A little bit of everything

Temporarily swopping Amsterdam for Drenthe (northern part of The Netherlands) means having to find a new riding school. The one I stumbled upon a few days ago looked rather old & awful, but turned out to be quite a nice place. Friendly people, bright-eyed horses, clean stables, cosy indoor hall. Curiously, that last aspect seems to be pretty rare in wet & windy Drenthe. Let’s enjoy the luxury while we still can!

 

Finding a new riding school means having to do a trial lesson and feeling all stupid & clumsy again. Even with twenty years of experience in the pocket I was still secretly relieved to be put in the advanced riders group: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm. Hurrah!

 

Doing a trial lesson means having to chat a little about yourself & your equestrian background with the instructor. A round & rosy lady, in this case. While I tried the young mare (‘Born in this very yard!’) to walk in a straight line, I told her what I had done so far – horse-wise. She had to laugh and I could understand why: I have done a little bit of everything (though nothing very much in-depth).

 

It started with dressage – as it always does in The Netherlands (thanks to Anky). Then, when my trainer informed me that my plump little pony had reached its bending & extending limits and that it was time to move on to something more serious, something with longer legs, I ignored his advice and re-schooled my Haflinger to western riding (sliding stops! roll-backs!). Along with the cowboy hat came natural horsemanship (Monty’s style), which provided me with some breath-taking join-ups and wonderful saddleless and bridleless rides. What followed was a messy intermezzo of hacking & trekking & classical dressage (*I love Lippizaners* I wrote next to the pictures), until I discovered polo. The speed, the excitement, the razorblade ponies: total addiction. But also quite expensive, so to be continued at some later (and richer) point. As an adrenaline compromise, I then went for show jumping and the occasional cross-country ride. Oh - and I hunted once, too.

 

There’s only one thing missing in this list, and that’s endurance. Guess what I’m going to do in August 2011…?

 

PS - Don't worry guys: horse riding boot camp starts in May. 

 

 

Charitableness

Saturday morning, busy shopping street, The Netherlands. It was cold and windy and those grey clouds, over there in the distance, were definitely coming my way – but I smiled, because that’s what collectors do.

I wasn’t very good at it. The collecting box, tightly secured to keep little children’s hands from sneaking in, weighed exactly the same as three hours before. A few guilders, some pennies, the occasional rixdollar perhaps. No amounts my charity could get any further with. The other scouts (grass-green shirt, marine-blue tie) did far better than me. I could hear them making small talk with strangers, I could hear them confidently shaking their boxes’ content. A sly [psychological trick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwagon_effect "Bandwagon effect"), those tinkling coins.

What did I do wrong? I did not dare open my mouth, that’s what I did wrong. I was scared that people would laugh (or yell) or stare (or not even look) at me. That they would act angry or irritated or surprised. That they would ask questions whose answers I had no idea about. (Which percentage of my money will actually end up at the charity?) And that, oh horror, they would see me blush. So I just smiled at them and they smiled back at me, relieved that I didn’t even attempt to throw out a hook.

This time I’ll do it differently. This time I’ll just say: folks, I need your money. Five hundred pounds for [Mercy Corps](http://www.mercycorps.org.mn/ "Mercy Corps Mongolia") (the Derby’s official charity) and five hundred pounds for [The Brooke](http://www.thebrooke.co.uk/ "The Brooke") (my personal heroes). If I cannot get it together, I cannot go to Mongolia. So I hope, hope, hope you are willing to help me. Blatant generosity, anonymous noble-mindedness, legally attractive gifts, guilt-ridden make-ups, fresh resolutions for 2011, loyal friendliness: everything – from small bits to big heaps – is more than welcome.

(This last sentence is accompanied by that same friendly smile.) 

·     [Click here](http://www.justgiving.com/frederiqueschut) to donate to Mercy Corps Mongolia

·     [Click here](http://www.justgiving.com/frederiqueschut2) to donate to The Brooke  

 

Many thanks!

 

The introductory one