Well I thought I would be starting my endurance season off with a nice 18km around Woburn. Something I was actually super excited for after seeing the wonderful tracks on Bella Fricker’s stories. But alas the ice and snow meant it wasn’t safe for the ride to go ahead. It also meant that I didn’t really have any at home alternatives either because I couldn’t get the lorry off the lane from the yard, vehicles had been getting stranded in both directions all week, and although I had a moment of madness where I considered hand gritting a whole mile, I decided against it.

The school was also frozen solid but was actually flat with a soft layer of snow still on top so I decided to do some groundwork and raised poles instead. I really wanted to give Estrid a bath, but decided it was a bit cruel in sub zero temperatures so I settled on giving her a good groom, massage and stretch.

I have only recently managed to convince her to take food from my hand so baited stretches have been impossible so this was an ideal opportunity to start her stretching training.

I’m changing up how I plan my 2023 season. Usually I have a ‘big’ end goal and work back from there, I plan out my ideal Plan A rides and have a Plan B for each one spread out over the whole season. This year I still have an overall goal: Complete Estrid’s Novice Qualifications but I’m not aimed at a final ‘big’ ride. I’m also not planning to go to any rides in particular. This year I have selected one ride a month that has a 40km Novice class and if we make it to that, excellent, if not, onto the next one. I’ve also done this with Pleasure rides, so I have a list of one a month fairly close to me and we’ll use them as options rather than targets.

Ideally, I would like to have finished Estrid’s Novice qualifications (3 x 40km) by the end of June. The past few years the ground has been very hard from July to September so I’d like to be able to avoid having to compete then if possible. If the ground is still good then I might do a few extras if budget allows.

I would like to do around 3 pleasure rides with Tissy and also I have a slightly bigger ‘bucket list’ ride in mind, but that all depends on whether I get an entry and how Tissy is doing after this winter. Roo I have aimed at a bit more of a mix of things, obviously continue to bring him back up to his previous strength and fitness and then I’d like to do more cross-country with him and a few early Pleasure rides.

With all that in mind for the first 12 weeks of this year, Estrid and Roo will be trained 3x a week and Tissy will be having 3 months off. Estrid will do one schooling, one pole work and one hack and Roo will start with one pole work, one hill work and one hack.

My biggest decision to make is whether I keep Estrid barefoot for her Novice 40km rides or I put shoes on her. I guess we’ll just see how she goes! Lastly, I need to budget for the whole thing, so I usually work out entry costs against my goals plus fuel and then divide that over Jan – Sept to put away into an account monthly as my pony spending account. Whos know’s what will happen in 2023 but I hope that whatever it throws at us we can stay positive and have fun.

I’m really in the preparation for the year ahead mood. January is one of my favourite months (I know, unpopular opinion). First up on my checklist was to get the saddles checked and fitted ready for the pre-season training to begin. Dean & Gini from Reactor Panel Saddles came out to check over Estrid and Roo, it was nice to hear that they thought Estrid had muscled up and Roo hasn’t lost too much muscle either.

That also meant a good clean and check over of all my tack, boots, chaps and gear in general. I clean them using the Carr & Day & Martin 3-step process and then I use a waterproofing dressing on the top of my saddles, boots and chaps to give them a bit of extra protection over winter.

There’s something really satisfying about a clean and tidy tack room full of well looked after kit, I know where everything is and in what condition it is in ready to get stuck into the last of our winter training.

As always thank you so much to the team at Upper Boothay Farm ride. It’s so nice to have a venue within 30mins that regularly has a Farm ride to attend. It’s excellent training for youngsters getting used to being around other horses, it’s super nice to get off the roads and have some grass to ride on and it’s even nicer to be given special astro turf parking so I didn’t get stuck in the mud! Although the did have the tractor at the ready for all the trucks and trailers. Just to top it off they even had a hot food and drink van, and we enjoyed a bacon bap afterwards.

Estrid is going from strength to strength at the moment, she seemed to really enjoy this ride, she was much more confident, even overtaking a couple of times and in front once or twice. Considering she’s done pole work I was a little surprised when she leapt 4ft in the air over two telegraph poles on the ground and I was very proud when she jumped out of the water jump up a little step.

