Horse-filled weekend :)

Another week, another workout day at Amman Valley.

Unfortunately the qualifiers that were due to be held today (28th April) at Leominster were cancelled due to a lack of entries, and as Maverick has a swollen hock we decided to take just Big Mac and Jingo to Amman Valley yesterday instead. It was a cold morning at the yard, and I set off in my car behind the lorry with the heaters set on full to thaw out after spending half an hour plaiting up Jingo (what a pretty boy!). Thankfully the sun was shining in Brynamman though!

Jingo was due to run in the fifth workout and Big Mac in the sixth, and last, workout. That gave us enough time to harness both of the horses up, and The Boss took Jingo out for a quick jog to let him see everything. Jingo has a habit of literally seeing everything, which prevents him from concentrating on the job at hand. Apparently on Friday, Julie took him around the track at home and not only was he sharp, he was also super-observant of his surroundings! When The Boss came back, he said the horse was looking around on the track, but he didn't make any obvious errors or spook so we weren't too concerned.

The fifth workout came around and off I sent Jingo to the track. His owner, Austin, stood with me to watch the workout, having helped with him by the lorry and generally fussed over him :) we really do have some lovely owners who clearly adore their horses. Jingo's owner is no different! I was left with the task, along with Emma and Sammy stood beside me, of timing the 'race'. The Boss managed to sneak up to the starting gate in the '1' position, inside Camden Kinki (2yo Breeders Crown fillies winner - and owned by my aforementioned friend Emma), and the successful race mare Too Hot Today. As Jingo has only been in for five weeks we expected him to struggle to finish the mile and be left behind by some of the more experienced horses. Jingo had other ideas however. He shot out of the gate, immediately settled into a rolling rhythm and sat at the front of the field, clocking a first lap time of 1.06. Down the back straight on the second lap the horses behind him began to pull out to overtake and Austin and me expected Jingo to begin to slow at this point, however he continued to roll around the last two corners and then paced comfortably, staying slightly ahead of the field, to finish in 2.12. He came back hardly blowing and looking a little pleased with himself, and The Boss confirmed he'd felt good on the track with something left in the tank that wasn't needed or indeed used (after all, the plan had been to use the run to freshen him up and let us see how far along we are with his training).


Jingo leading the fifth workout

Big Mac ran in the last while I washed Jingo, which unfortunately I meant I didn't have a chance to time him, however The Boss came back and was pleased as he hadn't made any mistakes. It would appear that it is all systems go for him to run in a qualifier at the first meeting of the season next week in Tregaron. After I'd washed Big Mac and he'd had a drink, I threw a rug over him and my friend Emma came over to see him. I'd mentioned that The Boss had backed him and I was hoping to get on him soon (unfortunately last week the weather and time were not permitting), and without a second thought she said 'give me a leg up'...so I obliged, and there she was, sat on him bareback and tied to the lorry! Big Mac didn't think anything of it, so off I took her for a walk on the lead rope, like a donkey ride at the seaside. I don't think I've ever met a horse so laid back!

After Emma and I had loaded him back on the lorry, I left to head back to her house. I stayed the night last night and today we went riding on her ex-racehorse Brywins Beama, and her current horse in training, What About Me (Jiggy). We had an absolute whale of a time, wandering around the villages and through the forestry. We switched horses half way and then raced each other along a bridle path that ran parallel to the main road. Both horses are fit and both horses are capable of two-minute miles. I loosed Jiggy go at one point and it felt phenomenal; the exciting thing was that I knew he could go twice as fast if he was asked! We then raced each other round an old playing field - childish but exhilarating! We finished off our ride by cantering around their track at home. Jiggy was put away as yesterday he'd worked out in 2.04 and he'd had his stretch and blow on our hack, and we then messed about jumping with Beama. Beams has been out of racing for 18 months now; he was broken and trained by Emma as a young horse, raced with British Harness for years before going back to Wales&Borders. Now Emma is reschooling him for eventing, and he's also turned his hoof to a bit of dressage. Jumping, however, is what he absolutely loves! Jiggy will be targeting the saddle races this summer with Emma, and she'll be one lucky jockey getting to ride him all the time - his paces are divine (canter included). I gave four of the five (we didn't get a chance to gallop!) a good go before he went to bed for the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

  

Back at the yard, things have been much the same during the last week. Mama is closer to foaling, Derek is possibly going home soon and BJ is going back to Wesley as well. Melinda is due to go to the stallion as well in the next few weeks so it sounds as though things will be getting quieter and there won't be so much mucking out to be done!

