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!

I get quite a few direct messages asking for my training schedule or to give someone a training outline for them to follow. My answer is always the same, ‘It depends on the horse, their experience, previous training, the training you have available to you, your goals and how much time you want to devote to it’. I can give an outline of what I do but it may not necessarily suit your horse or your facilities. This is why I often give outcomes of training that I want to meet before a certain distance, such as ‘Completing 8km, at mostly trot, easily with a heart rate of less than 64bpm in under 5 minutes to be fit enough to do a 16km pleasure ride’, but these are also just my markers from my experience and hold no scinetific relevance or research.

I’ve been thinking of how I can share endurance training without being too specific or saying ‘do this to achieve this’ and the answer was pretty simple really. Share my training for my horse and then let people do what they will with that information. So this year we’ve decided to add ‘Training round-up’ Videos to our YouTube channel, every 8-12 weeks giving a brief outline of the training we’ve done and the goals we’ve set.

So for this first one here are the stats for Roo training for a 40km, we’ve been focusing on his proprioception, strength and maintaining a consistent pace without interference from the rider:

• We train 3 times a week
• Over 8 weeks we’ve done 21 sessions
• We missed 3 sessions due to an injury
• We’ve been in the school 5 times (either schooling or continuous work)
• Hacked 9 times
• Lunged without poles 4 times
• Polework 3 times
• Our shortest hack was 5km
• Our longest hack was 19.4km
• Our fastest average speed was 9kph
• Usual trot pace around 12kph
• Usual canter pace around 15kph
• He’s had two Physio sessions
• Two farrier visits (He’s done every 5-6 weeks)

We’re aiming at a 40km at Cannock chase at between 8-11kph depending on the terrain/weather/how he feels on the day. After Cannock our focus will shift to working a bit more on distance and time in the saddle.

Whenever I explain Endurance to a beginner or someone who’s never even heard of it I find the part that takes the most explaining is the scoring/grading system. My basic description is that Endurance in the UK is broken down into three categories:

• Tasters : Pleasure Rides
• Time trials: Graded Endurance rides
• Races: Competitive Endurance rides

For Pleasure rides as long as you make it around, at under 12kph, with a sound horse you’ve won a rosette and can be proud about completing the ride.

Graded rides are the most complicated to score, but basically there is a speed window in which you must complete, for Novice it’s 8-15kph, the faster you go within the speed window the higher your heart rate can be to gain the best grade. However, even if you go at the slower speed you can still gain the same grade by having a low heart rate. I’ve attached the grading system chart from the Endurance GB website which explains it all nicely in a graphic:

They also have an Open and Advanced grades chart, which have faster speeds than Novice allows. Whichever Grade you get, the best being a Grade one and the lowest a Grade 4, allocates you a certain amount of points, these points are how your group and National trophies are calculated at the end of the season.

Whereas the grading system means you are only competitive with yourself each class also has a competition within it. So if you’ve entered the 40km Novice class you will also be able to win that class against the other competitors. You don’t have to do anything differently, just ride your ride the way you want to, but every riders results are put into an equation called the ‘Performance Formula’ this uses your speed and heart rate to calculate an overall winner, usually the horse with the highest speed and lowest heart rate wins.

When you get to the Competitive Endurance rides they are basically a race. You have a mass start, which is not compulsory, you can start after the mass start but your start time is still the same as everyone else, and the first across the line and to pass the final vetting wins. Your points for trophies are then calculated based on distance and placing.

Maybe controversially, but I don’t really put much thought into grades. For me the lower distances are the necessary steps to get a horse to FEI and are training for my long term goal. With that in mind, even at the lower levels, I will try and present to the vet as quickly as possible at under 64bpm, this means I might not get the best grade but it does mean my horses are being trained to present as quickly and will have got invaluable practice for vet gates when the time comes. It also means I learn how their heart rate reacts to certain aspects of crewing, so I may not get a good grade but I complete the ride to get the necessary qualifier to move up through the levels. It all just depends on what’s important to you, what goals you’ve set yourself and how you want to compete.

I’ve never been to visit a horse rescue charity, so when my brother moved only 15 minutes away from one I jumped at the opportunity to go and visit. I follow a few on social media and I’d been following this particular story about some Arabs that were rescued last year, I even bought them Christmas presents from the charities wish list.

So I booked the whole family to have a look around HAPPA and go to their lovely cafe after. If you want to check our the work they do, sponsor a horse or donate to the charity then click on the link below:

HAPPA: Horse and Pony Protection Association

P.S. Sorry about the sound, we forgot to plug the mic in….doh!