I always get off Estrid having had a lovely time and it’s just the best feeling. I’m really enjoying her education process and I feel like I’m a much better rider and horse-person because of her, she’s so sensitive and quick to learn that I’ve needed to up my game to match her needs. I’m always learning and I hope always trying to get better. My goals for 2023 definitely reflect a more overall horsemanship progression rather than just Endurance, but more about them another time.

What a year of ups and downs 2022 has been. I ‘achieved’ very little in terms of my goals and actual success on paper. But despite that I have learnt a lot, I have had fun and I’ve struck a balance between horses and other life activities that I haven’t really had before.

My definite highlights have been completing Roo’s novice season and training him for 80km. I really enjoyed getting back into continuous canter work and Roo is a dream to canter. That unfortunately was coupled with a low point of his tendon injury in June, so we never actually made it to that 80km. But we’re on the up again and he’s doing just fine now.

A huge low was having Qantas put to sleep. I miss his silly face and soft muzzle and the way he used to steal all my sandwiches. But I also got to welcome Estrid into our lives and I love the sweet, honest, clever horse that she is. Backing Estrid has been great fun and I’ve really enjoyed the process with her. She even surprised me and did her first Pleasure ride this year with Tissy by her side.

I also got to go on my first ever horsey holiday and Roo plastered a great big smile on my face by being such a good boy around the cross country. Tissy went on several fun rides, including her first pub ride and it makes my heart glow every time I ride behind her little ears, she just absolutely loves to be out and about.

I am so grateful for everything I have, for the person my horses have made me become and the adventures they allow me to have. I’m tentatively excited for 2023, but my main goal is to have fun and enjoy my time with my horses.

I know I would get mud pies and snow balls thrown at me for this but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….I like winter. I like the fact that it’s all prep and no pressure. I like wearing layers on cold crisp mornings and snuggling fluffy ponies. I like looking forward to the year ahead with so much promise and all the hope in the world that the year is going to be a good one.

So when the time comes around for winter I really enjoy getting ready. The waterproofs come out (RIP my long jacket, who has been declared dead to re-proofing) the base layers, hats and gloves are at the ready. I order my haylage, get in the feed supplies and stock up on bedding. The ponies are in big poofy rugs and everything feels slightly like and assault course challenge…..ducking under electric fencing with haynets through half a foot of mud and making it to the hayfeeder without falling over because the ponies are munching whilst you’re on the move, gives me a daily sense of achievement and relief! Ha! Grooming the layers of mud off feels like a mini marathon and taking layers on and off makes for a great shoulder mobility routine!

Joking aside I just love the laying of the training foundation for the season ahead. I’ve not had the best time in terms of Endurance success over the last few years so I’m not making any extravagant plans for 2023 but I am excited to see what happens when we get through the winter and into the season.

Heading into winter when you are at the later stages of a rehab program is just poor timing. Especially for an injury that requires hard ground and minimal circling. But instead of letting it make me feel like a failure I’ve been pro-active, anticipated these hurdles and just delayed our schedule. Past Beth, wouldn’t believe it! But I’m much more open to changes of plan these days.

Roo is basically in the final stages of his rehab plan before returning to ‘normal’ training. He is sound on a 10m circle on the soft and is much happier in himself. I still don’t want to spend too much time in a soft menage doing circles and it’s been icy out on the roads so I can’t don all my lights and go for a nightime hack after work.

So I have scheduled a short pause in his training, not complete rest but we’re doing one pole session in the week and one hack on a weekend when it’s a bit warmer and lighter in the day. I actually think a bit of a break will be good for him before heading into normal training for the 2023 season. Structured, scheduled rest is often overlooked as a key component of a good training plan so I feel like because I planned this, everything is going to plan rather than feel like I’m delaying anything by having the decision made for me by weather.

I Loooooove a weekend of pottering with ponies. You know one of those weekends where you’re just at the yard and you get to go on a nice ride, not worry about being anywhere at any particular time, just bimbling along, enjoying myself.

