The Stable Block

8th July 2000 Welcome to The Stableblock, the place where I tell you about the horses in my life. ( yes I know it should be the men in my life but I'm happily married so this will have to do ) If you've looked around my website at all you'll know that I pretty much love horses and horseriding - but it wouldn't be possible without the few special horses that have helped my along the way. So I thought ( yes I do think occasionally ) I'll put a Stableblock in the Stableyard and introduce you to the special few in my life....ahhh. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and hopefully they'll be more to come, and if you have any questions about the type of horses shown - or anything to do with riding - please drop me an email at macroeconomix@yahoo.com

Apache was really the first horse in my life to really make a difference. When I first started riding him he was 5 ( now about 10) and is a piebald ( or paint ) Shire Cross gelding. He resides in England at Forest Park Riding and Livery Center and I first started to ride him after a bad experience at another stable where I had lost my confidence. He was a very well schooled horse who showed me just how much I didn't know about horse riding - and introduced me to the wonderful sport of dressage! With good instruction I gained a lot of confidence with him - even to the point of doing my first cross country course on him - and we went on to compete in the local Dressage competitions! He's still a wonderful horse who is kind ( although a bit of a baby at times ) and will teach anyone who's willing just what it takes to ride!

Heather is my horse and the best one you could ever hope to find. She lives at the same yard as Apache and is a 8 year old Shire Cross mare. As you can see - I really have a liking for the heavy horses. I bought her when she was 5 and I hate to say, the first and only horse I saw when I went looking to buy one. Considering I broke every rule imaginable when it came to buying horses, I was immensely lucky to have found as close to the perfect horse as you could hope to find. I really think a large part of that lies in the fact that she is a Shire Cross and her type of horse just tend to have wonderful temperaments. Since I am living in Japan at the moment my friend Julie is still looking after her but I miss her terribly.

When I left England for Germany I was worried about finding another horse to fill my particular 'riding needs'. Luckily I found Berni - a 18hh Trakenher Gelding of undetermined age. He was wonderful - a real gentle giant He was a bit slow to start sometimes but boy did he know his stuff. I have never spent so much time without stirrups on a horse or done such advanced dressage moves. He was a horse that made you look good! I would ride him at Hungerberg riding stables near Bitburg Germany. The owner, Gabby, who also instructed, taught me a lot about just getting on with the doing rather than the thinking, of riding. She said that we so often spent our time thinking about what to do that our bodies didn't have the time to do it. Very true - but very tough to do. A great place if you're ever in that part of Germany to go and ride - and learn!

Al is the horse that I currently ride the most. He is stabled at Mihara Riding Stables and is a grey Draft Cross, 10 year old gelding. Al is a very kind horse and is different than any of the other horses I have ridden regularly in the way that he has more Thoroughbred blood in him than my regular Shire Cross, Trakenher types. It must be said that I can be a nervous rider at times and did not think I would find a horse of this type that I would trust but Al has proved me wrong and is a generally a sweetheart He moves very nice and is teaching me how to ride a different type of horse than what I am used to. If you're ever in Okinawa you should give us a call. I'm sure you'd love to meet the man himself! ( by the way, you may have noticed that I seem to have a thing for greys - must be the challenge of keeping them clean!)

Well William is a new addition to the Stable although he is one of the horses I first started to ride and who helped cement my 'taste' for heavy horses. He's a 16hh Shire cross gelding who's about 9 years old now. He lives at Grange Farm Equestrian Center in Peterborough, a very nice yard with lots of facilities, and is one of the nicest horses to ride you could ever hoped for. In the times I have visited William I have had Dressage lessons, jumping lessons and gone out on hacks on him and have *always* enjoyed myself. This photo is where I had him for an adult 'pony day' and we were competing in the mounted games. We came second on that day and I still have the ribbon to show for it. ( My friend Debbie came first so at least I lost to a pal ) Some people might think he's slow, but they mistake his kind nature for being a plod. Believe me William can go with the best of them and he definetly has a place in my heart!

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Any Questions? contact:macroeconomix@yahoo.com

	Apache was really the first horse in my life to really make a difference. When I first started riding him he was 5 ( now about 10) and is a piebald ( or paint ) Shire Cross gelding. He resides in England at Forest Park Riding and Livery Center and I first started to ride him after a bad experience at another stable where I had lost my confidence. He was a very well schooled horse who showed me just how much I didn't know about horse riding - and introduced me to the wonderful sport of dressage! With good instruction I gained a lot of confidence with him - even to the point of doing my first cross country course on him - and we went on to compete in the local Dressage competitions! He's still a wonderful horse who is kind ( although a bit of a baby at times ) and will teach anyone who's willing just what it takes to ride!
	Heather is my horse and the best one you could ever hope to find. She lives at the same yard as Apache and is a 8 year old Shire Cross mare. As you can see - I really have a liking for the heavy horses. I bought her when she was 5 and I hate to say, the first and only horse I saw when I went looking to buy one. Considering I broke every rule imaginable when it came to buying horses, I was immensely lucky to have found as close to the perfect horse as you could hope to find. I really think a large part of that lies in the fact that she is a Shire Cross and her type of horse just tend to have wonderful temperaments. Since I am living in Japan at the moment my friend Julie is still looking after her but I miss her terribly.
	When I left England for Germany I was worried about finding another horse to fill my particular 'riding needs'. Luckily I found Berni - a 18hh Trakenher Gelding of undetermined age. He was wonderful - a real gentle giant He was a bit slow to start sometimes but boy did he know his stuff. I have never spent so much time without stirrups on a horse or done such advanced dressage moves. He was a horse that made you look good! I would ride him at Hungerberg riding stables near Bitburg Germany. The owner, Gabby, who also instructed, taught me a lot about just getting on with the doing rather than the thinking, of riding. She said that we so often spent our time thinking about what to do that our bodies didn't have the time to do it. Very true - but very tough to do. A great place if you're ever in that part of Germany to go and ride - and learn!
	Al is the horse that I currently ride the most. He is stabled at Mihara Riding Stables and is a grey Draft Cross, 10 year old gelding. Al is a very kind horse and is different than any of the other horses I have ridden regularly in the way that he has more Thoroughbred blood in him than my regular Shire Cross, Trakenher types. It must be said that I can be a nervous rider at times and did not think I would find a horse of this type that I would trust but Al has proved me wrong and is a generally a sweetheart He moves very nice and is teaching me how to ride a different type of horse than what I am used to. If you're ever in Okinawa you should give us a call. I'm sure you'd love to meet the man himself! ( by the way, you may have noticed that I seem to have a thing for greys - must be the challenge of keeping them clean!)
	Well William is a new addition to the Stable although he is one of the horses I first started to ride and who helped cement my 'taste' for heavy horses. He's a 16hh Shire cross gelding who's about 9 years old now. He lives at Grange Farm Equestrian Center in Peterborough, a very nice yard with lots of facilities, and is one of the nicest horses to ride you could ever hoped for. In the times I have visited William I have had Dressage lessons, jumping lessons and gone out on hacks on him and have always enjoyed myself. This photo is where I had him for an adult 'pony day' and we were competing in the mounted games. We came second on that day and I still have the ribbon to show for it. ( My friend Debbie came first so at least I lost to a pal ) Some people might think he's slow, but they mistake his kind nature for being a plod. Believe me William can go with the best of them and he definetly has a place in my heart!


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