Post by racaille on Sept 22, 2008 11:00:12 GMT
Right, get a cup of tea/coffee/glass of wine cos this is going to be a long'un.....
We are back safe and sound and had a truly wonderful time! ;D We boxed the boys to Robion on Friday evening and they both went into the trailer without any problem at all. Even with the partition in place Paco strolled up into it as though it was his second home and Racaille had a bit of a look but went in without a murmur.
On arrival we settled them in their boxes with a good armful of hay and they were perfectly happy, unlike some of the other horses who were squealing and calling. We went off to dinner, fed the boys their hard feed and then slept well in a rented caravan.
Up early the next morning - 5.30am! Hay and hard feed for the boys and then the veterinary check and the farrier, who branded one hoof to show they were good to go. Only then could we trade in our vet 'yes' ticket for the itinerary, our vests with our village coats of arms and our electronic tags.
The route had had to be changed as the Luberon massif had been closed due to fire risk, which actually was great as the new route was more through vineyards and orchards than over the stony mountains, which suited my fine!
We set off at 30 second intervals, passing an electronic sensor to start our time. The boys were soooo eager to be off! On the first canter Paco let fly a series of huge bucks, he was so excited. It was warm but not hot (about 24/25C) and I regretted not wearing my gloves as Paco was pulling hard and I had changed to my rubber reins. Not good.
At lunchtime we stopped for one hour exactly and had to do the speed test: two small jumps, two gates and a slalom. Paco had a good look at the first jump as there were traffic cones just afterwards for the slalom and I felt him hesitate ... but he went over and completed the test without fault, although not very fast. I was about 50th out of 151. Lots of other competitors went careering straight through the slalom, while others ran out at the last jump! Racaille was an angel, especially as he has not jumped much.
There was a nasty incident in the afternoon however. I was in front of a group of about seven horses, leading a gentle canter through a narrow, enclosed sandy track. Suddenly a cowboy shot past the horses behind me, setting two of them off. As the first rider struggled to control her nag, it turned sideways and the horse behind cannoned into it, sending the rider flying. Racaille saw the problem before my teenager and managed to stop dead, what a clever boy! No one was hurt but the peeps were a bit shaken. It is inevitable that people will pass you going full tilt, but there really wasn't enough room for this old b~st8rd to do that.
In fact the teenager and I pulled over from time to time to let loonies pass us (once they were going full speed downhill on stones - what winkers) and Racaille was incredibly sensible about letting other horses go.
It was a shortish route on Saturday so we had a quiz to do on horseback about the host village, clues to find etc. It was great fun. I found the best solution was to go into a bar and ask the old villagers!!
Saturday night we all ate together in the big top and the paella was not great and I think we will avoid it next year. The OH felt thingyey afterwards. Or it may have been the gallons of rosé ...
Sunday morning was easier. I let the teenager sleep in and I got the boys through the vet inspection before feeding - obviously if they had been lame, I wouldn't have given them the hard feed. It's difficult to judge the feed for an event like this and because Paco can be lazy he was on huge rations of pressed luzerne. He didn't finish all his breakfast which was not a good sign. He felt a little sluggish too and I was rather concerned but unable to abandon now, as he was full of hard feed.
We set off from the centre of the village, with the water test to start. Paco was an bottom. You had to pick up a jug of water from one wine barrel, do a slalom, then put the jug down on a second barrel. The pick-up and slalom were perfect, but then he would not, under any circumstances, approach the second barrel, so I had to abandon.
The morning circuit was alongside canals before turning up into a little rocky set of hills. The horses really struggled and Paco was blowing hard. I though I might abandon at the next checkpoint.
But in fact, we stopped for the lunchtime break, did the test (knocking over shields with a lance, and a chicane) and he happily munched a small bucket of carrots. As we set off he did the most monumental fart, perked up, did a poo, then a pee, and then was back to his normal self, having fun. So he had had a bit of belly ache, poor lad.
The afternoon was fantastic. Lots of sandy tracks alongside vineyards, so we let rip! There was one corner we turned in gentle canter, and I heard horses approaching behind so I opened my fingers on the reins and was rewarded with turbo-power! We managed to stay in front of a group of pony club teenagers, who were yelling and screaming, and ended up crossing the finishing line in a great time. In fact, we lost a few points for going faster than the bogey time, but only by seconds.
When all the points were totted up, the teenager came 64th but I came 92nd, due to the water test debacle. Never mind, it was brilliant fun. And we came back with horse in a good condition, no lameness, kicks or tack galls. (Unlike a lot of others).
They were both such good boys. Paco was active but very calm - when the helicopter landed next to him he just turned to look at it, while a lot of other GGs went haywire. But the real star was Racaille. He was an absolute angel, calm, unafraid of new stuff, willing.
This morning they are very glad to be back in their paddock, munching and rolling. Their legs and feet are good and they've not really lost any condition.
