At Home with Henry - Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Feeling festive! 

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the festive season. I know I am, I have already eaten my way through a bag of carrots and am looking forward to a relaxed day tomorrow. 

This last month has been a busy one for the two leggeds, with all of their end of year functions. It's been a nice month for me too. My brother, George, came over and had a ride with me, which was lots of fun. I love it when friends visit! I have also had a number of different people come and ride me. I don't mind, it is always fun meeting new people and I like showing everyone how I jump. They all seem to know I like eating carrots too and bring some for me each time! Score!

I also now have my very own pony! Her name is Ellie. She can be a bit mean to me and she likes to squeal a lot (women!). But isn't she so pretty?

Ellie is here to give riding lessons to little kids. Mum says it's not long and I will be able to do the same. I am looking forward to it very much, as I love little two leggeds! Whenever I compete at a Pony Club competition, they all come over and pat me. :-)

Mum helped me write a letter to Santa earlier. I hope he finds his way here tonight!

Dear Santa, 

Hi, it's Henry here. I have been really good this year. I know I used to be naughty sometimes, but I am all grown up now, so those days are over! All year I wanted my own pony, but now I have one...so this year, I would like the following: 

A huge bag of carrots. They are my favourite!

As many bales of lucerne as you can fit in! 

(I promise to share with the other horses)

Some new brushes to scratch my itches

Also, please make Alex better. He's had a cough for a while now, it would be nice if he is better in time for the New Year. 

Please bring my two legged family lots of nice things too. 

Lots of love,

Henry xx

I hope Santa brings you everything you want! 

Merry Christmas and wishing everyone a wonderful 2013. 

The Domestic Horsewife - December 2012

Merry Christmas everyone!

This month's recipe is perhaps not really a recipe, but more of a serving suggestion. 

Ever been stuck on an idea for a quick platter to take along to an end of year function? 

Here's one that's oh so easy and very popular!

The Haybale's Easy Fruit with Dipping Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 220g jar of Nutella spread 

1 bowl of cherries (or indeed, any other of your favourite fruit). I personally love cherries and they have been very good this year

Method:

Arrange cherries in a platter or basket. 

Put contents of Nutella into a small serving dish. 

Serve. Ta-da! :)

Delicious!

Horsey Happenings - December 2012

Happy Summer everyone!

Finally getting a chance to sit down in front of the keyboard and reflect on what has been a busy year. Although I have not been out competing for the last couple of months, there's certainly been a lot happening on the horsey front. 

Firstly, some introductions. There have been some recent additions to the herd. Meet Ellie and Zena. These two lovely ladies form part of our little team of school ponies. 

Zena is a 7yo New Forest mare. She is currently early into her education and wearing "L" plates, but is a lovely quiet little mare. She will be a lesson pony once she is educated. 

Elcarim Starlight, aka Zena

Ellie is at the other end of the experience scale and is a 23yo Riding Pony mare. She's been there and done that and will be a valuable addition to our team! Ellie is looking forward to teaching children the ropes of riding and horse care. Ellie no doubt will be popular this summer for children's lessons! 

Elm Tree Elegance aka Ellie

In other exciting news I have now finished my NCAS Introductory Coaching qualification! The last couple of months has seen me teaching a lot locally - I've been to Harcourt and Mandurang South Pony Clubs as well as Castlemaine and Maryborough Adult Riding Clubs, as well as some private clients. I am enjoying the challenge and next year have some exciting clinics and rallies booked up - bring it on! Now the hard work towards my NCAS L1G starts....in the meantime, I am now organised to take on beginners for lessons - looking forward to this new chapter and the rewards of setting up my own business. I have also spent some time on the other side of "C" - in the judge's car! I had a very enjoyable morning at Bealiba Pony Club's dressage day, seeing many horses and riders out having fun. 

Enjoying the Christmas rally at Mandurang PC! 

