A day of shite (rain) so Jo and Fiona arrived with their girls in the trailer to play in the indoor school (so useful, no actually, so essential).

Jo rode Hetja, soon-to-be Taktur’s bride, and did some schooling.  Hetja hasn’t been in the school for a while but she was calm, relaxed whilst trying her best to listen.

I realise that I show many photos of everyone going at speed everywhere, usually in tölt, but the majority of their training is lateral work first to free up the horse’s back before we start asking for the faster gaits.  There is no point going faster if you haven’t got the foundations in place.

BeAnne of course maintained a soggy sulk throughout the morning as no one offered her a horse to ride.  She has the look of abject misery down to perfection.

I went to get Taktur from his field as he was next up.  The mares had finished their training and were waiting to be returned to their trailer.  Taktur walked into the school, his eyes were on stalks at the laydeez and then stood next to me on a loose rope/headcollar waiting for any instructions.  None came, I wanted him to stand nicely and he was not introduced but managed some sideways looks of love at Hetja.  I was proud of him.  Not many stallions would stand not 6 foot from two mares in spring and say absolutely nothing because no had asked his opinion.

After the mares had gone, Bjørn rode Taktur who has been having a rest this winter, trying to put on some weight (ha-bluddy-ha – it is like trying to force feed Ferdinand the Bull – he is just not interested and wants to smell the flowers in the ladies’ hats instead of eating.)

So that was my morning.  I did manage to ride Haakon but of course no one was around with a camera.  Obviously we looked like this, that goes without saying, only in buckskin dun and a little more fur, but the moves are scarily similar (in my dreams)!