Equine extra’s regular contributor has been
warmly welcomed, with her experience, wit and wisdom giving an entertaining
insight into the life of a semi-retired, very successful competition mare.
Dinah is 19 years old now, still a ‘full up’ 16.1hh and immaculately
turned out for all occasions. A beautiful, rich liver chestnut with an
attractive full mane and tail, she loves the fact that she can still turn heads
and strut her stuff in the arena. A veteran of all three affiliated competition
disciplines, Dinah knows a thing or two but absolutely refuses to tolerate
unbalanced riders – even on a hack – but she’s rather fond of the gawping
youngsters who regularly spook into her whenever they see a dragon!
Her stable is a room with a view and her paddock allows
unrestricted observation of all the comings and goings in the busy yard as
befits her status. This week Dinah observes ...The Challenges of Hacking
Out!
Recently I went out on a very entertaining hack out with two
of our younger horses, one being a very opinionated racehorse, who is I am
told, being ‘retrained’. Dare I say his new owner, a lady of mature years whose
physique couldn’t be further from a jockey, will have her hands full. My other
hacking companion was the polar opposite to Speedy Gonzales, a little Section B,
who spent most of her life in the show-ring. A fine trio we looked and a potentially
dangerous combination.
Any gate we went through which lead to an open field was “right, we’re off“ and Speedy Gonzales proceeded to shoot off at nought
to sixty in less than a nano-second. A full tilt gallop, accompanied by a
cheeky side step at a terrifying mole hill left his rider clinging on for grim
death, desperately trying to regain her composure and ...stirrups. Of course, I
had to show some restraint and obediently canter around the sides of the field
trying to show my pony companion that no we don’t gallop as if we were in the
2.30 at Haydock and no we don’t throw a paddy when we get to the next gate and
find it locked and have to retrace our route at the same headlong gallop.
(Listening to the ‘craic’, it seems that Speedy Gonzales
may well find himself being sent back to the racetrack as his rider was
rendered a gibbering, wailing wreck by the time we got back to the yard.)
To most of my equine friends though, hacking out is a quiet
and pleasurable experience, a time to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of our
stunning countryside. It’s an opportunity for our riders to amble along having
a good gossip, putting the world to rights and having a moan at how expensive
our livery is. It is after all one of the perks to owning a horse; the ability
to get away from the school, the flatwork, the learning of dressage tests – all
the more boring bits.
Yes, sometimes our tranquillity is shattered by the
rudeness of a herd of inquisitive cattle, who seem to take great delight in
charging up to the fence with such gusto that most of us horses (and our riders)
get a really splendid shock – I’ve often wondered if cattle have a sense of
humour! Anyone know?
That we also have to endure the silent assassins, mostly
MAMILs (aka middle-aged men in lycra) who call themselves cyclists and creep up
silently behind us, again sending some of us into the ditch or thorn dyke. Then
let’s not forget hose dear motorists who
still think that horses on the road are an inconvenience to their hectic lives,
so they never slow down and hardly ever ‘pass wide’. These things are sent to
try us – but let’s not allow them to spoil what is still a very treasured time
for both horse and rider.
Happy Hacking everyone!
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