Although I have not been out competing recently, Snip has! He and Harriet are going great guns. They placed second in the grade two at  Kyneton Pony Club Horse Trials and then won at the Maryborough short course interschool competition! I'm so pleased to see Snippy out doing well and being totally spoilt! They also recently went to a Clayton Fredericks clinic when he was recently in Melbourne. :)

A win at the Interschools comp for Harriet and Snip

In action at the recent Clayton Fredericks clinic

On the home front, Henry has been having a quiet time (as he recently told you about!). This will change soon (no doubt much to his disgust!) and it will be time to start getting him fit for the early 2013 competitions. In other good news, Alex has recovered from his cough and is back in light work. The aim for him will be to have some low key outings next year and hopefully, to get to his first competition. 

So now it's time to start planning for another busy year...and time to get my Christmas shopping done!

Enjoy the festive season...til next time! 

Lauren

At Home With Henry

Hi Everyone, it's Henry here again.

Mum said it was about time I wrote about what I have been up to, but I think she was being sarcastic. The truth is, for the past two months I have not done much at all. So, all I can write about is "missing out". Let me explain.

Mum has been really busy with other things (or so she says), and therefore she hasn't taken me anywhere. I was entered for Kyneton Horse Trials a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't end up going. I was so looking forward to showing everyone my awesome moves....but, the lazy two-legged didn't bother getting up early and taking me, so I missed out. My ol' paddock buddy and travelling companion Snip and his new two-legged got to go and they even came second! Very cranky now I wasn't there. *insert angry tail swish here*

That same weekend there was an awesome three day clinic with eventer, Paul Tapner. I got to go last year, when it rained, and rained and rained! Last time, we got to do a cross country round with our two-leggeds wearing a camera on their head. This was the end result. Pretty cool, huh?

So that's two things I have missed out on. *sob* It's not easy being orange...

Then there was Equitana. Now I don't know much about Equitana, but I was under the impression it was an opportunity for the humans to buy us horses LOTS of stuff. Well my lazy two-legged didn't go to that either! She claims she had to work. The injustice of it all!

The last straw though, is finding out she won't be making the trek to Lakes and Craters country for the Three Day Event in December. I have never been down there and really would like to go (the grass is better in the Western District!). Looks like I will have to wait 'til next year. Both Bones and Snippy have gone before, I want my turn!

On the bright side, I have been having a nice time at home. We have been spending some time in The Rectangle, going on rides down the road and the other day we did something really strange. Mum put three barrels out in a triangle (with no jump rails attached!) and asked me to canter around them. How odd! It was quite fun though, so she told me I could do this with other horses one day. Sounds like a new adventure!

Other than that, I have been monitoring Bones' and Alex's wounds (healing nicely), playing in the paddock and bemoaning the fact the grass is nearly all dried up here for the year. Time to stand with my head over the gate at all times with my cute "Polly wants a cracker" face so either she (or he) sees me and sends some hay my way....

The Domestic Horsewife

Another month - another recipe! This month I bring you....

The Haybale’s Bacon and Mushroom Carbonara

Ahhh...so good!!

 

This is soul food. Not only is it tasty, it is actually quite lean and healthy as far as creamy pastas go. I love pasta dishes, but this is one of my favourites and is so easy to make. Typically, when I cook I am not very good at measuring quantities, so the amounts specified are just a guide. You won’t regret trying this one!

Ingredients – to serve 4

Handful of mushrooms - sliced small

150-200g sliced lite ham or bacon

Garlic paste – to taste (I add a generous ‘squirt’!)

400ml (1 tin) Skim evaporated milk

Half a cup of white wine (optional, but recommended!)

1 egg yolk

1 (generous) dessertspoon cornflour

400g penne or bow-tie pasta

Half an avocado – cubed

Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper to taste

   Method

1.  Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Put pasta on to cook

2.  Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray. Heat pan and fry mushrooms, bacon/ham add, dollop of garlic paste - fry until meat is browned*

3. Turn down heat and incorporate evaporated milk. Leave a small amount of evaporated milk in the tin and combine with cornflour to make a paste – add this to the mixture

4. Stir continuously over low heat until sauce begins to thicken. Add in wine and egg yolk and continue stirring. The sauce should take on a creamy consistency – but not be too thick (there is some degree of trial and error with quantity of cornflour required!)

