Snow at Rocky Top!

The recent snow caused the country to be in chaos! Horse riders face the problems of how to get to their horses, whether they should exercise them and so on during a dump of snow. While those of us who can stay in the warm think it is pretty, those of us who have to go out in it usually moan when jobs need to be done!!!

When you don't have a big land rover or a vehicle along those lines, or a yard owner who will do your horse for you, then the only option is to venture out and hope for the best! Fortunately the snow warnings were in place well before this time and the roads were well gritted, so getting there was not too bad. The only problems we faced at Rocky Top were getting the horses ridden. For a few days they were stuck inside and kept nice and warm. After a while, we managed to venture out and get their legs stretched with some light work in our lovely new school....

Sophie is certainly glad to see the back of the snow! I'm not sure the wind and rain is much better though.... Bring on the Summer!!

All Moved in! 

Tye Lane Stables has now expanded!! Sophie and her mum have bought a beautiful new yard in the heart of the South Downs. Tye Lane, of course, still exists, but this new yard provides a sand school, more turn out and more stables so Sophie's business can expand and run successfully through the winter! Welcome to Rocky Top....

The Fantasia Horse Festival

This spectacle takes places each year in Meknes, Morocco. It is a celebration of tradition and equestrian performance, which takes place in May.

Each group of riders display their equestrian skills by taking part in a charge, all dressed in traditional outfits, firing a gun at the end of the ride. These charges are inspired by traditional Berber warfare, and the riders try to carry them out with speed, accuracy and synchronisation.

Horses are greatly celebrated in Arabic cultures and they have some of the finest horses in the world. The Barb horse is native to Morocco and many of the horses seen at the festival are likely to be Barbs or at least related to them. The performances at this festival celebrate the relationship between the horses and riders. These animals must be shown the utmost respect.

This is something that I would love to see for real. I have heard a great deal about it from a friend of mine who comes from Meknes. He kindly allowed me to use these photos so that I could spread the word :)

Diesel update :) 

Diesel has been excelling recently. He has been out to cross country, to the beach and out on long hacks on the downs. He takes everything in his stride. Currently Tye Lane has taken a bit of a hit with the weather. We have no school and, with the fields soaked, working the horses is an issue. Sophie and Trudy are currently in the process of purchasing a second yard so they can expand. It has a sand school, so the horses that need it will be sent up there. Fingers crossed that moving day will be soon!

Canter is still an issue for Diesel, but he is becoming far more balanced and seems to be mastering it now. I think we have cracked the pacing :) It was a case of allowing him to canter fast and in open areas before bringing him back in and controlling it as he became more capable.

He will probably be up for sale early next year. We will all be very sad to see him go but he needs someone smaller who can compete him and allow him to reach his full potential. He is a very talented little pony!

Tye Lane's Newest Member! 

Meet Sir Glanton, aka Jimmy :) He is a 3 year old ex race horse straight of the track who has come to Tye Lane to be retrained. He previously competed successfully in flat races but soon lost interest.

Sir Glanton racing at Goodwood

Jimmy seems to be progressing very quickly already and is a very happy and cheeky new member. He is an absolute pleasure to have around. Hopefully he will stay with us for quite a while. As he is so young he is being schooled and taught to jump properly and then will be turned away over the winter for a few months to mature.

Jimmy being schooled by Sophie

Back to reality......

After a busy summer of working, horse riding and all the excitement of the Olympics, I am finally settled back in to a normal routine and university life. This means a distinct lack of horses for a while in my life, but I am always given regular updates by Sophie and Trudy about the Tye Lane gang, and I will be continuing to write as much as possible.

I do a degree in Ancient History and so, being inspired by the Olympics, thought I would share an article I wrote which links the two together. Enjoy :)

The Ancient Olympics

We all know that the Olympics originated in Ancient Greece, but have you ever wondered whether the equestrian sports existed in those early games, and if so how they compare to today? 

Our Olympic games feature three very refined disciplines - Show Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. In Ancient Greece, however, the equestrian sports were about racing. The original Olympic Games featured two types of racing - chariot races and bareback races:

• Chariot Races - There were two chariot races in the olympic games. The Tethrippon which had chariots with four horses, and the Synoris which had chariots with two horses.  These took place in a ring with tight turns and the races were about 1200 metres in length. 

• Bareback Races - There were two races, one for colts and one for mares. The riders only had a bridle and a whip, no saddles. In the mare’s race, the riders dismounted in the last stretch and ran next to the horses, much like in our modern day pony club games.

Do these races sound familiar to you? That’s because they are! Harness racing is very popular today, and we have another variation on chariot races with Scurry Driving. Horse racing is also a big sport around the world, although these days we use saddles and there are far more safety regulations! However, there is still bareback racing today which is very similar to that of the ancient Greeks. In Italy, thirteen tribes still compete against each other every year. This is a spectacle which attracts lots of attention!!  

In Ancient Greece the horses were far more important than their riders! Unlike today, where both horse and rider must cross the finish line to win or place, if a horse finished without its rider it still counted. One horse, called Breeze, owned by Pheidolas of Corinth, was recorded to have won her race despite throwing her rider at the beginning!! Often the riders and charioteers were paid servants, so were not given the honour of a successful race. It was the owners and horses who were always declared the winners, although occasionally some brave owners did compete. Riders could become well known, but would not have been given the celebrity status that they receive today. Being a male dominated world, women were not allowed to compete or even attend the games. However, they could be involved by owning a horse. The Ancient Equestrian Olympics is very different to our modern version, although many reflections can still be seen in the horse world today.

References:

• Buscombe, Chris, (2010), “Bareback horse race takes place in Italy” Telegraph (Online) (Accessed 30th March 2011) Available from World Wide Web: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/7950036/Bareback-horse-race-takes-place-in-Italy.html
• Kyle, Donald (2007), Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World: Blackwell.
• Miller, Stephen (2004), Ancient Greek Athletics: Yale University.
• Pickeral, Tamsin, (2000), The Encyclopedia of Horses and Ponies: Parragon.
• Swaddling, Judith, (2004), The Ancient Olympic Games: British Museum Press.

Tara's Second Show :)

We visited Royal Leisure at the beginning of last month on a lovely sunny day. Due to work commitments I arrived at the show ground without giving my usual helping hand to my friends at Tye Lane at the yard, but at least I could make it!

Tara definitely knew what was going on this time and came out of the box fresh and excited. She was beautiful in the warm up and fabulous in the ring! I must admit I didn't appreciate people clicking at their ponies in the warm up. I suppose it's necessary for them but every time they do it, Tara goes shooting forwards because she hates it. Other than that, I couldn't have been happier.

I didn't have the easiest ride as Tara was very strong but we did a double clear in the first class. In our second one, we had a pole down as we had a stumble after a fence and couldn't fix the problem in time for the next one. Such a shame as she jumped very well throughout the rest of the round. However, we came away with a 4th and a 3rd. We are improving and hopefully will continue to do so!

Photo from LRG Photography