Estrid did two things for the first time this weekend. She went on a hack away from home by herself. She’s done lots of little trips out where I’ve led her, or out with Tissy and Fluffy but this was the first time she’s gone out on a training ride in the lorry all by herself.

She really is a marvel, I think we’re getting there on the shaky nervousness, everytime seems to be a little bit better. But when I’m actually on board she’s keen, forward thinking and responsive. This ride did make me realise that I have been a little lax on my mounting technique, I have allowed her to walk off when I’m on a few times (I know, rod for my own back) and on this hack, one of my lights came off so I had to jump off to get it, I then had to get on from lower down than I normally would and because I hadn’t checked my girth (I know, stupid mistake again) the saddle slipped a little bit and she was already walking before I had a chance to rectify it. It was all fine, I just tipped the saddle back to the middle as she was walking, but there were many factors that may not have been fine in that scenario, so we’re going to do a few sessions of going back to basics and working on mounting again, which is never a bad thing in my opinion.

Estrid also had her first clip, we’ve been practicing with the clippers for a few weeks now, just turning them on and whizzing them around her every time she comes in. She’s also stood next to Tissy being clipped so I was pretty confident she’d be ok. She is very sensitive about noise so I gave her lots of breaks and she stood still 80% of the time, she was getting a little antsy towards the end so it’s not as neat as I would like but for a first time she did great.

Anyone else have a go to workout that they do when they’re just not feeling it? I think having a core set of exercises that you know well, a routine that you’re comfortable with and something you know is targeting what you need is a great way to still get something done when you’re not feeling motivated or 100%.

My go to routine is all about dissociation, being able to move one part of my body whilst stabilising another is perfect for improving my riding. I also just do a little bit of everything rather than focus on one body part so that nothing get’s fatigued and the workout is easier.

In my normal training I mix up the exercises, the focus is different in each session and I’m working towards a particular outcome. I currently go to the gym to do weights 4 times a week for two full body sessions with one upper and one lower training session. Some sessions I genuinely can’t walk downstairs at the end, but sometimes I just don’t want to go there and I don’t have the willpower to push myself, which is exactly when a comforting, easier routine is exactly what I need.

Firstly let me say a HUGE thank you to Ross of ROSCA Horsemanship for creating a relaxed and comfortable environment for us all to learn in. I have never been to an agility or obstacle clinic before, in fact, I’ve never taken my own horse to any clinic. I’ve been to watch loads of demos and talks but never actually taken my own horse to something like this so I was super excited when it finally came around.

I had booked Estrid into a ridden obstacle course clinic, my aim was twofold. Firstly to improve our communication when I’m on board. On the ground she’ll follow me through anything but when ridden we sometimes get stuck in the mud if she’s scared. Secondly, to get her used to going to new venues, being around other horses and experiencing new things. She got very sweaty, shaky and screamy at her first event and as it is I wouldn’t have high hopes of her passing an initial vetting, so our winter task is to improve this by going to do lots of things in lots of places.

She travels so steadily, munching away, that it’s always a surprise to open up the ramp and find her dripping with sweat and shaking. She doesn’t do anything bad really, she’s still good to handle, she stands still to be tacked up but her eyes are out on stalks, she’s on edge and jumpy, dripping with sweat and whinnying at everything that moves.

I did think we would end up being the disruptive kid at the party as we jogged sideways into the arena, screeching and snorting. I also did not think I would be getting on board anytime soon. That was ok with me, if the only thing we did was walk in the vicinity of the obstacles and calm down then that would be a win. But Estrid, as usual, pulled it out the bag, she settled down for her first-ever time in an indoor arena, first-ever time in the same space as a group of other horses. She walked with me, stood with me, went over every obstacle!

So much to my surprise, I hopped on and she did it all ridden too!!!! Once I took her back out of the arena, the screaming and shaking started again…….but we can’t win them all hey. Lots to work on this winter for sure, but Estrid has demonstrated quite the capacity to learn and I’m so excited for her progress.