5. When pasta is cooked, drain water. Return to large saucepan. 

6. Combine sauce and pasta in saucepan, stirring sauce through well

7. Serve topped with avocado pieces, parmesan cheese and cracked pepper

*For an interesting recipe variation, chicken pieces could also be added in step #2. 

Enjoy! :-)

Memory Lane

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Upon going through the collection of my old horsey memorabilia, I stumbled upon this ripper of a photo.

Going, going....almost gone!

There's quite a story behind this particular moment snapped some time ago. It was at the Charlton Show and it was my first time riding in the under 16 jumping class (I had actually won the under 14 class on the rather recalcitrant Charles the previous year, but that is perhaps a story for another time!).

I had owned Grey Mercy (aka "Jack") for about 4 months at this stage. I was lucky enough to get Jack on my 14th birthday and felt very grown up and important, going from a 14 hand pony to an almost 16hh thoroughbred. It had also seen me rapidly elevated from Grade Four Pony Club competitions to Grade three, which in my youthful ignorance, made me think I had really "made it" as a rider! It would be fair to say that (in the beginning at least) Jack got us around events by virtue of his sheer good nature - not by any talent or skill on my part.

That Charlton Show day was the first knock to my invincibility and a steep learning curve for me as a rider. I was very excited to be entered in the bigger of the two junior jumping contests - and even more excited to have jumped clear and made it into the jump off! I think at that stage of my riding career, I'd only managed to make it into a jump off a handful of times before....and never at anything over about 60cm!

I remember cantering into the arena with a vague notion of going really fast...desperately wanting to win that broad blue sash. I had no knowledge or experience of jumping a horse on slippery grass, of how to plan to ride lines in a jump off...or even the concept of keeping a horse balanced when picking up the tempo!

The first few jumps I think were ok; however, the further we went along, the faster and flatter Jack started jumping and we had a few rails down. With the clock ticking, I then became preoccupied with the idea of going faster, not realising that any chance of placing had already been lost. I vaguely remember turning too sharp into the pictured fence. We approached it crooked and going too fast.....Jack slipped on take off - and the photographer from the local paper happened to be sitting there and snapped the above delightful shot (which Mum later presented to me at Christmas!).

To this day, I am not sure how Jack did not land on me, but we both hit the deck and I was luckily thrown clear. My lingering memory from this incident is that as I stood up, Jack got to his feet....cantered on, cleared the last fence and left the arena without me!

Despite this particular sticky moment, Jack was an absolutely fantastic teenager's mount and he is responsible for developing my love of eventing. It is fair to say I learned a lot from this point on! He took me from being a nervous jumping rider through to my first Pony Club State Horse Trials, as well as numerous, shows, gymkhanas, flat rides and even games! He was quiet, always tried his hardest and was one of the most generous horses I have had the pleasure of owning. To horses like this, we owe everything. xx

Favourite things

Learning to embrace technology 

An oldie but a goodie - iPad for horses!

When smart phones first came out, I have to admit I was sceptical. I was like "who needs a camera on their phone?" and "if I want to use the internet, I'll sit at a computer". Famous last words, huh? Then, my husband got an iPhone. I was given his iPod touch as he didn't need it anymore...I started hooking it into our wireless internet at home and began to see what all the fuss was about! That Christmas, my husband bought me an iPad and my world was changed forever.


Anyone who has jumped onto the Apple product bandwagon knows what I am talking about. My favourite cartoonist, The Oatmeal  has captured Apple product ownership  oh so well...The gift of the iPad then led to the discovery of two things that have changed my life significantly. As someone who loves to read (and claimed to love paper only formats) I'm a convert to all things digital. Enter Zinio and Kindle  apps...



I'm a magazine junkie. Of course, my particular interest is in horse magazines. I have half a bookshelf taken up with over 20 years worth of horse magazines that I can-not-bear-to-throw-out! (I do have hoarder tendencies). I love to read magazines from overseas, but the cost of a subscription with international postage was a bit ridiculous. Not to mention, by the time magazines get to me, they are old. If I go into a local newsagent to buy a magazine from the UK or USA, it is usually $10 or more for ONE magazine. Yes - yet another magazine to add to my hoarding space!
 


