Vera
06-07-2005, 01.10 pm
O.K. I give in........ still no dates though........
Was born and grew up in Tasmania on the north west coast, rich dairy farmland, was absolutely horse mad for as long as I can remember. Lucky for me I had an older cousin who used to attend local riding school, so I was allowed to tag along with her from about age 6.Rode for many years at this school, tagging along with owners to pony club on school horses. Did eventing, hunting in winter, hack days, ponyclub. (no such thing as dressage back then, dressage was the horrible bit you had to get through before the cross-country). Kept begging parents for a horse as a teenager, their reply was always, 'it's just a phase your going through, you'll grow out of it' well I never did.Through teenage years had many borrowed horses and also competed horses for other owners, mainly hacking. My first pay-packet in a paid job went to saving for my own first horse, which I saved for and bought with-in 12 months of getting a job, for the princely sum of $600.He was a 14.2 palomino. We had huge success in breed,hack,jumping, sporting, (in those days you did a bit of everything...) and in the off season (winter) we used to hunt (pretend drag hunts,didn't actually hunt any animals). It was at our local show one year when I was still in my late teens that I saw my first real dressage horse.... they were holding dressage tests for the first time and one of the local ladies who's horse was about medium level did a display at the show, well to see her doing half passes,extended paces and flying changes was absolutely astounding. And of course I was hooked.....Over a period of many years and a number of horses I along with many other people at the time tried to learn this 'dressage' thing. At that time the competitions only went to novice, I think even on mainland Australia they only went to medium/advanced, so there was no such thing as school masters. also there were very few instructors that really new anything about it . When i look at what is available to young riders today i think i was born in the wrong era.....sigh.... About this time a man called Nuno Olivera came to Tassie giving clinics, I was very lucky to get into one of his first clinics, and continued to train with him for many years, he used to come about 6 monthly.So after many years 'practice' I was finally riding successfully at novice level (had got married in this time) and then it all fell apart when I had a baby....didn't ride for a few years, then family went on working holiday to Cairns for 2 years, in which I didn't ride....used to go to the races just to smell the horse poo and sweat...... very sad.....On our way back to Tassie via Brisbane, called in to see my brother who was living here at the time...... saw a job advertised in one of the local saddleries..applied for it and got the job...been in Brissy ever since. Worked in the sadlery for 6 years, used to walk around with a smile on my face at work, thinking, gee, I'm getting paid for this!!!!!!! Of course first thing I saved for was my own horse... which I bought off a much younger Glen Pearce... n.z. bred black t.b. stallion, off the track. I immediately obtained agistment at a fabulous centre called Bougainvilla which was run by one of Nuno's students, Raymond Vander Drift. spoken about in another thread. With Raymond's help was very competitive through to elementary level untill after 4 years training he got navicular........ and the rest of my story is spoken about in another thread, one horse after another, different problems with each horse,never enough money to buy that potential champ....... but each horse has taught me many things and each one has been special in it's own way, I don't regret having any of them............ I would just dearly love one to stay sound long enough to get to ride those 15 one time changes..............
Oh well....I'm still trying.... maybe I'll get there yet...........the mind is still willing but the body is getting worn out !!!!!!!
Was born and grew up in Tasmania on the north west coast, rich dairy farmland, was absolutely horse mad for as long as I can remember. Lucky for me I had an older cousin who used to attend local riding school, so I was allowed to tag along with her from about age 6.Rode for many years at this school, tagging along with owners to pony club on school horses. Did eventing, hunting in winter, hack days, ponyclub. (no such thing as dressage back then, dressage was the horrible bit you had to get through before the cross-country). Kept begging parents for a horse as a teenager, their reply was always, 'it's just a phase your going through, you'll grow out of it' well I never did.Through teenage years had many borrowed horses and also competed horses for other owners, mainly hacking. My first pay-packet in a paid job went to saving for my own first horse, which I saved for and bought with-in 12 months of getting a job, for the princely sum of $600.He was a 14.2 palomino. We had huge success in breed,hack,jumping, sporting, (in those days you did a bit of everything...) and in the off season (winter) we used to hunt (pretend drag hunts,didn't actually hunt any animals). It was at our local show one year when I was still in my late teens that I saw my first real dressage horse.... they were holding dressage tests for the first time and one of the local ladies who's horse was about medium level did a display at the show, well to see her doing half passes,extended paces and flying changes was absolutely astounding. And of course I was hooked.....Over a period of many years and a number of horses I along with many other people at the time tried to learn this 'dressage' thing. At that time the competitions only went to novice, I think even on mainland Australia they only went to medium/advanced, so there was no such thing as school masters. also there were very few instructors that really new anything about it . When i look at what is available to young riders today i think i was born in the wrong era.....sigh.... About this time a man called Nuno Olivera came to Tassie giving clinics, I was very lucky to get into one of his first clinics, and continued to train with him for many years, he used to come about 6 monthly.So after many years 'practice' I was finally riding successfully at novice level (had got married in this time) and then it all fell apart when I had a baby....didn't ride for a few years, then family went on working holiday to Cairns for 2 years, in which I didn't ride....used to go to the races just to smell the horse poo and sweat...... very sad.....On our way back to Tassie via Brisbane, called in to see my brother who was living here at the time...... saw a job advertised in one of the local saddleries..applied for it and got the job...been in Brissy ever since. Worked in the sadlery for 6 years, used to walk around with a smile on my face at work, thinking, gee, I'm getting paid for this!!!!!!! Of course first thing I saved for was my own horse... which I bought off a much younger Glen Pearce... n.z. bred black t.b. stallion, off the track. I immediately obtained agistment at a fabulous centre called Bougainvilla which was run by one of Nuno's students, Raymond Vander Drift. spoken about in another thread. With Raymond's help was very competitive through to elementary level untill after 4 years training he got navicular........ and the rest of my story is spoken about in another thread, one horse after another, different problems with each horse,never enough money to buy that potential champ....... but each horse has taught me many things and each one has been special in it's own way, I don't regret having any of them............ I would just dearly love one to stay sound long enough to get to ride those 15 one time changes..............
Oh well....I'm still trying.... maybe I'll get there yet...........the mind is still willing but the body is getting worn out !!!!!!!