The three B’s….

Blu, Ben and Blanc, our 2016 yearlings experiencing their first shows!

Since weaning, our three yearlings have been under gentle education without knowing it….There is never a right time to take a yearling to its first show, their growth spurts can change over night. One minute they look fantastic and the next bum high and weedy looking!

You can do all the prep work at home but on the day it really can go either way? We try to travel to “local” events and take the day as it unfolds. We always attempt to arrive early enough to allow our yearlings to settle and adjust to their surroundings. So here we are….

DFR Patahas Redheart aka Blu had his début outing at the HOPE Show (Horse Owners and Pony Exhibitors) held at Three Counties Show ground on Sunday 26th June.

He was an absolute dream, all he wanted to do was eat the grass but make no mistake it was a nervous eating that we were fully aware of. So we let him eat, in the ring I believe he was so full he was quite lethargic but none the less he stood for the judge, trotted straight, balanced and generally an absolute star.

Our next début outing was Redheart Regal aka Blanc. This filly as you can imagine took a bit of elbow grease to get clean! Again we entered a local show at Three Counties Show Ground but this time it was an Open Gala Show on the 9th July. Blanc seemed bold and was a bit of a handful at first but as the other horses started to arrive she switched off and ate the grass. She, “honestly”, was adorable, never put a foot wrong although in one class we did struggle to trot past “our grazing area”, a mistake I will not make again! Luckily, our last class was in a different ring, she trotted with absolute perfection so we ended on a very happy note.

The highlight of our day was when Lisa Randle who owns Tamino Warrior the Appaloosa Horse Club UK Performance Champion 2014/15 asked me if I would like to compete Warrior in the Tiddler’s Challenge….it’s been a long time since I have ridden but I rose to the challenge without question! Great fun, thank you Lisa!

Redheart Royale meets Tamino Warrior!

The third début outing was with BEN! Redheart Royale. Throughout the day Ben never did anything wrong in his performance, he stood, trotted and did himself proud. The only thing he did was consistently shout and scream at the Spot Fest Festival held at Three Counties Show Ground on the 16th July. Doesn’t help when horses answer back but one thing we did realise, Ben can smell a filly in season already!

A good start to their showing campaign and a relief in getting our yearlings out, about and home safe.

 Three Yearling’s, Three Events, Three Wins at Three Counties…………

From birth, it is a continuous effort to educate the foal’s, as they develop into weaning’s and yearlings they develop their own character and become stronger both mentally and physically.  We try very hard to keep on top of their education without them knowing it!

As we prepare for their “outings” as yearlings there is so much preparation that “one” owner might take for granted when buying a “ready-made horse”.

They must tie up, wait and stand! Pick all four feet up (not at the same time though)! Have a “bath”, wear a sheet or rug, walk / trot and stand when asked, allow traffic to pass, walk on and off a lorry / trailer and travel, maybe have a trim around the head? Having their manes /tails pulled? The list goes on…….

We have been extremely busy with our three yearling’s, continuously educating them but our début outings for the Redheart “babies”  BEGINS THIS WEEKEND!!!! Are we ready?

We can not see how they view the world, we can only read the signs, encourage and reward when necessary.

Blu is frightened of “nothing”, Blanc’s frightened of “everything” and Ben….well Ben just is happy to have a look!

As seen through my eye’s…….