Therefore you can imagine my delight when I discovered Zinio. I made this exciting discovery when browsing the Horse and Hound website one day. It took me 5 minutes to sign up and there it was...the latest issue of Horse and Hound delivered to my inbox, able to be read on the iPad or desktop computer! As there are no weekly horse publications in Australia, getting my Horse and Hound each Thursday (for around $2 per issue) is one of the highlights of my week. After my revelation of digital subscriptions, I wrote a Letter to the Editor of H&H, which was published!

Made it into Horse and Hound!

I then discovered I can also subscribe to the likes of Dressage Today and Practical Horseman for just $10 for a full 12 month subscription. The best bit is that I am free to hoard as much as I like, as this huge pile of mags is all stored in cyberspace! 

So magazines are sorted, what about books? Although I still love reading "real" books, there is something to be said for the invention of e-readers. I downloaded the Kindle app not long after my iPad arrived and starting buying books through the Kindle Store. No more waiting for books in the mail; within a few clicks, new reading material is right at my fingertips! I no longer need to pack a selection of books and magazines for a trip away now, my iPad has got entertainment covered. 

Now after years of tolerating a "dumb phone" I am considering stepping into the 21st century and upgrading. After all, a blogger needs to be able to take photos on the run and upload them! Look out, iPhone, here I come...

At Home With Henry

Hi Everyone!

My human mum's just given me the go ahead to write my own stuff on here...well she mentioned something about a hay bale -  it sounds right up my alley!

So what can I tell you about myself? I'm a Welsh Cob x Thoroughbred gelding, turning eight next year. I have been with my current family since I was just a little furry seven month old baby. One day I went on a trip in a metal box on wheels and found myself at a new home. Since that day, my paddock mate Bones has been the boss of me. Even now, when I go back into the paddock with him, I have to bow down to the master and mouth at him to show my respect. Sigh! I get tired of this little ritual, but it makes Bones feel important, so I keep doing it. 

When the two-leggeds first bought me, I know I was the topic of some derision. One of my mum's family members saw a photo of me and asked her "what did you buy THAT for?". 

When I was little

Hmmpf! I haven't forgotten that, so each time this person tries to have a ride on me, I make sure I give them curry! What did you buy *that* for, indeed! Truth be told, my mum bought me because she was unable to get her TB mare in foal to a Welsh Cob stallion like she had planned. I feel very lucky she picked me, as otherwise who else would feed me all the time...and put up with my so-called 'misbehaviour'? I am lucky she has a very good sense of humour. 

Apparently, between the ages of two to four I was classed as "difficult" and "naughty"....oh those times in my life were tough! Before I could be ridden, I had to spend ages in the torture chamber (a.k.a the roundyard) and then moved onto The Rectangle (what the two leggeds call an arena. Bones informs me that Sand Rectangles are invented as an advanced form of torture to horses!). Fortunately for me, Mum discovered early into my education that I was not really trying to be bad, but I had nasty sharp little teeth that needed to come out and a flat back that needed the right saddle. Since those discoveries, we get along really well. I know my mum has a soft spot for me. 

So, what are my favourite things?

I've made a bit of a list. 

1. Food. I think anyone with Cob heritage puts this right up on their list of important things. I get hungry all the time! Carrots are one of my favourites. If I see anyone waving carrots, I have to canter up and beat all the other horses to them! To look as good as I do, you have to keep eating! Besides, I am orange, carrots are orange - so we're a match made in heaven! 

This is my "Polly want a cracker" face. It always yields food!

2. Scratches. Gee I get itchy! I love my ears, wither and derriere being scratched. I don't mean to frighten visitors, but I like to reverse towards them for a buttock scratch (try scratching your own butt when you have hooves!!). Mum tells me this is very rude and that she is going to install a reversing beeper on me so people have warning when my bum is heading their way. 

