The Mothership messaged me the other day saying “We haven’t done a lot of winning recently but we are certainly learning a lot.” We have been putting some serious work in; both on and off the horse. I think that the time off the horse can be underestimated sometimes; the time to think, discuss ideas, talk about different tactics and thoughts of how to make things better. As Poirot would say time for the “little […]
Seeing life through Joey’s eyes is quite special. Into the lorry he jumps, with his map in hand saying “Are we going on an adventure?” No worries at all. I wish I could be a bit more like Joey! I think I have underestimated the effect that nerves have on me! Just putting it out there. I know when I am having a proper wobble and the brain goes seriously to the dark side, I […]
In the horse world of late, I have noticed this word brandished about a lot: Brave. “Be brave” “Feeling brave” “Finding my brave”. And, ever one to rock the boat when I see it necessary, I am going to have to object. I don’t want to be brave! And this is why… When I think “brave”, I think of soldiers, lions, fighter pilots going into battle. When I watch Carl Hester, or John Whittaker, or […]
Put your hand up if you are prone to overthinking. Which hand though? How high should I place my hand? What does prone mean? Remember that time I put my hand up and bashed the ceiling? Although that other time I put my hand up and …. Do I actually overthink or do I think just enough? No, I definitely overthink. Sorry, was I meant to put my hand somewhere. Welcome to overthink land. I […]
Happy New Year everyone! I am a big fan of a New Year. I would even go so far as to say that I would chose New Year over Christmas. (Sorry Santa!) Less presents but more a chance to regroup and start afresh. Lots of big intentions for 2019. I apologise for being quiet on the blog for a number of weeks. I have been blogging for a few years now, and two or three […]
Jack has come in after a few weeks ‘holiday’ in the field. He has got a bit woolly, a little chubby and hopefully it has done him good. However, it is time to get back to work, and we have a lot of work to do. I was prepared for him to be a little bit bright the first time I rode after his holiday but he surprised me by being fairly chilled about it […]
Firstly, Jack is perfect. I will not allow anyone to say anything to the contrary. Secondly, we have a lot of work to do! I love this time of year. The busy summer season is over and it is time to step back and address some, shall we call them ‘areas of perfection improvement’? This year, we have actually achieved a lot of progress towards a ‘better perfection’: loading – tick, travelling – tick, putting […]
Reading the awful stories on the news recently about children being bullied at school brought back some painful memories for me: I didn’t have the nicest time at school. I was also there before social media and online bullying existed so dread to think how much harder it must be now. It was absolutely heartbreaking to read about Bradley John taking his own life due to bullies. As a child, I hoped that it was […]
My second love, besides horses, is musical theatre. Oh, and Joey of course. Oh and Jack. Oh god, and Pie! He should have been first! Ok, it’s one of my loves. Musical theatre is something I am often inspired by. I produced a version of The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown a few years ago and there was an audition song in it – Climbing Uphill. Cathy sings for an audition but we […]
Confidence, I have realised, is like a bottle of wine or gin. Whichever you prefer. To really excel and be full of confidence, you need a full bottle. (Definitely a metaphor, please drink responsibly!) My confidence has been pretty rock bottom in recent years but, this week, I had a bit of a realisation. My one step at a time approach has worked wonders, and I highly recommend it to anyone fighting their own confidence […]