Meet Rodney

The UK version.

Rodney UK

Rodney lives at Church Farm Livery Stables, Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire. He shares his life with Ros Dobson, whose Twitter description reads: Equine Professional, A Groom and Instructor for over 20 Years, supervised by Jack Russells! @rosddobson. Read more about his life and friends on Rodney’s Page. His new wingman is Buddy. They are “the ginger ninjas of the yard, specialising in synchronised spooking when we take our humans out and about together.”

I cyber-met this Rodney during my first #HorseHour Twitter chat. Hosted by @HorseHour, the chat takes place every Monday, 8-9 pm GMT. I decided to expand my Twitter horizons after reading #HorseHour Mondays: A Lunchtime Twitter Chat for the Horse-Obsessed on Saddle Seeks Horse.

Thanks to Ros Dobson, Horse Hour, Susan Friedland-Smith, and of course, Rodney (UK) for the chat & for the blog post.

‘Tis a strange and wonderful time to be alive.

Rodney’s Saga Twitter accounts
Content: @RodneySaga
Notifications: @RodneySagaBlog

Show Report & Tweets: Rocking S, Dec 2014

Rocking S wreathWinter Tournament 1
Rocking S Farm
Helena AL
December 13, 2014
Riding & driving with Natalie
Thank you to Ann Stanton and Nicole Hardy

Riding
1. Advanced Horsemanship WTC Adult, 1st of 5
2. Advanced Equitation WTC Adult (Pattern), 1st of 2
7. Pleasure Horse or Pony WTC Adult, 3rd of 4

Dec 2014 awta streamerNatalie came to the party with her dancing shoes on. Walk? Trot? Canter? Right away, boss. Serpentine across the short side of the arena? Sure thing. Halt-to-canter transitions? No problem. I simply sat on board and caught the blue ribbons as they were tossed at us.

For the third class, we popped out of whatever groove we had been in. Ah well, as the song says, two out of three ain’t bad. Particularly when the two were so stellar.

For a few minutes there, I was scoring an undefeated season. Cool.

Rocking S Dec 2014 mailboxDriving
22. Academy Driving, 2nd of 2

I’m still the mental stage where getting in, getting around, and getting out counts as victory. Natalie was perfectly happy to convey me carefully around the ring. We even styled a tiny bit of extension in the second direction.

Rocking S Dec 2014 fence postTweets
This may be a record low number for a horse show tweets. Arrive. Ride in three of the first five classes. (Classes 5&6 were not held, so #7 was the fifth class.) Drive. Feed peppermints to waiting horses. Stop feeding peppermints when they give saliva a pink tinge. Watch the last few SSF riders. Zoom. Done. Home. A good day, but not one that lent itself to tweeting.

~~~
Gratuitous Donkeys

Rocking S Dec 2014 donkeys

Summer donkeys – Show Report: Rocking S

Milton Deconstructed

Milton Sun Aug 24 2014 1I freely admit that any problems with Milton are inside my head. He is just young and green. I have the skills to deal. This is good news and bad news. Nothing to fix with the horse. Plenty to fix with my head.

The BTE repost [Back To Square One] reminded me how hysterical Rodney’s behavior was back then. As bad as it was, we still a host of design features to discover: the duration of his ulcer [Update], the depth of his back scarring [Piling on the Therapy], his dislike of trotting in hand [Weekend], and his fear of leather halters [Life in the Slow Lane]. That much ongoing frustration leaves a mark.

In Rodney’s defense, he is a sweet, talented, and willing horse. This adds a hefty element of “if-only” to the frustration. But I digress.

Remember a few years back when Zoë Baird was up for Senate confirmation for US Attorney General? She had hired illegal aliens for childcare and had not paid Social Security taxes. She did not pass go. (We will overlook the more socially relevant fact that men had not been judged on their domestic finances.) The next candidate, Kimba Wood, had a situation that was superficially similar. However, “Wood had done so at a time when this was legal, and had paid Social Security taxes.” She too did not pass go. Mind you, she had broken no laws. Had she been nominated first, she would have gotten the job. Because her actions smelled even slightly like that of the previous nominee, everyone’s knickers got knotted.
Wiki: Nannygate

It’s like that.

Show Today: Winter Tournament, Rocking S

Show today. The first show of the 2014-2015 Winter Tournament. Didn’t go last year [Back].

Two years ago, this was my first saddle seat show [Sorta]. Still trying to dial down the overriding and to do what the nice lady at the rail tells me to do. On the plus side, still getting blues with Sam [Report].

Also driving today. Because giving me mini-meltdowns amuses my coach, I guess.
~~~
Gratuitous snow photo

snow Dec 2014 border

NOT where I live. Taken by a reader in the North Country.

From the same photographer:
Fancy Ribbon
Road-side balloon photo in Mail-Order Horse

New Equipment: Gloves

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you the Haynet 2014 winners:
1st: The Dressage Tipster
2nd: My Shetland
3rd: A Filly’s Best Friend
4th: Tales From Provence
Announcement

Sob. At least I got a blog post [Vote] or two [Donkeys] out of it. Onwards! BTW do stations still interrupt their programs, or have I dated myself?
~~~
Long show gloves from Hartmeyer Saddlery.

Photo by Courtney Huguley
Photo by Courtney Huguley

These are the same folks who talked me into my colorful show outfit [Show Photos]. I may be developing a favorite saddle seat store. Who would have thought?

I bought black gloves for show, navy blue for schooling. Two pairs of black would have been more sensible. I would still have a functional pair if I lost a show glove. OTOH, if it’s not fun, why do it?

Patting Natalie Photo by Courtney Huguley
Patting Natalie
Photo by Courtney Huguley

Extravagant, yes. One might even say excessively extravagant. They were kind of a freebie. I used the prize money from Nationals. Checks in the mail. Hard to get tired of that.

The 2014 stationery with 2014 photo.
The 2014 stationery with 2014 photo.
I did not stay for the group picture this year. I was sufficiently tired that I wanted to drive home with as much daylight as possible.

I still don’t like wearing gloves, “When I left eventing for jumpers, I pulled off my gloves with a sigh of relief.” [Repost]. Now I have even more reason not to wear them with my own horses. (If. When.) The gloves, or lack thereof, can remind me which saddle I am riding in. Best not to come over all saddle seat in the middle of a jumping round.