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Brave Rider Academy
Team Wimpy: A summer round up!

What a brilliant summer it’s been, we heard from the lovely Amie and Raven so here’s a little update from the rest of my amazing Team Wimpy ladies… they make me very very proud.

Susan our polo queen!

Pataca and I have now completed the 2018 grass polo season! A whole blooming season, DONE! We rounded off on such a high by playing in my first ever tournament. I was so nervous about taking part in a proper competitive match against much more experienced players, but once I was on the field and the whistle blew something kicked in and I felt it was the best polo I’d ever played. I scored a goal. Me! The Wimpy One!

I can’t believe the difference a year has made. Very, very happy. Come play polo, fellow wimps, it is FUN!

Nina and Lara: a laugh a minute!

Nina has us all laughing night and day… she says: I’ve not done much as I lead a very boring life apart from making myself look a complete idiot jumping as a turkey. She has me literally crying with laughter!!!

Jess our super trainer!

I’ve had a really busy couple of months coaching! I’ve been working away on my ukcc level 3…this has been a huge learning curve and whilst I’m not sure I’ll pass the assessment and it’s been a lot of hard work, I’ve actually thoroughly enjoyed the chance to meet up with coaches and spend time with our fab coach educators Hannah Moody and Harry Payne!

I’ve held a camp at willow banks with a great bunch of ladies! And then I’ve had a great time at Burghley admiring those riders…although why anyone would want to hurl themselves over fences that size I’ll never understand ??!

Liz, True and Spirit: the big move

So in the last 6 weeks the horses have had an easy time… True is turned out until I have time to keep him in proper work and therefore not so scary, and Spirit is on gentle tick over. We have moved house, and have a fab garden now, and are currently in the process of transforming a 14 acre wilderness into a tidy yard… no liveries, just for us!

I’ve also started a ‘proper’ job working for a veterinary practice part time, so major things have been happening, just not involving competing. I’ve written off the idea of anymore eventing this year, but hope to do some of the Riding club winter qualifiers!

Sharon and Jack: fun and learning

Over the last few months Jack and I have been working on our partnership. Sometimes with success and sometimes not but HAVING FUN!

Sharon has worked really hard over the summer getting Jack going forwards and jumping consistently at 80cms and riding prelim tests… she annoyingly never gives herself enough credit for how far they’ve come!!!

Becki and Buck: smashing it!

The last few weeks have been very busy for buck and I! We have started doing affiliated BE and moved up to 90! Buck has been really enjoying the step up and has been absolutely storming round the cross country! Our big crazy dream now is to move up to BE100 at the end of next season! Becki also completed her biggest competition to date doing the riding club eventer challenge at Blenheim palace international and I know she wouldn’t say it herself, but she really is bloody amazing and doing so so well!!!

So happy for them all, and massive thanks to them for being so amazing so far xxxx

#blogtober – Autumn essentials for you…

In the spirit of equestrian blogging, I have decided to dip in and out of the #horsebloggers Blogtober topics when the inspiration takes me. Today it took me…

I’m going to bring you my 3 Autumn essentials that I, or anyone else shouldn’t be living without.

Now, I expect you’re about to click the home button or the Facebook shortcut and disappear from my site assuming that I’m going to rave about some over priced gilet filled with the hair of Indonesian badgers, well think again.

There are things that no money can buy you in this world that are worth far, far more than hairy badgers. And God knows, I love new horsey products A LOT, I have 2 attractive horse models and I’m not bad with a camera … but it’s only temporary and superficial happiness. Take note, these are the things you really shouldn’t be without;

Number 1: Social Media Curfews

Snore… you’ve heard it all before, the “I’m taking a SM break” or “No phones after 7pm” bullsh*t! But the thing is, YOU’RE MISSING OUT ON LIFE!!!!! Yes, I’m an active social media user, but I never let it dictate my life. I cannot stand it when people use their phones at the dinner table or in a restaurant even… Going out? Leave your bloody mobile on the kitchen side, in the car, anywhere but in front of your face when your eating, please!

What if your husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend dies at midnight tonight, would you regret the time you spent scrolling through the all too fake lives of other people that you barely know?! Too bloody right you would!

Stop for a second, think about lifting your head, looking around and enjoying your surroundings. Ride without posting on Instagram, see how amazing that feels to just be alone with your horse. It’s something I’ve done more and more and felt so happy for, which is why it’s my absolute number 1 thing to do this Autumn!!

Number 2: Minding your health.

This year I’ve been plagued with almost constant niggling pain for the first time in my 32 years. I know the relief of this pain requires at least one operation which I’m putting off for fear of it getting worse (no guarantees!). Taking care of your body, minding how many service stations you stop at tipping gallons of saturated fat into yourself, just how many cigarettes you toke on each Friday night and how many wine bottles smash into the bottom of the recycling van on bin day, will all amount to you not living as long or as well. FACT!

For the first time in my life, I’m doing something about this. I’m eating better, drinking less and I’ve started vaping instead of smoking. Yes, I feel better. Smug in fact!

But reality is, drinking too much is a slippery slope into depression and I’ve teetered here before so let’s be mindful of that and live healthier.

I’ve made a plan, I’d like to get the scales saying 9st something, that means exercising, good diet and drinking water instead of wine at 4pm on a Tuesday. I do feel better for it already.

Number 3: Laughing

I cannot stress enough how important it is to laugh, but not just in a weird, insane, alone laughing type of way. There are ingredients to laughter that will make your life better and your mind healthier.

  • Good people- ones that make you warm inside, ones you can be yourself around, people who don’t judge you or have hidden agendas. Those people will have you laughing like never before.
  • Lightening up- yes I use “f*ck and sh*t like a comma and a full-stop, I’m controversial, sarcastic and have wavering tact but I’m myself 99.7% of the time (obviously I wouldn’t swear in church or in front of my Mum!) Lighten up Brenda, it’s not like I said c*nt!
  • Appreciation of stuff you take for granted. Now, you might not roll about laughing when you realise how fortunate you are to have found half a Bounty in your coat, but making sure you appreciate just how lucky you are to be alive will make laughing about trivial crap much, much easier.

And that’s all I really have to offer on the subject. Don’t waste your life on things that are neither important nor worthy of your concern. Be kind, don’t judge and make light of things that don’t matter.

You have the power to be amazing… why aren’t you using it?

Love xxx

Suze and George – August Golden Ticket Winners!

So, you may have seen that in August I offered one lucky book buyer the chance to win a GOLDEN TICKET!  A Wimpy Wonka if you will… this ticket entitled the recipient to a day with ME! I would come to their house and terrorize them for a whole day! And that’s exactly what I had planned!!

Daddy Carrot selected the winner from a spreadsheet of names collated from my August orders and the lucky winner was a lady called Suzanne Pockley.  Now, I will add that at this point, I had absolutely no idea who this person was or if they were a serial killer, arsonist, wimpy-napper, etc. but having firmed a date with Suzanne over Facebook, she (and her trusty steed, George) didn’t seem the murderous type.

By the time the day arrived I was on to plan C of the activities I had in store for poor Suze.  My first plan of a polo lesson fell through as the ponies had all gone on holiday to the Caribbean or similar, Plan B was a trip to the mechanical horse and riding assessment, but alas… this was also not meant to be and had some technical problem… So I opted for Plan C.

En route to East Yorkshire, after papping my knickers going over the MASSIVE Humber Bridge, I stopped off at the supermarket for chilled booze and croissants only to need a jump start to get me back on the road again!! GREAT! – I obviously took Daddy Carrots car because mine is definitely not fit for passengers that would prefer not to catch E-Coli. After being propositioned by my golden toothed, jump starting helper, I made it to Suze’s yard and to my relief, she was so lovely and welcoming.

We had a good chat and a couple of glasses of Bucks Fizz before tacking up George and getting started on some confidence building in the arena.

DISCLAIMER: I am going to add in at this point, that I am no Yogi Breisner or Emile Faurie, I have no real formal qualifications to teach other than some ancient BHS PTT and Pony Club tests, but, I am insured and I know damn well that I can instill confidence in people to do things that they didn’t think they were capable of.  I know that people trust me and I also know that I swear at them until they do things that ordinarily might seem impossible. If you have ever had me for a lesson, you’ll know what I’m talking about!!! 

Building Confidence

Now, Suze is a BRILLIANT rider, she is quiet with her hands, correct and balanced in her seat, she doesn’t hinder or flap, she has feel and skill… AND NO BELIEF IN ANY OF THAT WHAT SO EVER!!!!! I wanted to hit her with a spade. George, is a 14.3hh coloured cob that Suze bought as a 2 year old and backed herself. I renamed him ‘Just Enough George’. He is lazy at best and getting him to go forward and enjoy being a speedy sports cob was the aim of the morning.

We worked on getting him going off the leg in all 3 paces, shortening the trot on the short sides and lengthening on the long ones so Suze could practice using the GO button that we newly installed in George! She did a brilliant job of this and he was moving very nicely indeed.  We then looked at straightness and riding a straight centre line, actually FEELING what straight feels like and not just riding a line. So, we were forwards, straight and in balance… perfect green lights for jumping!

Suze definitely turned a little green when I put the jumps up.  She doubts herself so unnecessarily and I wanted her to see and start believing what she and George are capable of – I could see it a mile off!! So I popped up a high sided cross pole to focus George’s attention and keep them straight, followed by 2 uprights on either side of a 20m circle.  The idea being to do very little over the jump, get straight before the fence and keep George FORWARDS! She nailed it!!! I mean really nailed it!

Trust

Trust is vital when you are teaching someone that lacks confidence and I hope I’m right in saying that, at this point, Suze trusted me (or she was in fear of being sworn at some more!) when I popped the jumps up a bit.  The high sided cross pole was back and this was teamed with a little oxer to get George being straight, careful and also having to focus him going forwards a bit more for the spread.  She rode this so well, I knew there were limits to her confidence but there were less to her capability… it was all about getting her to realise this.  Quite often, people are far more capable than their confidence allows them to believe – I know this better than anyone!

So, with George and Suze thoroughly pooped, Suze’s Mum hopped on (helped by a glass of prosecco and mild bullying) after 20 years of not riding, to cool George off.  This was a really special moment for me.  The bond between Suze and George is like no other I have seen, he dotes on her, following her every step as she walked with her Mum around the arena. I had to slope off and put the jumps away before I flung my arms around them all and sobbed with pride!!