3. Keeping watch at the gate! You just never know when something interesting might happen! I always keep an eye on the two leggeds, as they might be a source of #1



 4. Ponies! I LOVE ponies. They are so damn cute. One day I am going to have my own herd of them. I always say hello to ponies wherever I go and try to encourage them to talk to me. I have heard that you can collect My Little Ponies, although Mum did explain to me they are toys, not real ponies. 

5. Jumping. When I am being ridden, this is what I like to do. Although sometimes I don't jump, because of item #6 

6. Shying. I love to have a bit of a spook every now and then! Oh, I always spook at the letter "C" in The Rectangle. And sometimes they put stupid things underneath jumps that are worth a bit of a look.The best variety of shies are those that the rider doesn't see coming. I can move from one side of the arena to the other in less than 0.03 of a second! Jump judges out on the cross country that lurk behind trees are another favourite. I have to be on guard!

Anyway, thanks for reading, I look forward to sharing more with you next time! 

Horsey Happenings

November is here...

I'm not sure how it's happened, but it appears to be November, or so my calendar tells me. It's been a hectic month. Work has been busy & a lot of things have happened!

First in the way of horsey news - Snip has gone out on lease until the end of 2013. A big decision, but with Alex recently broken in & Henry out competing, I have felt like a hamster on a wheel trying to work three horses around a full-time & a part-time job! As luck would have it, I found a local young rider looking for an eventer...and the rest is history! Snip has been with Harriet for two weeks now and all seems to be going well. 5 days into their partnership, they went off to Bendigo Show, where they placed 3rd in the 90cm class! What a great start - I look forward to seeing their progress together. It will be different looking at eventing from the perspective of an owner rather than rider, but it makes me very happy to seeing someone enjoying and learning with Snip. 

They both look very happy! 3rd in the jumping at Bendigo Show.

The other exciting news is that I recently purchased a pony! Elcarim Starlight (aka Zena) is a New Forest mare who will be a future school pony for my business. We will have an older experienced pony coming soon to commence school pony duties - fun times!  Photos will come soon, I promise! (I really need to get a smart phone of my own so I can do on the spot updates!).

Henry was sidelined for a few weeks after Avenel HT with a cough, so I didn't end up entering Candlebark or Colac Horse Trials this year. This season has been a bit of a quiet one for us and will come to a close with Kyneton PC's event this weekend. I did have thoughts of entering for Lakes and Craters in December, however I don't think we're quite ready for the Prelim there. Next year, next year....I recently took Hen for a dressage lesson with Fiona Dearing from Remote Coach; it is fair to say that he entertained us both with his antics! Although quite capable, Henry thinks dressage is a little dull. He told us how "cool" he was by an interesting series of excited bunny hops after each walk-shoulder in- canter transition! He actually manages the transitions quite well, but then has to throw in a "look, look, did you see me do it?" afterwards!! I can't help but enjoy training him though, as when we get something right, it feels amazing. As he develops, I am feeling him really try for me in training - those little moments make it so rewarding. Straight forward he is not, but there is just something about him that makes me smile. Biased mother? Perhaps. To me, those special shared moments are what it's all about.

I had really been looking forward to working with Alex, however the pesky cough everyone had a few weeks ago is still with him. Another vet visit is inevitable! Speaking of vets, I think we'll get frequent flyer points this month. My dear little Bones had an altercation with a fence that saw him come off second best. He managed to skin above/inside his off fore...but luckily missed tendons & major blood vessels! He is healing well and has been a good patient...well, he'll do anything for carrots or Teddy Bear biscuits. Spoilt boy! 

I really shouldn't write about horse injuries....as soon as I wrote the above paragraph, Alex appeared to have a fat hind leg - arghhhh! What was I saying about frequent flyer points to the vet this month?! Not sure how he has managed it, but he has a small but deep cut just above the fetlock. A clean up, bandage and AB jab later, he's no worse for wear. I just think it's his way of delaying the process of him becoming an eventer!! Incidentally, Alex turns 4 this week! Happy Birthday Alex. :)
 

Enjoy Cup Day everyone - have a good one!

