I grew up with stories about Hickstead – my Mum and Aunt recounted endless tales about sinking in the mud and being stuck there for days, about seeing legends being made when they tackled the Derby bank, about trudging from the stable field down to ring 5 with a pony in each hand – even […]
Have you qualified yet?
“We won! Yey!” …… “Was it a qualifier?”….. “No, but he went so beautifully, I’m really pleased.”…. “Well, hopefully he will go beautifully again next week at the qualifier where it really matters.” This is a conversation I actually heard What a downer! I walk along at shows and it is all I hear. Even […]
Burn all Scrunchies!
My eyes struggle to focus, I take a deep breath, my palms start to sweat, my breaths shorten – yes someone is wearing a scrunchie! People laugh at my ridiculous dislike for anything scrunchie related but they don’t understand that this is not just a mild issue – this is a marmite level of hate […]
A little less conversation, a little more action please.
I have never been described as quiet and I am sure my mother will tell you that I am never short of something to say; I started talking quite late so maybe I am making up for lost time. However, whilst competing is not the time to be chatty. It is a time to focus […]
Role reversal – Mother takes centre stage
There is an American proverb which says “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” Well, today I walked in my Mother’s shoes (not literally as she has tiny feet!) and was groom for the day as she competed the wonderful American Pie. And I must say it was certainly enlightening. […]
Walk the line – you can’t afford one negative thought.
At every show, as the class draws near, we get the call: “Competitors can now walk the course.” For some this is like turning a computer on, making a morning brew, tidying a desk – just a task to do before the work commences but for others it is a gut wrenching call that symbolises […]
Badminton – Pol, pickles, pants and just a few ponies.
I will admit I am not normally a fan of eventing – I like my fences to fall down, when I make a mistake I like to hear faults being called out rather than my airbag back protector going off and an ambulance siren and when I canter through some beautiful woodland I just don’t […]
The plight of the Amateur show rider
Squeezing in a quick schooling session before a 9am meeting, trudging into a field wearing a suit with wellies, discussing financial profitability on the phone while applying a poultice – can an amateur ever truly compete against a professional? An amateur, by its dictionary definition, is someone who competes for the love of something rather […]
Why did I start a blog?
4 years ago I went for a ride around the block on a 6 year old Irish hunter. There was nothing special about the ride at all except it changed everything. One minute I was walking down a track, chatting to a friend about her new event horse and then next minute I was on […]