And Relax…

After all that hard work, we popped George in the field and headed off for Afternoon Tea at a lovely hotel.  We chatted for hours and ate our body weights in miniature cakes and finger sandwiches before heading to the SPA!! Almost losing track of time in the Jacuzzi, it was time for Suze to go for her massage and facial, before a final drink together in the hotel bar.

I dropped Suze home around 7ish and made my way home so full of pride for her and so happy with the new friend I had made.

I cannot thank her enough for having me and being so welcoming.  I know she was jumping again this weekend too, which makes me SERIOUSLY HAPPY!!! I can’t wait to see her and George progress and get out to some shows next year. What a brilliant Golden Ticket day, something I will definitely love to do again.

Love as always
Vic xxx

One thing I that I couldn’t leave out is this AMAZING curly George Moustache…

Which rug should I put on my horse?

Rugging Temperature Guide

Now, this doesn’t cover everything there is to know or every different circumstance, and I sharn’t make this into too much of a biology lesson either. But hopefully it helps in times of rugging confusion!

rugging

What I have learnt…

I have run some of the most elite yards in the country, working with both old-school and new-age tendencies. This is what the last 22 years and over 200 horses have taught me…

  • When deciding on rugs, remember that each horse is an individual. Some might be hot, some might be prone to a chill, try not to pigeon hole… apply common sense as much as you can!
  • Under rug rather than over rug… particularly when turned out. Horses move around to increase blood flow and use energy stored from food to generate heat… they cannot strip a layer off or pant like a dog to cool down. If in doubt, leave it out!
  • Have a good layering system that you can whip layers out of and keep the under layer clean and free from scurf (technical term!). This will stop rubs and save scraping grease off your hands all winter!
  • Do not judge horses by how hot or cold YOU are… you are a human, you do not have fur, you do not have the same thermoregulation system as a horse, FACT. If you are cold… move around for 5 minutes, do not add a 600tog duvet to your pony!
  • Consider their environment, are they indoors? Are they in open, windy fields? Shelter from high winds and rain will change how you rug, as will constant supplies of good forage (fibrous hay, grazing or hard feed).
  • Using turnouts in the stable is FINE! It actually will stop the rugs absorbing pee. Just make sure you have one that fits well and isn’t causing rubs if you’re leaving it on 24/7.
  • Wet rugs… unless you have somewhere warm and dry to air them, take it off, check it’s got no leakage and chuck it back on… it will dry in no time at all! You might not want to stand about in a wet coat but your horse is NOT a human, he will not give two sh*ts!
  • Drying a wet horse in winter without a solarium or warm shelter could seem like Mission Impossible but it’s not. After a good towel dry, put on a thick, winter weight cooler (underneath a spare rug turnout or stable if required). This can be left on (approx 2-3 hours for non clipped and 30 minutes- 1 hour for clipped) and then changed before the temperature drops, this will do the job of wicking the moisture from the horse and into the rug. Do not leave these wet rugs on over night if you know its going to get cold. I am also a huge fan of ‘thatching‘, stuffing the underside of the rug with straw will dry a horse much quicker than any cooler in my experience.
  • The best place to feel for temperature is NOT the ears or legs where there is very little muscle to get cold… feeling behind the wither should give you the best indication.

In the olden days…

I first learnt rugging systems when turnouts (New Zealands as they were then known) were made of heavy canvas, they had no belly straps just a leather thread through buckle at the front, two leather leg straps and a lining made of felt, wool or thick fleece like fabric.  They were VERY heavy to get on, but they NEVER moved and only occasionally rubbed a shoulder or two! You could jet wash them and paint on wax-jacket reproofer to save money too!

Stable rugs were made of ‘jute’ which looked and scratched your skin, like an old potato sack. These were layered with Witney blankets made of wool secured with a jute roller or a duvet and circingle if you were lucky!

But what do you ACTUALLY need?

I used to be a rug hoarder, I had a rug for every eventuality and I think this is SO common these days with far too much choice. Now I only need 2 rugs and they are the best I have found after trying pretty much EVERY brand and style available over the last 20 years.

Pat, who will soon be fully clipped, lives out all year round, he will be rugged very well because he feels the cold.

RUG 1: TURNOUT
I use the FALPRO GOODWOOD, this is a complete set of outer rug, 3 liners and 2 neck options and is currently on sale at £255.99. This might seem a lot, but you will never need another rug again!! It comes with a 3 year waterproof warranty and in previous experience FALPRO rugs have lasted well even over 10 years old .  You’ll be covered for all temperatures and all seasons with this one rug and it’s great for stable kept horses too.

RUG 2: COOLER
As much as I adore the thick, 600g weight FLEECE COOLER from Falpro (pictured at the top), if you can afford it, you really wont go far wrong investing in the patented wicking fabric of the Thermatex. The best of their range has to be the T2000 which I have used on many horses for years and nothing comes close on drying times… you do however need around £160.00 to get one and I just haven’t managed to stomach it for an occasional use rug just yet.  The fleece cooler from FALPRO is £71.99 at the minute and works perfectly for what I need.

So, I think that’s enough from me, if you have any questions please feel free to pop them in the comments 🙂

Happy rugging! Bye for now xxx

What I wear competing Part 2: Show Jumping

There are obviously do’s and don’ts that you have to comply with and I advise that if you are unsure that you check with the British Eventing Rule Books just to be safe.

I know that all of the gear I am wearing is above board but equally I also know that I push the limits on some things, where most people might want something a bit more *coughs* discreet.

Vic Wears:

The only changes to the attire from what I wear in the Dressage (link here) are:

HelmetCharles Owen Pro Racing helmet or my AYR8 depending on how safe I feel. The Pro Racing super protective, well ventilated and cut high in the front to ensure full visibility. I put a Foxy Equestrian velvet silk over it and change it over for XC. I also tie my hair back with a pink scrunchie and blue net from eBay. I always prefer jumping in a skull cap.

Full details of everything else can be found HERE.

Pat Wears

Bridle – He likes a padded poll and needs a flash to add some security to the contact and so I have the gorgeous Lme bridlewear comfort bridle in brown. The neck strap is just off an old martingale but I NEVER go without it these days unless I have to.

Bit – After much deliberation, trial and error and help from my lovely friend Liz at Ride Right Equestrian, he is in the Neue Schule Verbindend which encourages him to seek a contact and gives me much more feel. I don’t change this for each phase.

Browband – He is still in the Pearly Ponies Ultimate in pink and blue from almost 2.5 years ago, I haven’t wrapped it in cotton wool or been particularly dainty about it, it’s durable, super pretty and I bloody love it!!

Saddle – In 2017 I invested in my beloved jumping saddle. I bought (over monthly payments) a Voltaire Design Lexington saddle in chocolate buffalo leather with my name etched into a plate on the back. It has truly changed my riding for the better and I love it like a child!!!

Leathers and Stirrups – I have the matching Voltaire leathers and I use them with the Acavallo Opera stirrups in bronze and brown that are my absolute favourite and not a bad price for the design and quality.

Girth – is the anatomic short girth from Voltaire and is very soft and squishy with a wide surface area as he can be a little girthy at times.

Boots – I am a huge fan of chiding the best protection possible and I feel very pleased with my choice in the Majyk XC boots and a pair of their over reach boots. I made a little video as to why I think they’re so great:

I also make sure I stud him really well and usually carry a little jumping whip that I’ve wrapped in pink and blue tape!! And that’s it, we’re good to go!!

Thanks so much for reading xxx

Number 6 – Frickley (2): The one with the happiness

So, here we are again… on the eve of an event and having just walked the course, I didn’t feel horrendous. Certainly no where near as bad as my last event at Shelford. I put so much pressure on myself there and I didn’t enjoy a single bit of that feeling. Frickley was all about having FUN as a priority. The course was very technical with 26 obstacles and lots of combinations to catch us out! These were my bogey fences that I thought might be an issue for us:

My dressage was at 8.18am and I was set to be finished by 10.30, so only two small gins in the pub on our Friday ritual night and we were home and in bed by 10pm all set for our 4.30am alarm!!

The feeling that usually hits me “how easy would it be to just withdraw?” when the alarm sounds wasn’t there today. I sprung out of bed and hopped into my breeches and out the door feeling almost excited for the first time in ages!!!

We loaded Pat and set off on our 1hr45 journey. Made a pit stop for coffee and toilet necessities and after a short directional malfunction we were parked up at Frickley albeit running somewhat behind schedule!!

I plaited in record time (about 3 and a half minutes!!) and got ready whilst Daddy Carrot trotted off to get my number and pay the start fee. Minutes later we were heading down to dressage with only 20 minutes to go before I was in!!

I stupidly gave him a bit of the calmer syringe when we stopped at the services just like in times gone by. I thought it would help me with our recent show jumping stops but alas, it just confirmed what I already knew, that it just creates more tension and excitement in him and was probably the cause of my last two years of fear to mount at shows!! He was a total d*ck, buzzy, wired and I was back feeling scared again. I will happily admit that this was a big mistake on my part and one I will not make again.

Settled and in the test, the same one I’ve done pretty much all season, I went bloody wrong!!! I got the sodding horn of shame, I knew instantly what I’d done by cantering in the wrong place but I gathered myself, redid the bit I screwed up and finished the test.

Walking back to change for jumping, the rain fell heavier and heavier…

I felt anxious about slipping and skidding about in the ring and when I finally got my act together and got back on, my legs had turned to wiggly tentacles of uselessness!!

We only had a few to go before us so I popped a couple of cross poles, knocked down an upright or two and saw a crappy stride to an oxer and we were in!!

He spooked at the first fence but we made it, he had a little skid in front of the second and just ground to a stop!!! B*LLOCKSSSSS!!!! I forgot to do anything again, I sat there like a wet fish on a soggy day… I did NOTHING!! D*ckhead Vic, you really really are!! I circled and rode like I actually wanted him to do it and guess what… he did it!!! ??

I actually, totally got my arse in gear then and rode my very best hunting style round, growling and shouting and kicking like stink. It was not pretty but he was jumping so well!!!

We actually came out with only 1 time penalty thanks to my forward riding so that was 5 to add to our dressage score and left us sitting in the top 3!!

A quick change and we were in the XC warm up within 20 minutes! I was just aiming for getting round, building his confidence back up at the steps after his fall at Shelford and if we made it to the end, well that would have been a bonus!!

The starter man was so so nice, but his 3…2…1, still made me want to set him on fire and chuck him in a bush! The first fence came up so quickly, barely 100 yards from the box, but it was kind and we sailed it confidently and galloped up the hill to a wooden flower wall at number 2.

