We gave Estrid 6 weeks just to settle in, get to know her new pony friends and human slaves. We’ve still been bringing her in for a groom, picking her feet out in the field, practice loading and generally giving her a fuss, which is all progress in a young horses education but now the more structured training has begun.

I started off with just halter control and verbal/body commands. I tend to go with the technique of pressure = wrong and release = right. So as soon as she’s doing what I’m asking her to do there is no pressure on her headcollar, sometimes this is a yoyo game, especially on her first walk where she’d jog, I’d put pressure on, she’d walk, I’d release, she’d jog again, but in reality it only took 5mins for her to ‘get it’ and for me to walk her on a slack lead rope.

The other thing I like them to learn is body language commands. I like to lead from both sides, and generally do everything on their left and right, so if I lean one way with my arm out I want her to go that direction. I do everything with voice, body language and pressure to begin with, until either just voice and body language or body language alone is enough.

Estrid is now pretty good at ‘woah’, ‘stand’ ‘walk on’ and ‘trrrrrot’ verbally and she’s also got left and right down just from body language. It’s super fun getting to know her personality. She’s a thinker, she’s still quite highly strung, always the first to notice anything but so far she doesn’t panic, she’ll snort, prance and neigh but she seems to keep her head, which is a great trait.

Also in the video is a review on the Nettex V.I.P So sound supplement I was gifted to trial over the last 3 months. Definitely a positive experience, with similar ingredients to what I usually use, and the added bonus of very slightly cheaper!

I wanted to show a tiny bit of what goes into organising our wonderful rides and all the working cogs that make them a success. Unfortunately, we didn’t get as much footage of all the different aspects as I would have liked but we still have a little teeny tiny sneak peak into all the elements that go into a great Endurance ride.

First of all a major well done to first time ride organisers Anna & Lauren, a few hurdles, hiccups, laughs and I’m sure a few tears along the way but you pulled off a truly awesome weekend. Thank you to all the wonderful sponsors and volunteers who made the ride so lovely and made sure it was able to run smoothly on the day.

So what goes into organising an Endurance event? Well firstly our venues are a little different from other equestrian disciplines. We don’t have set equestrian facilities/venues like eventing does. We basically need a big field, preferably with good access, water and plenty of room. Because we don’t use ready made facilities you then need to think about toilet facilities, food, temporary stabling and corralling, shelter for the vets and a secretaries tent. This venue then needs to have access to a great course. Planning, mapping and marking a route is no mean feat, especially with multiple loops for the longer distances.

There is plenty of admin to do before the event. Taking in entries, planning vet and start times, making the route map and crew points, organising all the different aspects of the ride day.

Once you have a venue and route you then need to man the event. You need raynet for checkpoints and comms, a first aider/paramedic, stewards out on course, a timekeeper for the start/finish, a timekeeper for the vetting area, vets and vet writers, a vet sheet runner to take the results to the secretaries tent, which is manned by several people, from health & safety to technical stewards, making sure everything is running smoothly and keeping everything organised whilst getting the results out.

Anna & Lauren did a great job of obtaining sponsors for the ride, so once everyone was home safe and sound after the ride it was time for the prize giving and some excellent chilli from the food truck. It was so nice to see such great prizes throughout every class and we truly appreciate the support of every single sponsor, receiving a prize, no matter what it is, is always a lovely icing on the cake.

As anyone with a horse knows going away can be quite the logistical faff. You rely on the kindness of others, and when the people you ask usually have horses themselves it’s actually a huge ask to add an extra 3 to look after onto their day.

I am lucky to be surrounded by lovely people who would look after my 3 Arabs in a heartbeat. All the liveries at my yard are always happy to help eachother out and we often swap holiday duties for one another.

I’ve been away for a few days at a time where Dan has looked after our little herd but this time I was away for two whole weeks. I can’t begin to put into words how grateful I am of Dan, his endless help, patience and involvement with the horses is something I treasure and truly appreciate.

I got back from the Invictus Games with three happy horses, all with legs a head and no injuries. While I was away Dan filmed a little ‘vlog takeover’ about looking after them, so here it is!

YES!!!!! I’ve been sticking a tentative toe into jumping over the last two years thanks to getting to ride some Hunters. Jumping isn’t something I’ve done much of, ever, but I’ve really enjoyed progressing my skill and learning how to approach different fences. I never thought I’d see the day where I jump a hedge, 1m+ jumps or do a full cross-country course, but here I am!

Jumping Stuart’s horses has definitely given me more confidence when looking at a jump, I no longer think ‘Blimey that’s huge’, when in reality it’s about 30cm! So when we were on our horsey holiday at Field Farm Equestrian with three horses who can jump, I donned my body protector with the full intention of seeing whether Roo would pop a few tiny logs whilst cantering around watching the proper jumping ponies have fun.

