Pre-show nerves... two weeks before?

It's over two weeks until the show and my gut is already doing somersaults. Best way to combat that? Groom. And groom. And groom some more. I might not even be doing a class and it's only a small show and yet I ca't help but be a little obsessed. Well, tbh, the aesthetics of my horses have always mattered a lot to me regardless of if they're going to be showing or not. A well groomed horse shows that the owner cares and if they look good on the outside, they're probably healthy on the inside. And now I'm rambling. Being tense seems to make me want to blog and write more. Anyway, here's a braided up Celtic Flame. It should help train his mane to lie on one side and grow out better. It is sort of a diamond braid but his hair is just so thick and I had to grab large amounts because he was impatient that its not really for style. His mane is also really short in one place. Oh well, function over form.

Diamond in the rough

Just a couple of weeks and Kel is off to his first show. He's looking good and behaving well under saddle so we're taking him to a small local show for some experience and possibly his first class, depending on how he is when he gets threre. I'm nervous, but after a long and very good ride today, I'm more certain he'll do just fine.
We had a very nice jeffries leather show saddle fitted yesterday so I now need to possibly invest in a black leather bridle, leather chaps and a show jacket and I'll be sorted for the summer. We also had him measured properly and he's just a little under 15.1hh now. Emma (Tregurtha Downs) thinks he's grown loads. So either he was actually about 14.2-14.3hh when we bought him (which I doubt because I'm sure he was taller than Nell) or he just looks a lot taller because he's filled out and is brighter in himself. Either way, she confirmed what I thought, which was that he should mature at 15.2hh.
I'm now working to get his mane and tail looking better (both are longer and thicker now) and starting him over small jumps. I know he's perfectly capable when the need arises but it's just about giving him more confidence now.

Well, it has been 5 months already

And I finally fell off Kel.
We had a successful first ride up to Kestal without another horse and Mum cycling along with me. He rode out like a champ, no problems at all although he did mostly want Mum in front for support.
Anyway, we got to Kestel for our second lesson without a hitch. Kel thought the lesson was boring, became a bit dead sided, snaked his neck a little and popped his shoulder during the trot turns. Otherwise not too bad though and my instructor is impressed with him; she really likes his temperment. I asked to end on a canter which at first - due to excitement, my dodgy position and a too-hard kick - resulted in a decent sized buck. Unperturbed we did it again and this time had a really nice canter all along the top edge of the field. He collected when I wanted him too and then sped up when I asked. Overall it was a lovely, smooth and enjoyable pace to end the lesson on so that he also got a bit of enjoyment out of it.
We made the journey home fine too, at least up until the point where we were on the lane to the stables; couldn't have been more than a yard or two from where I dismount. We were both relaxed - we were home, we'd made the whole ride and a lesson... and then a bird flew out of the hedge. Neither of us expected it and while my brain had time to say reasonable things like; oh, it's a pidgeon... grab the reins... don't let go or he'll run away and he'll be scared and undo the training... ouch, I hope I didn't break my skull as well as my helmet - My body did not react quite so quickly and had in the meantime fallen over the left shoulder when he spun, kept hold of the reins, landed first on my head and was then pulled onto my back because I still had hold of the reins, finally let go when I reasoned he wasn't going to stand still and let him canter back to the other horses and Mum.
As it is, I'm fine, albeit very stiff and sore. Grazed my arm and thigh, wrenched my hip and shoulder, had a major headache where I'd hit it and a sore neck... but it could have been so much worse. All I can really say is thank god for helmets and body protectors. If my head hurt enough while wearing a helmet, I'm certain I'd have a fracture or worse had I not been wearing it. (If anyone can take something away from this - please! wear a damn hard hat when you ride. They might cramp your style a little but believe me you will not look cool sitting unconscious in an ICU with a broken skull and brain bleed.)
I'm surprised in some ways it has taken this long to part company with Kel but I guess that's a testament to his forgiving nature. This hasn't in any way put me off so expect me back in the saddle by next week or maybe even the weekend if I can lever my hip over him.

In other news, I'm saving up for a DSLR camera. The Sony A55 to be exact. It's about £500 but has 16mp and 10 fps!! Huge speed for getting those all important action shots. It'll probably take a year or so to save up but will be worth it.