Well this is a first for me... sitting on the Eurostar
writing my blog!
In my last post I was explaining how I was preparing Riva in
order to film my Freestyle audition with her to meet the requirements of the
externship. Well plans have changed.
Again.
As it was the Christmas period it was a while before
Isabelle came to check Paris. All of his swelling was gone and she said she
could tell that there was nothing wrong with his fetlock, it barely responded
to a flexion test and she said his tendon was fine. I asked her if Paris should
continue to rest or should move. She said that he could return to his herd and
that I could work with him but nothing too crazy and mostly straight lines. She
did say that if his leg swelled up again I should email photos to her.
That night I rode Paris around the block. I brought him in
for the night because I did not want to reintroduce him to his herd in the
dark. The next day I rode him for 10 minutes, we did isolations and a lap in
each direction of trot to back up yoyos. I was very pleased that I had managed
to control myself and not get carried away with doing too much with him. I then
walked Paris back to Dino’s Place and put him with Casper in the small fenced
of piece of hard standing Karen had sectioned off for our horses.
You can imagine my disappointment the next day when I saw
him in the morning and his fetlock was as hot and swollen as ever. Irina took
some photographs for me and I spent the whole evening trying to attach the
images to my email for Isabelle but the internet kept crashing. It was an
extreme test of my emotional fitness. That night Casper’s legs were also
swollen, but he was swelling on all four legs and all the way up the leg, not
just at one place. Karen took photos and tried to email Isabelle too, with just
as much difficulty. She hardly slept as she checked on Casper several times
during the night. Casper has not been right for a long time, he has an abscess
almost touching his coffin bone, locking knees and unexplained swellings. Poor
Karen came home early from her holidays to try to help Casper. The next morning
I had not heard back from Isabelle. Karen decided to take Casper to Isabelle
for the 5 day anti-biotic treatment Isabelle had previously recommended.
Moments after seeing Karen and Thomas head off with the trailer, Gabi told me
that Isabelle had emailed her that she would like to scan Paris and proposed
that we took him to the vet on the Wednesday when they went to pick up
Casper. As it was several youngsters
developed swollen legs and Isabelle came to check them and so she scanned Paris
and did an x-ray. Isabelle could find
nothing wrong and his swelling has completely gone away again so she told me to
work him thoroughly the next day and to bring him to the clinic the day after,
which was the Wednesday we would be collecting Casper.
In those few days I had continued to play with and ride Riva
and Touria. In my last session with Riva we did the question box, clover leaf,
jumping and opening and closing the gate all completely bridleless. Her isolations are so cool. I was really
starting to feel confident that we could do a good audition.
So on the Tuesday, when I had to play with Paris, I decided
to take the opportunity to film an audition with him. I figured that it was no
big deal if nothing came of it but maybe, just maybe, we could get something to
send in. I brought him in from the field, having prepared the arena and his
equipment. His tail was still plaited from his time in the stable and he was
still clean from being groomed the evening before. I gave him a thorough
brushing over to comfort him and untangled his tail which fell in beautiful
waves from the plait. I lead him into the arena on the 12ft line and began some
gentle stick to me online to warm him up. Well that was the idea! He was so
happy to play that he was shaking his head and leaping in the air, so I decided
to go with his exuberant and playful ideas and took his halter off. He bucked
and reared as we played stick to me and when I ran backwards he came trotting exuberantly
shaking his head from side to side in wide sweeping movements. I asked him to
circle me and he took off around the arena and I saw his exaltation at being
free to move and feel his own power as he took off at the speeds he was bred to
reach! Finally he was ready to reconnect and I did a little calmer stick to me
before putting him back online and doing circles with transitions, stretching
and sideways. He was connected, responsive and finally calm (by comparison to
how he started anyway!) so I stood on the block and asked him to side pass to
me. His isolations were still as good as they were when I last rode him but I
realised that Riva was beginning to overtake him in certain areas of her
education. We trotted a follow the rail pattern with halt-backups and corners.