:-)

Bookshelf

Ahh, I love books. Each month I will aim to review a book from my (extensive) collection. For those poor non-horsey souls reading this blog, I apologise in advance. Many titles will be horse related. However, I promise to also include some of my *other* favourite reads.

Review:

 

How Good Riders Get Good:

Daily Choices That Lead to Success in Any Equestrian Sport 

By Denny Emerson

 

There's a lot of books out there that tell us about horse riding and training techniques. There's also a growing number of instructional books that focus on improving the rider's mental skills to become a more confident rider or better competitor. However, there's very few books that provide a true insight on all of the elements needed to become a good rider or trainer. This book does just that.

I have to say, I was so excited about the concept of this book I pre-ordered it …and when it arrived, it didn’t disappoint - I devoured it in less than a day! The blurb describes it as a “smart, honest, on-target kick-in-the-pants” and it is true! This book explores all elements of life that affect someone’s potential as a horseperson; in other words, what it is that separates those who achieve their goals from those who don’t.

How Good Riders Get Good looks at life circumstances and how they can affect an individuals' goals; the knowledge base a rider needs; the rider’s physique, the importance of a good support network and one of the most important considerations – the horse. In exploring each of these areas, Denny Emerson highlights many of his experiences as a successful rider in a range of different disciplines.

Although there is a competitive theme, winning competitions is not the sole definition of being a “successful” rider in this book –  many of the "Good Rider" profiles featured also include top trainers from a variety of disciplines. The principles discussed throughout How Good Riders Get Good could be equally applied to other areas of life and other pursuits. You don’t have to be aiming at Olympic glory to benefit from the advice Denny Emerson packs into this book.

 

This book came to me at a time of my life when I had set a lofty goal and it aided me in preparing in the best possible way. I was able to objectively look at the cards I’d been dealt and work out what it was that I needed to complete my journey. As riders (or indeed, as sports people) we are told we need to “think positive” and whilst it is true, it is somewhat misguided to believe that positive thought alone will solve all our problems! We need to “think constructively”…that is, thinking positively, but with a plan of action in place and an honest assessment of what needs to be done to move forward. How Good Riders Get Good forms part of a rider’s decision making tool-kit to make that action happen.

For anyone who has ambitions with their horses and riding, I thoroughly recommend this book. It is a delight to read and full of advice that otherwise could take a lifetime to learn!

 

The Haybale rating - 5/5 bales of sweet, leafy lucerne!

Memory Lane

Horse Trials...(and tribulations!)

Memories of my first O.D.E

After presenting to the judge's car....ready for our moment of truth!

Someone recently asked me if I remembered my first horse trials...as if I could ever forget! We all have to start somewhere and I can vouch for the fact I started at the *very* bottom.

 

At the time, I was very new to Pony Club (and had only just scraped in my requisite two rallies in order to compete). I did not see my "greeness" as an obstacle - whatever I lacked in equestrian knowledge and skill was made up for with boundless enthusiam! All summer I had practiced "jumping" over tomato stakes suspended on icecream containers...keenly inspired to jump by episodes of " The Horse in Sport" on TV. It is fair to say that my version of "jumping" at that stage did not require all four of my pony's legs to leave the ground together!

 

My pony at the time (christened with the orignal name of "Patch") did not share my passion for this jumping caper. He was definitely not going to break any land speed records either, as he'd plant his feet if he'd had enough (regardless of my frantic kicking) and rarely got out of second gear. Responsiveness was not a term he'd heard of (he had a mouth of iron)...but he'd taught scores of children to ride before he came to me and was extremely safe.

 

The fun part of entering for my first real competition was the preparation. There was a lot of terminology and rules to learn. Dressage, I thought, was a mystifying activity that we had to do before we got to the jumping phases. I spent a lot of time learning the test and pacing it out around the loungeroom. If I recall correctly, Mum had to ask someone to interpret the dressage test for me, particularly the "between A and K canter" part... as I had taken it to mean I had to canter for just that short distance - not that it was merely the transition that had to occur between those markers!

