I received a message last week from someone saying “Have you seen that a jockey has received a ban for not hitting his horse. That’s right – for NOT hitting his horse! 🤯” Jockey Robert Havlin banned for 21 days for tender hands riding Quickgallop.com I was all ready to get on my soap box […]
There is the preparation, the build up, the actual test/round/class, the wait for results and the aftermath – competing is physically demanding but also mentally and emotionally quite a workout too. After competing on Sunday, I found the aftermath a very intriguing place but also the mental noise needed some unpacking and I wanted to […]
Winters are always tough for equestrians with the weather, thick winter coats or high management clips and rugs, relentless mud making everything that bit harder….. Then this year, we need to add a basically non-existent summer season gone, lockdown restrictions with no end date, related personal stress and a questionable future season ahead. Why are […]
What a memorable (for all the wrong reasons) year it has been. I am a big fan of a new year; it feel like such a definitive clean slate, fresh page, new beginning…. And despite the world putting a damper on things, I refuse to not feel my new year buzz! And thankfully it arrived […]
A few weeks ago, I did a personality quiz and the result was ‘Advocate’: unsurprisingly. I am not afraid to speak up and speak out when needed. Sometimes to my own detriment, perhaps it is something I will grow out of, although I doubt it. However, when I shared a picture on social media recently, […]
Sat in my bed, where I seem to spend a scary amount of time at the moment, I realise how much lockdown has effected me. Less motivation, no plans, fewer goals, barely any reasons to get out of my pjs…. Then the posts start of people back out competing. How? How are they doing that? […]
I haven’t written a blog for nearly half a year simply because I lost my voice. Blogging is a means of expression; sharing a story, voicing an opinion and detailing a journey. And recently, my story got confusing, my voice lost and my journey too dark to share. However, life is full of chapters and […]
As a member of the Horse of the Year Show Hall of Fame and winner of The Equestrian of the Year, Robert Oliver is someone who has a beautiful style of riding and has had a huge amount of success in the show ring. In 1977, he broke all records when he won the Cobs, […]
While researching for top names in the Mountain and Moorland world, one name repeatedly came up, that of Kerry Wainwright. She has a superb reputation for not only breeding top quality ponies but also ponies with amazing temperaments. The Skellorn stud was founded in the 50s by her grandfather, Les Wainwright, who bred Welsh Mountain […]
Another great from a showing dynasty, Granddaughter of the amazing Betty Skelton who championed side saddle for so many years, Cindy is a well respected showing judge, having served on multiple panels as well as grading youngstock, teaching, producing and breeding some lovely ponies and horses. Cindy had an eye for judging from an early […]