I then trotted a clover leaf pattern. He was feeling nice and connected so I
asked for a canter... wow! He took off like a bullet straight up the long side
of the arena toward poor Joke who was sitting with the video camera ready to
film my audition. I asked for a halt and he stopped, swinging his hindquarters
as he did. The look on Joke’s face must have matched mine. I picked up the neck
string and focused on cantering circles and used the neck string to lift his
front up and put him back on his hindquarters when he started getting long and
fast. I even needed to bring him right back into a back-up. Finally I could canter a clover leaf pattern
so I tested Paris having the ball on him whilst I was on him (we had never done
that) and then asked him to jump the small jump. It wasn’t as big as in our
original audition but it had been a very long time since we had done any
jumping and he was surprised by it. He took off toward the jump at full speed
and got in close to it and I just had to hang on as he rose up like a
rollercoaster. He flew away from the jump and I brought him to a stop just to
hear Joke laughing at us and telling me to do it again because the camera had
not been rolling. I decided that I needed to get him back with me before firing
him up more with the jump so we returned to our clover leaf pattern and finally
jumped the jump. This time he was calmer although he left a leg dangling and
knocked the pole. I check out our gate opening and closing and was satisfied
that it had not deteriorated so I jumped off of Paris to tidy the tarp in the
question box and repair the jump. I told Joke we would begin filming and as I
put the pole back I heard her scream “NO!” I span around and saw Paris getting
down to roll... with the saddle on! I ran toward him and he looked like he was
intent on ignoring me because he was so intent on rolling. But my intention
that he should get up was even stronger and as I reached him he leapt up and
came to me. I brushed off as much of the sand as I could and couldn’t help a
trace of irritation that now I had to film with a dirty horse because it would
take ages for the wet sand to dry enough to brush him clean again.
We started the camera and I mounted Paris, after adjusting
the saddle pad, and I began with my isolations. This time they were not as good
but still a lot better than they were during our audition in the summer. We
then did our question box. At first
Paris was confused that I was asking him to change direction and then he got
his feet tangled in the tarp which he began to get emotional about. I breathed
out and put a hand on his neck and just thought “it’s ok” and he calmed
immediately and sniffed the tarp. After that our question box went much
smoother with some really nice transitions and simple changes. He was really
thinking about the halt and having the tarp in the question box seemed to help
us have a shared focus and purpose in stopping.
Paris’ canter cloverleaf was so good. He rode the corners and was very
accurate and all I needed to do was use my focus. We then turned toward the
jump. I felt him speed up a bit on the last stride and away from the jump but
he listened when I asked him to come back to a halt and we side-passed to the
gate for our grand finale. Opening and closing the gate was awesome, he really
understood what we were doing and just followed my focus. The audition was over
and I couldn’t resist punching my hands in the air in the “Yittah!!” victory
gesture of Hiro Nakamura (a little tribute to Heroes, the TV series we were addicted
to in the student house).
The next day was our trip to the vets.
I had to work in the morning and be ready with Paris loaded
and me in clean clothes by 11.45, it was not easy. Paris loaded pretty well
into this strange trailer with a high step up into a small partition. As soon
as he was in and the doors closed he began banging with his front feet. He was
quiet when the trailer was in motion but impatient as soon as it stopped moving
and he was free to express himself rather than concentrate on keeping his
balance. His fetlock was nicely swollen from the exertion of the previous
evening. We arrived at the vet in good time and Thomas drove off with the
trailer to re-fuel the car. Isabelle’s other half came and told me to put Paris
in the paddock whilst they got prepared. Karen went and got Casper ad
immediately they recognised each other. Paris was extroverted trotting around
the paddock, rolling and leaping into the air. Finally I was asked to get him.
I was so grateful to the relationship we had developed when I was sent to
retrieve my excited extroverted thoroughbred from this strange new
environment. A few years ago that would
have been like mission impossible. He came to me soon enough and put his head
in the halter and I was then asked to walk and trot him up on the world’s
smallest piece of smooth concrete. I was
then asked to walk him over the weighbridge. There was a tractor near it with a
pile of concrete blocks and the bridge was already quite a squeeze game in
itself. Of course Paris walked up the ramp and stood on the bridge, wall on one
side of him, fence on the other and then politely off, past the tractor through
a narrow gap without batting an eyelid.
Just another squeeze game for a veteran Parelli horse! Next I was
gestured to follow the nurse into a room with breeze block walls and concrete
floor. She got the clippers out and removed what little hair was left on Paris
back legs. Both vets, Isabelle and Claudia, came in to begin the scan on Paris
and Casper was also led in the have his foot soaked in disinfectant. We were
sad to see that Casper was no better after his time in the clinic.