Over and out for now,

Sarah (#1 Groom)

Two weeks to go...

As I sit here writing this, it is exactly two weeks until the Tregaron spring meeting. Everyone is stepping up a gear now, all aiming to take the spoils at the first meeting of the 2013 season. And what a cracking start it always is, with horses travelling from all over the UK and Ireland to compete for the top prizes, and the buzz that comes from meeting up after spending over six months apart.

This week we appear to have acquired another horse. At no point did The Boss convey to me that we were expecting any other horse to join the team; in fact, this oversight may have been because The Boss himself didn’t know we were expecting any other horse to join the team. When I arrived on Monday afternoon, The Boss’ friend Wesley’s vehicle and box were parked on the yard. Melinda’s double stable had been split in half by closing the partition doors, and there was a freshly bedded down empty stable by the crossties. It’s not uncommon for Wesley to bring a horse over just to work out on the track, however I probably should have put two and two together to get four. Freshly made up and empty stable, no sign of anyone on the yard, all ‘my’ horses in their stables…yes, the clues were there. Within minutes The Boss and Wesley appeared on the yard with a rather scruffy looking little grey horse in tow.

The little fella, I soon found out, was a purchase from the sale in York a couple of years back. His name is B J’s Amir, by the grey stallion Young Commander (Corbiewood track record holder for 15 years) out of the Disraeli Hanover mare, Cams Disraeli. I immediately set about grooming him, because that’s what he looked like he needed most, and it’s my way of showing the horses I’m not a total monster (I only turn into a broom-wielding screecher when they squabble with each other through the partitions).

By Thursday, BJ looked like a different horse. He now looks like a ball of grey fluff, with a fluffy little head, and fluffy little legs. He’s small and sweet-natured enough, and although The Boss says he threw a few tantrums in the crossties and up the track, the method of ignoring him as if he was a child throwing his toys out of the pram seems to have worked, because once he realised he wasn’t being met with any resistance he quickly resumed normal business. I think it’s fair to say The Boss is pleased with his progress.

Another horse who seems to be coming along quietly now is Bongo. Due to the events that occurred during the breaking in of Bongo, The Boss has been very wary of him. Apparently he has a ‘wild look’ in his eyes, because you can sometimes see a tiny bit of the whites of his eyes. Now I think that’s just a mildly alarmed look, one that I quite often have on my face when I see the state of the youth of today. I think Bongo must feel the same as me about such matters because we share this alarmed facial expression. I have found him to also be quite a sweet-natured chap. He will stand with his head over the stable door and let me cuddle him like a teddy bear, which is something I quite like doing and is probably part of the reason my car smells permanently of horses. It also reassures me that I’m building up some sort of bond with these boys.

Derek is still with us. I think it’s fair to say he’s at the end of the breaking process now; he’s pacing without fault and focussed on the job. We’re not entirely sure when he’s supposed to be going back to his owners, so The Boss and me decided yesterday that we might as well just take him to the next workout day at Ammanford. It won’t do him any harm; in fact, it’ll be better for his owners that he’ll have seen all the sights and sounds of a racetrack. Our reason for taking him is just to show everyone that not all of our horses are as hairy as the two we took yesterday *blush*

And so we arrive to Maverick and Big Mac. Yesterday they made their inaugural journey to the track. We *just* managed to wedge Big Mac into the lorry (he’s terribly long), and Maverick thankfully wasn’t put off by the memory that the last time he went anywhere in the lorry it was to be gelded. The Boss had taken scissors to Big Mac’s impressive feathers on Thursday, and then hid the evidence from me by leaving overreach boots on. I’m not that easily fooled and uncovered his handiwork before we set off – you’ll be pleased to know he’d done an alright job.

It was a lovely sunny day at Ammanford, and there was a decent turnout of British Harness and Wales & Borders horses. Maverick ran in the first workout (against Talavary Activator who clocked a time of 2.04 – organisers, if you’re reading this, where’s the sense in putting a three-year-old unqualified horse in with a seasoned speed machine like Activator?! The answer is: there is none. Sort it out!). Anyway, for a first attempt he went well. The Boss said he didn’t think much of all the horses around him when they went up to the starting gate, and he noticeably shortened his stride on the home straight (he actually broke stride on the second lap), although that may be due to the hard surface of the track, but he coped well with the start car itself, the other lorries, the grandstand and shell of the new clubhouse so there was nothing to leave us disappointed with him.

