We are a few weeks into 2025 and we’ve only just managed a full week of our actual scheduled training. I pre-empted a variable start to the year with weather, work and training so I have set my sights later into the endurance season so that I feel less pressure if training doesn’t go exactly to plan.

Estrid is not the type of horse you can plunge head first into anything and expect the best from her, so although an early 80km or 1* would have been lovely, I think she will do better with a softer and slower ease into competing again. Fitness wouldn’t be our issue but her confidence definitely improves with repetition, so to optimise our chances of success I am going to do a few lower distance events before we set our sights on our 2025 goals.

This week we managed a 30minute schooling session, focusing on changing the rhythm in each gait. Her first water treadmill session of 15mins and below fetlock for the water level, a group 1hr pole clinic, and a 10km hack, of which 50mins was walk and just over 20mins of trot.

It’s always frustrating when you’re feeling motivated and have a plan but weather stops play, but it is what it is. For my own brain I find doing something, no matter how small, keeps my motivation up. Be it extra carrot stretches, playing on wobble cushions or just and in hand walk. So when the snow and sheet ice hit our yard for a week we did in hand walk poles on the frozen school for a whole week, we tried different patterns and drills but even Estrid got a bit bored by session 5.

Despite it being a bit dull and not really contributing to her fitness it did give me time with my horse and it was also interesting to see how her ability with different tasks varied from session to session, how she initiated movement and what she found most difficult. I do in hand sessions all the time but rarely back to back and the insight was very interesting.

I always enjoy the cold snaps, although not very practical it is very pretty and I love the sound of walking on crunchy snow. But I am definitely keen to crack on with some decent training now, so hopefully weather doesn’t stop play too much for this pre-season.

Now this was a tricky one… if money, annual leave and time in a day were unlimited my goal would be to clamber up the FEI ranks, get selected for Team GBR and go to a Championship…unfortunately for me everything comes at a price, be it money or time.

I no longer want to commit my whole free time to training for Endurance. I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, climbing, surfing and going on adventures. I’m happy to train hard for 1 or 2 bigger events in a season but I don’t want to spend 7 months at FEI Endurance training level.

I don’t have the finances to do more than 3 events a year anyway. Even if I qualify for a Championship again, would I be able to afford to go? Probably not without sacrificing elsewhere in my life.

I have limited annual leave and 3 jobs, so also limited free time for training.

BUT, I’m competitive, I love Endurance, I live for the training, the goals, the ambition, the racing, so where does that leave me?

I decided for now that I would still give FEI a go. Maybe only one FEI competition a year but still try to qualify for a 3* at least. Which means this year I would like Estrid to attempt her first 1*. I would also like to do a national CER and have the thrill of a race ride again. I would love to aim for the Development Squad but unfortunately I think time and money will be prohibitive (keeping my options open though!).

Who knows whether our year goes to plan, we have 6 UK FEI opportunities and lots of 80km CER’s to chose from so hopefully we’ll achieve something, or at least have fun trying!

I’m starting off with a 4x a week schedule; Monday, Wednesday, Friday and one weekend day. The first 6 week block will consist of:

Monday: 45mins in-hand hill walks or in-hand pole work

Wednesday: 30minute water treadmill session

Friday: Longer hack (10-20km) or Schooling

Weekend: Short hack (5-10km) or faster surface work

I don’t have many options from the yard where my horses are, we have two 5km loops, two 10km options, and one 16km option, all of which are 90% road, but I do have lots of access to facilities if I trailer out. Due to being on clay using gallop surfaces is one of our best winter options, even if we just walk and trot on it. But my hope is that we’ll get out to Cannock chase as much as possible because it has nice hard ground that’s accessible year round and it’s free!!

For our first training block the main focus is on strength with the majority of our training at walk. Last year 50% of all our training was walk work so that’s the baseline we’re aiming to get to over the next 6 weeks. Once we’ve got back to our baseline I can then start thinking about increasing the trot and introducing some canter.