Claudia explained to me that Paris had a loose ligament, it
may have occurred gradually over time or all of a sudden, but there was a
weakness in the corresponding fetlock bone. The Medial Collateral Ligament was
not attached strongly enough and so it was not doing its job to stop the
fetlock bones from rubbing each other. The friction of the bones rubbing was
causing irritation which was why when Paris was active the heat and swelling
was returning. She prescribed at least 6 weeks of rest on flat ground. She said
he could go for walks on nice roads but absolutely no crazy stuff and he was
not to play with his friends. I have put
him out with access to the front area of Dino’s place which is the shelter,
hard standing, hay rack and the world’s smallest patch of grass. He needs to
have his fetlocks rubbed every day with Regitand. I have also put him on a supplement called
NatureBute which contains botswellia extracts for development of stronger
healthier tendons and ligaments.
My goal is to have Paris’ fetlock strong enough for his
journey back to the UK in April, then he can continue his rest until I am back
from the externship and then I will see where we go from there. The prognosis is that he will be able to
return to playing and trail riding but I will need to accept that his legs and
joints are not up for the physical demands that level 4 require.
I had a holiday home booked. Joke agreed to look after Paris
for me and I know he is in good hands at the Plessis.
I must say that I have had a knot in my stomach all week
about my journey home. Last time I went home the plane was cancelled because of
the snow at Stansted and we have been having frozen conditions all week. I
tried to book a train to take me to the airport on Sunday morning but the
trains did not start until I needed to already be there so I asked if someone
could take me. Thomas kindly offered but then he had to go to collect
Marie-Claire’s horses so he said Laura would take me. When Piet heard about
this he expressed that as the weather might turn for the worse I should take
the train on the Saturday and spend a night in Tours. Laura took me to the
train station after lunch, where I had to wait two hours for the train. Finally
I arrived in Tours and checked in to the same little hotel that had been my
refuge in December. This time my room was on the top floor and my bag seemed a
million times heavier as I lugged it up.
I had a shower (managed to dent my knee and turn the shower
on with my forehead....), did my belly dance practice (Joke, Jana and I had
decided that belly dancing would be a fun way to develop our physical fitness) and
skyped for a bit. Sleep did not come easy, it never does when I am travelling.
Finally it was morning and I opened the main door of the
hotel and stepped out on the pavement... into a white winter wonderland!
Normally I would have loved it but my heart stopped for enough beats that I
think I have lost atleast an hour of my life. I sent a silent prayer and headed
to the station to catch a taxi. As I got there the only taxi drove off and my
panic began to mount as I realised that not so many cabs would be coming out in
these conditions. Several men arrived
and were also waiting for a taxi and I found myself worrying that in France
they don’t have the same regard for queuing and helping a lady in distress.
When a taxi arrived the men began flagging it down in confident macho style. I
flung myself, suitcase and all, into the road with the arm waving of a
desperate woman. I saw the taxi driver indicate to the men that he was coming
to me and the men began shouting and cursing at him. I tried to get in to the
taxi but it was locked and the driver was not confident to unlock it with those
men there. I explained to the men that I was going to miss my plane but they
did not care. As the taxi drove off they cursed again and walked back into the
station. I watched as my salvation shrank into the distance and then I saw the taxi
stop on the other side of the plaza. I ran in the snow to the taxi, whose doors
were now magically unlocked and gasped a million “merci”s to the driver. He
smiled and explained (and I understood) that he had not wanted a drama with
those men. He wished me a good day as I said aurevoir and headed into the
airport. As soon as I walked in the doors I knew what was happening. It should
have been almost time for the gate to close, but there was no one at the gate,
no one at the departure lounge, just a small handful of people at the service
desk. I looked at the monitor and saw the dreaded word... Cancelled.
An ironic laugh escaped me and I span around but the taxi
driver had already gone. I headed to the service desk and asked the man there
if there was anyway for me to get to London. In typical French “who gives a
crap” style he just snorted “no. Not by air. Maybe by train.” I looked at him,
unimpressed, and it seemed to occur to him that he was actually paid to be a
customer service representative so he explained “ there are no other airports
nearby flying to London. Our next flight is Wednesday.” I could have told him
that. I decided to call my mum from the payphone but discovered I have nothing
on my bank account and could not use the phone. As I returned to the service
desk I heard an American voice telling someone on the phone to book his
eurostar tickets to St Pancreas. When he got off of the phone I asked him if he
would mind sharing his plan with me because I was also wanting to get to
London. He offered to take me with him to the nearby train station of
Saint-Pierre des Corps but said he would be first in line for the tickets
incase it was the last one. The man at the service desk suddenly seemed happy
that there was a possible solution to my dilemma and allowed me to use the desk
phone to call my parents. I asked my mum to put money on my account ASAP so
that I could buy train tickets.
