Another day, another contest

Yesterday, I knew something was up when She called us in for breakfast when it was still dark and then shampooed my legs.  No motorised cabin arrived though, I had to carry Her up to Duchy College for, what turned out to be a Trec competition.

I quickly assess the situation; obstacle 2 looks ripe for demolition

First of all I was confronted by an array of pallets and since I was not confident that these would bear my weight, I skilfully manoeuvred around them for 'null points'.  The other obstacles I tackled with gusto - bending round poles at canter (mostly), prancing though the 'squeeze', standing patiently with my feet in a hula hoop for 8 of the required 10 seconds.  I cantered down a 'corridor' in exemplary fashion and then soared over a jump and slammed on the brakes as next I was confronted by a rustic filler the like of which I have never seen before (another 'null points').  A small amount of destruction occurred in the S bend but otherwise it was agreed that I had acquitted myself well and earned my carrot.

I attracted a number of new fans, but was very nearly upstaged by the arrival of a Clydesdale in full feather but with a sporty body clip.  He spends his summers carrying tourists around Dartmoor and his winters on loan doing all sorts, including dressage ("he has points" they said in awed tones).  Furthermore, he goes racing - he came second in this race and can be seen on the nearside...

She was very impressed at his versatility, but, to my quiet satisfaction, the final scores showed that I am better at Trec contests than he is. Hah!

Hanuman is brave

Hanuman's progress has been slow and gentle.  Although he goes round very nicely for a while, he regularly reacts to noises on the road.  His very powerful hindquarters enable him to go from 0-60 mph in very short order and without warning, which She has found a bit disconcerting.
She was very pleased with him yesterday when he coped really well with traffic noise and only stopped to watch the rattling trailer, instead of charging off.  She is hoping that he has now learned that none of these things are going to burst into the arena and eat him.

We think he may be allowed to trot soon.

Happy New Year!

We could start with a review of 2014, which turned out to be pretty uneventful.  She can't think of any lasting lowlights, although highlights included:

• My hock joint fusing and giving me a new lease of life
• My Achievement in qualifying for the Regionals
• Her subscription to clipmyhorse, which I gather has given her many happy hours of entertainment in lieu of television

It seems that I am not to have any targets this year, other than setting a good example to the others.  (I have been excused because of my arthritis.)

Hanuman's target for 2015 is to get to a level of proficiency such that he could perform a Preliminary test if needed.

Posy's target for 2015 is to qualify for the Regionals.  She says that if I can do it then Posy can.  Looking at Posy's ever-expanding waistline I think that this may be over ambitious.