I couldn't be more grateful to both of them for being such good boys! ;D
We are back safe and sound and had a truly wonderful time! ;D We boxed the boys to Robion on Friday evening and they both went into the trailer without any problem at all. Even with the partition in place Paco strolled up into it as though it was his second home and Racaille had a bit of a look but went in without a murmur.
On arrival we settled them in their boxes with a good armful of hay and they were perfectly happy, unlike some of the other horses who were squealing and calling. We went off to dinner, fed the boys their hard feed and then slept well in a rented caravan.
Up early the next morning - 5.30am! Hay and hard feed for the boys and then the veterinary check and the farrier, who branded one hoof to show they were good to go. Only then could we trade in our vet 'yes' ticket for the itinerary, our vests with our village coats of arms and our electronic tags.
The route had had to be changed as the Luberon massif had been closed due to fire risk, which actually was great as the new route was more through vineyards and orchards than over the stony mountains, which suited my fine!
We set off at 30 second intervals, passing an electronic sensor to start our time. The boys were soooo eager to be off! On the first canter Paco let fly a series of huge bucks, he was so excited. It was warm but not hot (about 24/25C) and I regretted not wearing my gloves as Paco was pulling hard and I had changed to my rubber reins. Not good.
At lunchtime we stopped for one hour exactly and had to do the speed test: two small jumps, two gates and a slalom. Paco had a good look at the first jump as there were traffic cones just afterwards for the slalom and I felt him hesitate ... but he went over and completed the test without fault, although not very fast. I was about 50th out of 151. Lots of other competitors went careering straight through the slalom, while others ran out at the last jump! Racaille was an angel, especially as he has not jumped much.
There was a nasty incident in the afternoon however. I was in front of a group of about seven horses, leading a gentle canter through a narrow, enclosed sandy track. Suddenly a cowboy shot past the horses behind me, setting two of them off. As the first rider struggled to control her nag, it turned sideways and the horse behind cannoned into it, sending the rider flying. Racaille saw the problem before my teenager and managed to stop dead, what a clever boy! No one was hurt but the peeps were a bit shaken. It is inevitable that people will pass you going full tilt, but there really wasn't enough room for this old b~st8rd to do that.
In fact the teenager and I pulled over from time to time to let loonies pass us (once they were going full speed downhill on stones - what winkers) and Racaille was incredibly sensible about letting other horses go.
It was a shortish route on Saturday so we had a quiz to do on horseback about the host village, clues to find etc. It was great fun. I found the best solution was to go into a bar and ask the old villagers!!
Saturday night we all ate together in the big top and the paella was not great and I think we will avoid it next year. The OH felt thingyey afterwards. Or it may have been the gallons of rosé ...
Sunday morning was easier. I let the teenager sleep in and I got the boys through the vet inspection before feeding - obviously if they had been lame, I wouldn't have given them the hard feed. It's difficult to judge the feed for an event like this and because Paco can be lazy he was on huge rations of pressed luzerne. He didn't finish all his breakfast which was not a good sign. He felt a little sluggish too and I was rather concerned but unable to abandon now, as he was full of hard feed.
We set off from the centre of the village, with the water test to start. Paco was an bottom. You had to pick up a jug of water from one wine barrel, do a slalom, then put the jug down on a second barrel. The pick-up and slalom were perfect, but then he would not, under any circumstances, approach the second barrel, so I had to abandon.
The morning circuit was alongside canals before turning up into a little rocky set of hills. The horses really struggled and Paco was blowing hard. I though I might abandon at the next checkpoint.
But in fact, we stopped for the lunchtime break, did the test (knocking over shields with a lance, and a chicane) and he happily munched a small bucket of carrots. As we set off he did the most monumental fart, perked up, did a poo, then a pee, and then was back to his normal self, having fun. So he had had a bit of belly ache, poor lad.
The afternoon was fantastic. Lots of sandy tracks alongside vineyards, so we let rip! There was one corner we turned in gentle canter, and I heard horses approaching behind so I opened my fingers on the reins and was rewarded with turbo-power! We managed to stay in front of a group of pony club teenagers, who were yelling and screaming, and ended up crossing the finishing line in a great time. In fact, we lost a few points for going faster than the bogey time, but only by seconds.
When all the points were totted up, the teenager came 64th but I came 92nd, due to the water test debacle. Never mind, it was brilliant fun. And we came back with horse in a good condition, no lameness, kicks or tack galls. (Unlike a lot of others).
They were both such good boys. Paco was active but very calm - when the helicopter landed next to him he just turned to look at it, while a lot of other GGs went haywire. But the real star was Racaille. He was an absolute angel, calm, unafraid of new stuff, willing.
This morning they are very glad to be back in their paddock, munching and rolling. Their legs and feet are good and they've not really lost any condition.
I couldn't be more grateful to both of them for being such good boys! ;D
for so much hard work we thank ye!!
) so he's not afraid of anything (so far). I got Paco when he was 7/8 and he came with a pretty big scar on his back and a horror of the farrier's forge and angle grinders - I mean a real gut-churning phobia. He's happy to be cold shod but once the forge gets going he goes into meltdown. But maybe it's a difference in character, too.