The man’s name was Jeffry and it turns out that he lives 10
minutes from the Plessis and his wife has been on Marie-Claire’s courses! He
booked a ticket for the first train to Paris but as it was 4 times the price of
the one 2 hours later I opted for the cheaper one. As it turns out his train
was cancelled and we were on the same one after all, but in different carriages.
When I arrived in Paris my plan was to head to Gare du Nord to get the
Eurostar. It was on the otherside of the river and I took a little walk around
the area of the Paris Gare Montperasse before catching a taxi to the north. I
figured that it would be nice to see a bit of Paris as I was there. I enjoyed
looking at the architecture but recognised none of the famous land marks.
Apparently the Arch de Triumphe, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower were not on
the way to the Gare du Nord. Figures. I
was a little disappointed with Paris – it sounds so Romantic to say you walked
around Paris in the snow but the reality was less glamorous as I trudged my way
past commercial buildings, bin bags and discarded christmas trees, all half
hidden in the white/grey slush. The taxi ride was pleasant though with the
French equivalent of classic FM playing.
I wished the driver a good day and headed toward the main
days of the massive Gare du Nord. I saw a middle-eastern woman looking at me
and she asked if I spoke English. Of course I said yes and she thrust a piece
of paper that looked like a sponsorship form in my hand. She pointed at the
heading that was in badly printed font and read something about deaf and mute
children. I asked “what is this for” and she enthusiastically said “petition,
petition!” jabbing the paper. I looked at it again, sceptically and i said
“petition? For what exactly?” she pointed at all the names and signatures
already on the list, I saw a column with various amounts ranging from 5-20
euros and was sure we did not share an understanding here. She decided to coach
me through it.
Name? ok, i put my name. City? Sure, London would do.
Postcode? My old one rolled out of the pen. Signature? A scribble. Amount? Here
I looked her again and said “for what??” she just pointed at what the others
had put. I remembered a street survey i once did and that the people worked on
commission, maybe she just needed the numbers. I copied the smallest figure, 5
euros and turned to go. “no, no!” she cried and pointed at the figure i had
illegibly scrawn and put a hand out. I tilted my head in an “i don’t think so”
then shook my head and said no. She got more persistant and indicated my
signature. The deceitful little woman! I felt myself suddenly angry that
someone was trying to trick me into giving money that i didn’t really have. All
the money i had was what my mum had sent to rescue me. “No!” I said so firmly
that she took one step back and I pushed forward and marched into the station.
I stewed on that for a little bit. I had been played with the “poor language,
poor communication card” and she had preyed on the common misunderstanding that
if you sign for something it’s a deal. There was no deal. I was not being
duped.
Skirmish over, I resumed my search for Eurostar. I looked up
tickets on the automated booths and felt my panic return when every UK bound
train said “transaction suspended”. I went upstairs to the service and ticket
desk and asked if there were any trains to London. “Not from Paris” I was
informed. “How about to anywhere in South England?” I asked, clinging
desperately on to some home. “You could go the Ebbsfleet” the man said “but not
from here, it’s from Marne-les-Valles, outside of Paris”. “How do I get there?”
I replied. He gave me some barely legible directions to take the Metro one
stop, change and then all the way to Disney Land. By this point I was ready to
accept anything. You could have told me there was a shuttle going to the
Bermuda Triangle and that you needed to change at Timbuktu to catch a purple
polar bear to London Picadilly Circus and I would have responded “How much does
it cost, what time is the shuttle?”
So I headed downstairs to the metro, armed with a ticket for
the Eurostar, and tried to work out the machine. It simply asked me how many
tickets I wanted. I had no idea what was necessary for the metro so I bought
one and figured that it showed that I was trying and if I saw a human being I
could ask for further help. The help desks were empty.
I made my way down to the platform indicated by the Eurostar
guy. It stank. Seriously, I have heard that the Paris metro system stinks but
it was as if everyone in Paris came down to the metro just to part wind and
then leave again. I’m pretty sure one guy who sat next to me did just that.