Well Roo suprised us all!!!! After jumping a few tiny logs, probably no bigger than a raised trot pole, Roo seemed to really enjoy it. He tucked up his little front hooves and was actually super brave and bold, anything he did stop at he didn’t back off, he just stopped and then took a flying leap.

We went up and down steps, over barrels, into and out of water jumps, over a house and a brush, through a skinny and over a ditch, we basically did the whole cross-country course and I had SO MUCH FUN! By the end Roo was loving cantering into anything and popping up over them, we kept it small, I didn’t want to push him and knock either of our confidence, but it’s definitely something I’d love to develop with him.

I think cross training is such a valuable tool to have and as Roo really needs to develop his bum and drive from behind more, jumping will really help him. It’s an extra bonus that we both really enjoy it. I might even have to buy a skull cap so I can start using our local cross-country course.

Can you believe that in 28years of riding horses I’ve never been on a horsey holiday. I rarely ride for ‘fun’, I ride to train and to compete, obviously I still have fun but it has a purpose and a structure. But over the last couple of years I’ve been learning that not everything has to be planned, perfected and measured. So last year I said yes to going on my first just for fun weekend away with my horse and three friends.

Roll onto this year and we were heading off to Field Farm Equestrian. We had a mish mash group of a Hunter, Showjumper, Connie all-rounder and Arab Endurance horse and surprisingly they all went beautifully together. Granted the Hunter always wanted to be in front and the Connie threw a few tantrums but all of them got on so well.

The riding on the beach was super fun and Roo was immaculately behaved for his first time, despite reversing at speed away from most waves. We didn’t even make it close to the end of the beach after 12km. By the end he was bravely trotting through the water and cantering with ease through whatever the sand threw at him, deep, hard, wet or dry.

I definitely fell in love with Roo a little bit more on this holiday, he’s so straight forward, he tells you when something is wrong, you select a gear and he stays in it no matter what is going on around him, he’ll go alone, in company, he’s good to handle, tack-up, wash down. So he may be the little grump of the group but he’s so honest and willing.

I have always wanted two horses in competition, so here goes, Take 5……Qantas isn’t going to be rideable this year, if ever, so it was time to look at bringing another Novice into the ranks.

Let me introduce HS Estella, a 6yo Arab mare from Halsdon Stud.

You can see a short video and some pictures of her at the stud here (Pictures) and here (Video).

When I went to Halsdon all I knew is I wanted them to be between 5-8, between 14-15.3hh and that was it. My new horse protocol is to usually run my hands over them, pick up their feet, check joint range of motion, palpate the back and listen to their heart. I’ll then narrow the options down and see them walk and trot in hand. I look for straightness in their gait, even foot landing and pelvis movement, plus an open big stride. Then I narrow it down and see them free school, this is usually where I get the ‘feels’.

We had seen pictures of a handful of horses that fit my criteria and from those pictures the whole family had chosen HS Estella. We looked at 7 horses in total and it boiled down to two. One was cool, switched on and sweet the other was firey, stressy and strong but both moved beautifully.

I would have gone for the latter in a heartbeat a few years ago but Dan sat me down in the lorry, gave me a jaffa cake (as no decisions should be made on an empty stomach) and said ‘How many broken bones do you want this year? How many times do you want to practice walking into a vetting and standing still? Do you want to make the sensible option or the wild card choice? Do you want to start with the odds in your favour?’ and he was so right. HS Estella, was by no means a dobbin but in reality she was the more sensible option. She may still be stressy, I may still break bones (I hope not though), she may turn out to be challenging but so far she is lovely, thoughtful, and so like Azid in personality it’s a bit spooky!

She loaded and traveled beautifully, and we gave her a stable name on the journey home. Estrid, a name associated with Norse mythology and means beautiful goddess. Who knows how our journey together will go, but I will enjoy the process, keep my expectations low and just see how it goes, with that ever-present desire to make it to an FEI Championship again!

Welcome to the family Estrid.

I’ve only ever tackled this iconic ride once but it is one of my favourite ever Endurance memories. The entries opened this week with classes from pleasure rides of 24km to the big 160km and it’s recently featured in Horse & Hound as a bucket list event. So if you were thinking of doing the Golden Horseshoe, do it!!!!!

The valuable advice I was given before riding it myself and my top tips from my experience are that it is a very exposed ride, so whatever weather you get, you really do feel it. Pack for every eventuality. I rode it on one of those rare sunny weekends, and it was roasting hot. But equally, I’ve heard of all the seasons in one hour so just pack everything!

I did the 160km so there were a fair few gates, I would say you need to be confident either doing them on horseback or getting on and off. Now don’t let that put you off, I promise you that every single gate is worth it!

This ride is iconic for a reason, and it can be tough, this isn’t a high-speed breeze through the National park but if you pace yourself and take every stride as it comes then you’ll have no problem. Take full advantage of a slower pace to look at the stunning scenery and if your lucky like I was say ‘hi’ to the new Exmoor foals.

