Natasha passed her D2 test at the D Rally at the Rideau Carleton Raceway on the weekend!
Congratulations, Natasha and Coconut!
We spent the weekend (Saturday through Monday) at the Raceway with 50+ other eager Pony Club kids and their horses/ponies. D Rally is a working rally.
That means that the participants are completely responsible for all the work in the barn, grooming and tacking up their horse or pony, as well as being on time for lessons and other events. The stalls and other areas have to be spotless - there's a stable management competition - and a helpful parent costs the team marks.
Parents are only allowed in the stables at certain hours - and only to see what their children have done, not to clean stalls or tack. Each team has a helper to assist the team with tacking up and mounting.
Natasha was on a team with members from Ottawa Valley Hunt (OVH) (Abby, Rosemary and Katie) and their helper, Sarah, from United Counties Pony Club. Their team placed 10th in the stable management competition.
Sarah swept out the tack stall. All of the equipment, feed, tack and even the sawhorse had labels that identified the team, and horse and rider.
On Saturday, we met the rest of the team, set up the stalls, tack stall, and feed area. The Pony Clubbers were all divided into lesson groups for riding and stable management. I taught stable management classes on Saturday and Sunday, and tested stable management on Sunday, then the riding portion of the D level tests on Monday. It was a busy weekend.
The food was catered by the Raceway and was plentiful and tasty. We slept in our sleeping bags in a room in the Raceway and by the time lights went out at 10 pm, almost everyone was ready to sleep.
Natasha and I had a great time overall - and Natasha says she'd like to go back next year as a helper. Maybe we'll have a whole team at Rally next year!
Serge brought Coconut down in the trailer and then took the truck home. I had the car at Rally so that it was easier to get from the barns to the other areas. Mom brought the truck back on Monday and helped us tear down and pack up the Rally stuff. Thanks, Mom!
While we were away from the farm, Laura, Linda and Mom stepped in and did morning and evening chores as well as entertained the dogs and cat. Thank you very much!
We couldn't have gone to Rally without your help!
Dreamscape Acres news
Allie went home Sunday morning. She and Classy had a romantic few days and we hope that she caught. Classy's next "date" will be in June when we breed Hey You.
Aggie the cow ended up in the round pen after she demonstrated her agility and escaped from both the big field in the racetrack and from Delilah's paddock on Monday. Darn cow!
Drifter managed to pull the bottom wire off the fence in his paddock Sunday evening, shorting out the fence. Mom, Laura and Linda worked long into the night on Sunday (in the dark) fixing the fence so that they could turn the power back on. Drifter thought that he should be the stallion in charge even though he's a gelding. Silly boy!
Spook and Drifter slept comfortably in the sunshine on Monday.
Delilah, Dreamer, Nikki, Kane and Malachi had conversations around the hay in their paddock right behind Drifter as he napped.
Beauty and Breezy spent a lot of time outside on Monday in the sunshine. The hot wire around the riding ring is now electric again to ensure that Beauty doesn't graze her way out under the fence. She's rather fond of fresh green grass. Breezy keeps trying whatever Beauty eats, but she's not convinced that grass and hay are really food. Mom's milk is still much better!
Time for a nap!
The chicks are fledging now. Their adult feathers are starting to come in. Lori adopted all of the chicks and once they're fully fledged, she'll take them home to her new farm in Brinston.
Glenna says that Finnigan (now called Steel) and Tira are doing well and that both of them are happy and healthy in their new home. Thanks for the update, Glenna!
Mom posted on Full Circles for shredded paper and hopes to pick up a number of bags of shredded paper from various people this week. Every little bit helps save us some money on bedding. Thanks, Mom!
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