He backed off and we hit a duff stride but we were over it and it made me buck my ideas up a bit!! Three was a roll top that I really had to ride him at, spooky little sod! Flying over that, I pulled out left and cornered into my planned line for a double of offset hedge-topped boxes. WOW!! What a jump we got at those, he locked on and understood what I was asking!! Result!!

5 was the hedge and rails which he jumped so big, it felt like we were in the air forever, such an amazing feeling! I wish I’d got a picture of that, I was seriously beaming! 6a&b was a wooden box jump and down quite a large step, he pinged the jump and confidently flew off the step pulling me down the hill towards 7!! He was loving it, and so was I!!!!

7 was a white house which jumped fine, to 8 the trakehener. I pushed for a big bold stride to that so he would look into the bottom and it worked, eyes up, legs on and we soared! 9 was up a bank and just one stride down to and a wooden palisade, pinging over like a little dear, my first question on the course was looming so I shortened him up ready for a skinny log and step up for 10.

He came back to me well and popped the log, I held the mane and kept the rhythm and this time he pinged up the step no bother at all!!! Huge squeal and pat on the neck and we were off!!

Over the rail at 11 and a lovely wall at 12, my only two let up fences on the course… we hooked right into the woods, left and right again to a military style rail with hessian sacks under it… he backed right off it, ground to what was almost a stop and I had to think fast. I growled, kicked and waggled my whip and he hopped over it like a little stag!! Bloody spooky sh*t bag! And complacent jockey! This did not bode well for the double of skinny offset logs at 14a&b…

I brought the canter right back and made it VERY obvious what the question was, he answered correctly and nailed both parts!! I’ve never screamed as loud or felt such pride, I apologise to the spectators for my monster scream of “You are a F*€king GOOD BOY”!!!

What a bloody horse though!!! Into the water at a trot because I literally didn’t care about anything other than how amazing he was!! We popped out over the roll top and bounced down to that hideous green and white corner!!

I collected, steered and he thought about running out… there was nowhere for him to go, I held fast and he jumped it bang on! A hard left turn to the flower box skinny that he’s always had a look at and just like before, I held him securely together and true as a die he pinged over it!!!

At this point I thought it had felt quite a fast round so I let him cruise a bit over the last few fences, we flew the flowered wall and saw a duff stride at the last but we were clear and through the flags, screaming with pride!!!

I hopped off and undid his girth and nosebands, and hugged him so tight!!! We did it, we did it!!!

He was so unbelievably amazing, just the ability for him to understand what I ask and agree with what I’m telling him to do. I’ve taught him to jump these jumps, I’ve made mistakes too don’t get me wrong, but what a feeling it is when it comes right. Having a horse understand what is required at each testing obstacle and do exactly what is required. It’s just amazing.

I will never take for granted how magnificent my horse is, how brave he and I can be when we are working as a team. We have something so special and I adore every little inch of him.

Back at the box, we washed him down and settled him back on the van with a big haynet and plenty of polos and sugar lumps. We went to buy photos and peeped in to find that I had actually gone a bit too slow and should I have not “cruised” home on the XC, we would have been in the top 5! Alas, 11th place for us but who gives a fat rats ass?! Not me!!

My horse makes me feel like a winner every time!

Here’s to the next one, the final one of 2018!

Love as always

Vic and Pat xxxx

The Region Final: the one with the vomiting!!

So… yesterday was my Badminton Grassroots Regional Final at Shelford. Throughout the season you get to pick up qualifying results (approx top 3) which mean you are eligible for a RF at that level. At the final you have to be in the top 20% to get through to the championship held at Badminton. And as I am the LEAST competitive person EVER, I started to feel very uneasy about this.

Unfortunately, my usual preparation in the run up to an event was scuppered because I had to stay away for work Monday to Wednesday last week. It also marked my job handover and official unemployment so I expect my mind and nerves weren’t helped by this pressure either.

Saturday I walked the course with one of my Team Wimpy members, Becki and I felt comfortable that there was nothing on the course that was dressed with flowers or seemed to be too scary! Result! That also meant the fight for a Badminton slot would rest solely on the other two phases! Heading home riddled my palpitations but not feeling too horrible, I got everything ready, rode through my test and got an early (non booze filled) night!!!

I woke up to my 4.45am alarm and got out the house by 5.2, with no time for bowel emptying or feeling too scared, we set off.

15 minutes into the journey, the nerves came. I used to feel them the month before, then just the week before, this year I’ve narrowed the time spent panicking down to the last few hours… hoping to eventually get rid of them all together I suppose!! But today was the WORST nerves I think I have EVER felt in my whole life.

Worse than waiting for my divorce to be accepted, worse than when Pat got cast and injured at Talland, the worst nerves of my life hit me like a train.

We pulled over so I could use the toilet and eventually made it to Shelford and their line of portaloos. My body was a mess, it was making me physically sick which I don’t think has ever happened before, I felt cold, shivery and light headed. My hands struggled to do up my tack and the tightness in my chest was making me panic. I wanted to cry and not just out of nerves, I felt desperately sad about how I felt. I thought after Epworth, we had turned a huge corner but the pressure of having to be competitive was making me feel this awful fear of disappointment.

I got on and warmed up, he was so lovely, not a single spook or salmon fish impression. In the test he was far more lazy than I’d have liked (this is penalised heavily in Eventing) but I kept him out in the frame just like I’d been practicing, I thought it deserved around a 35 so guess what… I actually breathed!!!! I had resigned myself to never getting through on that score, you’d need sub 30 to be in with a chance, and I was so happy.

The pressure was off, I laughed all the way back to the box at how stupid I’d been!! I hugged Pat and apologised to Daddy Carrot and proceeded to enjoy the morning Eventing as much as I could!

I went show jumping with the biggest grin on my face!! We warmed up and chatted away to a load of lovely people, and in the ring I just breathed and had FUN!!! He never jumps well in the ring at Shelford and he did had a couple of spooks! He was giving the fences a lot of room which made some of the distances quite short and deep resulting in rolling 3 poles but I didn’t care one bit! He was bouncing and I was so happy to be having fun!!

I also learnt that my dressage score was a 35 but not at all that bad looking at the other scores, definitely top half but certainly not what we are actually capable of on our best day.

Down in the XC warm up I was feeling excited to get going!! I decided to test out wearing my stopwatch today too! And here we were, popping the practice jumps with no spooking, just me and my boy having fun!

In the box, I got counted down and actually remembered to start the speedo!! A short run to a kind log at number 1 which he boinged over no bother, to 2 a box with milk churns on, he looked but I was there to catch him and we bounded down to the step up at 3. We rounded the corner before it in a steady canter, probably not as bouncy as it should have been and then it happened…

He fell, he misjudged the height, scrambled and stumbled and eventually scraped his way up. He’s so good at steps that I just usually hold the mane and wait, but today he was left a bit sore and feeling very frightened. I trotted a few strides and he felt ok so popped him back up to canter for the chair at 4.

He stopped.

He was frightened after the step, and I don’t blame him. But I needed to show him it was okay. We circled, I gave him a big pat and we flew over it, cantering our way down to a brush at 5 and a little log, number 6. Both of these had a sticky jump but I knew I had the rest of the course to make him realise it’s okay again.

7, a roll top, he started to get a bit more confidence, splashing through the water and over the log at 8, he lost momentum but WHAT A HORSE!!! He pinged over it and galloped down to 9 and 10 two sets of rails in the hedge lines, ping ping!!! He was flying now!

Down at the double of pipes for 11 and into the woods, we were screaming with joy! He was pulling me into the palisade at 12 and we were flying!!

The jump I got at 13, the straw bale pheasant feeder… was one of the best jumps I’ve ever had!!! He took me in and I very nearly sobbed with pride!! 14 was a skinny house which he jumped well and onto the brush going back into the woods.

No problem for him, he was heading home now and he felt full of beans!! Pop pop over the yellow pipes in the woods and down a step which I steadied him up for. A long gallop to the finish over a brush and log which he was seriously keen for and through the finish!!!

I couldn’t have been happier with how we finished our day, I was and still am, absolutely ecstatic. He was amazing and grew in confidence with every jump after his fall. I helped him and he actually responded and what a feeling that is. Better than a Badminton qualification or rosette that’s for sure!!!

He did manage to take a good bit of fur and skin off a hind leg but I washed it really well and put some antiseptic cream on it before we took him home.

I grabbed a burger, my dressage sheet and my photos and headed home, so stupidly happy for what it might look like on paper.

Our dressage of 35 wouldn’t have been enough anyway, 33 would have but that’s hindsight. With 12 sj to add, a stop XC and a few time faults we ended the day at the very bottom of the most elite of 90 sections. And guess what…. I was probably as happy (if not more) than the 3 people that qualified.

It’s not about winning for us, I say it often but it’s really not. I don’t want to be a disappointment and that’s what got to me this morning. I have sponsors and all you amazing people that I want to do well for, but the truth is, i can’t consistently do well, it’s not reality and anyone that thinks they can is deluded. I want you all to know that you can win even if you aren’t placed first. I’ve never felt like such a winner than I do having my horse bounding into a jump on his own accord and that’s what matters.

I could blame the hideous weather, the comments on my sheet not being accurate, I could have ridden for the clear SJing or walloped him over that chair from a standstill but that isn’t us. We value smiles over prizes and points.

And what a lot of smiles we won today, someone was definitely looking out for us.

Massive huge thanks to all of you, who continue to support me even though our results might not be the best, my riding might not be perfect and without a string of top horses… you are all amazing. Thank you xxxxx

Here’s to the next one!!

Love as always

Vic and Pat

Xxxx

Number 4: the Enlightening One!

So, here it is…. my fourth event of the 2018 season, an unaffiliated event run at Epworth Equestrian.

Now, for anyone wondering… yes, I have my BE90 Regional Final at Shelford in 2 weeks and yes, I know I did the 80cm class today but I want my horse’s confidence to blossom, I want him happy and keen and I also want to enjoy it too. Epworth was a challenging track last year so I decided that instead of fearing the full up 90, I would have much more fun jumping 80 and letting him have a go at finding some balls too!

I’ve been quite slack this week on the riding front, mainly because the ground is rock hard and also because my lorry broke down on Thursday pre-jumping lesson!! (Its fixed…sort of!!) I had a quick run through of my test but I gave him yesterday off and a pretty easy week all things considered.

We set off, (Wimpy Wagon started up like a peach) arriving in plenty of time to let Pat chill his beans and for Carrot and I to walk the course.

