Last weekend it was giant vegetables and this weekend it was miniature horses - it's like Gulliver's Travels in the Jive Pony camp at the moment! Rebecca, Ronan, Tim, Tinker and I were up at Arena UK, Grantham, for a one day solo show for the Miniature Horse of the Year Show.
The first show at lunchtime went without a hitch, and it was really lovely to be vaulting on a proper surface, it definitely made things a lot easier. I think even Tinker appreciated it after all the different types of ground he's had to deal with this summer! The second show was in the evening and didn't go quite so smoothly to start with. I was busy opening the show when I walked under one of the overhead speakers and got really loud feedback from my microphone. So I hastily ran backwards to try and stop it... only to crash into one of our stands, fall flat on my back, drop the microphone with a really loud thud, knock down two other stands and detach a lot of our ring rope. All in one go. So, so embarrassing! (And now I'm laughing so hard at the memory I can barely type!!) I scrambled back up and tried to carry on commentating, but got completely lost as to where I was, and was also trying not to laugh too much. Unlike Becca, who practically fell off Ronan she was laughing so hard! Anyway...on with the show! Thankfully that was the only mishap and the rest of the show went brilliantly!
The miniature horses themselves were amazing - they were absolutely tiny! You could easily fit one of their hooves into the palm of your hand, and their legs were narrower than my wrist! They varied quite a bit in size but some of them were only knee high - and then there were the foals! The foals were so small, and my favourite was a little irish chap called Ralph. Although he didn't win his class he was definitely the best - he was the fluffiest little thing I've ever seen!
As well as the shows Rebecca, Ronan, Tinker and I had to parade in each class throughout the evening. It was really strange waiting in the collecting arena surrounded by miniature horses - Tinker and Ronan looked like behemoths in comparison! The boys were fascinated by them though, and kept trying to talk to them all! Aside from the showing they had classes for driving and riding, but also a fancy dress class and inhand showjumping! I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it, but those little horses can jump! I'm not sure Tinker and I would have made it over some of the jumps they were clearing! The fancy dress class was also memorable, with costumes varying from fairies to unicorns, and little red riding hood to snow white and the seven dwarves, but the class was eventually won by a very impressive 101 dalmatians. We did manage to take quite a few photos, just click here to have a look.
We've got this weekend off, but next weekend we're off to Avon Riding Centre in Bristol for another one day solo show - lets hope I can stay on my feet this time!
Rosie xx
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