Big Mac then ran in the fourth workout, against the Tregaron Classic Final winner Foolaround (again, organisers, seriously?!), and put in an impressive performance despite nearly being knocked off his legs by another driver who somehow couldn’t see Big Mac’s enormous body on his inside, and veered straight into him on the first corner. Big Mac had nowhere to go but the inside of the track, which has white marker poles at regular intervals. Mac decided that the best way to tackle the white pole in front of him would be to jump it – so he did. From where his owners and me were standing, it looked as if he was about to hit the deck. For a split second all I could think was ‘he’s going to fall on the furthest part of the track from where I am…I’m going to have to run in public’. Thankfully for us all (because frankly, nobody wants to see me run – what do you do with your arms?!) he regained his stride without losing too much ground and completed the rest of the mile in a comfortable and steady pace. He clocked a time of 2.15, which would be just outside the qualifying time; taking into account his jump, halt and attempt to rebalance himself, had he been running in a qualifier without incident he would have come in within the requisite time. Most importantly though, Mac did it all without a second thought; he approached the start car in the ‘3’ position (two horses inside him, two horses outside him), he took the corners easily despite his long stride and apart from the mishap with the clearly blind driver, he never broke stride either. He also didn’t take offence at my buckets when he came off the track, unlike Maverick. I couldn’t get within three feet of Maverick’s head with my water bucket because he’s a dingbat. Obviously I’m harbouring crocodiles in the bottom of my water buckets now and if he sticks his head in he’ll get eaten. He’s going to have to spend the week with a bucket in his stable because I can’t cope with him being such a diva at the races.

Finally, we must quickly discuss Jingo. Mr Grumpy got his knickers in a twist yesterday morning because we left without him. For a short while The Boss and me actually contemplated chucking him on the lorry and taking him with us, it would serve him right for kicking up such a fuss when we took Maverick and Big Mac out. Then we remembered that he’s only been with us for four weeks and he’s still looking like a little pudding. Besides, I think it would do him some good not to get his own way. He’s behaving like a spoilt child at the moment because he’s clocked that Dark Fox (Sammy), the stable star and all-round favourite, isn’t back and therefore he thinks he's top dog! Look at that face!

So this coming week I’m hoping to bite the bullet and get on Big Mac, and we’re planning to head to Ammanford again with him and Derek on Saturday. Depending on whether or not the workout day at Leominster on Sunday goes ahead we may take Maverick there instead. I’ll be heading to Ammanford separately from The Boss as I’m going to stay the weekend with my friend Emma, who trains and drives horses along with her parents, Helen and Dai.

Over and out,

Sarah (#1 Groom)

The Countdown Has Started

It is now less than four weeks until the first meeting of the season at Tregaron. (http://www.bhrc.org.uk/fixtures.php) Where has time gone?! It feels like just last week I was starting this blog and getting back to my mucking out duties. Now we’re only a few weeks away from the starting point of the whole summer’s racing. Up until now I’ve not even laid hands on a set of harness, it’s simply been mucking out and grooming, however this week that has all changed :)

There isn’t much to report from the start of the week; on Monday it was much of the same in the way of jobs to be done. Thursday proved to be a much more interesting day however.

The Boss had been looking after two of his grandchildren in the morning (Thomas and Eryn – hence the filly Meadowland Eryn, and there was once a very laid-back horse on the yard called Meadowland Tom. So laid-back that one day I had to try and drag him up because he was fast asleep in his stable. At first I thought he might be dead because there was absolutely no movement; however a flicker of his ear eventually gave him away. There’s no escaping work at the yard and he was duly roused from his slumber). As a result, only Jingo and Maverick had been taken out in the afternoon, and I was informed during our customary tea that Derek, Big Mac and Bongo all needed to go out afterwards.

Before we got started exercising and mucking out the horses, I had to present a cheque to The Boss as part of my other part time job. I also work for the Standardbred and Trotting Horse Association of Great Britain and Ireland (STAGBI), which awards money at the end of the racing season to the breeders of horses that rack up the highest number of wins. The horses must be British-bred, and payments are awarded to the top three horses from Wales, from England, from Scotland and from Ireland (twelve prizes in total). The Boss bred the second-placed Welsh horse, Meadowland Hasty, who was sold several years ago and raced last season with Wales & Border Counties. Mrs B was on official photography duties and The Boss tried to hold Maverick (Hasty’s half-brother) still long enough for us to get a photo together.