Within two minutes of course walking my belly burst out of my breeches through a zip fly which apparently, could no longer contain my sizeable gut!! Lucky I had a pin spare!! I was also assigned number 13… EPWORTH EQUESTRIAN are you trying to do to me?! It was a nice course however, and the guys at Epworth have some excellent covered going!! I was happy!

Without calmer syringing or his daily powder I was surprised that, when I plaited and tacked up ready for dressage and walked down to the warm up, he was so chilled. I mean HORIZONTAL!!! If any of you have been slipping him something… own up now!!

He was lazy… Kickable and we were having FUN!!!!We were enjoying the dressage warm up!!! I didn’t spoil it by picking him up too much and in the ring it showed. He did a sweet test and got the second best mark of the whole class for a 30.3 but the going down there was firm and I was thrilled regardless of no sub 30.

Back at the box and a quick change for show jumping. I was really happy, content even… no nerves, no snapping bitch from hell, I was even nice to my husband I watched a few go, learnt the course and warmed up.

There were not many people going clear and Epworth is renowned for having a spooky jumping arena (we’ve had a few disasters here too), so I walked in like we owned the joint, no flapping, no rushing, just mooching about like we were on a trip to Skegness having chips on the sea front. Popped up into canter and lolloped our way around the first few and he started TAKING CONTROL!!!!

My horse, that spooky, backward thinking fella, picked up the bit and started taking ME to the jumps!!! I nearly soiled my self out of shock not fear this time!!! It was sensational, I’ve wanted him to pull me into a jump for 7 years and today was his day. It was his day to start a journey and what a magnificent one it will be.

So, with only one unlucky rub of a shady jump at number 6. We headed out of the ring smiling our biggest smiles EVER!!!

Getting ready for cross country, the nerves were there but manageable. I got us both ready and we set off to pop a few practice jumps… the lovely starter man said we could go straight through but knowing how excited Pat gets in the startbox of doom, I asked the man if I could settle him in there as good practice before he sent us away. And away we went!!!!!

Determined not to gun it too fast, I let the rhythm just come as he felt comfortable, like a medium to fast canter I suppose. The first fence was a bit sticky, he wasn’t going to stop but he did hesitate and I kept a firm leg on to number two a box fence with holes in it… he looked but again I was right there to catch him, soaring it and cantering away round the sweeping turn to 3, a table thing and 4 a log pile. I let him take the lead, he decided to go himself… HE TOOK ME IN!!!! I wiped tears of joy from my eyes before number 6a&b, two narrower jumps, b being quite gappy and bright… he nailed it, bang on stride like an absolute pro!! Crikey I need to stop pride making my eyes leak when I’m going round!!! Next, a house which he also took on all guns blazing and onto the carrot table which, never getting complacent, he needed my help at… I just put a bit of extra leg on and we sailed it.

Round the back of the woods and over three more jumps on a new track none of which a problem, and back out into the field to 11, something wooden I think… he was back to being in charge!! Pulled me in and I loved it, whooping a cheering to the next!!! 12 a pipe and flowers jumped well, onto the water which he usually likes to come back to trot for… not today my friends… he cantered through it and out over a previously problematic wishing well like it was nothing!!!

A leg stretch up to the top of the field over 15, a roll top and bounding off the drop, he soared 16 like it wasn’t even there..!! Through the woods I began tiring, I need to get fitter!! We steadied up a little bit but out the trees and two from home, we both whooped with joy!!!

The last two fences came and went as we burst over the finish line of the most amazing round and day out Eventing I have EVER EVER had.

Turns out we went over 30 secs too fast ? giving us a penalty of 8.8tf to add. We still finished 5th in our section and got the most amazing PINK rosette!!

Placings, numbers, prizes and records mean absolutely jack sh*t if you’re not out there having the absolute time of your life. It’s all meaningless if there’s no passion, no love for the sport or appreciation of anything other than the win.

For us, it’s not about winning.

For us, it’s being the best team we can be.

Today, we were the best, Pat was the best and he continues to surprise me with his big lion heart. Growing his confidence is more rewarding than anything I’ve ever done.

Thank you to my wonderful support team, my darling Daddy Carrot ? and to you, for your encouragement and love, it means a lot.

Love as always

Vic & Pat

Xxx

What I wear Competing: Part 1 – Dressage

There are obviously do’s and don’ts that you have to comply with and I advise that if you are unsure that you check with the British Eventing or British Dressage Rule Books just to be safe.

I know that all of the gear I am wearing is above board but equally I also know that I push the limits on some things, where most people might want something a bit more *coughs* discreet.

Vic Wears:

HelmetCharles Owen AYR8 in Navy leather with a tan croc and navy patent trim. This was my bespoke helmet made for me as one of the prizes from being a Finalist on the 2017 Allstar Academy on Horse and Country TV. It is SERIOUSLY comfy and very well ventilated for a full leather helmet. I also tie my hair back with a pink scrunchie and blue net from eBay.

Shirt – I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Ariat show shirts, they are so lightweight and breathable and don’t cling too tight.  I dip dyed mine in pink and added some bows but they are just as lovely in the plain that they come in too.

Stock – I have a few that I love, one bespoke from Caracal who don’t make them anymore sadly or a pink stripy one I found on eBay monstrously cheap.  As long as it it pink and stiff… it’s a winner with me! ?

Gloves – My super grippy Ladies Finest by Hauke Schmidt of course! You can find my review of those HERE too.

Vitality – I’d never go in the ring without my Vitality bracelet from Pegasus Jewellery or my Bravery band for that matter!!!

Jacket – I ADORE my show jacket, it is actually the Louise blazer from Bucktrout Tailoring but it is SO smart and think it works really well as a show jacket.  I have to say, it’s not the most breathable on a hot day but who cares?! It’s light in colour so does reflect  bit more heat than a black or navy one would. Also they have the Lilac version in at HALF PRICE right now too!!!

Number BIB – Now this was my most extravagant purchase of the season… I ordered a custom made bib from Valentine Equine over in Australia, but it is SO worth it, I love it SO much!!!

Breeches – On a fat day (most days) I LOVE the support and sucky-in-ness of the Harcour Katchina breeches I acquired from Just Equine.  They are MEGA grippy and will always be in my top 10 equestrian items EVER!! BUT… on a thin or sweltering hot day, I wear the amazing Ariat Trifactor breeches.  Whilst they sit a bit lower on my tum, they do cool you down far more than any other pair I’ve owned!

Boots – I simply cannot tell you how much I love my boots, they are two years old now and still look amazing.  Again by Ariat, the quality is out of this world and I hope they are still going many years from now!

Pat Wears

Bridle – He likes a padded poll and needs a flash to add some security to the contact and so I have the gorgeous Lme bridlewear comfort bridle in brown. The neck strap is just off an old martingale but I NEVER go without it these days unless I have to.

Bit – After much deliberation, trial and error and help from my lovely friend Liz at Ride Right Equestrian, he is in the Neue Schule Verbindend which encourages him to seek a contact and gives me much more feel.

Browband – He is still in the Pearly Ponies Ultimate in pink and blue from almost 2.5 years ago, I haven’t wrapped it in cotton wool or been particularly dainty about it, it’s durable, super pretty and I bloody love it!!

Saddle – Whilst I cant quite afford to buy the Voltaire Dressage saddle yet, I am riding in a second hand (£200) Saddle Company one which is half leather, half synthetic and very light weight.  It does the job and certainly will do for us.  I dont ever ride him above medium level dressage so I have no real desire to get anything too fancy unless I have a lottery win of course!!

Leathers and Stirrups – I have the Sue Carson Webbers which are those non-traditional close contact ones and I use them with the Pink Venice Tech Stirrups that I was gifted early last year to try out and I still love them a lot!

Girth – is the anatomic short girth from Voltaire and is very soft and squishy with a wide surface area as he can be a little girthy at times.

Boots – If I know the warm up is going to be particularly hard or if he’s feeling fresh, I put on the Majyk sport/dressage boots and a pair of over reach just in case and take them off before I go in.

So that’s it for dressage, it’s very simple stuff really. I hate the thought of adding up the cost of everything but I am a real bargain hunter so look on eBay, Preloved, Gumtree, Facebook selling sites, etc. for second hand stuff, it will save you a fortune!

*Very Personal* Wanting something too much…

Please don’t read any further if you’ve popped over here for a bit of cheery light hearted reading… it probably won’t turn out that way!

I want to share this for my own sanity, I think about it everyday without fail and I think talking about it, saying it out loud might help me and maybe some of you too.

I’m not massively sure where to start, but I’ll just throw it out there: I am longing with all my heart to conceive and it’s not happening.

So, I said it. It’s very personal and I’ve deleted and rewritten this a few times out of fear. But what is there to be afraid of?

November marks a year of “not, not trying”, calling it that seems much less threatening, and part of me thought it would have happened long before now. Yes, I am aware that just 10 months “clean” after 13 years of medicinal contraception is absolutely nothing, but I can’t help the way I feel.

I am soon to be 33 and very happily married to my second husband, we are *coughs* active in that way too and both know the timing is right.

Every month when my boobs are sore and twice the size and my body teases me by throwing my cycle out one or two days, I feel elated, hopeful and so happy and then totally bloody shattered when (like today) I get my bastard period that I don’t f*cking want. They don’t call it ‘the curse’ for nothing!

I want to be f*cking pregnant. But this is the trouble, I want to too much, I want it more than a spin around Badminton or possibly the end to world hunger… and that’s totally f*cking selfish too!

But, wanting something like this has never been in my nature and I guess that’s what your body clock does to you as you hit a certain age! Here’s the thing, I’m not drinking at all through the week and barely at weekends, I’m also not smoking aside from a couple on a show day either… I’m eating better, exercising regularly and trying to do everything “right”, it’s my attitude that stinks.

I watch my ovulation like a swarm of killer wasps heading for my backside. It’s all in order, it’s just not happening.

This is no ‘poor me’ speech, far from it. I just need it to stop being so taboo in my mind, to make it ok to talk about, and not feel ashamed of my longing or feeling guilty for being so mentally preoccupied.

I’m sure there are people that will read this who have been ‘not, not trying’ for much longer or can’t have their own babies and all I have learnt so far is, I can quite imagine how you feel. You are amazing though, in your own right, with or without a baby. You are wonderful and don’t ever forget it. Don’t lose hope, please don’t. You never know what life will bring, you never know what is around the corner. Don’t plan too far ahead, live for now and be the happiest you can every single day.

That’s all I have for now, thank you for being there.

