Horse races

Since a few years I am totally into horse races. British and Irish horse races that is. Here in Holland there is not much to find when it comes to racing. In Brittain and Ireland, racing is everywhere. There are good racing tracks all over the country and I try to follow it all as best as I can. My first bet was for the Grand National 2007. I had to do that through a friend as I had no idea how to do such thing. I was not able to see the result on TV (and I don't even remember who won), as I was in London. On the same evening as the Grand National took place I ran into Nathaniel Parker, my favorite actor and keen fellow gambler. We had a little chat about gambling and horses and he told me that he did very well that day. I still had no idea on if I won or not so I had to disappoint him with my answer. He gave me an advise that I still follow. Never gamble more than you can allow. I tried to find a place to bet on line. It was a vdery frustrating search as the Dutch gouvernement didn't (and doesn't) allow betting on foreign sites. So when I wanted to place a bet I had to send an email to my friend Joyce in England. At one point I signed up for a William Hill account, but there was no way I could put money in my account there.



But one day I found a solution and now I am able to put money in my accout there. So I make the occasional bet and I must say that I am not really bad at it. I have a very funny way of finding a winner, most of the time. As I am very new when it comes to races and their forms, I sometimes pick a winner by the name. A few weeks ago Meouw won for me. Not much, but that doesn't matter to me. I just love it. I am always happy when the BBC shows some races on TV. I don't receive other British channels over here, so I am always happy when I can watch a race live. And otherwise there is the internet with some great racing channels and You Tube. I always love the start of a race. For me it is an explosion of power when the horses start running. Sometimes a horse doesn't want to run. Sad for the jockey and the team behind the horse, but it shows that horses have a mind of their own. That is a thing I love when it comes to horses, and they show it when you least expect it.



One of my favorite horses is Sea The Stars. What a fabulous horse it is. Too bad that he is retired now. I hope he has a good life. I also love Kauto Star, Denman, Mon Mome and Workforce. Ofcourse there are more horses that are great racers, but these are the ones I go for most of the time. When it comes to jockey's I like to watch Frankie Dettori, Tony McCoy, Johnny Murtagh, Ruby Walsh and Richard Hughes. I have read some biographies written by jockeys and it strikes me that some of them had to deal with alcohol. They won their battle with it. It also looks like a very lonely profession to me. Ofcourse I can be wrong, but I noticed it when I was reading these books. They give a very interesting look in the life of jockeys. I hope to keep on watching races for many more years to come.



I was very impressed by Tony McCoy's win on Don't Push It in this years Grand National. I hope he wins sports personality of the year, as I think it is well deserved. My dream is to visit a racetrack one day. I would love to be at a Grand National or the Cheltenham festival. It would be wonderful to be part of the action instead of being in front of the TV. Who knows, in the future. But untill then, I keep on enjoying watching horse races on TV and internet.

My ride with Ed

At the riding school it is usual to ride another horse each week. At the end of the week every horse has to ride an equal amount of hours. So yesterday the other riders in my class choose for Kanjer, Rocco and Byjoux. My teacher told me that there was no one left for me but Ed. I had to swallow at first, as Ed did throw me off his back some weeks ago. But I was very determent not to have it happen again. So I took my whip, gloves and cap and took of to meet Ed.




The start of the lesson went well and Ed and I got ajusted to eachother. I gave him a few smacks with the whip when he didn't listen and very soon he understood that I was in charge of the lesson and not he. And he listened very well to me from then on. Almost all of the excersizes we did went fine. Some of them are still a bit hard for me as new rider, but we gave it our best try and my teacher was happy with the result. Then we had to galop. I remembered that someone told me not to smack Ed when he is running in a corner, so I gave him a small hint on another part of the track and he took off like the devil was chasing him. I didn't even had to use my whip. I was very surprised, but pleased with it. The whole lesson we were a great team and it was sad to see the lesson end. Last week I was more than happy to see the lesson end, with Sven, who I rode then. He and I are not a good combination, but Ed and I certainly are. Even in the stable he gave me a sort of cuddle to tell me that he was happy. Mondriaan is a good horse, but Ed is becoming a very close second.

