Tapering is a pretty well researched art in humans, taking into account the physiological and mental aspect of preparing and peaking for certain events is standard practice. In the equine world it’s certainly not as standardised or well researched and although equine physiology is vastly different to human, human is what I know, so I work with what I’ve got and base my training blocks, tapering and peaking on my human athlete experience with a sprinkle of equine research.

If it was as simple as pure physiology then it would be pretty straight forward, but peaking for an event is an art, as you have to take in the psychological aspects too. I’d say it’s the same for horses, some you could not ride for a week and they’d be on their best form from the rest, some need riding everyday and kept in a consistent routine. It doesn’t really matter to me how we do it, it’s just about reducing load and maximising recovery, whilst being as confident as possible that the preparation is as good as you can do.

I haven’t really learnt what works best for Estrid yet but she seems to really benefit from the physical and mental rest of being left to mooch in a field and do a few chilled 5km hacks in the run up to an event. On the flip side if I don’t trailer her out at least once a week she quickly loses her ability to regulate her emotions and stay calm in new or busy environments.

This year one of my main focuses has been on improving Estrid’s canter, she has a lovely canter but she prefers about a 26kph pace, while I would like her to get better at a nice slow controlled 20kph. We don’t have any hacking with long canter stretches to train this so we head to the gallops twice a month with the aim of eventually getting a continuous 20km of canter for an hour. We’re definitely not there yet, and we might not get there this year but she improved every time and that’s all that matters.

Tissy, who is now 28, get’s 6 months of the year off and then once the grass starts growing and she can keep a decent amount of weight on her we start riding again and going on little adventures. Getting behind her ears is always like coming home and the easiest place to be. Despite long periods of time off I never have to worry what she’ll be like that first time back out…I know she’s going to be a diva!

A little later in the season than planned due to transport issues but we’re finally back out at Poplars Farm equestrian utilising their lovely grass 4km farm ride for some faster training work. It’s got plenty of turns, some nice steep sections and good grassy ground, and only 15mins drive from the yard. So it’s perfect for getting in some consistent, longer and faster work in.

We usually do between 10-20km (3-5 laps) once a week at a mix of speeds depending on what the focus is for that training block. The van breaking down has given me the reminder that I’m lucky and should be grateful to even have horse transport and so many lovely facilities to box to near by.

The van has to go back to the garage next week, so we’ll be out of action again. But I’m really looking forward to being able to get into a good routine with our training and enjoy the summer competition season!

With everything going on in the world, me lamenting about my lack of horse transport to do my hobby is quite frankly laughable. Yet here I am moaning about my lack of horse transport. I am 100% aware that my life is one of privilege, luck, comfort and opportunity but sometimes I just want to have a good sulk.

I have worked hard to be in the position I’m in and I’ve put a lot of effort and money into preparing Estrid for the 2026 Endurance season, so when my van broke down leaving me without transport to attend training sessions or go to competitions I felt a bit bummed.

But after a lengthy moan, a bit of perspective, and a good think we just pick up and move on. It will cost money, it will take time but my van will be fixed and I’ll be able to go to the ball eventually.

Estrid and I were all packed and spruced ready for our 40km ride at Pikehall when the van started making a slight, almost imperceptible fluttery noise the day before. I asked my husband Dan to come out and listen, gave the engine a rev 3 times and it just stopped and hasn’t worked since…

Without a tow vehicle and only 12 hours to sort any other transport before we were actually meant to be leaving we weren’t able to go. I messaged the organisers in the hope that at least there would be someone pleased on the waiting list and thought about what we could do instead.

I wanted to do the 40km specifically that day as I was due to head away to Austria for work for 4 days and it would fit perfectly with Estrid’s time off after a ride of that distance. If I hadn’t been going away for work then I would have just carried on our normal training schedule.

With that in mind I decided to map out a 40km route from the yard, it wouldn’t be as fast as we’d have a lot of road work between bridleways and it wouldn’t be as fun and it wouldn’t give Estrid the venue and vetting practice I wanted but it would have to do.

For me winter ends when the horses switch to being turned out 24/7 and move to their summer fields. I absolutely adore watching Tissy get excited about a fresh field, trotting around and throwing shapes like she’s a spring chicken. With that change comes lots of little jobs around the yard that future me will definitely thank me for when winter comes back around.

It’s one of my favourite things to just pootle around the stables getting jobs done, checking off my to do list and feeling like I’m packing winter away.

I would love nothing more than to train on big mountains with good ground and minimal roadwork. That unfortunately is not my reality and despite my longing for the hills and training grounds of my home country and youth, I do have lots of great options here in the Midlands.

If I want to get some consistent going then I have to opt for farm rides, canter tracks and gallops. I’m not the biggest fan of doing a lot of training on a surface, I think you lose a lot of the benefits of proprioception and soft going can be tougher on the soft tissue, but it definitely has it’s place and is a necessity if I am to get any canter work done.

We’ve recently had a lovely little canter track open up near my livery, which is only a 20minute trailer ride away. It has lots of twists and turns in both directions and is about 1km long. My plan is to start coming every other week to get some good consistent steady canter into Estrid’s training. We’ll mix that with some farm rides and gallops so that hopefully we can start to do more canter than trot when were competing.

This is the most unusual prep I’ve ever had for a ride. I basically rode Estrid once between our 32km at Cannock chase and our 40km at Haywood oaks. In the 4 weeks between them I was away in Croatia for work so Estrid was at a rehab yard going on the water treadmill for 20mins every other day.

Estrid is a creature of habit, consistency and repetition is what keeps her little brain chilled. So although her physical prep for this ride was impressive, she’s actually never looked better, I really underestimated the mental preparation she usually has and how much she needs it.

Add in a fair bit of wind and we were back to spicy novice Estrid, that I was just happy we got through the initial vetting with!

As always she was a dream out on course, forward, keen and listening intently. We had a lovely ride around a great course. Thank you so much to the organisers and helpers, many of whom offered sloshes out on course, for a truly wonderful day.

I’m pretty confident with our season prep in terms of fitness but now to get Estrid into a routine and out and about as much as possible if we stand a chance of achieving any of our goals this year!

Honestly I’m not complaining, I’m also not looking for sympathy so the tiny violins are safe, but sometimes balancing work life and the horses can be quite tricky. Over the last year I have been to 6 different countries over 10 weeks for work. Last year my wonderful husband Dan held the fort and looked after the horses, but this year I had 4 weeks away smack in the middle of pre-season training so I decided to splash out on sending the horses to a holiday livery where Estrid could continue work.

Estrid had 9 weeks off at the end of last season while Dan and I were on honeymoon in New Zealand. Then a week at Legacy equine doing daily treadmill sessions while I was away working in Tenerife. We than had 5 weeks of ridden work before I spent 3 weeks away in Croatia and Estrid went on the treadmill every other day. Now this really isn’t a long term option for me, as you can imagine the working holiday livery doesn’t come cheap, but it has meant that at least I can hit the ground running and not delay my 2026 endurance season too much.

I can’t say I’ve managed to find the balance between work and life yet, never mind my job and horses, it’s a work in progress and I think it’s on the side of burnout rather than balance. But I’m so grateful for all the opportunities I have in work, life and horses, saying that I am looking forward to a slightly quieter 12 months!