The school holidays have been a little about cattle …..

….  a fair bit about horses,

…… and lot about kids of course.

Eliza has ventured on her first big ride out in the paddock.

 Adelaide has moved onto Moccachino full time now so that Eliza can claim Holly as her own. 

The horses all received a little extra attention last Friday as they were prepared for the annual Clarke Creek Horse Sports.

I often wonder what goes through their mind when the clippers, shampoo, brushes and rugs come out. 

Do they know that they’ll be joining sixty other four legged friends to carry little people around pegs, over logs, between flags, in circles, figure of eights and have to camp draft a beast around pegs as well?

They’ll patiently stand in lines and wait their turn to be adorned with ribbons.

And stand squarely as Mums and Dads take snaps of their little cherubs competing.

And when the week-end is over they’ll be ferried home, given an extra pat and perhaps an extra dipper of feed before returning to pasture and mustering duties. Bending races and jumping exist only between the trees and an occasional log again.

The ribbons they earn with their riders will adorn bedheads and of course all those Mums will put through a couple of extra loads of washing and the ironing pile iron in many houses will grow a foot higher. 

There are 2 comments on this article:

• On 6/10/2014 Fiona said:

  Gorgeous shots Ainsley. Particularly love the one of Hamish looking very neat on his steed.
  Is that a dog indicating he’s had quite enough in one of the shots?
  And oh dear, just what you needed on the way home!
  All the best for Term 4.

• On 7/10/2014 Erin said:

  Love the pictures. Judging by the ribbons your lad placed in the comps, which ones and how did he do?