For more information on the Golden Horseshoe head over to their website and to enter head over to the EGB ride page.

Stereotypical British behaviour coming right up! It was sunny, it was 14 degrees I had a lovely weekend doing yard jobs, feeling productive and enjoying the weather. I feel so much more motivated to be clean and tidy and do all those odd jobs when it’s sunny, I even thoroughly enjoy them.

So when I had a day to do just that I took full advantage. Heavy weight rugs dropped off for cleaning, re-stock of feed, chain harrow the summer grazing, grass seed some bare patches, tidy up my storage and of course play with my ponies.

Whenever I go to a new event, something different or somewhere I haven’t been before, I’m nervous. I get a bit sweaty, my heart rate goes up, I worry about committing a faux pas, I worry that what I’m wearing is appropriate, will I know anyone, will they be nice. What if I’m late, what if I can’t find it, etc etc etc.

I know this is my natural reaction to a new situation so I have ways of dealing with it. I have the venue on google maps but also the directions written down on paper, I look at the venue on street view and try and find pictures beforehand so I recognise it. I give myself plenty of time to get there and if I feel a bit stressy I do some deep breathing and talk myself into a positive mindset.

I thought that I would try and reduce any ‘new situation’ anxiety for others by doing a little run through of what to do when you get to your endurance ride.

1. Arrive at venue and follow the parking steward instructions.
2. Give human and pony a drink and/or food
3. I put on my riding boots/chaps/coat at this point as I don’t want to faff when my horse is unloaded
4. Get my logbook out the car and head over towards the secretaries tent
5. But first…….I go for a wee!!! Nothing worse than getting on and realising you needed the loo but now have 40km to wait!
6. Go to the secretary (they’re usually in a gazebo/tent/trailer) and pick up your number and vet sheet
7. Pop the emergency information given to you by the ride secretary on your saddle
8. Unload the horse, groom and pick out feet, take them for a little leg stretch
9. Head over to the farrier & vet (remeber your vet sheet and wear your number)
10. Present to the farrier first and then to the vet (Stewards/Vet writers will be there to guide you to where you need to be)
11. Once vetted, your vet sheet is kept by the vet writer and you can head back to the trailer to tack up
12. Make sure you’ve eaten and drunk plenty before and so has your horse
13. You have a maximum of 30minutes from your vet time to tack up and head over to the start line (Usually called the timekeeper, also in a car/tent/gazebo/trailer)
14. When you’re ready head over to the start line and start your watch when the timekeeper says go!

In terms of what to wear: Endurance is pretty laid back so you can’t really commit any faux pas, you can wear any colour, gloves or no gloves, hair plaited or not, it’s really up to you as long as it’s within the rules, which are pretty simple.

The people are usually very friendly and the ride organisers and helpers have tabards on so you can always spot someone if you have any questions. If you’re late call the number in the ride info and just let them know, if they can they will accommodate a later time slot.

Most of all remember to enjoy, once you’re out and about on the trail, just follow the markers, state your number to the check points and have a good time!

Weather wise we’ve had a really good winter, but I’ve had my fair share of hiccups over the last year, making this winter a more difficult one on me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all relative, I am happy, healthy and cared for but we live the lives we live and feel the way we feel, just because there is something worse happening in the world doesn’t de-value our feelings.

Which is why when Roo got a Grade 1 on his first ride of the season it felt extra special. If you’d told me three years ago that completing a 40km Novice would feel like a major milestone and something to celebrate I’d have probably laughed. I took the small things for granted and the last few years has taught me to enjoy the moment more and celebrate every success no matter how small.

I still have to remind myself out on course to enjoy the scenery, the route, the horse underneath me and not constantly think about the result, the speed, crossing the finish line, the next step. But I am getting better at it and Cannock, with its wonderful views, forests and blue sky, the fact it was the first ride of the season, was a perfect reminder to enjoy myself. I know it might sound odd, but usually I’m so wrapped up in my goals that I’m just waiting for the finish line and if someone asked me did you have fun I wouldn’t know how to answer….’Yes, I completed another Novice qualification’ would probably be what I would say, but now I think my answer would be ‘Yes, the views were beautiful and I enjoyed riding a well behaved horse who seemed to be having fun doing his job’.

This shift in mindset I think is due to a few things, firstly, the experiences of failure, trying and not getting anywhere, feeling dejected and defeated, although not fun at the time, they do make you appreciate the smallest gains, successes and triumphs. Secondly, I use the headspace app every day, not just to meditate (I still truly suck at that) but for all the little courses, pep-talks and my favourite, the wake-up section, which is like an educational little tit-bit every day. Both of these combined with being older and apparently wiser are shifting my focus. I still have firm goals, and I’m determined to achieve them, but I’m making an effort to have more fun along the way!