Love as always

Vic xxx

August Favourites – you can’t afford NOT to…

Now, protection is something we all have at the forefront of our minds; not only for ourselves but (often more importantly) for our horses.

I’m relatively new to Eventing and I have only one, very precious horse. I want to make sure I am doing all I can for his safety and longevity as a riding horse.

The selection of equine leg protection, namely Cross Country boots, is vast and can be very confusing. I’ve often struggled to know what to buy and which brand performs best… I have tried several now including; Woof Wear, Eskadron, NEW, Equilibrium, Premier Equine and LeMieux)! Some cause rubbing, some slip, some seem too flimsy, so when I was asked to try the Majyk XC Boots, I wasn’t feeling very optimistic!!

I’ve had these boots in full use for over 4 months now. Testing them on 2 hour hacks, in the show jumping ring and most importantly, out on the XC!! I have (not Majyk advised) washed them on a 30 wash about 5 times and here’s what I’ve found…

The Fit

When I took them out of the packaging, I thought they looked WAY too small! I had followed the advice on sizing from lovely Elaine who looks after Majyk Europe. She was BANG ON when I actual tried them on!!

Pat is almost 15.2hh, mostly TB and she sent (from the Boyd Martin range) the MAJYK EQUIPE ELITE CROSS COUNTRY BOOT FRONT and HIND in Diamond White in Small plus over-reach boots!!

The fit is brilliantly solid. They have a (what feels like) memory foam lining that wherever you put the boots, they just stay! They don’t slip even when soaked through!

The Features

I like a white boot because Pat hasn’t got any white leg markings but then you risk, after a couple of wears, a slightly off white mess!! I am very happy with how they manage to stay white!! Apparently one of the features of the outer material is “Repels dust and dirt” so maybe that explains it!! All of these pictures are unwashed, after an event!!

The straps appear longer than necessary and a bit, well… flappy, but they don’t flap at all when on the leg and actually would enable a chunkier leg to fit in!!

…they are breathable, protective, shock absorbers that look pretty damn fine!!!

They are definitely the most breathable boots I’ve ever used, no neoprene and no material on them holds any moisture. In honesty, I’ve never really noticed if he’s had particularly sweaty legs but I have noticed how sweaty the inside of his old boots were when I came to wash them! These Majyk ones never seem wet which also means you can just spray them off with the hose rather that’s having to wash all the bacteria out!

The Conclusion

Bored of me banging on about boots?! Well just hear me out and take note of this brand, it’s not one of the BIG BOYS in the UK just yet, but it most certainly will be!! Horse and Rider Magazine rated them BEST IN TEST 2017 too!!

The quality is far superior to most I’ve used and the price point of approx £80 (fronts) and £95 (hinds) are seriously competitive and so worth the money when your horses legs are at stake.

I could drone on about all the technology built in but in a nutshell, they are breathable, protective, shock absorbers that look pretty damn fine!!!

For more technical info and FAB video, please take a look HERE!

To get you hands on a set you can look HERE!

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or need any more photos, just pop a comment below! Xx

Number 3: The one that wasn’t so good on paper….

So, my 3rd BE of the season (can’t quite believe I’m saying this when it’s nearly August!!) happened yesterday at Frickley Park!

I’ve been consciously trying to lighten up about things and try to enjoy having fun with my horse instead of piling on pressure and being a miserable cockwomble. This was the one and only aim of yesterday… no wobbles allowed!!!

I picked up my RF ticket at Speetley with a top 3 finish so this was just an outing to get another notch on our bedpost.

Daddy Carrot had to work with it being a Friday so Auntie Smurph who is a teacher and on school holidays stepped in as chief in charge of calming my nerves and helping me out.

We arrived in plenty of time for my 9.48 dressage (NEWSFLASH: no toilet happenings!!!) and with a 3 hour gap between that and showjumping, in almost 30 degrees, I’d packed plenty of water for Pat and stupidly decided that would be a good time to walk the XC!!!

I collected my number and plaited (still no toilet happenings!!) feeling remarkably calm and actually enjoying the day. At this point, time tends to just slip away so quickly and by the time I got on i only had 20 minutes until I was in the ring!! Ball-sacks!!

Now, on the way we had rain, a miracle really, but it meant the hard ground was then lined with a film of dampness. I put in medium pointy studs on advice of my friend Kathryn who is very experienced and that seemed to do the job of keeping him upright.

For anyone that doesn’t know, the dressage warm up is my biggest fear. The time when he’s usually fresh as a badgers arse, most likely to throw some killer shapes and send me flying through the air onto my head and potentially leave in a neenarrr… Today though, he was seriously awesome!!!

I didn’t take up a contact AT ALL until I had to go down to ring, I let him lollop about and I just enjoyed it… WHAT A BLOODY DIFFERENCE!!!

I went into the test calm and happy, I felt like it deserved one of our better marks. He was forward, on the aids, happy and so was I!! I was enjoying cantering my last 20m circle so much that I forgot to trot resulting in a beep from the judge and 2 marks added but I couldn’t have cared less!!!

I was absolutely over the moon to not feel frightened for the first time EVER at an event that I could have gone home happy there and then!!

On seeing the course photos the night before, I knew what I was in for and because we’ve done this event twice before, my coursewalk was purely to check the going. The organisers have worked so so hard to water as much as possible but the first 3rd of the course wasn’t filling me with joy.

It got better though and I decided to see how he jumped in the showjumping as to whether I would run XC.

By the time I jumped at 1pm, it was unbelievably hot and Pat was really trying his best. He has never jumped that well on hard ground but I think the course was on the best going of the whole show ground! In the ring, fences came and went like they were nothing and 1-5 jumped really well off a beautiful big stride. We had an unfortunate rail at the back of the double at 5 and sadly, I took the shittest line known to human kind around a bend to 6. He slipped a bit, lost his footing and I just took my leg off on the turn to ease out of it… fence six was upon us and with no leg on, the little bugger stopped ?? I didn’t care though, it was entirely my fault and we came round a second time no problem.

The wheels fell off a little bit having the next fence down but finished over the last two brilliantly.

I came out happy and that’s all that mattered to us.

16 to add to our dressage which was an unusually high 36 (reflective of the section, we were in the top 10 dressage scores)… on paper the crappest day we’ve had, but to us… the absolute best!!

Now with the heat and the way he lost a bit of confidence in the SJ I went and withdrew. Bailed out, lost my bottle, stormed off because of a bad score… or, quit while I was ahead! We had achieved everything I set out to in the first 20 minutes of our warmup so I would have left happy regardless.

My little horse has nothing to prove, we didn’t need to gallop on hard ground for 6 minutes on a hot day, there’s always another day but, good gravy, there’s no other horse like him.

We left much cooler than we would have been and we left happy. That’s what’s important.

I had the best day and I know to some I might have failed, but inside my head and my heart and the legs of my horse, we won today.

Here’s to rain, moving forward and our next outing!!

Love as always

Vic and Pat

Xxx

My July Favourites – What’s GLOVE got to do with it?

So, being ‘out there’ in the public eye definitely has it’s ups and downs. Being a blogger and author or one of the largest equestrian blogs in the country brings with it some exciting opportunities to try new things that I ordinarily wouldn’t get to try.  New product launches, events and meet ups are so much fun and give me a great insight into our industry.

Once a week I am going to put together one or two of my monthly favourites teamed up with a competition and round up at the end of each month to win some of the things included if I can!

So, here goes nothing!!

download
The Ladies Finest gloves by Hauke Schmidt
(I pronounce this Hawk Shmit – DO NOT hold me to this… I might well be wrong!!).

Test conditions; I have been trialing the wear and durability of these gloves since February 2018 and I have worn them at least 4 times a week and for competing (around 150 hours total). I have not washed them in any way. I have worn them on hot, cold, wet and dry days, in the snow and in the baking sun.  I have gone XC in them and worn them for dressage shows.

The Ins and Outs; I haven’t mentioned them much in posts or on social media because I wanted to make sure they were going to make it past the 6 month point where most of my other gloves have been abandoned full of holes. When I was shown the technology built into these gloves, Nicola and her lovely Dad at Hauke Schmidt went into detail about the ‘sticky stuff’ (technical term) used to form the bonds in the palm material and told me it was the same stuff used in goal keepers gloves… and made in Somerset, this was good enough for me, I’ve got massive balls to find and save!!! I chose the Mocha/light brown and a 7.5 ( I have medium sized hand and usually quite long nails)

71qM9nuvywL._SL1500_The Findings; When you first put them on, they don’t feel the comfiest gloves right away, you can feel the seams on the inside and they feel a little bit … damp… like a chamois leather? Like they could do with a lining. BUT… when you get a rein in your hand, they feel so close contact that a lining would take away from this. Like you have the hands of a monkey clinging to his last banana. They are seriously grippy and in all weathers too.

Sizing up; They have a great fit, not too tight but with them being the softest lambskin leather, they mould to your hands in seconds and seriously look the business.

On point pricing; I don’t think the price point of £49.95 is a bad place to be when I’d have spent £20 per pair on 3 lesser quality pairs of gloves in this time and they still look like they did the first day I put them on!!

These are a brilliant investment item and I’m certain that they will last for many years yet!

 

NB: I was gifted this pair of gloves and would not hesitate to buy another from the same company, if you would like more information or to make a purchase of these beautiful gloves or any others in the range, please visit: www.knightsbrand.com

Speetley BE90: The one where it all came good…

WELL WELL WELL…..

So, Here it is… Speetley BE90, my 2nd BE of the season.

As most of you will have read, I had a total knock in every sense last Sunday at Epworth with a refusal in the show jumping and another out on course… It was a day for learning not to ride like a sack of sh*t but it was also a BIG wake up call to how fragile confidence really is.

I went out and boxed away my show jumping demons at Willowbanks on Wednesday night with TWO clears at 80 and 90cms to put some wind back in our sails for today.

Yesterday evening I ran through our test again and he was so lovely and worked so hard that I slept quite well (after a few cheeky whites in the pub afterwards!)

I wasn’t on until 13.36 for dressage and with the venue only 1.5hours away, I didn’t have to leave until 11am… Good and bad having afternoon times as you get all morning to empty your pride into the loo but you also don’t have to rush around or wake your husband up too early… RESULT!!

I sent the usual message to Daddy Carrot, who was out for an early fishing trip saying “I don’t think I want to go today…” STANDARD wet fish!!

We arrived in good time, stopped on the way for fuel and a McDonalds (YEP… that’s right, I actually ATE something for the first time EVER on the morning of an event, 4 and a half “chicken” McNuggets with McKetchup!!!!!!!) and once parked up, went and got my number and registered my attendance!

