I'm slow, but here's a video of Juniblest as he came back to Norway to the exact stable I kept him at when I first bought him in 2004. Foto and editing by Ivar Mauritz-Hansen.
Enjoy!
torsdag 20. september 2012
fredag 31. august 2012
Thank you!
"Speech! Speech! Speech"
Here comes the "thank yous" =)
I want to thank Juniblest, obviously! Without him I could never have ridden my pony from New Forest to Newcastle. Not to mention that he has been there for me for more than eight years and put up with my every mistake, all the times I've been unfair on him and all the strange things he'd have to endure like tarpaulins and medieval re-enactment. I love him endlessly and he is truly a very special horse!
I also want to thank my barefoot trimmer Lucy Priory who has been a massive support from the very early beginnings of the planning process. She was the one who had the guts to tell me that Juniblest was obese and probably diabetic/IR and she was the one who helped me slimming him down with advice and mental support. When I was in doubt or had dark moments during the ride she would happily advice me, comfort me and cheer us on and I dare say we would never have made it without her! Thank you a thousand times, Lucy.
Then there's the saddle. I bought it used on impulse after finishing an endurance ride this spring, without knowing if it would ever fit. The saddle was a Free 'n' Easy saddle made by Les Spark who came down some time before the ride to fit it. First of all, it fits the pony. Second, it can easily be adjusted or repaired with a multitool. Third, I was never troubled with saddle soreness! 8 hours in the saddle is not a problem in an FnE saddle. Thanks for inventing a system that kept both my pony's back and my bum nice and painfree all the way!
I want to thank Jane Amundsen. I owe her so much! She introduced me to horses, she "brought me up" in the horseworld introducing me to a Natural Horsemanship perspective from the very beginning and making sure I understood the importance of High-viz. Not to mention that she sold me Juniblest that beautiful June day in 2004 ;) For the ride she made sure we were sponsored with a Polypad and a Maximum bridle, both in purple and orange which are our colours. Thank you so much, Jane!
Thanks a lot to family and friends who supported me mentally and economically, who called me to see how we were getting on and who donated to the charities =)
And of course, thanks a thousand times to all the people who accommodated us during the journey, sometimes on a very short notice!
Thank you so much!
Here comes the "thank yous" =)
I want to thank Juniblest, obviously! Without him I could never have ridden my pony from New Forest to Newcastle. Not to mention that he has been there for me for more than eight years and put up with my every mistake, all the times I've been unfair on him and all the strange things he'd have to endure like tarpaulins and medieval re-enactment. I love him endlessly and he is truly a very special horse!
I also want to thank my barefoot trimmer Lucy Priory who has been a massive support from the very early beginnings of the planning process. She was the one who had the guts to tell me that Juniblest was obese and probably diabetic/IR and she was the one who helped me slimming him down with advice and mental support. When I was in doubt or had dark moments during the ride she would happily advice me, comfort me and cheer us on and I dare say we would never have made it without her! Thank you a thousand times, Lucy.
Then there's the saddle. I bought it used on impulse after finishing an endurance ride this spring, without knowing if it would ever fit. The saddle was a Free 'n' Easy saddle made by Les Spark who came down some time before the ride to fit it. First of all, it fits the pony. Second, it can easily be adjusted or repaired with a multitool. Third, I was never troubled with saddle soreness! 8 hours in the saddle is not a problem in an FnE saddle. Thanks for inventing a system that kept both my pony's back and my bum nice and painfree all the way!
I want to thank Jane Amundsen. I owe her so much! She introduced me to horses, she "brought me up" in the horseworld introducing me to a Natural Horsemanship perspective from the very beginning and making sure I understood the importance of High-viz. Not to mention that she sold me Juniblest that beautiful June day in 2004 ;) For the ride she made sure we were sponsored with a Polypad and a Maximum bridle, both in purple and orange which are our colours. Thank you so much, Jane!
Thanks a lot to family and friends who supported me mentally and economically, who called me to see how we were getting on and who donated to the charities =)
And of course, thanks a thousand times to all the people who accommodated us during the journey, sometimes on a very short notice!
Thank you so much!
torsdag 23. august 2012
"Epilogue"
I am currently back in Norway and waiting for Juniblest and all my posessions to be shipped home. It's time for a bit of a summary and "what I'll do next time" =)
First of all, my main impression is that I want to do this again in one form or another. Not necessarily only on horseback, but I will definitely do that too - I have many ideas for journeys on foot, bike and horseback now! I want to introduce Norway to the sponsorship tradition. We do support charities, but for people to take on a challenge and raise money that way is new to us. I think it's a brilliant idea as it encourages people to be more active and pushing their limits while they're fundraising for organisations that really need a bit of support because what they do make a huge difference. We have many, many people who take on challenges all the time anyway seeing as Norwegian nature is still fairly wild and people want to be a part of it. If all these people put up a justgiving account a lot of money would be raised for lots of different causes!