Ed and me

Some weeks ago I decided to ride Ed, short for Eddy, again. He is a funny, but lazy horse. He has a bit of a temper aswell. The other times I rode him there was no problem at all. I had no problem this time either. But Ed had a surprise for me in store. It was almost the end of the lesson when my teacher told me to start a galop. I gave Ed the signs he needed but he didn't pick them up. I gave him a smack with my whip (not to hard), but he didn't listen. I smacked him a few times more and he still didn't listen. And then I saw the wooden boards at the side of the track coming closer and before I knew I was in the sand. It happened quicker than I can tell you. I lay exactly in the ditch where the horses run and I couldn't get up. At first I thought it was my back, but I felt nothing. I asked my teacher if I was in the ditch and she confirmed it. She and the others had a good laugh when they saw me struggling to get up.



I was moving like a fish on dry land. When I looked up I saw Ed standing next to me with a funny look on his face. It was like if he wanted to ask me what I was doing down there in the ditch. All I could do was smile and say "Hi Ed". But as he is not the talking horse from the early ages, he just looked down on me. My teacher helped me to get on my feet and back on the horse. She asked me if I wanted to start another galop, but I decided to wait just a bit, to relax a bit and to settle. But I rode a galop before the lesson was over. After the lesson I was told that Ed jumped in the air to get me off his back. They all told me that it was funny to watch me go. I don't remember the fall at all. It happened all so quickly that I remember being on the horse and then in the sand. Both Ed and I were alright, but it is an experience I will never forget. It made me see that you can't mess with horses and that they have a mind of their own.

Sven and me, not a good combination

My horse riding lessons are going very well. I fell of a horse last month, but I had nothing but a blue spot on my knee. Last Thursday I had to ride Sven. He is a new horse at the riding school. He is with us for 6 months now and things go pretty well. This time the teacher thought it was time for me to ride him and so I did. The start was good, but that was all. Sven learned some tricks of his own and as "new" rider I had no idea how to handle it properly.



Sven is a beautiful horse to look at and I love his manes, but to ride him is another matter. As I said, I am a new rider (I don't even ride a year yet), and it was hard to keep Sven stable. He even didn't want to start a galop. No matter the help I gave him or smacked him with my whip, he refused to galop. He trotted harder and harder and it was no fun at all. Sven did galop in the end, but there was another rider on his back. After the lesson the others and I discussed Sven and they told me that he is developing a mind of his own. That is good, as I like that in a horse, but it was no fun to ride a horse that isn't listening. Ofcourse I can't read Mondriaan every week, but when I was riding Sven, I wanted to ride Mondriaan, as he is such an easy horse. Especially when I have to start a galop. He is on his way before I even give him a hint, and sometimes he doesn't even want to stop. I think I need a bit more experience to ride Sven again. I am working on that. Sven is a lovely horse, but we are not a match made in heaven.

Riding with adults

Since 3 weeks I don't ride on the Saturday morning anymore. Annieka, my teacher, thought it was time to move to a group with people of my own age. So 2 weeks ago, I started on a Thursday evening. It was excited and new to me. I was given Mondriaan to ride and had to go and fetch him. His saddle was strapped on but the other stuff was not on yet. I had no idea how to put a bridle on a horse, so someone did that for me. After that I lead Mondriaan to the riding area and mounted him. I still have a hard time to mount him as he really is a big horse. After a walk and a trot we were given some assignments to work on. We worked all for ourselves. I have to get used to that, as I always look around to see what others are doing. I want to do things the right way, and I found out that some things didn't work out very well for me.



