Its been a hectic week!

As the new Secretary of the local Dog Trial Club this week has been a bit of a learning curve to put it mildly.

The trials are held over 2 days which are pretty full on the whole time. Sandwiches have to be made and food purchased to feed all the hungry workers who spend all day out on the hills, in the heat, as well as for the people who have traveled (some quite a distance too) , so it takes a bit of forward planning.

We did look like running out of food yesterday so a quick trip to Raglan had to be made to pick up some more bread and fillings.
It would be so much easier if people ate the same amount every year!
I've been helping out with the food and drink side of things for a few years now but this was my first "solo" as secretary so had to be there at 7 am to start taking the entries over the 2 days.

At the end of the event we have a bit of a BBQ for all the workers which involves a bit of alcohol consumption, as well as (usually) a "Bark Up" which involves Big noisy Huntaway dogs leaping onto tables, scattering empty beer bottles all to see who's dog has the best Bark!

Hence it took a bit of motivating to get me out of bed this morning to go trekking with the local pony Club at Waitetuna Valley.
I have ridden on the Mc Donalds property a few times now and it is one of my favourite places.
The tracks are lovely and well formed and there is lots of water crossings. Its where I first really took Summer about a year ago now and she learnt to cross water, which was never her strong point, but she is getting better.

She was pretty well behaved the whole day today which made for a relaxing ride. Funny though, as we rode through the forsetry block she was doing a bit of sideways and wanting to get going a bit. I wonder if its because the last time she was in a forestry was at the Endurance ride I took her on where she got to canter a lot.

I have managed to ride her most days this past week as well as Gus a few times too. Zenobie had a friend out one day who used to ride so we took Gus, Summer & Cliffie out one day for a quiet ride around. Cliffie was really funny. The old boy hasn't been ridden for a year or more and you could clearly see his enjoyment showing through. He was a bit stiff the next day (he has slightly arthritic knees) but gee he enjoyed it.

And Gus of course was a superstar. Its great to see these people who start out a bit unsure of him but then they realise how safe he is and by the end of the ride they are cantering along and talking about getting a horse again!

One other thing. During the week I bought a heart rate monitor from Trade Me. Was being sold by someone I know, so I grabbed it quick.
Funny as, trying to work out how to use it. I did manage to find my heart beat after a while but couldn't find a heart beat on any of the horses!
I decided I needed an anatomy lesson but no, all you need is to get the horse wet. LOL Now I just need to practice with them a bit and see how things change as they get fitter.