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 […]
How far we have come
We took Jack to Wellington on Saturday to do some show jumping. I made an error at fence 8 and had it down. I was annoyed with myself but took the lesson and moved forward. Then my mother said 5 magic word “Look how far you’ve come.” A few months ago, if Jack had so […]
Comeback take two
My return to the show ring didn’t quite go to plan. So, this week, it is comeback take two! Tomorrow, we are off to Addington Equestrian Centre for a two day Sports Horse (GB) show. On day one, I will tackle the Novice Working Hunter and day two the Amateur. It’s a level down from […]
Personal realisations and fan girl moments
It’s been a busy few weeks in regards to personal realisations. A week and a half ago I decided to go big and ride Jack at the Royal Three Counties Show. I had been taking lots of baby steps to get there and thought I was ready. I say thought as I realise now that […]
Making a song and dance of it – lessons from the theatre
No blog post or YouTube video last week because I was treading the boards. I got rather sidelined with a week performing in “Showtime” at the Corn Exchange in Wallingford. I had a fantastic week but as always came away with lessons to apply to my horsey life. You can take the girl away from […]
Terrifying Mindy cont – chickening out.
As I walked out of the arena, a smiling stranger said “oh, chickening out!”, I smiled and muttered something along the lines of “ha, yeah, you know,” But in truth she really didn’t know. I was avoiding terrifying Mindy! Last weekend, it was the British Eventing Jumping and Style Finals at Hartpury College – supported […]
Terrifying Mindy – how to put someone off riding for good
I have a friend, let’s call her Mindy, and I say friend in the loosest sense of the word. Mindy is not a very nice person. Mindy hasn’t ridden for a while, she has had some confidence issues but wants to come and ride on Saturday and potentially a few times a week after that. […]
One fence at a time
I jump the practice jump and the mother says “That’s the one. Let’s head down.” So, I walk him down to the entrance. We are ready to go in. Ready to jump round the course. If we do it right and come out with a clear then we are in the running to win. If […]
Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes
“Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes” is a quote dating back a long way, to the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans; wise people. Nelle Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was seemingly on the same track when she wrote “You never really know a man until […]
November Equestrian Blog Hop: Ambition
I have many short comings but lack of ambition isn’t one of them! I knew I was ambitious from an early age -if I was going to do the Nativity, then I wanted to be Mary. And in horses it was no different, from the moment I sat on one, I was planning my show […]