End of 2024
#Sparky #Vicente #event #Kings Horses #Light Horse #Icelandic #Paso Fino
A reflection of 2024 as we head into 2025.
I have already posted about some of the events during the year, and what I’m up to with various horses, so this post is about the rest of the year’s events and a brief reflection on the year.
After forming the new Ballan Light Horse Troop, we had our first public outing a the Remembrance Day Service in Ballan. All horses did well, especially Aliyana, who was the newbie of the team. Aliyana is owned by Cherilyn, and was bred by me. She is the daughter of Ramirez and a Paso Fino x Andalusian mare that I used to own. Our presence at the service was well received. Our next outing will be Anzac Day.
In September, Vanessa from Germany stayed with me for a few days and we managed to go for some nice rides together. In October, we had a Horse Archery weekend (organised by KH), which was a small but fun affair with a few friends. Then in November, we had a 14th Century photo shoot, which included some friends visiting from Qld. I had to hand over Phoebus for this session and I rode Keldan. The weekend after, we held our annual King’s Horses Mounted Combat Gathering. We had fun sessions with swords and we did some Horse Archery. And, same as last year, a great session with a few people on foot, giving us the opportunity to build up our horses’ confidence. On the last November weekend, Anke Hawke from Anke Hawke Balance Dressage came down for another clinic at Narrawin. My main focus at that clinic was working with Phoebus. Sparky once again did duties as lesson pony.
December saw the arrival of the Icelandic filly Miska (Sparky x Brana). This breaks a long filly drought, and it is the first filly that Brana has had for me.
In terms of horse education, I’ve been playing with some advanced stuff with Keldan, Sparky and Romeo, and particularly Phoebus. I had Yvonne’s Dana here for a few weeks to start her under saddle, and did a bit of work with Marcelo (see also blog posts), Malena, Darien and Altus. Plus some foal handling and young horse training including float loading and such things. And of course there were some trail rides, some in daylight, some in moonlight, some alone and some with friends. They are good to clear the cobwebs out of everyone’s head.
I’m pretty happy with how 2024 panned out and I’m proud of my horses and our achievments together. In 2025, I’m hoping to build on those and to have many more interesting sessions in my “riding laboratory”. I’m looking forward to two more foals for the season in early 2025 and I have a few other plans related to my little herd. There are also some events planned for the year, some here at Narrawin, and some where we go travelling. Stay tuned!
