Show prep

Sometimes I think that I've got it all. Horses, float and a daughter to enjoy it all with. Shows, bush riding, pony club. But the reality is closer to this.

Today I spent the entire day getting ready to go. Packing clothes, esky and the beloved guinea pigs. By the time I pick up my daughter from school the car is ready to go. Well she (my daughter) isn't. Sheesh. Gently, I encourage her to stop playing, get changed, eat her snack, and we're finally on the road with her still asking why we have to go now.

Then, of course, we get peak hour traffic, and the 1 hour trip takes us 1.5 hours. Charming. We eat dinner - no complaints here. Then we're outside getting our ponies. "Now, Sabina, it's simple", I say. "We tie them up to the hitching rail, we wash them, we rug them, we put them away."

Do you think she follows instructions? NO! Off she goes with her pony to graze on the grass. That upsets Dingo, and the minute I turn my back he breaks free and runs over to Tornado. Now the big horses have come over to the fence to investigate. Great. Do you think I can catch Dingo? No, of course not. Off he goes, trotting up to Princess Lil.

I gaze at the front gate. "Sabina, just stay here, I really don't want him galloping out the gate". As if on cue, Princess Lil takes off towards the gate. Dingo follows on the other side of the fence ... and yes, he gallops out the gate and onto the road. Lovely. Half way up the paddock, Princess Lil changes her mind and gallops back. Dingo, lead rope dangling, gallops back at full speed. I quietly close the gate behind him, praying that he doesn't somehow catch on the lead rope and break his neck.

As I wander back to the hitching rail, I see the two ponies trotting off towards the house, and I hear Sabina crying. My first thought is that she's been run over by Dingo, but of course she's just upset that Tornado pulled away. So I decide that we need a break and I invite her to sit down in the shed. Well, she refuses to sit down because there are a couple of cob webs on the chair! Am I at the end of my tether by now or what? I stay calm. I don't feel calm. I take a few deep breaths and stay calm. By now of course, the sun is starting to set.

So, we go and get our ponies, again. This time, we successfully tie them up to the hitching rail, and at least I manage to wash mine. But Sabina is still off in la la land, doing everything, but washing. "Mama, can you wash him?", she asks. In the interest of time "yes". So we've got two washed ponies, standing in mud, it's dark outside and we need to put rugs on.
 
Luckily the float is out, so we can rug the ponies in the shed. But in the process, Dingo steps on my foot. Ouch! Anyway, finally we're done. "Mama, it's dark outside, I'm scared". "Well that's why we needed to get on with it." "Mama, I didn't realise it would get dark." Like it doesn't get dark every day? So there I am walking back to the paddock in pitch blackness, scared daughter in one hand, two scared ponies in the other.
 
With no further incidents, the ponies are back in their paddock, and Sabina is in the bath. Husband has managed to arrive too. Thank goodness for that, because I need his help to unpack the cupboards off the float. On the upside, he helps to pack the car for tomorrow.
 
By about 11pm I hit the pillow, only to realise that I have a pretty massive toothache. Not massive enough to get the panadol, though. After some time, I fall asleep.