© Peter Orr. Tel: 01507 588412
© Peter Orr. Tel: 01507 588412
Mary Stubbs and Shalanza
Winners of their first 40 mile Novice ER at the Dukeries ride.
With our current riding horses maturing, we are becoming
more involved in the higher mileages of Long Distance riding
again. Ray's mount Warrens Hill Shalanza (Bonanza x Chiradas),
seen above, has been progressing upwards in mileage partnered by
Mary Stubbs. As Ray is not intending to progress beyond 25 mile
rides, this gives "Shala" the chance to achieve her
potential, having specifically been bred for top level long
distance. Whilst having good recovery rates, our Part Bred Arabs
do have higher pulse rates (e.g. a resting pulse of 44 beats per
minute) and ERs (Endurance Rides) will be much more suitable than
EHPS (Endurance Horse & Pony Society) CTRs (Competitive Trail
Rides) where a lower final pulse is required for a good result
grading.
Chatanz has also been learning to be an
Endurance horse. Despite having a very effective gallop on the
racetrack, last year he initially found the trotting required in
a 25 mile ride to be quite tiring and has only recently developed
the knack of keeping his hind legs well underneath him for
balance and better speed on the downhill sections.
June saw them successfully completing their first 40
mile ride together at the Cirencester Festival in the Bronze
Buckle Cup. They managed to attain the target speed of 8 miles
per hour, and whilst coming third in the class were only beaten
by one horse on pulse. The wet conditions, speed requirements and
longer distance made this ride particularly testing.
© Peter Orr. Tel: 01507 588412
Our
first visit to the major multi-day event the Spirit of Sherwood.
A long way to travel for us, but well worth the effort. A superb
venue and event atmosphere with great going in Sherwood Forest.
Lesley and Shala really romped round a 40 mile course.
This was a test for Shala with a disappointing ending, as she came up slightly lame at the final vetting ... now after X-rays hopefully identified as a bone chip on the fetlock... She has now completed 6 weeks of box rest after a "keyhole surgery" operation and hopefully we will have a sound horse for next season!
© Peter Orr. Tel: 01507 588412
Switching
our young mare Zara (Franzara) from Arab Racing to Long Distance
we ended the season concentrating on giving her some basic
experience at 25 mile rides at Kingsland, Dolton Beacon and
finally the Red Dragon and were pleased to find her completing
them easily.
© Peter Orr. Tel: 01507 588412