Anyway, standing on the crowded, smelly platform, I saw that the trains were
delayed. Apparently there was an accident earlier in the day, separate from the
trouble the snow was causing, which meant that just this line was having
problems. I only needed to go one stop to change lines so you can imagine what
I was thinking when the train finally arrived only to be cancelled once I was
already on it! Gut churning worry continued to bubble introvertedly but I found
myself remarkably calm on the outside. I wasn’t angry or frustration, just
concerned with reaching the Eurostar on time.
A train on the platform behind me arrived and everyone that
had been trying to go on the cancelled train turned and jumped on that train so
I followed suit and saw that at least the first few stops were the same which
suited me perfectly. At least I was one stop closer to my destination.
I had to wait 20 long minutes for the connecting train but
at least it was only 45 minutes more of the smelly, clanky, rustic French metro
experience.
When I got off of the metro I saw people carrying Disney
shopping bags. It seemed weird that on this freezing cold, slippery wet day of
almost impossible travel people were enjoying the magic of Disney. But there
they were sporting Minnie Mouse ears and bows. I saw a payphone and called my
mum to update her on my plans before heading upstairs to check in. There I
found out that the arriving train was missing and at least a two hour delay was
predicted.
The train was meant to leave at 5.02 and arrive at Ebbsfleet
at 6.28 but check in did not even open until 5.30pm. My only reassurance was
that there were so many families with small children that the station was under
great pressure to get these people home and would not cancel the train.
Finally, at 7pm I was on the train and it was leaving the station. It is now
10.20 French time. The Eurostar crew have announced that we should reach
Ebbsfleet at 10.45 but I am not sure if they mean English time, which means I
still have another hour and a half to endure. All day I had no appetite but now
the two apples and bag of jelly crocodiles I bought at the supermarket near
St-Pierre des Corpes has long ago been digested. The train is out of food and I
will just have to wait. The story of my day. I have finished a book, written a
blog and waited. Never again will I attempt to cross international territories
in the middle of winter. Well, until next week!
......................................
I am now back at the Plessis and will fill you all in on my
eventful trip home.
The Eurostar pulled into Ebbsfleet at 11.30pm, where I found
a freezing cold Will, who had been waiting for me for 6 hours! We headed to my
Mum’s car where I ate a reheated roast dinner, I was starving!
The next day we woke up and found that Will’s car was stuck
in our street, snowed in. My mum had
woken up early in the morning with a headache and had pulled a cold muscle in
her back trying to lift the medicine box from the top shelf. The irony! So for
a while I rubbed Deep Heat and arnica gel into my Mum’s back whilst Will
attempted to shift his car. It was clear Mum was in no state to look after the
horses. She said that the other livery had not been able to get out in the snow
and so we had all 6 horses to care for. I asked Will if he could come with me
and we took the dog, Faith, and walked to the stables. As I did not know which rugs were usually used,
what feeds each horse got and had no routine for doing the yard it took me a
lot longer than I would have expected.
Finally we left the stables and returned to the winter wonderland that
was my parents’ house. We finally freed
Will’s car from the snow. Many of our neighbours were also out in the street
armed with snow shovels and determination. By the end of the day paths had been
cleared so that most cars could get in and out of the cul-de-sac safely. I went with Will back to the stables to bring
the horses back in and feed them and we went to his house so he could shower,
change clothes, check in with his Mum and get clean clothes for the next
day. Lizzie and Marco met us at my mum’s
house and we all had an enjoyable evening together.
Tuesday morning Will could get his car out easily so he went
to work and I went with my Mum and my Aunt Lou to the stables to do the horses.
The day of rest had helped my Mum massively but I was very keen to make sure
she didn’t do anything silly and told her to prepare feed buckets and not lift
the heavy sacks of manure. The road to the stable was still completely
snowbound and so the farmer had not been able to remove our muck trailer, which
was now too full to hold anymore manure. We were bagging up as much as possible
ready to throw into the empty trailer when it finally arrived. Hay was also
running low and we had to be careful not to waste any. When Will turned up that evening he asked me
if I wanted us to go up to London to see War Horse. I really do want to see
that show but at that moment the bigger part of me wanted to snuggle in doors
with a good movie and a cuddle. So we went back to Will’s house and watched
Unstoppable together.