I also found out that Mondriaan really needs the work. He kept on running and it was hard to slow him down. He loved to trot and to gallop (last week he didn't even want to slow down from the gallop). He is a wonderful horse, but he needs the excersize. Now vacation time is here, he doesn't work as much as he is used to during the lessons, and it shows. But he still does a wonderful job. The thing is that I still have lots to learn. It is easy to get a horse from walk to trot and back, but other excersizes took me a while and Annieka really had to help me with it. Still it is great fun to ride with adults, instead of children. It is a totally different concept. After the lesson we had to take the horses to their stables, take everything of and feed them. Mondriaan really loves food and candy. He does everything to get candy or food. 2 Weeks ago I brought horse candy and ofcourse I gave him a bit. After the lesson, when I was back on the floor, I thought of giving him a treat, as he did so well. while I was looking for candy in my pockets, he laid his head over my shoulder to see what was going on. It took to long I guess, because he started to push me in the back after a short while. But I found some candy and I gave it. And tonight will be my 3rd time on a Thursday evening. I am getting used to it now, but it is still strange not having to ride on a Saturday morning.

A proper gallop

Well, proper is not really the good word for it, but at least I gave it a try. Yesterday I had a great ride on Luna, the wonderful horse that carried me the first lesson I ever had. It went pretty well, but ofcourse I am still learning. At some point during the lesson my instructor thought it was time for me to start galloping in a proper way. Untill yesterday, I held the saddle while the horse was galloping and that went very well. Ofcourse as I can keep my balance with thanks to the saddle. But this time I had to hold the reigns.



When Luna took of the first time, I tought she would throw me off her back, but it was just me. I couldn't find my balance. It is really tricky if you ask me. I was bouncing up and down on her back. The more I tried to stay in the saddle, the more I bounced up and down. I also couldn't keep my hands still. It was all new and a bit scared, but also excited. I didn't gave up though. I tried a few more times, but I couldn't find a proper balance on Luna. I am not giving up and I keep on going. Horse riding has become a part of me, and my life. It is funny to see that I can make a proper gallop when the horse turns a corner. This experience make me see, again, that horses are powerfull animals, and that they have their own characters.

Mondriaan

The second lesson I had was on a Saturday morning. I had visited a local horse store and bought riding trousers, and a cap. My boss had some boots, way to big, but good for a start. Kim gave me one of her old whips, and I was ready for take off. The second lesson I had was on a horse called Mondriaan. He is an old horse, 18 or 19 years old and one of the sweetest of the riding school. It took me forever to mount him, as he is not only high but also broad. I wasn't able to mount him the usual way, so a little staircase was brought in to get me on Mondriaan. Once I was on him things went very well. Mondriaan is a very easy horse. He does whatever you ask and works very hard. In the 6 months I am riding, Mondriaan is the horse I have ridden the most. He is one of my favorites. The good thing about him is that he keeps on going whatever happens. So I can work on my balance and on how to keep my feet steady while riding. The bad thing is that Mondriaan don't need any work on him. You really have to push the other horses to stay in a trot, but Mondriaan keeps on going into the trot untill you tell him to stop.



Mondriaan had the honor to help me with my first gallop. When Mondriaan is in a trot he tosses you in the air high, as that is the way he is, but it always goes very well. My first gallop went very well. Annika told me what to do and run along at the start of my gallop. Man, did it felt good to gallop. At first I was scared. What a speed these horses had. Right there and then I was in awe for the jockyes I have seen racing on various internet channels and BBC racing broadcasts. I still am to be honest. After the first few moments I started to enjoy myself and almost shouted it out like a cowboy. I am still learning how to ride a proper gallop. I think it is very hard, but great fun. It feels like flying. I really love to gallop. Mondriaan is a great horse for people who start their lessons. While the others love to play around with me, Mondriaan always stays steady. Another lady who had her first lessons in January has some problems to keep him under control, but I never have trouble with that. The only thing is that he is used to get a reward, read horse candy, from Annika after a gallop, so he doesn't take a step before he gets it. He goes from gallop to trot to walk and then straight to Annika for his reward. At one of the lessons Annika didn't have any horse candy for him and he was very confused. I could see him think "where is my candy?" It took the new lady on his back a long time to get him back to walking. It was such a funny look on his face. Mondriaan is not the eldest horse in the riding school. That honour belongs to Opa (Granddad), but more about him another time.