I didn’t have much time to fret and got him ready and mounted for my dressage time. He warmed up the BEST he has EVER done. I’m trialing a new bit, the Neue Schule Ltd Verbindend on the advice of the UBER knowledgeable Liz Park from Right Right Equestrian…. What a difference this has made in just a few sessions! He’s forward and not blocked in front, much more rideable and I thoroughly enjoyed our prancing today. In the arena he spooked at EVERYTHING down one side and I thought there would be a lot of marks reflecting that tension, but alas…. with some good marks for not so tense parts we managed to score a 30, bang on the nail for a top 5 score in our section.

Next up, the course walk… Holy Mother of Christmas…. the HEDGE OXER was bloody gigantic!! I mean seriously large. I think if I had walked the course yesterday, I would have bailed.

The show jumping was also causing problems and had TONNES of fillers …. NOT GREAT!!

I got back on and went down to the warm up… a few things I changed today. Number 1. the bit, Number 2. I put a fly veil on him and 3… I didn’t just sit there like a wet fart on a hot day. I jumped 5 or 6 jumps and we elected to go in before our time.

In the ring, he was having a good look but I tried to keep the rhythm, I brought him back to change a canter lead and other than number 7 that he gawped at and got a big kick, he jumped a fantastic CLEAR ROUND!!!! I cried with utter joy when I left the arena, but lucky for me waiting to go in was the nicest young lad who hugged me (both still on horseback) and sent me on my merry way <3

So, I didn’t know my dressage score yet and I didn’t want to. We got ready and walked down to the death phase feeling a little green. It was seriously quiet, in fact there was only me in there warming up and the course didn’t have a rider on so I jumped 2 or 3 jumps and went to the box…

3….2….1…. Out the start box like a bullet we flew, pounding up to the flower box at one, I kept my leg on firm and he sailed over for a confident start, a gallop up hill back towards the lorries and he was giving it great guns until 3 strides out, I snapped out of wet fart mode and smacked him on the bottom, he replied with a lovely jump over the 2nd, a milk churn under a rail. Round the corner to three, a bloody fruit and veg stand… he eyeballed but I wasn’t letting him stop… I got an awful shot at it but we cleared it so who cares eh?!

A gallop to 4, a roll top of sorts I think, he didn’t look much because I was driving like Nigel Mansell on acid.. down to the double at 5, a roll top, which jumped really well on a great forward stride to a rail with a flower box in the hedge line. He dropped the anchors and we ground to a snail pace, but my heart had sailed over long before and by some miracle, my body and my horse made it to the other side too!!! 6 was another open rail with a left turn and gallop to the HEDGE OF DEATH… I kicked like never before, I growled, I shouted obscenities that would have been heard in all neighbouring counties, and we bloody soared like the wind over that big beast!!! (see photo!!)

Down to the water, 8, a jump before the moisture, was very aptly named the ‘PUNT’ (replace one letter if you will!!) that was causing a few problems for others. I brought him back to a more balanced canter and growled like an old fish wife and we were over it… splish splashed through the pond and out over a fallen branch!! BOOM… HALF WAY!!!

9, a wooden table jumped nicely, to 10 a chair, again he backed off but got a firm leg on and we made it to the other side! Back up the hill to a hayfeeder at 11, one of my better efforts on the course and over a coffin and rail out at 12. 13, I think was a house, I got a good shot and we had a confident stride down to the rails and skinny nearing the end of the course. I rode the skinny like I meant business, nice short reins, closed leg… straight as a die, we soared it … BLOODY GOOD BOY!!!!

The next one I had doubts about but collected him up and nailed the skinny blue roll top on a dog leg to a corner…. I got my line, tapped his shoulder with the stick and we flew them both.. a gallop to the last, sailing over it and through the finish to come home 21 seconds under the time… 2.4 penalties to add to our dressage finishing on a 32.4!!!!!!!!

WHAT A F*CKING HORSE… What a bloody tremendous result. Out of 43 in the section we came 3rd, got our Regional Final ticket and jumped a bloody DOUBLE CLEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I literally cannot put into words how much today meant to me, how that bond we have that gets me so choked up has conquered another outing in the most rewarding way. My horse is not easy to ride, he is by no means a confidence giver and all of his training is 7 years of putting up with my chubby arse guiding him through. Today we proved that you don’t have to be technically skilled or have a big bold jumping horse to go out an earn that placing. I feel I deserved it, I’ve been working hard and I didn’t let my jelly legs and last weeks balls up get the better of me.

So, so much love for that little horse that will do anything for me, who answers my (sometimes, very vague) questions and makes my heart burst with love. I owe everything to him.

Massive thanks to Daddy Carrot for grooming and videoing, sadly we forgot the camera today!!! (I know!!!) but I didn’t care much because Julia Shearwood Photography got some AMAZING shots that sum up our day perfectly. Thank you for your endless support everyone and a big thank you to all the lovely people I met at Speetley today.

I cannot tell you how happy I am right now…. It’ll be a few days before I hit the floor again that’s for sure ???xxx

The one that didn’t go so well!!!

So, a last minute entry into the 90cms Show-cross at Epworth Equestrian Ltd saw us power trotting around our regular hacking route last night in an attempt to tire out my keener that usual pony ready for the big day. Normally I like to get out somewhere but with time being tight, a decent hack would have to do.

Now, Pat was super forward at Shelford last week, jumping out of his skin and it frightened me a little bit. I wanted him to be a bit sluggish so I could manoeuvre him around a bit more with confidence before our next BE at Speetley on the 10th.

We walked the course and whilst it was super big and bold with a lot of fences shared with the 100, I didn’t feel too frightened and was ready to take the challenge on. After a good sweaty hack, I gave him a lovely bath last night, loaded the lorry, feeling very ready for our event today. For once, I felt ready, yes nervous, yes plagued with loose bowels and frequent toilet visits, but ready.

My times were 2.16pm and straight out on the XC for 2.45pm

Carrot and I loaded up at 12pm ready to arrive in lots of time to hopefully catch Auntie Smurph storm her first clear XC but alas, it was not to be…

The sound of my lorry was not how I left it… Carrot “borrowed” the Wimpy Wagon to pick up a new motorbike one evening last week and thought it sensible not to tell me the speedo had stuck ? and that the noises coming from him were not normal.. he wouldn’t have known but, there was an upset tummy of my poor WW in there somewhere.

I didn’t push him, just drove him at my usual Sunday driver speed and 10minutes away from home, I lost all power… in fact not just power, it became apparent that WWs innards had spilled out underneath his sexual body and were scraping along the tarmac…..

PANIC set in, I indicated and luckily pulled in at our local dairy farm just off the main road. WTAF. My heart was in shreads, my nerves frayed and with tears stinging my eyes, we phoned roadside assistance. My beloved Wimpy Wagon parked up with his innards on show for all to see. And in 25 degrees, my sweating pony on the back.

This is where karma repays you dividends… my lovely friend Kate and her mum were driving to the same show and were 2 minutes from us. They stopped in and even though fate was trying to delay my run today, I unloaded my boy and hopped him up onto Kate’s lovely lorry along with my essentials leaving Carrot ? at the Wimpy Wagon waiting for the recovery.

On arrival, I felt ridiculously out of sorts, I was flappy, disorganised and with no grasp on time, found myself flapping about at the last minute. Not great! I warmed up and normally, the calmer syringe distributed on departure ready for the sharpness in the dressage warmup was almost certainly a mistake. He felt flat, lumpy and not very forward. I didnt feel scared though, which is a silver lining of course.

I’ve never had a smooth round at Epworth, they have a lot to look at in the way of fillers and banners and Pat is always a spooky little sh*t here. Today was NO different.

We went in, I got my canter WAY too late and managed to scrape over the first 3 fine, I turned left to the double at 4, put my leg on as he backed off (standard) and the little b*stard slammed the anchors on for the second part of a one stride double… this hasn’t happened in 6 years… he’s never just said no. But I watched the video back, I was up his neck, not really in a position of determination and I deserved it… it has definitely taught me to sit the hell up after a fence…

I circled and represented for him to try again, he jumped the first part and went to drop the anchors but this time I was cross.. I rode that jump and the rest of the course like it was XC. Determined, leg on, no second chances and we got round with a score of 12.

By Jove, I was exhausted and not feeling overly confident going XC now!!

I put my medical arm band on, offered Captain Spookerson a drink and off we went to warm up for the death phase.

I jumped a couple and went straight through to the start. I hadn’t studded up for this and what a massive mistake… he skidded a little into the first fence, looking at it like a turd… he jumped it but it felt horrid, the second wasn’t much better a roll top, he looked and thought about backing off but I nailed his arse and we scraped over.

Round a right hand bend to 3 a hedge and 4 the upturned boat, both jumped much better than I thought they would. A gallop down to the castle at 5 and he felt heavy, I also felt exceptionally out of breath and tight in the chest. I toyed with pulling up, there was still so much of the course to go, I just didn’t feel like I could get round.

I wanted to cry. I felt shit.

I don’t know quite what made me decide to carry on, but I found something from somewhere and came to the roll top and coffin at 6 with grit and a good kick, we sailed both and galloped down to the biggest fence on course, a big grey table… I hit a duff stride because of him backing off, again… but he jumped it just a bit backwards. Now, I rarely ever smack this horse, but we weren’t going to get round safely unless something changed. I thwacked him twice on the bottom and he pricked up down to the wishing well. 3 strides out he clocked the water which was straight after this fence and I screamed at him “help me out lad”… annoyed at being smacked, I obviously didn’t deserve his help and he stopped…. STOPPED, DEAD.

I smacked his bottom again, it was stupid, it was my fault, I was massively on the defensive and I asked for his help… no… that’s not the way it works!! He asks me for help, that’s our deal, not the other way around. I deserved that stop 100% and put it right behind me and kicked on, sailing it on the second attempt.

Over the big carrot table and up a bank to fly over some pipes and run back down, all rode fine. Then up over a wooden house to my only worry on the course, a log off a step with 4 strides to a skinny… well, I needn’t have worried, I did what I set out to, ignored the log, locked us on to the next fence and we flew them both no bother.

A gallop down to the wagon one from home and I really chased him in for a good confident finish, he sailed the last and we were home. Finally home, safe and well.

Now on paper it was the worst f*cking day I think I’ve had out competing EVER! My lorry exhaust somewhere on the A15, my Carrot stranded with the van, my disastrous show jumping fails and a stop on the course, but I felt elated with another beefy 90 under our belts. So what, one f*ck up is fine right?!

