Some days you ride and finish physically exhausted, on this training day, I finished mentally exhausted. British Dressage Central Region organised a training day at Croft Equestrian Center, near Reading with The Balanced Rider and Centaur Biomechanics and I was delighted to take Jack along. My aunt had attended a Centaur Biomechanics lesson previously so […]
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 […]
Falling off to be a good rider – is that actually a thing?
Joey got a scooter for Christmas. He loves his scooter. He is a little young for a scooter but is very active and we thought it would be something he would enjoy. He did some practice at home before venturing out to the local park and he was let loose. He fell off. Quite spectacularly […]
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 […]
October Equestrian Blog Hop – Halloween: Finding the fun
This month’s Equestrian Blog hop is all about Halloween, yard traditions, All Saints Day celebrations with horses and yard friends. But the truth is, I am not a big fan of Halloween. Growing up, my Gran was so truly English that she saw Halloween as something “very American” so not for us – saying “cute” […]
My Burghley winner – a story of generosity
I have absolutely loved The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. I have loved the horses, the riders, the fashion (see previous blog where I got weirdly into fashion!), the incredible course and I have loved the coverage. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the event but have so enjoyed the various coverage – particularly the […]