paces out of and they went really well together. Cue me wanting to throttle the very stubborn dales mare. But I did forgive her when she behaved for me to paste her legs in Heavy horse leg paste.

Looking very pretty.

Dales Trot!