Something didn’t feel right, I didn’t feel right, I felt weak and lacking in muscular fitness. My brain wasn’t engaged and my stirrups were set 3 holes lower than normal by mistake. I felt like a wet weekend in Bognor Regis and it showed in my results.

Not everyday can be brilliant, not every run can be smooth, but it’s these testing ones that we learn the most from. I will NEVER ride like that again as long as I live, I will never let him down or smack him for my failings.

Today was a day for learning.

Thank you so so much to Kate and her mum for being there to pick us up and for being so kind, to my dear Smurph who stormed around her first clear 80 like she’s been doing it forever (I’m so so proud of them) and to my poor Carrot who I’m sure would have loved a hot dog at the show far more than waiting for a recovery man on the road side.

Now I need to get a new exhaust before Saturday and rest my drained body before dusting off and knuckling down in hope of picking up a Regional final ticket!

Thank you all for your endless support as always, sorry to have let you down today.

Love as always

Vic and Pat xxxxx

First BE of 2018 – Shelford BE90 – a day of exhuberance!

Here it is, my first BE of 2018…

So, my routine outing before the big day was complete with my dressage trip on Friday night, I gave him a little pop over some jumps in the field yesterday to round off our prep. I then went to my big brothers for a family barbecue, drank a bottle of wine to myself and got a crap nights sleep… brilliantly done you whopping sack of crap… why did I do that? Why? Maybe to dull the nerves, maybe that’s it ??

But anyway, I woke up feeling like a turtle had deposited its innards into my skull and had no one to blame but myself!

My first AFFLIATED 90 of the season, only my second run out this year too and because I was dressaging at 12.30 with a two hour gap before jumping at 3pm I left the course walk until then. We arrived in plenty of time and I began flushing my system with litres of water ? and went and checked in. I was nearly last to go and there were already some very competitive scores in my section ? which I don’t think I should have looked at!

He warmed up well, not too many moments where I felt scared this time. I’d given him the calmer syringe before we left home so it was in full flow in time for my most dreaded part (the dressage warm up). I came out quite optimistic for a sub 30 but alas …. a 33 was what we received and I haven’t seen my sheet yet to learn how to improve… he was a bit behind the leg at times but I’ve done much worse tests for better marks so it’s all a learning game ??

Lying around 8th going into the SJ… I’ll take that.

The cross country course walk, not ideal, not a disaster but definitely not ideal. There were a few I didn’t like; the skinny house at 4, the feed bags infront of number 9 and the size of the hedge at 13… but aside from that, it wasn’t horrendous.

Into the showjumping warm up and the calmer had almost definitely worn off, Pat was salmon fishing, squeaking and ballooning after every jump… I was not having a nice time AT ALL. He was thoroughly enjoying himself whilst my white knuckles clung on for grim death.

In the ring, I felt totally out of my comfort zone, normally my quite easy to manoeuvre horse felt like steering a double decker bus through silt… he was strong and I didn’t like it. The jumps felt small, there was nothing to back him off much and Ill admit it, I needed a bigger fence today. I never thought I’d say that…. but he was running on and I was not enjoying it! (See non smiley showjumping photos!!!). But despite his exuberance, we just rolled one rail where I over checked and only 4 to add to our dressage score!

Now, I will just add that this time last year I would have been thrilled with that, but I’ve been working so hard to ride him better, I can’t help but pick holes. I left him too slow, I needed more power, it was totally my error and I will fix it!

A quick change of clothes and we were turning a very lovely shade of green walking to the XC warm up. I don’t think I’ve been this nervous for a long time. I walked for a good 20 minutes before the chest tightness subsided, I stopped blubbering and I got my sh*t together!! We sailed a few practice jumps and went into the Startbox of Doom….

It really is now or never when you hear that “you’ve got 30 seconds” call out… what the f*ck can you do about it then…? NOTHING absolutely sweet FA, so you may as well give it everything you’ve got!

3, 2, 1…. we flew out of the start box and galloped down to the first, a log shared with the BE80 course, phew…!! a nice easer inner, and it jumped nicely which always gives me extra beans. A short gallop to the second, which was a wooden upright shared with the BE100… excellent ? but I gave it some power and shouted “GO GOOOOO GOOOOOOOOO….” and go he did! Soaring over it with room to spare, and onto number 3.

Three hadn’t looked much when I walked it, but he bloody backed off it a treat (wasurk!) so I had to ride for my life at 3, long before I had anticipated, it wasn’t pretty…but we got over it! Down to the skinny house at 4, I shortened the canter and rode through the funnel with nice short reins and a firm leg and he pinged out over it like a bloody pro!

A gallop down to 5 a trailer dressed with two (obviously, life threatening) wooden acorns… he looked, looked again, thought about stopping but I caught him, picked him up and carried him over with a lot of vocal encouragement ? I’m used to his backing off now, I know if I want it enough, he goes! Into the woods for a palisade at six and a set of ladders at seven, both jumped really nicely after the killer acorns.

8 was a double of plastic pipes and he was so busy spooking at the jump judge we almost didn’t lock on, but we got there, Pop! Pop! By now I have two things running through my head, ecstatic delirium and holding back tears of joy and how likely is it that a human being can cough up an actual lung? ? I’m not fit enough yet that’s for sure!

9 was the bags of feed… he backed off but I was seriously ready for him and kicked his arse so royally over those bags that he galloped like the clappers over a log and drop for 10a and b into the trees. I grabbed a lot of mane down the bank and good job because 11 (a log out of the wood) left me a little unseated, but golly did he help me out there!

12 was a step up which was no bother for his nibs, then a gallop down to the whopping hedge at 13, probably the best jump I got all day. It felt amazing… soaring through the air squealing with joy! 14 was on an angle back into the woods again and was catching a lot of people out, I pulled back to a strong trot just for the turn and cantered the last few strides.. ping! We nailed it! Out over the palisade at 15 and a nice gallop down to another hedge before the ? water!

In we splashed and out over the yellow pipes, soaring and squealing down the home straight to fly over the last and through those wonderful finish flags…. huge pats and squeals all round!!! Pat came bucking and leaping, full of beans through the finish. He genuinely felt the happiness I feel, he was having the time of his life today, I could just feel it bursting out of him! The love I have for that tiny boy, I don’t care that he’s not the bravest, or the most careful or that we haven’t won one yet. All I care about is how we gel together, how we are a team, we know each other inside out and that’s worth more than any rosette could ever be.

So that was it, inside the optimum time too for a finishing score of 37 leaving us in 11th place. Not bad at all for our first run and lots to take from it too. I’m happy, he’s happy, that’s what it all boils down to.

Thank you to my Carrot ? for being the best groom and chief photographer and to my lovely sponsors, Voltaire Design, FALPRO, FoxyEquestrian, Topline Vet Physio, Pegasus Jewellery and Point Two.

Also a big thank you to everyone that came and said hello today ? you guys are the reason I’m doing this, you keep me going, you’ve built up my fragile confidence and given me hope. So thank you with everything I have left ????

Good night, God bless and so much love, as always
Vic and PatXxxxxxx

Those who can, teach…

So, 2 months ago I got a text from my dear Team Wimpy member and friend Liz Pears, asking if I fancied helping her out with a bit of “motivational instructing” at a Nervous and Novice camp in May… it seemed such a long way off and I’m at the stage in life where I will literally do ANYTHING to help anyone, so I agreed!!

The day came, Liz sent me my agenda with my groups (plural) that I would be allocated and turns out I was set to impart wisdom upon 4 groups of 5 riders over the day ???

I think I fretted just as much as I would before an event ? it’s been a long time, almost 10 years, since I was actively teaching people to feel less crap, less scared, and more empowered on their horses…

I work very much on the basis of what I would need to hear, my lovely groups were all made up of riders that lack confidence and self belief, not necessarily ability… just like me. The only thing I cared about was that I wanted them to leave my arena more confident about themselves than when they came in. “Today, I don’t give a sh*t about outline, engagement or learning half pass… “ I think I said this a lot!!! But actually, all I cared about was their confidence, happiness, self worth. This will make you as a rider long before getting your horses head down will.

My first group were lovely, I was a little nervous but I just put myself in their shoes and realised I was the one to be afraid of!!! I bellowed at them, cheered them on and made them all gallop down the long side of the arena until they smiled the whole length!! We played pony games and spent some time without stirrups. I explained how to drop from the hip, how to relax on a horse and learning to feel tension and how to roll it away.

I repeated the majority of this format for the next groups, they were responsive, they all tried really hard and one lady in particular who came in very upset after being bronched with whilst getting on, made me so desperately proud seeing her in a forward seat cantering down the school!!

At the end, I pulled them in and thanked them all, I confess to tearing up rather unprofessionally, but I was full to the brim with pride for what these ladies achieved. Tears of pride are the very best ones.

I am so glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to do this, it was a brilliant day and I couldn’t have wished for a kinder and more lovely bunch of people to dust myself off in front of.

Thank you to Liz, who always has such kind things to say about me, she is such a lovely person and a very, very good teacher. Thank you to my team wimpy ladies who came together on Wednesday for our first meet up which was very special (more to come on that!!) and to my husband who took me through my lessons the night before over a gin and tolerated my nerves yet again!!! Also an important mention for an absolute fantastic venue of Field Farm – Bring Your Horse On Holiday… I was taken aback at the facilities in offer and Carrot and I will be holidaying there for many years to come!! ??

Some lovely photos to treasure thanks to David Neve Equine & Events Photography ???

5 Things I LOVE about YOU…

Whilst swimming in a sea of social media warriors spewing out uninvited negativity, I thought I’d take the time to tell you FIVE, bloody brilliant reasons that I LOVE being one of those ‘horse people’.  Go ahead, find your reason to be proud, to enjoy stinking of urine, eating packet noodles and never brushing your hair, for you are; THE EQUESTRIAN.