 

Nevertheless, I fronted to the competition on the day, ready to take on the world. I had washed Patch and even attempted to plait his mane (with rather interesting plaits, inspired by golf balls!). I didn't know that few other kids in Australia bothered to plait for Grade 5 horse trials, because I'd been reading English instructional books! Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I don't have any video or photos of my actual test, however upon cleaning up recently I found this...my dressage test sheet from that very day. Sometimes, being a hoarder is a blessing.....!

 

 

I love the comments in the collective marks: "Too much kicking"and "nice safe combination"

 

According to the added scrawl on the tattered edge of the test sheet, I was sitting 7th after dressage on this memorable occasion. I think I had written that because it sounded more positive than the "third last" that was the reality of the situation!

 

Unlike the heroines of my favourite English pony books, miracles did not occur to see me elevated to winning a ribbon. My showjumping round started off well, clearing the first 3 or 4 jumps. For some reason, Patch refused (at a double) and I went to turn him around to re-present to the fence. Next thing I know, he was hot-tailing it out of the ring and ducked UNDER the flapping bunting surrounding the showjumping ring. To add to the humiliation, the elastic of the bunting snapped harshly across my face as he made this rather dramatic exit. Somehow, a few helpers got us back into the ring again so I could finish my round, but alas it was all too late. I still vividly remember sobbing my heart out into Patch's now tear-sodden and falling-apart plaits with oh-so-much disappointment (and shock!). It was my first experience - albeit a rather unsual one - of how easy it is to get eliminated in the sport of horse trials...for the next few years I would discover many other ways to meet the same fate!

 

Cross country was rather uneventful in comparison and we sedately trotted our way around. I was somehow convinced that a good round could re-instate me into the competition, not realising that a big fat 'E' on a Horse Trials scoreboard is permanent for the day!

 

Obviously, this experience did not curb my enthusiasm, only deepened the ambition further!

A part of me will always be that driven, horse-mad, little girl. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





The Domestic Horsewife

And I now present you with the first of many recipes!

I have to warn you now I am a bit of a "basic" chef. But, because I like to eat yummy food, I have had to learn how to make it! Not being domestically inclined (horsework comes before housework, right?) means all my cooking is quick, uses basic ingredients and should be simple enough for the average person to follow. I have a sweet tooth, so some of my recipes are not going to win health awards. That said, I do embrace lean meal options, as you will find later down the track. ;-) I aim to share with you a variety of my favourite dishes.

My first recipe to share is an old family favourite and firmly committed to memory!

THE HAYBALE'S EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

125g Butter or Margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup Self Raising flour

Vanilla essence

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
Grease a ring shaped cake tin.

Now for the really hard bit (not!) - combine all dry ingredients (don't worry about sifting!), stir in milk and eggs and a dash of vanilla essence.

Melt butter/margarine (I just melt it in the microwave) and stir mixture with a stick mixer (bamix or similar) until smooth.

Pour mixture into greased tin and bake in oven for 25 mins (do not overcook - cake should still look moist on top, but a skewer should come out cleanly).

Once cake is cooled, ice with your choice of icing or frosting. Because this cake is deliciously moist, it is also fine to serve without icing.

Store in an airtight container; best consumed within 3 days of baking (that should not be a problem!!) 

Ta-da!

Horsey Happenings…

It’s mid October already and I am really not sure how that happened! A lot has gone on since I wrote in my previous blog and competed at the Melbourne Three Day event.

And just because I can, let’s see that footage again!

After Melbourne, it was time to work out what to do next. Henry had been spelling for longer than I had intended, due to a colic episode back in May. I then decided to give Snip a short break and then prep him for the M3DE Fundraiser HT (back at Werribee) in July.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Haybale - my new (and improved) blog!

So what is The Haybale all about? It is a place I can chat about all things horsey, but also take a look at other aspects of life and share yummy recipes and good reads with my followers. ;-)

Previously,  I have created some short term blogs around my 2011 overseas trip and my quest to ride in the 2012 Melbourne International Three Day Event

Wherever this new blog takes me, I look forward to sharing it with you!

Lauren