Tonight was the first night that I harnessed up a horse since the end of last summer. Putting harness on is much like riding a bike – once you’ve learnt how to do it, you never forget! A set of harness can look quite complicated, but trust me, it’s not. It has seven main pieces: the backband, breastplate, front hopple hanger, 2x hopples, bridle and reins. Not all of the harness is needed for jogging at home, particularly with older, experienced horses that don’t need the hopples to support their pacing gait (e.g. Sammy, Hamish and the legend Loden Scoot, who has sadly retired), however The Boss requested that the first horse out, Big Mac, have his hopples on so on they went.

While The Boss jogged Big Mac, I mucked out and got Derek out to harness up. I’ve not put harness on any of these horses before so the first thing I do is try to figure out their likes and dislikes. Some horses clamp their tails down when you try to get the crupper on, some horses blow their bellies out when you try to do the girth up, some snatch their feet up when you put their hopples on. Big Mac is a tail-clamper (and according to The Boss he swishes his tail when asked to speed up), and Derek is a foot-snatcher. Although I’ve never handled these horses like this before I trust that the work that The Boss has done beforehand, breaking and training up to this point, will make them sensible and safe to handle. As you can see from the photos, harness comes in all sizes and colours. Big Mac is currently in the largest harness The Boss could find, with some straps lengthened because he's just too big! Derek on the other hand is sporting a wonderful combination of different colours. As you can tell, he's very proud of his 'look'! While I was harnessing them both up there was a young lad up a ladder on the yard fixing a new light to the side of the house. Big Mac paid him absolutely no attention whatsoever, whereas Derek (aka Deckers) was fascinated. Not scared, just fascinated.

The view from behind Big Mac.

The Boss came back on Big Mac, switched to Derek and then I gave Big Mac a quick wash down. The shower isn’t currently working so we don’t have any hot water, although there was a suggestion bandied about that the breeders premium money could go towards a new shower system (Mrs B would rather a holiday). Once Derek’s stable was mucked out and he was tucked up for the night, The Boss took Bongo up the track and I mucked him out. There was just enough time for me to chuck some fresh straw under a heavily-pregnant Mama and a highly-spirited Laddie before we called it a day. Julie helps jog the horses on Fridays so I left Jingo and Maverick’s stables, plus messy Mellie, for her to do because time was getting on and I was absolutely shattered!

The Boss decided that we wouldn’t take Big Mac down to the workout at Ammanford on Sunday as he is still lambing and the forecast wasn’t looking too special. Hopefully we’ll be ready and raring to go for the weekend after!

Over and out,

Sarah

Guess who's back?!

Tuesday 2nd April

Don't get too excited, it's just me. I've been away for a week and a bit, hence the lack of blogging. But I'm back, and despite the snow putting a halt to the training regime, I have plenty to report on from the yard.

I flew to Scotland a week last Friday, knowing that the plan was for The Boss & Mrs B's daughter to come over that day to back Big Mac. However, due to the weather, that plan didn't materialise. Don't panic, avid followers of our quest to have a horse to race in the saddle race, Big Mac HAS been ridden for the first time in my absence! The Boss' daughter has had her hunting horse, a thoroughbred named Jake, over to use the walker all week, so on Good Friday she rode Jake and The Boss rode Big Mac. The Boss told me that after they'd ridden part of the way down the lane, they cut back to head over a stream and up onto the road that runs parallel to the lane (up past the neighbouring farm). Jake was making a bit of a fuss about going through the stream, so The Boss and Big Mac took the lead and let Jake and Julie follow behind! From the sounds of it he behaved impeccably, although couldn't decide if he wanted to trot or pace so did a combination of both. Hopefully if the weather stays nice I'll be able to climb on board (stepladders at the ready) in the coming weeks and see what all the fuss is about!

In other exciting news, a new member has joined the team. It's a straight swap, Bucky has gone home and in his place his owner has sent another of his horses, Bongo. Bongo's registered name is Buckland Fox Trot, by The Cammissioner out of Foxys Girl. He is a full brother to Bucklands Foxy Boy (aka Hamish) and a half brother to Buckland Foxglove (by Hasty Hall). Their owner's first racehorse (who is still racing and is the yard's old favourite) is called Dark Fox (aka Sammy) so as you can imagine it gets quite confusing when there's more than one of them at the yard as The Boss insists on calling them all 'Foxy'. Bongo was broken in by The Boss at the end of last year as a 2yo, and has returned to hopefully make a start on his racing career this year at three. He's a nice, big, strong horse who looks nothing like his brother Hamish, and despite not having the typical Cammissioner head, there is a hint of his long neck about him. Tonight I caught The Boss 'bonding' with him over the stable door. This is a favourite trick of mine, I like to get them to realise I'm not a big monster who's going to eat them alive. I know The Boss had a few issues with him when he was being broken in, so they're obviously trying to put the past behind them and move on!

