I've been remiss of late - no blog for a couple of weeks now.

My dissertation has taken up practically every waking moment ... the end of my degree course is in sight and I feel like I'm approaching the last couple of fences in the Grand National and just have that long run-in before I cross the finish line.

 

If I had got my act together at the end of last year, I would now be cruising to victory (!), hoiwever, the flu; a friend's hospitalisation and the drug-like allure of Roscoe put paid to that. Why would I want to be writing when I could be riding?

I've been like a drug addict on withdrawal these past few weeks ... yes, the chapters and essays have got written, but I've felt like a hamster on a wheel and sorely missed by chill-out time with Roscoe. What time we;ve had (my weekly lesson) has been extra, extra special - and I'm sure Roscoe has realised this and gone out of his way to be nice.

He's really been forward going with me - bombing round the arena in trot so I feel like I'm flying. And biy does that feel so very good - the wind whipping around my cheeks and the trees shooting past - when you've been confined to a desk for every other waking hour. I've hardly had to work hard at all - Roscoe has just gone for it and let me enjoy the lesson without getting out of breath.

For the last couple of weeks, jean has been putting us through our paces on a pretend dressage test (without the canter) which is such very, very hard work - but satisfying when it's over! I've really given it my all - and so has Roscoe. OK. we would probably have been laughed out of an arena, but we should have got 10 out of 10 for effort and enthusiasm.

Harry had the shock of his life on Saturday when, in his new regular riding lesson, he was paired up with that gentle giant Molly. When he'd got over the sheer terror and vertigo he said he really enjoyed it - wish I'd been there to watch but, you guesed it, I was writing away ...

A governors' meeting meant that Wednesday night was transformed into Thursday night as far as my riding lesson was concerned this week. And with Harry swopping his evening lesson to a Saturday afternoon session, everything was back to front and I was in new territory.

Roscoe, however, was the same as ever ... he greeted me with a firm bite on the hand, a mini headbutt and then turned his head away in disgust. Once we'd got over that ritual and Roscoe had proved to me that he was indeed in charge the evening went like a dream.

We took our place in mid file - with Maisey in the lead, then Charlie. Behind us were Chu Chu and Molly - the gentle giant 'new girl' brought up the rear as she got used to being in a lesson with Leigh to teach her the etiquette involved.

Roscoe performed with flying colours and hardly put a step wrong all night,, making flexion trotting and turns all look easy. He was a dream pony.

Perhaps it was the hour-long bonding session we'd had on Sunday when I brushed and massaged him, watching his eyes slowly close as I rubbed the base of his neck and scratched his legs.

Perhaps 2010 will be the year I finally manage to get my act together with this riding lark, thanks to Roscoe.

The snow's finally gone .... yippeeee!

Last night saw Roscoe and I enjoy going back to normality at last after a month of disruption due to the snow and ice. It was a lovely clear, still night to enjoy a ride and Roscoe certainly didn't let me down.

With Harry delayed, it was just me, little Sally (with her first time on board Charlie) and Georgia (riding Gremlin). Jean was in charge of the lesson and in jolly good form.

Roscoe and I somehow managed to find ourselves in lead file for most of the lesson - a fact that didn't at first appeal to Roscoe, but after a minor argument and some encouragement we finally came to an understanding and he performed like a trooper.

We tried our hand at turns, half 10m circles and then doing firect turns in squares. Roscoe excelled and made me look like I knew what I was doing; Charlie tested Sally to the limit by demanding to go freestyle at every opportunity and she had a real battle on her hands. Georgis made it look easy on her best buddy Grem and even made wearing pink wellies to ride look sophisticated - I'd have looked like Mr Blobby on horseback, me thinks.

And - we did most of this with no stirrups! I felt 100% secure on Roscoe and at no time had a desperate desire to regain the safety of the stirrups. In fact, when the time came for the final few minutes and the stirrups made a return, I felt like a jockey and my legs protested.

It was in those final few minutes though that Roscoe gave me my highlight of 2010 so far. Jean asked us to go into rising trot and Roscoe responded in an instant, setting off at a lovely pace, he was really extending and as smooth as Baileys. It felt like we were gliding through the air - even when he gave a little stumble, I'd no fear of falling off, we just carried on, picking up the same pace and I was sad when we had to stop.

Ummm - if only every lesson of 2010 will be like that!

JERUSALEM Farm was still smothered in snow on Saturday when we arrived for our re-sceduled riding lesson. The car park was surrounded by drifts; the road up to the car park still had a covering of snow and the arena had a mixture of slush and ice.

Inside, the melting snow and rain had caused a flood situation in the stables - so all was not good!

In the freedom of the arena with Roscoe, however, life was much better. Lisa had drawn the short straw to teach the lesson and was well wrapped up against the elements. We all took turns at taking lead file, Roscoe really made me work hard - but not quite as Charlie and Harry. Charlie had decided to rebel against Harry for one lesson, it appeared, and their usual harmonious relationship just wasn't in sight.

No stirrups - I remember that the words 'no stirrups' would literally send me into a gibbering wreck but on Saturday I relished the opportunity and enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs and go with the flow. Roscoe was nippy and happy to join in but I never felt he was out of control.

I'm hoping that when I make the trip to the stables tonight the snow will have disappeared and everything will have dried out ... and Roscoe will be pleased to see me.

OUCH ... ouch ... ouch

My New Year resolution should be, I pondered as tucked into a Bakewell tart this very lunchtime, to try to get a little fitter and lose some of the extra flab I'd managed to acquire over Christmas.

After spending the last 48 hours in a state of semi-agony after my latest riding lesson, I know it's a sensible move, it's just that I can resist everything but temptation and am addicted to Thorntons chocolates, any kind of biscuit (apart those with currants in), Pringles and Wensleydale cheese with cranberries in.

