That was the week that was

Quick round up of this week's activities.

Monday started playing with Harley again after his month off. Is his play drive up or what! It's like flying a high powered stunt kite. Great fun! Went round the tracks in the reservoir. His energy was up but still responsive.

Tuesday, need to be more subtle with my movements. He's so responsive but that playdrive is still up there. He's started doing Allure's trick of eating the tassles on my chaps. Went around the x-country and found a deer antler. We also popped some jumps, quite nicely, no rushing. I want to be in a position when we go to Dave Stuart's clinic at Sam's that we can both be comfortable jumping. We also came across The Devil's Sheep, at least that's what Harley told me they were. He was happier once we had proved that they could be driven like ordinary sheep.

Wednesday, Went down to Ingleby Toft. A proper hack-out with puddles, scary ponds and everything. Harley handled most stuff with barely a second look. He's decided he likes rosebaywillow herb even if it's in a scary place. First time we used his boots for over a month.

Thursday, played in the school. Did FTR which didn't take too long to drop in nicely. Then we did circles. Not bad at all.

Friday, tracks in the reservoir. Lots of canter transitions and playing leapfrog. He really is one cool horse. Went paddling in the reservoir. A little hesitant but soon was up to almost his belly.

Saturday went round the tracks again doing transitions & leapfrog. Met some kids having a BBQ and playing loud dance musin. They switched it off quick to avoid spooking the boys, so we thanked them and told them to put it back on 'cos the boys like Drum'n'Bass. Got offered some BBQ. Cool! Not the stereotypical image of modern youth..

Gotogo to bed now 'cos we're doing a pleasure ride around Sutton Park tomorrow.

Description of a Quarter Horse

"He's half a ton of poised and controlled energy, held on an easy rein and a hair trigger. He's a workin' man who can earn his keep on the range all week - and be a handsome dandy at the track on Sunday afternoon. He's proud when he stands, looks lazy when he walks, but when he runs he can whip the tears from the corners of your eyes and plaster your hat brim against the crown. He's big in the haunches, supple in the withers, stout in the neck and wide across the chest... to hold his great heart. He's cow-smart and brave... though sometimes a clown, to the man with the sky in his eye and mud on his boots the Quarter Horse is a faithful hand... and a friend. "

That's my boy!

He's Back ..

A very quick blog 'cos if I don't do it now I won't get around to it.

I have just given Harley a month off because we'd done an awful lot since xmas and it was about time he had a break. I don't want to overcook him, so I stopped whilst it was all going well. I rode him tonight for the first time in a month and quite enjoyed it.

We went into the reservoir and went around the track with Max & Archie. He was a bit excited to start with but settled down fairly quickly. At one point Arch trotted ahead an Harley got impulsive, so I turned my hips and we did a beautiful trot sideways up the track. Wow so cool. We did have a little bracey-ness but some time doing lateral flexion seemed to sort that. We also had to wait for Arch for a bit during the leapfrogging, so whilst we did I had Harley do 3 steps forward 3 steps back. When he did that just on my seat with enthusiasm he got to eat hedgerows for a while until Arch caught up. On the last bit on the way home he stretched his neck down & arched his back as he walked. At first I thought he was pooing, but no! He was just stretching & relaxing. Sooo cool!

All in all, a good ride.

I'm going to bed happy.

Drawing of Harley by my Sister

Motorcycles & Horses

Over the years there have been some negative comments made about motorcycles, even by Pat & Linda, and I think it’s about time to redress the balance by pointing out the similarities.

Horses for courses
If you want to plod around on a hack (or trail ride) with no challenges and not trying to achieve any level of performance, then buy a nice quite LBI with more whoa than go and don’t ask it to do anything more than that. On the whole you’ll be fine, just like thousands of other people have, with the occasional potential for a crash. If you want to cruise around leisurely on a motorbike, then buy a bike designed for that and don’t try to race it. On the whole you’ll be fine, just like thousands of other people have, with the occasional potential for a crash. If you try to achieve performance on it without the appropriate level of skill, you will crash. It is when you ask things of the bike or horse that the problems start to surface. When you expect performance from your mount, you have to have expertise.

Survival Reactions
We are often told that our instinctive reactions as a predator will cause problems when dealing with horses. Well, guess what, the same is true of bikes.
Those hands that close quickly when you panic will cause the bike to buck you off (I’ll explain the physics to anyone that is interested).
If you tense up and brace the bike will become unresponsive & difficult to steer.
If you relax and flow with the bike it feels like harmony & unity; like telepathy.
You improve with practice, but only perfect practice. (see the Expertise post which will follow)
Bad habits lead to dangerous rides.
Where you look is where you go, so don’t look at where you don’t want to go (the natural power of focus).
It is so important for dirt riders to have an independent seat that they stand up most of the time to allow the bike to move beneath them. Likewise road racers sort of hover above the seat.

Feel, Balance & Timing
Even on the simplest level these are crucial in every aspect of riding a motorcycle regardless of the level of performance. The higher the performance asked, the more important it becomes. I could write so much on this that I would be in danger of writing a text book.

Spirituality/Living in the Moment
The level of concentration and focus required to ride a performance bike at its limit transcends the day-to-day experience and compresses it in to the absolute, cold, hard, centre of the moment. An extreme meditation. Watch the MotoGP the next time it’s on and see how many riders meditate before the start of the race. When was the last time you had to meditate before you approached your horse?

In summary, if you want to do anything at a performance level you need expertise and don’t get a superiority complex about your own area of expertise. Most bikers think horse riding is easy & boring. We should all respect other fields of endeavour and take whatever lessons we can from them to enhance our horsemanship.

After all - Riding a horse is the mere act of not falling off.