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Mattingley is one of my favourite events and it ALWAYS seems to be a sunny one which is a real bonus. We arrived and found ourselves a nice shady spot under a tree to park in, by the time we returned from getting my number 2 more people had decided that was a good idea and we had started to create our own mini shady car park! With it being so hot I only allowed 30mins dressage warm up as I thought Soap would go off the boil quicker in the heat. Thankfully the organisers were being lenient and riders…

I received some sad news today from my sponsor Frances at Hoplands EC when she emailed to say that sadly they have had to made the hard decision to close the center. From the Hoplands website… “After much consideration, we have had to take the reluctant decision to close Hoplands Equestrian Centre from 30th June 2010. Due to opposition from local residents and subsequent enforcement action by the local planning authority, our business activities have been limited since 2009 as we have been unable to hold any competitions or shows. Despite our best efforts, the various costs associated with hiring…

Last week I received a text from my sponsor Frances at Hoplands Equestrian Centre asking if I was free to be a guinea pig rider for an Equestrian Coaching Committee training day. Having done a few guinea pig impressions for a similar thing with the BSJA last year I found the whole thing a really interesting experience so said yes. We arrived a little early so I took Soap for a quick hack round the XC course to warm up, the sun was shining, everything looked lush and green, and it was just lovely to be mooching about in such pretty…

The time has come to advertise Dustry and reduce the Team GHE horse power from3 to 2 so yesterday I poshed him up in readiness for his ‘advert pic photoshoot’ and walked him about the yard looking for some nice backdrops to stand him in front of. Because he’s such a cuddly affectionate little chap it’s very tricky to get him to stand up away from me and not walk forward and try to climb in my pocket! I think after 20minutes of  ‘click click , stand up, lifting legs, walking back, leading forwards, and waving arms to get ears…

Almost every weekend since I started training with my new instructor Amanda Brewer I have tried to take Soap for a Saturday lesson with her. This has meant that I haven’t done as much competing as normal at the start of the season as I have redirected my ‘horsey budget’ towards instruction rather than entries (a new tactic for me) but it is starting to pay off! Amanda is a total stickler for accuracy and intelligent riding, and is really helping me hone my skill to become a more knowledgeable, subtle rider. On the flat Soap is really coming on…

Finally the weather has improved and Dustry’s summer coat is coming through, he’s starting to look really smart now and is turning a lovely bright bay all over. His hacking education is coming on well and the other day we went out for a 45min walk and trot hack round the farm with Jack as ‘sensible company’. Jack did not exactly live up to his role, but Dustry didn’t care and boldly strode on past all supposedly ‘spooky areas’  completely non-plussed by tractors, rollers, other horses, XC fences, 4x4s, signs, and pheasants. Yesterday we did some more schooling and he’s…

Jack is doing really well now he’s in full time work, he’s mainly being hacked with the odd schooling session craftily thrown in to prevent him from getting bored and going stuffy in the arena. He has recently had a few Bowen treatments which seem to have made a huge difference in softening him up, and showing him that it is possible to bend your neck, and not use it as a stiff plank-like rudder! Riding him is a constant learning curve, having been very heavily handled in the past and never having been taught the foundations of proper schooling…

After Munstead BE90 I called out my physio to see Soap as I was sure he wasn’t right, and she identified that he had put himself out behind, he was treated and my trainer Amanda Brewer and I monitored his movement very carefully in our next few lessons and were happy that he had made a full recovery, and Larkhill was a go go! We had day before dressage and Soap did a cracking test, it felt like his best yet, really consistent, no freak outs, and very accurate. I was really pleased with his performance, and even more so when…

Now that the clocks have changed and the days are longer I have time to juggle riding all 3 horses around work so Dustry is now stabled at night, and is very pleased to have haylage on tap and a big straw bed to snooze on. He is much more chilled after a winter off, and I think the break has done his brain, and body the world of good. I have been doing a little bit of lunging in preparation for getting on board, and he has been impeccably behaved. He responds very well to voice commands although he…

Today we set off to Munstead another new event to me, and despite all the recent rain the ground had held up really well. I warmed up for dressage giving Soap a good 45mins to warm in. During the warm up I noticed he did a few things that I thought didn’t feel quite right, but assumed I could put that down to freshness after a week of light work because of the recent torrential weather. We went in for our test and he tensed up which had a dramatic affect on his paces, tight, hollow, and not as well balanced as…