Test Event Photos
Friday, July 08 2011
It wasn’t perfect but it was definitely a great experience for Bree and I. Her are some photos with lots of comments to follow!
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
Drinking Lots of Tea and Keeping Busy
Wednesday, June 22 2011
Life across the pond has been complete madness! Today went something like this: Rode my young horse, jumped two young horses for Laura Collett, took one of Laura’s to the gallops, came back and took Bree to the gallops, jumped yet another young one for Laura and then, oh wait, can’t forget about getting Harvey to the pool for his swimming workout! It’s all getting a bit crazy but don’t worry too much, we have Laura’s mom forcing tea down our throats at least every half an hour. Too be honest, I’m surprised we don’t spend the entire day in the loo with all of the tea that we drink! I couldn’t be happier. The horses are on top form, the Collets have been amazing to work with and I am at my best when working long days with nice horses and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Harvey, my advance horse, relaxing in the spa. He goes in the spa everyday except on days when he has to do his swimming workouts!
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
Hooray for Some Good News!
Sunday, June 12 2011
Thank goodness the worm has turned! This past week has brought some serious changes. After a few days of feeling sad about my perfect little advanced horse being injured I quickly realized that I now had to figure out how I was going to pay for his vet bills. I also had to come to grips with the fact that my little operation of three horses competing was not paying for itself. With these two motivating factors I did what I thought was the only option . . . call everyone I know asking for riding work! Luckily my prayers were answered and my friend Laura Collet offered me a job producing her young horses. And, even better, she has now said I can move my horses to her amazing yard just up the road so that all of the horses I need to ride will all be in one place . . .
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
Very Late Badminton Comments!
Monday, May 02 2011
All I can do is apologize for my extreme tardiness as it is now Sunday . . . almost a week after the prize giving at Badminton! It was over Monday afternoon, I then had an event on a young one Wednesday, lessons Friday afternoon and then a flight out Saturday. I am actually writing from sunny California! After having a good run at the CIC *** at Burnham Market a few weeks ago, I decided it was now or never if I wanted to go check up on my family before the season gets even more hectic! Badminton was nothing short than a dream come true for die-hard Mark Todd fans! (To be honest, I am becoming one of them!) At the start of cross country day, with good old Andrew Nicholson having an immaculate clear round inside the time, it was starting to look like Badminton would end up to be a dressage competition. Although after about the first five runs, problems started to occur all over the course, with many rider and horse combinations having issues at the sunken road. Possibly the most significant dilemma was how tired the horses were getting by the end of the course, localized around the quarry. This is where Oli’s horse fell and even Mark’s horse “Ben” (“Landvision) left both hind legs, only barely dragging them over the log with immense difficulty.
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
A Very Important Weekend
Friday, April 22 2011
Harvey and I at the first of two open corners on the CIC 3* course at Burnham Market. I'm sorry but look how sweet his expression is! This past weekend was quite an important weekend for me. I’m not actually sure if I mentioned this in an earlier blog but I had a bad fall at the end of last year in the three star up at Blair Castle in Scotland. Long story short my amazing little Harvey and I were three fences from home after having a great run and we ended up crashing through a ditch and palisade. To this day I have no idea what happened. Some people say that Harvey didn’t see the ditch because it was going from light to dark out of the woods and the light was in his eyes.
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
It’s That Time of Year Again- Cross Country Schooling
Tuesday, March 01 2011
At the beginning of last week I looked at my schedule and I wasn’t sure how it was going to work. I’ve started riding for Mark Todd a few days a week, I have my three horses, and I am also riding a few for Sam Albert who rode for Jamaica at the Olympics in Hong Kong. Needless to say, things have been a bit hectic! Also, somehow it is already the end of February and our season starts in a week! This means driving the horses a few days a week to the gallops to get them fit and taking them all cross country schooling. In England, because the majority of riders over here give their horses November and December off, most of the horses haven’t seen a ditch since September or October. This means cross-country schooling can be fairly entertaining. The problem is that most people wait too long to take their horses schooling because the weather is horrific and the ground is like a swamp. You keep telling yourself: “Oh I will just wait until next week and hopefully it will not be so wet.” Well, surprise surprise, the rain hasn’t stopped and the ground has been getting progressively worse. It is England after all! I am included in this optimistic group of people who think the ground may get better. Unfortunately, after waiting and waiting, I had to brave the bad ground and the pouring rain and chuck the horses into my trusty Roberta and get them out for some cross country. Funny enough, its seems everyone else had the same idea and when I took my horses out on Thursday there were around twenty lorries parked alongside the cross country field. This congestion can be explained by the fact that most cross-country places close when it’s this wet. The only place that stays open, rain or shine, is Boomerang
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
A Rare Day
Wednesday, February 02 2011
On most days, I have the pleasure of taking care of my horses, riding them, maybe going to the gym, and then doing evening yards.
- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs
“As Good As Any and Better Than Most”
Monday, January 17 2011
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- Published in Onward, Upward, Z-Blogs