Fluffy is one of the other ponies at the livery, ridden by Izzy. Tissy and Fluffy are basically adventure buddies now. With Tissy not competing but still loving going out and about and has an insatiable need for speed, Tissy and Fluffy go to all the local social and pleasure rides together. We have a good laugh, have a good gallop, enjoy the countryside and have a nice picnic at the end.
It’s quite novel for me to be riding for fun…..I know that sounds weird. But I have never had a ‘pleasure’ horse, I’ve always had competition horses, my focus has been performance, I’ve had goals and targets. Now Tissy is retired, though I’m not sure she’d want to be called a pleasure horse, I ride her just because I enjoy it and she loves it. Don’t get me wrong if I didn’t love and enjoy competing I wouldn’t do it, you can’t put that many hours into something, be that dedicated if it’s not out of passion and love. But when you’re riding to compete, to perform, it’s just slightly more stressful, everything is sharper, more perfected, more intense.
I have found great pleasure in well, pleasure riding.
With Qantas starting to do more ridden work and of course aiming to do his Novice endurance season riding out with someone else is the perfect opportunity to train him for horses passing, leading, going at the back (he HATES going at the back). So who better to accompany him on his first little adventure out with a buddy than Izzy and Fluffy! To be fair I don’t think anyone else would come with me anyway, these Arabs are just too speedy for most!
Beth Endurance 