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 […]
I was sat in an interview once and the interviewer asked “How do you perform under pressure?”. Every part of me wanted to say “Like this!” and burst into a full vocal and dancing performance. I thankfully exercised some self control and didn’t. However, to this day, whenever I hear the Queen classic it makes me smile. Well, the song has very much been in my mind over the last few days. One week to […]
I was scrolling through Facebook the other evening when I came across a Horse and Hound post about Gemma Tattersall receiving a yellow card at an event. I had seen Gemma jump at Hickstead and was impressed with her partnership with her horse so was disappointed to read this. Scrolling through the comments, (mostly about Horse and Hound restricting viewing to their VIP readers!) I saw a lady had written that we are heading towards […]
“It’s got a voice today”, “Get it ready and I’ll get on it in a minute”, “It just isn’t playing ball today” These are just three examples of things I have heard being said at shows over the last few weeks and I have a question for these people. How do you expect to have a valuable partnership if you don’t even respect your horse enough to use he or she? Two little letters, I […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]