Wednesday morning I went with Will to his work and then took
his car and drove it up to my Mum’s house. I love driving that car! Again I
helped Mum at the stables but the arena was too full of snow, slush, ice and a
pony for us to play with the horses. Instead we met up with my sister Lizzie
and went shopping around Bluewater. Mum bought me a pack of unicorn wound
plasters with “added unicorn tears for extra healing powers”. After putting the horses away I had a short
nap and woke up a little late to go pick up Will from work. When I got there he
was acting like one of the school kids whose mum had forgotten to pick him up.
We went back to his place for a bit but went back to my Mum’s for lasagne and
we stayed the night as I had to leave with Mum and Dave early to go to Tammy’s
college in the New Forest where I was giving a demonstration.
When we arrived at the college I was introduced to my demo
horse, a very sweet 16.2hh cob and then sorted out the obstacles and sound
system ready for the 11am start. The students arrived and took their seats in
the gallery and I took my place in the arena with Corrie and the microphone. I
began my introduction and was just beginning an explanation of the friendly
game when my mum put her head into the arena and said that they could not hear
me. Despite our testing and preparation the sound system was not up loud
enough. I had to just keep talking until I got the signal that the sound was
fixed. I apologised and reintroduced myself and proceeded with the friendly
game. Not surprisingly the well trained horse thought that we were lounging and
began trotting circles around me, he didn’t understand being disengaged so it
took me a moment or two to bring him in and calm him down. He was already
confused and my stomach knotted a little. I brought my energy down, focused on
being in the moment and soon my friendly game was working and the horse was beginning
to accept the stick and string rubbing him and being thrown over his neck.
The porcupine game was pretty terrible, the horse was very
light in the halter but heavy on the shoulder, the nose, the hind quarters. The
driving game was non-existent. I realised that I had not come adequately
prepared for such a left brain introvert. I had no carrots or treats on me and
my plan to demonstrate the seven games was rapidly falling apart. I taught the
horse to back up from his nose and to yoyo on the 12 ft line. I asked him to do
touch it with a cone but Corrie just stood there looking at me. I walked him
over the tarpaulin and showed him the ball. Corrie would just follow nicely
where ever I led him with the halter. He was a very nice dope on a rope. I
noticed that Corrie was increasingly in my space and it was hard to get him
back out. As I walked about I through in some halt and back up but Corrie would
stand there and I would crash into him. I began doing the level one “chicken
wings” and the students began laughing. At least I could be entertaining. I was
explaining everything as I went and Corrie actually gave me a nice opportunity
to demonstrate how we use phases in Parelli in order to teach the horse to respond
on a light request. Soon Corrie was able to back up from his nose nicely, cross
his front legs as he yielded his fore quarters and yo yo by simply wriggling my
wrist. It was a massive improvement. Corrie seemed to enjoy all the attention
and cuddles he got as I continued to explain what I was reading from him and
why I was doing what I was doing. His curiosity began to come up and when I
offered him to touch a ball on a block saying to the students “I wonder if
Corrie will knock the ball off the block” he touched it with his nose knocking
it off its precarious perch. The
students laughed and clapped, impressed by my ability to “mind read” or
magically control Corrie. I showed them his “button” for lifting his tail and was
really beginning to enjoy entertaining as I educated my audience (my parents
sat among the students and said that when they were not laughing they were
completely captivated and you could hear a pin drop in the room). I decided to
end the demonstration early rather than risk running out of imagination and
ending poorly. I opened up the floor for questions and got many questions about
which breeds of horses can do Parelli.
After Tammy’s annual review we headed home, and I was
satisfied to have survived and learned from my first educational demonstration,
and was pleased that I had been able to keep the attention and enthusiasm of so
many young adults with autism and other learning difficulties. We played “I Spy”
all the way home and then went for dinner to celebrate my Mum’s birthday. After
a delicious carvery with both my sisters, Mum, Dave, Marco Steve and Maxine,
Dave dropped me off at Will’s rehearsals. I watched him finish and we headed
back to his place together afterwards. It had been a long day and it was nice
to cuddle up and show him the little bit of footage my mum had managed to film
from the demo.
I took Will’s car to my Mum’s the next day. After muck9ing
out the horses I took Mum’s car to pick up Summer from her Mum’s house. Summer
was already watching for me from the window and came bounding outside. She was
as good as gold chatting to me and asking me questions as I drove her back to
my Mum’s house where I made her noodles before we headed to the train station.