I'm going up and down stairs like a semi-invalid - one step at a time - coming down is worse than going up. Given the tortuous tate of my thigh muscles, you'd think I'd had a funnt turn and done some form of keep-fit ... a new year-new-you visit to the gym perhaps or even a bracing walk up Pendle Hill in the snow. No ... it was an hour in the company of my own personal trainer Roscoe, ably assisted by Jean.

Last Wednesday's class was called off due to the snow drifts and so we headed up to JF on Saturday instead, with the snow marginally better. Roscoe had obviously been bottling his energy ready for the opportunity to torment an unsuspecting rider and was full of beans as the class got underway. He did have a couple of little attempts at some freestyle moves - the score at the end was probably Sally 4, Roscoe 3 - but I was margianlly more prepared for him than usual.

Turning about the forehand, Roscoe decided to beat Charlie at his own game by going into outline and staying there ... secretly making me look a better rider than I actually am. Thanks Roscoe!

OK - it's beyond a joke now.

 

Constant snow, icy pavements, howling winds, pounding hail and freezing temperatures have lost their appeal. I'm looking forward to a bit of gold old mild drizzle, perhaps the odd bit of weak sunshine and even a little fog every now and again.

The weather has played havoc with my riding/equine plans over Christmas but has perhaps been a God-send as being confined to quarters instead of Roscoe's stable has meant I've had to have a reality-check with my university coursework and actually make a start on the essays I've been meaning to start for weeks - it not months.

Wednesday night riding the week before Christmas was snowed off - the lane up to the school was impassable. As a result, Roscoe managed to enjoy a rather extended Christmas break - I think he had a week's holiday which I'm sure he enjoyed, lounging in the new heavyweight, check pattern stable rug I'd bought him just in time.

On Sunday we enjoyed our rescheduled lesson, braving the ice to slither to the stables. Roscoe was in cracking form in the lesson taken by Lisa, although we stuck mainly to walk for safety's sake. In fact, Roscoe so excelled himself that after starting the lesson in the middle of the line of horses we ended up taking the lead. Roscoe, of course, showed everyone how it was done - from flexion to leg yielding, he was a star.

Buoyed up by my success on Sunday, I was looking forward to last night's lesson, only to be beaten by the weather once again. It was a ferocious, biting wind that stung every part of your body like a swarm of bees and whipped the breath from your lungs the moment you opened your mouth. It wasn't an auspisious start  but Roscoe and I bravely took our place in  the line, behing Charlie and set off, Roscoe in fine fettle again, jogging to keep warm, really striding out when needed and being a good boy all round.

It was when we went into trot that things fell apart - Roscoe was up for it, setting off at a cracking pace, ears pricked and mane flying. Unfortunately the spirit may have been willing but the hooves were not as he quickly amassed a solid, compacted wedge of ice in both his front feet, making balance almost impossible. Two stumbles from my sure-footed campanion told me that all was not well and I pulled in for Jean to give her expert opinion. No amount of hoof picking in the arena would budge Roscoe's cargo of ice and grit so we headed back to the stables - not without a sigh of relief on both our parts I think. Roscoe was quickly rugged and superhuman efforts from Louise saw a missile of solild grit/ice fly out of both hooves in no times. I spent the rest of the time massaging Roscoe's neck and chatting to him as he munched his hay net with a smug look on his face.

My departure was quickly followed by (little) Sally who had parted company with Grem after a spooking incident and Harry nearly made it to the end before the onset of frostbite forced him to quit and lead Charlie in from the cold. Rachel won the prize for endurance on ChuChu.

Let's hope I start 2010 with more luck!

Wow, has it been cold. I'm glad Roscoe's had his heavyweight stable rug to keep him snug these few days. I tucked him up in it the other night and it still looked amazingly clean and tidy - how much longer it will stay that way is anybody's guess.

 

Roscoe joined the ladies for Wednesday's riding lesson which was taken by Jean ... he was accompanied by Maisey (Harry), Bracken (Leigh), Chu Chu (Sue) and Grem (little Sally). Roscoe was in fine form, especially when the spurs arrived and made a fair old go of keeping up with Maisey in lead file - he was bouncing with energy and really got a wriggle on at the right times. He was in perfect pony mode, in fact.

He simply gazed on nonchalently as Bracken gave Leigh a hairy ride, doing her best to avoid the cones slalom set out and which Roscoe had completed with aplomb, as he did leg yielding and flexion.

I've got essays galore to write for my uni course. I'd much rather be messing with Roscoe but I guess that much of my Christmas will be spent behind the keyboard ... roll on summer.

IT was one of those nights last night where it just didn't seem to come together ...

 

Perhaps it was because I was on a Thursday lesson instead of my regular Wednesday so my routine was messed up; perhaps it was because I was in a lesson with an unfamiliar bunch (apart from Tracy who gave a cracking display on Bracken); perhaps it was because Bracken was giving a rodeo riding display at being made to work correctly by Tracey; perhaps it was because I had a teacher I'd never had before, the amiable Adele; perhaps it was because I was introduced to new moves/ideas ... but most likely it was just me.

Roscoe was in a good mood and was a darling, as ever. I think he had a better idea of what he had to do than me and helped me out where he could - I thought he was especially good at the solo trotting around the arena and picked up a cracking pace - shame I was gripping with my knees.

I struggled to get my diagonals right, kept sticking my toes outwards and clinging with my knees, not to mention lifting my heels in the air - ah well ....

Roscoe decided he needed the corner for a toilet break a couple of times ... I'd have been quite happy to sit there and rub his tummy for him until he felt ready to 'perform'

Back to Wednesday next week and a chance to put things right, I hope.