As ever it's a pleasure to see my boys Maverick and Jingo. I can always find time to get their rugs off and give them the once over with my new compact grooming kit. I also managed to muck out and bed down Derek, Jingo and Maverick, then The Boss mucked out messy Melinda with the Bobcat and I chucked straw in for her and with the two fillies, Eryn and Olympic.

I don't know if it's become apparent to you yet, but I absolutely adore horses, and in particular, Standardbreds. No other breed could give you such a variety of different horses. They come in all shapes and sizes, all sorts of temperaments, but most importantly they come with an additional gait. It's their ability to pace that makes them different from other horses in this country. I love them, and I love working with them. Mrs B must have realised this, because for Easter her and The Boss gave me this:

What a thoughtful gift :) I can't wait to wear it at the races this summer!

Thursday 4th April

When I first started writing this blog at the start of the pre-season, I told you all about Mrs B's ability to have tea on the table by the time I arrived, thus causing me to have no choice but to eat cake and be late getting on with my work. Well, I have something to admit. Mrs B's cakes are so good that it's now not a matter of having no choice but to have a cake before I go outside, but one of me wanting to eat as many cakes as I can before I start my work! It's a good job I decided early on not to take part in any saddle racing; trying to get down to as close to ten stone as possible would be a frankly impossible job with the quality of Mrs B's baking as it is. I feel I made the right decision - cakes over dieting like a jockey any day!

Tonight The Boss reminded us both of a slightly alarming fact - it is now just over a week until the first workout day at Ammanford is scheduled to take place. Various tracks in the weeks leading up to the first meeting at Tregaron put on workout and qualifier days to allow trainers to put the final touches to their early runners, or give horses a chance to practice racing at a track they will visit later in the season. Qualifiers allow unraced horses to qualify to race, and new drivers to complete their provisional drives and take their driving tests in front of official stewards. Some tracks even hold 'gate practice', whereby young horses or horses who haven't raced before can complete several laps of a racetrack behind the start car. The behaviour of horses behind the start car is important because due to the width of the carts and the harness the horses wear, misbehaviour can cause accidents. Also, in the UK, most tracks can only fit five horses behind the start car in one line, and with races very often fully subscribed with ten runners, this results in two lines of five horses. If a horse refuses to get up to the gate on the front line, he impedes the horse behind him. All of the British and Irish tracks use a mobile starting gate; the race starts with the horses lined up behind the mobile starting gate which accelerates up to roughly 30mph until it reaches the start at which point the car accelerates away and the race begins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJEk4FbMT6I

So back to the alarming fact that workout days are nearly upon us. We think we may be one of the lucky yards that has a horse ready(ish), but our concern is the fact they look like it's still the middle of winter (let's face it, it feels like it's the middle of winter). Big Mac is certainly fit enough to take to Ammanford, but he has feathers that a Shire horse would be proud of and quite an impressive beard! I think the scissors may have to come out...Maverick is in the same boat as well. Both of them were partially clipped earlier in the year but their summer coats don't look like they'll be making an appearance until August! 

Tonight they both went on the walker while I mucked out. The Boss took Bongo out which left Derek and Jingo in the bottom shed. Jingo, having spent a summer at the yard last year, understood that his friends would come back, so stood watching me muck out the whole time. Derek on the other hand turned into a colt again and spent a good hour squealing, jumping and snorting because his next door neighbour had gone. I tried to tell him repeatedly that Bongo would be coming back, but it made little difference. It sounds as if he's staying with us a little while longer yet, and The Boss informs me he's still progressing nicely and pacing well.

After I'd cleared the three empty sheds, I spent some quality time with Jingo. He's my real life My Little Pony! All long, flowing mane and shiny coat. He let me fuss around him for a while, but then when he realised that the food wasn't forthcoming in return for his patience he began to fidget. That's about the time The Boss came back with Bongo and we decided to fetch Maverick and Big Mac off the walker.

I quickly chucked straw under Mama and Laddie, and caught Jingo making some absolute corkers of faces at The Boss when he walked straight past him and fed Big Mac first! I couldn't believe my sweet, polite Jingo could put his ears so far back or buck so high in a stable! 

Over and out for now,

Sarah (#1 Groom)