  1. First up…There is no other sport in the world that sees even the tiniest human (I mean you, Ros Canter!) masterfully control what was once a wild animal, and guide it through a dance routine, through flags and over death defying obstacles with total finesse.  Those tiny jockeys who go so fast on these cherished beasts that they have to wear goggles so that their eyeballs don’t fly out – you, my friends, are like no-one on earth, you are GOD. Number one, has to be a love for a sport like no other.
  2. It doesn’t matter whether you are 92 or 12, being ‘pony mad’ and having a phone cover with your beloved horse on it is perfectly acceptable at any age.  You can re-live your youth well into those twilight years and no-one will think you have early on set Alzheimer’s. This includes clicking your tongue to get someone to move rather than saying ‘excuse me please!’. Number two – being marginally insane but in very good company.
  3. The overall appearance.  Being on public transport, in a supermarket, at the dentist, in the office, etc. post-yard/pre-shower and mouthing to the cashier/general public; ‘Sorry, I’ve come straight from RIDING MY HORSE!’ is deemed acceptable in our circles. Wearing odd and often brightly coloured socks over too tight (sometimes stained) breeches and carrying foliage around in our un-brushed hair is certainly not a problem for us, we see it as time saving, making us PERFECT marriage material! Number three – WE ARE UNIQUE and striding to the beat of our own drum!
  4. The etiquette.  I think more people should become an equestrian before embarking on reproduction. Where else will you learn that a.) your needs/feelings will NEVER come first, stop thinking they will, your horses needs comes first! b.) that you should always pass wide and slow and drive with caution, making you the perfect road user! c.) that when pushing a supermarket trolley, regardless of cucumber location, you pass left hand to left hand. So many other things ‘non-equestrians’ are missing out on. Number 4 – you can guarantee we’ve been dragged up in terrific style.
  5. As an equestrian, you are the perfect gift receiver. You will NEVER have EVERYTHING you need for your horse and you will always be grateful of a new hoof pick, grooming brush or matching leadrope to your cross country colours. There is no end to the items of tat friends and relatives could get you as a gift. Buying for the non-equestrian results in too many scented candles and not nearly enough wine that isn’t Chardonnay!

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Essentially, being an equestrian affiliates you to a not-so-secret club, one that you will always be a part of whether you own a horse or not;  ‘For the Love of the Horse Club’.  We are all united, we all shared something in common, we all LOVE horses.  Stop tearing strips off one another, we have all smelt of p*ss, have had hay in our hair and have tasted a mouthful of soil after a fall. We all have the ability to put our beautiful horses before ourselves so there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t support a fellow horse lover for doing the same.

Until Next time xxxx

 

Badminton Horse Trials 2018

After much deliberation as to whether the ground was going to hold up to 80 sets of skillfully shod hooves tearing it apart on Saturday, the drier days in the lead up to the event were a saving grace for all involved.

It was Thursday, dressage day 1 and packed and ready for the off, I made a 4 hour drive to the holy grail of British eventing. The place that every rider feels those goose bumps prickle as they make their way closer to the venue!! I was kindly offered a bed for the duration with my smashing friends and sponsors at Foxy Equestrian. This meant my temporary accommodation was only 20 yards from the shopping village and right in the middle of the action! Result!

A compulsory Pin and tonic on arrival and we headed over to the lakeside pavilion for drinks. This is an absolute must do for anyone visiting, it is people watching at its best as you see groups returning from the cocktail party in the main house looking somewhat less glamorous than when they arrived there!!


A quick pit stop for some snacks at a mobile bar on the way back to my sleeping quarters and by midnight I was tucked up in the warmth of the lorry for my first night.

At 5.30am I was woken by beaming sunshine and the Beaufort hounds crying out for their breakfast, you really cannot get annoyed at an early alarm that sounds so spectacular. I was also delighted to have my books on sale for the first time at Badminton!!! Phil at Equestrian Bookfair is touring all the shows this year and is lovely enough to stock my books!! Signed copies too!!

FABULOUS FRIDAY

My Friday was jam packed, and lucky for me, having media accreditation meant I got to escape into the salvation of the media centre for a break from the chaos of my day! I enjoyed a cheeky photo shoot with the brilliant Stephen Bartholomew and then I visited my sponsors and people who have supported Pat and I through our journey so far.

I sat and poured my heart out to the lovely Sam at Haynet about my terror of eventing, she was so amazing to chat to!

I always have a ball with the chaps at Point Two and this was no different, the welcoming faces at Horse & Rider and the outstanding hospitality of Voltaire was where my day took a turn of the lubricated kind!!

It was on the Voltaire Design stand that I got dragged (kicking and screaming, of course) for lunch in the lakeside tent of Moorgate Finance… whilst tucking into canapés I met two brilliant new friends who encouraged (and perhaps I, them!) my engulfing of more prosecco than was probably necessary!

By 2pm I was “well oiled” and headed over for a meet up with some of the brilliant bloggers and photographers in the industry. (Sorry now if I forget anyone)

Leah of Training Cow Pony, Rachel of Eventful Eventing, Harry Swales (my chum from the Allstars), who were on a shoot with the super Nick from Events through a lens photography. Ruby of Equipepper, Hollie-Ella of In the country magazine, Tara of Tara Punter PR, Nikki from Life in the Saddle and her two lovely chums, the gorgeous Lizzie from Ponies and Prosecco, joined later by the lovely Danielle of Supernova we had an absolute ball!!!

I then headed over to see my friends at Patey/PROtector… NEWS FLASH ALERT!!! I will very soon be clad in beautiful new PROtectors helmets, I’m certainly going to need your help choosing that’s for sure!!!

After too much blueberry whisky from Ben and Josh (corrr those Scots know how to do hospitality!!) I staggered my way back to the lorry!!

What a day! Back at the lorry, Sophie, the owner of Foxy, cooked us dinner and we chatted and laughed until my sides hurt!! I fell fast asleep at 11pm only to be woken for Cross country day by the hounds once more!

SUNS OUT… SHORTS OUT!!

Saturday I spent the morning with my friends at Ariat on their marketing stand. The sun was beaming in, the crowds were building and I was seriously in my element!!

To add to my delight, fellow Voltaire and Point Two rider Oliver Townend was in the lead after dressage only slipping one place after XC, with Lincolnshire lass Ros Canter edging her way into third after a storming round on Allstar B!

Back at Ariat we were later joined by Mary and Emily King who were just lovely, as always and I met some seriously nice people who I shared selfies with and signed calendars for them to take home!!

I did an Instagram takeover and danced around the stand of beautiful boots which was just a dream come true!

At 1.30pm I set off 3 groups of Wimpy course walkers as understandably the stewards weren’t keen on a huddle of people on mass particularly in some of the bottle necks on course!!

I met the lovely Andrea of Mud on my Mulberry, and we walked and chatted and found ourselves back in the Voltaire lake side tent once more!!

Now, I was baked. I hadn’t drank more than one prosecco all day and so, caved in to my home sickness. I packed up and headed back for Lincolnshire that night!

SUNDAY SUNSHINE

I rigged up the laptop on the grass and watched several hours of XC footage followed by the last few rounds of showjumping to see the lovely Jonelle Price take the win, Oliver a very deserving 2nd (and 5th on his other horse) and Ros keep her spot in 3rd. Seeing a lady lift that trophy for the first time in 11 years was very super indeed!!

I went for a fab ride on Pat too and felt very lucky to have such a super horse and such great friends and family. Life is for living, take every opportunity it throws at you!

I’m not sure I’ve ever been so happy…

A massive thanks to everybody that was so lovely, that came and said hello and that made my Badminton so special. To the organisers for such an amazing event, to Julian for allowing me in as Media this year and to all of the horses and riders for being so bloody phenomenal. You make our sport. Thank you.

Love as always

Vic xxx

On a High (fibre) at Highclere!

Some time ago I received a message, from a lovely lady asking for my address so that she could invite me to something very special.

I obliged of course! (Who wouldn’t!?)

Now, the invite came and it was a big surprise, The Earl and Countess of Carnarvon invite you to a special day at Highclere Castle with Dengie Horse Feeds for the ‘From Field to Feed Forum’.

Earl…. Countess… HIGHCLERE… ???

My rsvp was swift (obvs) and I began preparing my curtsy for his lordship.

On speaking to the wonderful Lisa at Dengie, I made arrangements to dine and sleep over the night before with her team and what a good choice!

I arrived at The Carnarvon Arms, a beautiful, racing themed pub and guest house at 5.30pm on Monday. To my surprise the room was just beautiful! I loved the decor, the towel elephant on the bed, the lighting and the springy mattress (I also loved the Rioja served by the glass!!). There were great toiletries, border biscuits and complimentary hot chocolate which I obviously tucked into!

Meeting the Dengie team over dinner and in particular Lisa and Ian who I perched between and plagued with my constant chatter, I was made to feel very welcome indeed. They are such a lovely bunch of people and my loyalty to the brand is now much more than skin deep.

After a good nights sleep I awoke to a very lovely breakfast and 5 minute drive to the castle.

Greeted by the Earl and Countess who were mingling in with everyone and really made you feel as though you were welcome into their home, we were seated for three brilliant talks.

The first, going into detail of gastric ulcers by a very experienced vet, I learnt that even 22% of wild roaming horses have gastric ulcers so it’s not uncommon or unlikely that it is so fashionably diagnosed in our domesticated ones! I also learnt what a Squamous was and I very much LOVE this word ??.

The second talk was on Anti-doping law and procedures when dealing with horses that have been found contaminated! A very appropriate subject for me after my flippant use of Sedalin in the past. It really isn’t worth the heartache to use prohibited substances and I learnt that I will be sure to check EVERYTHING that I feed to my horse even herbal supplement, you just cannot be too careful. Keep or photograph bags, tubs and pots to ensure tracibility of batches should anything come up too.

The third was from Kate Williams, the Dengie nutritionist talking us through the importance of ‘clean fibre’, of how lucern (the crop used for Dengie products) bring heat dried is far cleaner than sun dried and the importance of sustainable British farming that they (and I) have very strong opinions on.

We were then split into groups and got taken on a lightening tour of Highclere’s vast rooms and exquisite decor. I adore interiors, and this surely was a treasure. Not what I was expecting though, as with the grandeur of the property you were always reminded that this is a family home first. It wasn’t pretentious in a palace sense, but much more of a beautiful character home. The countess has exceptional taste!

Onto lunch which was served in what appeared to look like an older milking parlour, carefully restored to a tea room. We enjoyed finger sandwiches, quiche, soup and the best selection of cake* I have had in years (sorry Mum!!). We were joined by the Earl and chatted about horses over tea, probably one of the most surreal yet comfortable situations of my life!

*Had I have not been on my way to dropping a stone, I’d have definitely gone back for seconds on the scones!!

So, a huge thank you to Dengie, to Lisa and her exceptional marketing team and to the Dengie farmers for setting this precedent in our industry. I feel very honoured to have been part of their day and I very much look forward to following what will be another 50 years of fibre feeding success for them.

Love as always

Vic xxx