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? Just like that, like nothing has happened. I am not sure our lorry will even start after so long. I […]
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 it’s time I start a new one and put pen to paper again. (Or realistically fingers to keyboard!) I watched […]
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, Small Hunter and Hack titles and took reserve in the Hunter Championship at HOYS. He has also been incredibly generous […]
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 ponies including Skellorn Daylight, one of the top Section A sires who still influences the breed today. Granddaughter, Kerry, outgrew […]
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 age, so early that when she won a judging competition for the British Show Horse Associated, aged 21, she found […]
The second of my Showing Mentor Interviews: if you enjoy what you read, please do comment and make sure you follow @HowVeryHorsey so you don’t miss out on the rest of the series…. When I was younger, Jayne rode at the Ramsay’s yard and I used to hide in a stable, peaking over the door to be able to watch her schooling in the arena. If you want to see how to ride a show […]
The king of the show ring: no set of interview about showing mentors would be complete without this legend. Son of Harry, therefore a descendant of showing royalty, he is a five times British champion point to point rider as well as top show rider, producer and all-round horseman. He has been President of the Show Horse Association and is a top judge too. He has won multiple Horse of the Year Show titles, producing […]
With the new year in full swing and a new season approaching, I am excited to be starting the year in such a better frame of mind to last year. I feel stronger and ready to take on whatever challenges 2020 will bring. That moment before the clock strikes midnight is always so significant to me; feeling like it sets up what is going to lie ahead, and it reminded me of that moment before […]
Jack has recently had a few weeks holiday. Since the disappointment of HOYS, we all needed a bit of time to regroup and recover. Last week he came back into work but apparently had forgotten what a saddle was and thought he was 3 again. The mother wisely said “It was never going to be straight forward was it!” Jack is wonderful but a little bit high maintenance at times: with any horse that is […]
As it’s Halloween, it felt somewhat poetic to talk about something scary… Have you see the video from the French CCI5*, Les Etoiles de Pau, of the horse jumping into the wall? If you haven’t seen it, yes, it’s as scary as it sounds. British Rider, Jack Pinkney, ended up veering through a gap in the event’s fencing and the horse attempted to jump the very high wooden palisade wall, crashing into it and depositing […]