Next time I go on a ride like this I will have two horses, or at least go with another person on horseback. Juniblest isn't very dependant on other horses, but it would be good for him to have horsey company when on a journey like this. He does seem more motivated if there is another horse to keep up with! =) Also, if I have one horse to ride and one to carry the bags it would obviously be easier on them both and I could take more things such as camping gear and more of the hardfeed Juniblest can cope with. A video camera would be great too!
When it comes to rain I learned that the only thing that works is a rain poncho. When I get my horse number two in the future I will spend a lot of time waving plastic bags and tarpaulins around its head so that it becomes desensitized to flapping things and I can wear a poncho safely. It's lightweight and completely waterproof - brilliant for hacking/hiking/trekking!
I also learned to trust myself and my instincts regarding Juniblest's welfare. Feeding him shedloads of hardfeed ended up giving him a pulse in his lower legs and sore feet - very early signs of laminitis without necessarily tipping over the edge (no leaning for instance). Some horses may not get it while in hard work, but research has shown that laminitis can also be caused by a series of metabolic issues and that sugar and starch can be that drop that makes the glass run over. A horse does not have to be obese to get it and knowing my Norwegian Northland pony who is made to live on heather and moss, work harder than any horse does today (apart from some athletes, of course) and live out all year round, very nutricious feed can be incredibly destructive to him. Also, wild horses walk for distances of 15-20 miles a day in their search for food so the amount of work Juniblest was doing on this journey was highly natural for him - except that he was carrying me a lot of the time. All you have to do is make sure your horse is fit for before you leave! =)
Next time I will probably organise my training differently and make sure I train with the saddlebags and the exact equipment I'm going to use to avoid complications and surprises. Duck tape, multitool and bale twine will always be a part of the travelling kit! Not sure if I'll use a bit next time as I realised at some point during the ride that I have no idea why I use it. I find it handy for dressage, but on journeys like these you ride on a loose rein a lot! A bit is just a lot of hassle in lunch breaks and shorter stops when it's convenient for the horse to graze, although Juniblest is happy to graze with a bit in his mouth and has never had any problems juggling the grass around it =)
All in all, we had a great journey and we're looking forward to doing similar ones in the future! =D
I will leave the justgiving pages open for a while longer as I'm planning on contacting some horsey media that will hopefully help us squeeze a bit more into these accounts ;)
If you haven't donated yet and really want to, please visit World Horse Welfare or Riding for the Disabled!
First of all, my main impression is that I want to do this again in one form or another. Not necessarily only on horseback, but I will definitely do that too - I have many ideas for journeys on foot, bike and horseback now! I want to introduce Norway to the sponsorship tradition. We do support charities, but for people to take on a challenge and raise money that way is new to us. I think it's a brilliant idea as it encourages people to be more active and pushing their limits while they're fundraising for organisations that really need a bit of support because what they do make a huge difference. We have many, many people who take on challenges all the time anyway seeing as Norwegian nature is still fairly wild and people want to be a part of it. If all these people put up a justgiving account a lot of money would be raised for lots of different causes!
Next time I go on a ride like this I will have two horses, or at least go with another person on horseback. Juniblest isn't very dependant on other horses, but it would be good for him to have horsey company when on a journey like this. He does seem more motivated if there is another horse to keep up with! =) Also, if I have one horse to ride and one to carry the bags it would obviously be easier on them both and I could take more things such as camping gear and more of the hardfeed Juniblest can cope with. A video camera would be great too!
When it comes to rain I learned that the only thing that works is a rain poncho. When I get my horse number two in the future I will spend a lot of time waving plastic bags and tarpaulins around its head so that it becomes desensitized to flapping things and I can wear a poncho safely. It's lightweight and completely waterproof - brilliant for hacking/hiking/trekking!
I also learned to trust myself and my instincts regarding Juniblest's welfare. Feeding him shedloads of hardfeed ended up giving him a pulse in his lower legs and sore feet - very early signs of laminitis without necessarily tipping over the edge (no leaning for instance). Some horses may not get it while in hard work, but research has shown that laminitis can also be caused by a series of metabolic issues and that sugar and starch can be that drop that makes the glass run over. A horse does not have to be obese to get it and knowing my Norwegian Northland pony who is made to live on heather and moss, work harder than any horse does today (apart from some athletes, of course) and live out all year round, very nutricious feed can be incredibly destructive to him. Also, wild horses walk for distances of 15-20 miles a day in their search for food so the amount of work Juniblest was doing on this journey was highly natural for him - except that he was carrying me a lot of the time. All you have to do is make sure your horse is fit for before you leave! =)
Next time I will probably organise my training differently and make sure I train with the saddlebags and the exact equipment I'm going to use to avoid complications and surprises. Duck tape, multitool and bale twine will always be a part of the travelling kit! Not sure if I'll use a bit next time as I realised at some point during the ride that I have no idea why I use it. I find it handy for dressage, but on journeys like these you ride on a loose rein a lot! A bit is just a lot of hassle in lunch breaks and shorter stops when it's convenient for the horse to graze, although Juniblest is happy to graze with a bit in his mouth and has never had any problems juggling the grass around it =)
I will leave the justgiving pages open for a while longer as I'm planning on contacting some horsey media that will hopefully help us squeeze a bit more into these accounts ;)
If you haven't donated yet and really want to, please visit World Horse Welfare or Riding for the Disabled!