Lizzy had made plans for us to go to London for the day for cakes. It was a fun
train journey to Victoria and Summer was very good about holding my hand at all
times. At the cake shop, she played with her phantom of the opera dolls. When
we finally got home I got a call from an irritated Will. I had suggested taking
Tammy with me to his house so she could spend some time with her boyfriend,
Will’s brother Ben. Will had been expecting to come home and find me waiting
for him with his daughter but I pointed out to him that he knew we were going
to London for the afternoon so it should not be a surprise that we were only
just back. I headed to Will’s with Summer and Tammy and when we got there
Summer’s cousins were there too. It was a full and busy house. I agreed to drop
Will off at the theatre, where he was doing Panto, and we left Summer playing
with Becca. Tammy and Ben came with me too as I had promised them a McDonalds.
At 9pm I took Tammy home and Summer came with me. She fell asleep in the car
and as I headed back to the theatre to pick up Will I got stuck in a complete traffic
jam, caused by a car crash on the dual carriage way.
Finally Will, Summer and I were all together and we crashed
in an exhausted heap together.
Saturday morning Summer woke up early. I felt like my body
had been waiting for that moment because I was immediately wide awake and I
took her down to the toilet and then down stairs for breakfast. We left Will to
get a bit more sleep. He had been working full time, studying for his course
and doing Panto all month and really needed the rest. When Will finally got up
we gave Summer a bath and then I got her dressed. We hang out together watching
(you guessed it) Phantom of the Opera until Will had to go to the theatre for
the matinee performance. I took Summer to my Mum’s and found Mum at the
stables. Summer’s boots were hurting her feet so I ended up helping Mum and
Gemma with their rein positions whilst balancing Summer on my shoulders. She
had a little ride on Belle and I got on Havewe to demonstrate how to yield the
forequarters. After getting changed quickly we all headed to the theatre to
watch the last panto performance of the season. Will was brilliant, and I
enjoyed seeing his friends perform too. We dropped Summer back to her Nan and
returned for the after show party.
It had been a very long time since I had been in a social
situation where I only really knew one person but Will’s friends were all so
nice to me and easy to get on with. We had a laugh together and managed to stay
awake enough to be among the last to leave as the Pub kicked out at 1am. Just
as we were leaving Will got a call that Summer had woken up and was upset and
wanted him. Will had to drop his friend home and I could see him worrying so I
told him to drop me home first and I would comfort Summer until her got back.
It worked great. When I got there Summer was hiding under her Nan’s bed. I went
in and asked her if she wanted to come watch a movie in her dad’s bed with me.
She came with me and was almost asleep by the time Will got back.
Sunday I decided to let Summer and Will do what they wanted
in the morning. It was nice to not rush to be anywhere or do anything. I made
us all cheese on toast and managed to set off the smoke alarms by burning the
toast. Just before midday we headed off to Bluewater where we got Summer a
Monsters Inc toy and Will bought some CDs from the HMV closing down sale. We
went to my Mum’s and had lunch together watching Cats and then we took Summer
to her Mum’s. First we had to pick up her suitcase but as she fell asleep in
the car we didn’t wake her. She woke up as we turned up at her Mum’s house. Chantelle was not there and we had to wait a
while. It was sad seeing Summer go back, for me it felt like the beginning of
the end of my holiday in England.
Will and I stopped off at a KFC for dinner and went back to
his to watch some of the DVDs he had just bought. We were all settled and cosy,
happy not to have to go up and down the dual carriageway anymore. Quiet
together time had been very hard to find.
On the Monday Will went back to work. I took his car back to
Mum’s and we did the stables together again. The full muck trailer had been
taken away but not yet returned and Mum was waiting for a hay delivery. We
visited Speedgate because I had promised Laura I would look for some field
boots for her. I found one pair which had been reduced. As we were hoping that
the muck trailer would arrive and the snow had all finally melted, Mum and I
took our time getting the yard to look straight and organised again. Finally I
decided that I should have a bath before picking Will up from work. We were
having dinner at my Mum’s and staying the night. Hayley came over and it was
nice to catch up.
I promised Dave that I would spend some alone time with him
on Tuesday but he ended up with an urgent meeting to attend in London. I sorted
out my suitcase and spent the evening at my Mum’s. When the time came to leave
for Will’s place it was terribly hard to say goodbye. I think it caught Mum by
surprise that in the morning I was flying back to France and so this was the
last time she would see me for some time. At least we thought so. It turns out
I forgot my phone charger, boots and hair brush and had to go back 10 minutes
later!
