We went to the beach, and I don’t think I could have picked a better day for it.
I’d somehow managed to use very little of my holiday this year, the result being I had to take every Friday off in December – which seems great until you remember we have to deal with the Great British weather.
Anyhow, I woke up last Friday and decided to firstly look at the weather for the Peak District. I like to hike, so thought that might be an option, but no, the weather was not on our side. My next try was Holkham beach, and miraculously it said sunshine, actual sunshine – so without hesitation I decided I’d box up Arlo and take him for his first trip to the beach.
I haven’t actually been to the beach for many, many years with the horses, so on arrival I parked all the way at the top of Lady Anne’s Drive and also purchased a two-hour ticket for £3.50, both of which you are apparently not supposed to do. You’re supposed to park at the bottom and pay £20 for the day. The ticket man was very lenient though and told me I was absolutely fine, seeing as I hadn’t been before, and it wasn’t very busy. So, a good start for me.
I tacked Arlo up and off we trundled down the horse route towards the beach. As we walked around the final dune to get to the main beach area, I honestly couldn’t believe my luck. It felt like we were in a different country. A clean sandy beach, bright blue skies and barely anyone there – in fact, we almost had the whole place to ourselves.
We walked down to the sea, and if I’m honest I didn’t expect Arlo to go in with the waves (he can be a sensitive soul) but straight in he went, the waves breaking on the other side of us. Only at one point did he stop, stare at the wave coming towards him and panic as it did, resulting in a rear and spin. Luckily I stayed on, although I was actually having so much fun I don’t think I’d have cared if I hadn’t.
We then went for a gallop, and I can honestly say we’ve never gone so fast. In fact I think we shocked ourselves, seeing as we like to get time penalties on the cross country course. We then walked along the shoreline for quite some distance before turning and heading back for another lovely gallop. It really was quite serene.
I spent a whole two hours there with him, and I easily could have stayed much longer.
So for anyone considering the beach, find a sunny day in December or the winter months – you won’t regret it.
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.