Mounted Games Practice - A mothers view.
The morning of the mounted games, I forced myself to wake up at 5.30 am. Cursing Ali, cursing some unknown hero known as Marissa and cursing my two little boys, who refused to let me cancel our attendance for the above-mentioned games…..
Whoever thought it funny to move the start time to 9.00 am, instead of 10.00 am, clearly either didn’t have children, or, had forgotten what it is like to get two youngsters up and dressed and out the house by 8.00 am. Not to mention the fact that some of us don’t have full livery at posh yards, and have to climb several large mountains to arrive at said destination, at any given time.
I could just see the day being a complete disaster anyway. Jamie, my youngest and craziest son, (5 yrs) would be a complete nightmare. He would misbehave and ruin the whole day for everyone else and it would be known throughout Solent RC, that I was a terrible mother who had no control of her kids. Lily, his equally crazy section A, would bolt, buck Jamie off and probably cause general mayhem for everyone.
Sam, my eldest and better behaved, son would be riding Mini, his saintly SHP. However, an email from Mini’s owner the previous evening, to say that Mini had tried and hated mounted games, did nothing for my confidence!
How wrong I was.
Within minutes of arriving and meeting Marissa, my worries were put aside.. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that there would be no galloping about, and that slow and careful was the only way to go.
The two lanes were so far apart, that my worries of Mini being crowded (which she hates) were instantly dismissed. This was going to be OK.
First we were all given the slow but steady lecture, which actually I bet most people were secretly disappointed with. Next we were divided into two teams and sent to ride round the indoor school, with one team riding in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. We then began passing a baton to each other as we passed another rider going the opposite way. This really broke the ice, as everybody got to smile and laugh with every person there. It was particularly amusing to Jamie, to have to pass a baton from his 11.2 hh to some one on a 16 +hh horse.
Next we practiced each game individually. Bending, cups on poles, flags, balls in bucket etc etc.
Everybody was having such a good time and getting on really well. All the horses/ponies behaved beautifully, and the couple of occasions that cheekiness got the better of some ponies, it was all taken in good humour and caused no problem to anyone.
We broke for a snack and drink, which was definitely needed, before resuming to repeat the races for real.
It was highly entertaining, to see some of the larger horses and riders struggling to reach down to grab poles etc. The little ponies really did have a far easier job. Marissa had to keep reminding certain people (woops! Jamie and over competitive mother leading him included), that galloping from one end of the arena to the other was not allowed.
I can honestly say that I have never run so fast or for so long in about 25 years! But just to see the look of exhilaration on crazy Jamie’s face, was enough to keep me going to the end.
The first team won practically every race, but it was all such fun that absolutely nobody cared. It really wasn’t about winning or losing, purely about having fun with your horse/pony and team members. I don’t think I saw a miserable or sulky face all day. What a lovely bunch of children and young adults, our junior members are.
We finished the races with everybody getting a chocolate bar and a packet of polos. Then rosettes were given out to both teams. No losers. The same for everyone.
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