fredag 17. august 2012
Last day - arriving in Newcastle!
We got here! WE DID IT! =D
First, we went through Consett (sort of) and then we followed an old train track almost all the way to the river Tyne where we crossed the Scotswood bridge (stopped in the middle to take a photo next to the "City of Newcastle upon Tyne2 sign) and met a reporter from the local paper before we went back over the bridge to wait for Les. What a day!
On the way back to Middleton-in-Teesdale (in a horsebox) we passed the Angel of the North and real gypsy horsedrawn caravans! I was as excited as a five-year-old =D
I will not do the whole "it was amazing and I'm sad it's over, but we'll do it again and I want to thank him and her" speech just now, but there will be one very soon. In the meantime I hope the ones of you who have been hesitant about donating to my two charities now feel confident to slip them a few pounds as this epic little journey has been completed in 6 weeks and 4 days ;)
For Riding for the Disabled, click here
For World Horse Welfare, click here
Now, pics or it didn't happen!
First, we went through Consett (sort of) and then we followed an old train track almost all the way to the river Tyne where we crossed the Scotswood bridge (stopped in the middle to take a photo next to the "City of Newcastle upon Tyne2 sign) and met a reporter from the local paper before we went back over the bridge to wait for Les. What a day!
On the way back to Middleton-in-Teesdale (in a horsebox) we passed the Angel of the North and real gypsy horsedrawn caravans! I was as excited as a five-year-old =D
I will not do the whole "it was amazing and I'm sad it's over, but we'll do it again and I want to thank him and her" speech just now, but there will be one very soon. In the meantime I hope the ones of you who have been hesitant about donating to my two charities now feel confident to slip them a few pounds as this epic little journey has been completed in 6 weeks and 4 days ;)
For Riding for the Disabled, click here
For World Horse Welfare, click here
Now, pics or it didn't happen!
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| Good to go - barefoot today! |
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| Cows are equally inquisitive wherever we may go. And Juniblest loves them! I do too by now =) |
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| Our last lunch break for now... |
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| I love old railways! |
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| =) |
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| But I ride a pony, not a horse ;) |
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| This little fella spoke a bit of Norwegian. He must be a fjord or fjord cross! Doesn't look so much like one in the picture, but in real life he really did. |
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| Getting closer and closer! |
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| Juniblest's first encounter with a tethered horse... |
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| ... and he was a handsome little stallion too. I think Juniblest fell for him a bit (I'm not sure how straight JB is, you see..) |
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| For a short while I wondered if this was the Tyne. It wasn't and it's way too small. I called it Tiny Tyne! |
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| Under a bridge next to Tiny Tyne |
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| Juniblest looking at the real Tyne! |
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| Scotswood Bridge |
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| Crossing, crossing - the moment we've all been waiting for! |
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| There's the sign saying "City of Newcastle". Time to cross the busy road! |
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| BAM! WE DID IT! |
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| Waiting for Les... =) |
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| In the trailer after some hard weeks. He doesn't know it yet, but he's quite relieved =p |
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| Didn't get a good picture of the Angel, but here's the sign for it =) |
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| Gypsy caravans in the sunset! |
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| This is a hardworking pony! A beautiful one at that. |
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| Matching van and trailer - star transport for the star pony! |
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| Back in Teesdale |
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| And the bravest, most stoic, calmest, toughest and most fantabulous pony in the whole wide world enjoys a bucket of goodies after the most epic journey he's done so far. What he doesn't know is that his mum is thinking about Oslo-Trondheim for the future ;) |
Day 46
Today we went from Rookhope to a tiny place called Unthank. Or, Juniblest stayed there and I stayed very close to Consett in the house of a childhood friend of Les. We had a fab eve watching Cool Runnings =D
The ride was undramatic and nice, and we almost cleared the rain in the afternoon. Almost..
If you have already donated to World Horse Welfare and Riding for the Disabled: cheers! If not, please do ;)
And I just realised that I only took two pictures today! =p
The ride was undramatic and nice, and we almost cleared the rain in the afternoon. Almost..
