I really wanted a November pleasure or social ride to take Estrid to, after 6 months of getting her back on track after her accident I just wanted to end the season with a nice outing. We hadn’t been to a pony party since July and I just wanted to go into the winter break knowing we’d had some fun out and about again.
Sport Endurance gave me the perfect opportunity with an end of November social ride. We’d done the Barton Spring ride and enjoyed it so much we went around twice. It also offered a 7 or 12mile option which you could decide at the venue as the additional miles were a separate loop, which made it ideal as a little test run.
I was a little nervous, not because of Estrid but because of my van. It rained all week and the venue was on grass, was I going to get stuck without 4 wheel drive? As I got to the venue my fears were confirmed with a horsebox being towed out the gateway but I needn’t have worried. My van absolutely nailed it and even if we’d got stuck they had a tractor on hand to tow you out anyway.
Estrid felt incredible, I was beaming the whole way round. She was keen, she was forward and she felt powerful. The weather was kind to us and we rode through low dappled light with blue skies overhead. It was the confidence boost I needed that Estrid is ok now and that she can get back into proper training after the winter break.
Thank you so much to the Sport Endurance team, it would have been so easy to cancel the event, but the amount of effort and will power that went into giving us a wonderful day out on our horses was admirable and much appreciated.
Beth Endurance 