Shaken but not stirred

The journey home from WEG was longer than anticipated as Melbourne was fog bound and the plane sat on the Sydney runway for an hour or more before flying on to Melbourne. It is always a pest having to have all horse gear disinfected at immigration. Invariably my riding boots shrink and the stitching rots.

Four days at home went far too quickly. Longdencorp sponsored the Grade 3 classes at the HRCAV (Horse Riding Centres Association of Victoria) at Werribee. Our 'booth' next to the score board looked great.

The weather was marginal with lots of water around and intermittent cold showers. This German shepherd did not seem to mind sitting in the water next to one of the jumping arenas.

I felt really sorry for the people who picked up poles in the soggy arena.

Then it wa off to Christchurch, New Zealand, and a mixture of riders including Para Equestrian riders.

Coaching riders with severe disabilities is always nerve wracking. I had an added dimension - after shocks from the huge earthquake. I had been told that they happened all the time and so did not bother much when i was at my computer and the house shook for more than a few seconds. Later I heard that it was at least a 5 megaton earthquake. Luckily I was not teaching at the time. Horses seem to be fine when outside but when the noise of the earthquake and the vibration of the indoor arena happens, the horses become exceedingly spooked and tend to gallop off. They react before we can hear the earthquake.

Its so easy and fun working with good horsemen - so stress free. Shane Carrick is a star and produces lots of performance horses as well as retraining everyones difficult rides. This particular horse, Owen, is no exception and has a great future as a show jumper or eventer.

This lovely 5 year old, ridden by a very talented young coach Emma, was most interested in the horse in the mirror. Hopefully he will be available for the next WEG for a Para rider.

Now I have finished coaching and luckily aftershocks only occured when we were outside. There have been over 2,000 aftershocks since the major 7.2 earthquake on September 4th. Lots of people lost their chimneys and the sewage system has been badly affected as the manholes on the roads have risen and they have had to be build up around them so driving on these roads is a little hazardous.

Tomorrow my New Zealand physio friend Vicky Melville and myself fly first to Auckland and then on to the 11+ hour flight to Tokyo. We then drive 2 hours to the mountains and the therapeutic riding centre Hello Hippo.  We spend 10 days running coach and therapist training courses and working with riders with all kinds of abilities. Working as a team with Vicky, the horse and the rider creates a positive outcome for everyone. The energy that is produced is channeled in such a way that all can go forward from the clinics.

Email is always rather dicey when in Japan and particularly in the mountains. I will update the blog when the land gets flatter.