I was in a very quiet sombre mood in the car and at Will’s
house. I just didn’t want my time at home to be over yet but I could not stop
time from marching on.
I arrived at the airport just in time to get through
security and reach my gate before it was meant to close. It seems that they
were a bit late with letting us through the gate anyway. As I had got out of
his car Will had pointed out that he had snuck a copy of the book of the
Phantom of the Opera in my suitcase. I took it out at the gate so that I could
read it on the plane.
The flight was relatively uneventful. I ordered a hot Panini
which finally arrived just before we were landing and I had to hold my drink
between my legs because the tray tables had to be in the upright position. I
was irritated, because if I had known they would make me starve so long I would
have just got breakfast when I landed. At the airport I was one of the last off
of the plane and at the end of the queue to show our passports. I looked behind
me and saw all the departure passengers dragging their cases across the runway
boarding the plane back to London. I had the sudden urge to duck under the wire
and join them. Was it possible? I considered how long would it take to purchase
a new ticket at the desk but I reasoned that if they were boarding then the
gate must already be closed. I was back in France and I had to accept that.
I got the shuttle bus to Tours and booked my train ticket to
Saint Aignan. It wasn’t too long a wait and I was reading the Phantom of the
Opera. Laura was having her morning French lessons and so I texted her once I
was sitting in a little cafe drinking hot chocolate and waited for her there.
It was good to see her face again and we ordered another round of drinks and
stayed a while as she filled me in on all the happenings whilst I had been
away. All the little dramas of Plessis
life had continued as normal without me.
I visited Paris who almost didn’t notice I had arrived, but
after a few treats he was happy to have his mum home again. I took a little
walk around the Plessis and slowly found each of my team mates and had a happy
reunion. It was so good to be back with my friends that some of the sadness of
leaving home was softened.
Oh, whilst I had been at home I got an email from the
Parelli Auditions team. They had asked me to resubmit a video with flying
changes. I looked at my score sheet and it was almost straight level four! I
emailed them that Paris was not well enough for flying changes and I got a
reassuring email from Ann Kiser that my scores were good enough for the
externship and that I could send in the resubmit when Paris was ready.
So since I have been back I have been playing with Riva
online and freestyle to learn as much as I can about flying changes freestyle.
I figure that if I already know how to do it then it will be easier to teach
Paris once he’s well enough. I also decided that I would focus on more level
four online tasks with Touria. She has some crusts on her back again and I
think the improved groundwork will only benefit her riding. We have begun some
zone 5 driving and she is jumping single barrels of various sizes and even a
cone. Her flying changes and changes of direction online have really made a
dramatic improvement and she is really starting to understand how good it feels
to stretch.
I took Paris for a couple of little walks on good ground,
just to give him a change of scenery really. He enjoyed his walks, with a lot
of playful head tossing. He really wanted to run and play but of course he can’t
yet. The other day I tied him to a rail whilst I got a couple of youngsters
ready to return to the field and when I returned he was gone! He had untied
himself and cantered off to Joke who was leading Bijoux to the saddle horse
field and I found poor Joke with two very excited horses. I told him he was a
bugger and determined to make his leg worse! He seemed very happy with himself.
It doesn’t seem to have had an adverse effect on him, but I
have not risked taking him out for another walk since. He still has two more
weeks of full rest before I will start to systematically introduce more
exercise.
Riva had the osteopath this week so I have had a couple of
days of not riding her. I get to do a little online tomorrow with her.
I am feeling pretty good at the moment, I have a lot to look
forward to and my relationships with my horses are going well. I had fun with
Peppy and Helaba whilst Laura and Joke were away, and in March Elvira and
Mirjam are coming for two weeks! I really can’t wait to see Elvira again, it’s
been almost a year since we were together! To be playing with horses and
working together will be just awesome! And that’s not all I have to look
forward to! Will is coming for 3 days from this Sunday, we have the Plessis
open day on the 17th March and Berni 5* PP will be here at the end
of March. I only have just over 9 weeks left at the Plessis but those weeks
look set to be full of fun and learning!
The relief of being formerly accepted for the externship is
really allowing me to enjoy being in the moment here again and I do not have
the fear that I am subconsciously putting too much pressure on my horses. I
still have goals, but the horses well and truly have the time lines!