If you have already donated to World Horse Welfare and Riding for the Disabled: cheers! If not, please do ;)
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| Juniblest was very happy to see me in the morning! |
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| "Lets go now!" |
Day 43,44 and 45
Days 43 and 44 were days off and apart from me updating the blog like a mad(wo)man nothing interesting happened.
Day 45 meant back on the road and Les came with us to Middleton-in-Teesdale to give his horse Fadlie a little something to think about (going out with a stranger, meeting cows and going into town). Juniblest had no problem keeping up with him although Fadlie is a very fast-walking arab - I think he was so happy about the company that he gave it all!
Les was very impressed with us riding up to a hole in the wall to get some cash out, me still on Juniblest of course =) That must be my favourite party trick!
We had lunch next to a dead sheep without noticing thanks to the direction of the wind, and without giving you any nightmares I don't think I've ever seen this many roadkills in a day as I did now.. I did not fancy lamb for dinner to put it that way....
Anyway!
As we came closer to Rookhope I met Val who owns the place I was staying at, and while we stopped for a long chat Juniblest had his Mum's-talking-to-someone-nap. A van came down the road so I turned the sleeping Juniblest's head a bit so that the van could pass, but it came too close and the mirror caught the saddlebag so hard it bent backwards! What did Juniblest do? Absolutely nothing! Literally. He was asleep and he's had his saddlebags bumping into so many trees and gates and walls he just wasn't bothered at all. Even I was impressed by that =)
Then, as we came around the bend to where we were staying a whole group of people had gathered to welcome us - for the first time on the whole journey! =p Val had shuffled all her guests out to wave and smile and take pictures and it felt fab!
We had a great time in the pub that night..... =)
Please remember that we are still fundraising for RDA and WHW...
Day 45 meant back on the road and Les came with us to Middleton-in-Teesdale to give his horse Fadlie a little something to think about (going out with a stranger, meeting cows and going into town). Juniblest had no problem keeping up with him although Fadlie is a very fast-walking arab - I think he was so happy about the company that he gave it all!
Les was very impressed with us riding up to a hole in the wall to get some cash out, me still on Juniblest of course =) That must be my favourite party trick!
We had lunch next to a dead sheep without noticing thanks to the direction of the wind, and without giving you any nightmares I don't think I've ever seen this many roadkills in a day as I did now.. I did not fancy lamb for dinner to put it that way....
Anyway!
As we came closer to Rookhope I met Val who owns the place I was staying at, and while we stopped for a long chat Juniblest had his Mum's-talking-to-someone-nap. A van came down the road so I turned the sleeping Juniblest's head a bit so that the van could pass, but it came too close and the mirror caught the saddlebag so hard it bent backwards! What did Juniblest do? Absolutely nothing! Literally. He was asleep and he's had his saddlebags bumping into so many trees and gates and walls he just wasn't bothered at all. Even I was impressed by that =)
Then, as we came around the bend to where we were staying a whole group of people had gathered to welcome us - for the first time on the whole journey! =p Val had shuffled all her guests out to wave and smile and take pictures and it felt fab!
We had a great time in the pub that night..... =)
Please remember that we are still fundraising for RDA and WHW...
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| Good to go! |
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| Kirk Carrion, which apparently means "Church of the dead"... |
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| Les and Fadlie |
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| Money, money, money, on a pony.... |
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| Lunch time! Dead sheep lying next to the sign.... |
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| I am happy, I promise.... |
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| I love the North! |
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| The really nice ice cream man who gave me two free flapjacks =) |
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| Casper - the cat with a ghost face on his back! And Val =) |
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| Blurry pub! |
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| No farting in the bunk house! |
mandag 13. august 2012
By the way!
I know I wrote in the description of the ride that we would not go to Newcastle as such, but I have changed my mind and left more or less all my things (I still have clean underwear and a toothbrush!) behind. As I'm writing now I'm looking up places to stay for the last three nights. The plan is to follow an old railway line to the river Tyne and then cross one of the bridges there to actually set foot in Newcastle and hopefully get a picture of Juniblest next to something typical for the city =)
Arrival will be Thursday afternoon/early evening - exact ish time will be confirmed!
After going into Newcastle, we'll turn around and be picked up on the south side of the bridge and then get dumped somewhere to wait for transport down to New Forest again over the weekend =D
We're very nearly there! Too early to celebrate, but we're very, very close now. Three more days.....
Arrival will be Thursday afternoon/early evening - exact ish time will be confirmed!
After going into Newcastle, we'll turn around and be picked up on the south side of the bridge and then get dumped somewhere to wait for transport down to New Forest again over the weekend =D
We're very nearly there! Too early to celebrate, but we're very, very close now. Three more days.....
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