Our final prep before the pre-season begins is to clip ready for the harder sweatier work. If anyone has any recommendations for improving the finish of my clip, I am all ears, as I think Estrid is a bit embarrassed about looking like a zebra!

Just for a bit of fun before the real training starts I wanted to take Tissy & Estrid out for a spin. I don’t ordinarily ride & lead but on this occassion we did for a bit of fun. All the route is on private land with gates along the way so no one could go far or meet any traffic.

Tissy loves having a blast up from the river, she’s done that route and cantered up that hill since she was 4 years old. I didn’t fancy leading at canter so I let her off, I was amazed that she waited for me to give her the voice command for canter before she belted off and she stopped at the top of the hill and came straight back to us!

What a year 2024 has been! A rollercoaster as usual, but what year isn’t when you have horses. I’ve worked more hours than ever but I’ve also had some of the best adventure packed holidays.

We got off to a wobbly start to the endurance season so didn’t really get going until June, but from there out every outing has felt like a bonus and Estrid flying round her first 80km was the cherry on top. Tissy has stayed active and enjoyed her little adventures, it’s tough watching her age but I appreciate every moment I get to enjoy with her.

Thank you to all who have supported me. My family and HUSBAND (that tiny thing of getting married also happened this year) as usual have been there to help and cheer us on and I can’t wait to see what next year brings.

The social media algorithm hit me hard over the last few months as I’ve seen so many beautiful hiviz biothane bridles from Pioneer Endurance going up on the website and off to new homes.

I then saw that the hiviz comes in white, opening up the opportunity for navy and white tack (My fave colour scheme) so I popped a winter training hiviz bridle and breastplate on my wishlist. Zoe made me the most beautiful bridle and I can’t thank her enough as I absolutely love it. Christmas pennies will definitely be saved to add a breastplate!

It’s such a good addition to my hiviz and safety as we head into winter and the real pre-season training begins!

In my head I break down my horsey life into three distinct phases. Pre-season winter; where there’s no competitions but I’m actively training the horses and focusing on fitness. In-Season; where we’re training and competing, and then Off-season winter; Where I’m riding for fun occasionally but mainly just giving the horses a break.

I am firmly in our off-season phase, the horses shoes are off. I ride, maybe, once a week, maybe not at all. In this phase they are stabled at night (in pre-season they’re stabled in the day) and out in the day and they take up about 1.5 – 3hrs of my time a day, which is basically the least amount of input they require year round.

I get to the yard just after 6am and turn them straight out in the field. We’re still lucky enough to not need much haylage out in the field as there’s still a fair amount of grass left but the mud is starting to turn up uninvited! I then muck out both stables, which are on a mix of equinola chopped straw and straw pellets. Then I prep the mash feeds for later and head on home to get ready for work.

I work 8-4 and have a 30minute commute to work. I then go straight to the yard from work, pull the beds down, fill the haynets, make the feeds and bring the ponies in. So pretty low maintenance really!

With weather cancelling Tissy’s last opportunity to go to a pony party this year I had been looking for alternatives so she could still have a fun outing. Somerford is just over an hour drive from me and I’d heard good things about their farm ride, with hardstanding parking and plenty of groomed track I thought it would be a great option for Tissy to get out and explore somewhere new.

I am so glad we made the effort to go, when it would have been so easy to go somewhere closer, cheaper, easier etc. Tissy had the best time and the track was amazing. I’m definitely going to come back for some training with Estrid next season. It’s undulating, twisty and turny in places, plenty of good canter sections and great underfoot. So perfect endurance training.

Although I have had a stable the last few years to accommodate for Tissy’s need for mash as a haylage replacement. I haven’t had to have her in and I’ve had other horses on full grass livery, so it’s been very flexible.

This year as part of the livery changes and in an effort to preserve the fields both my horses will be stabled daily for half the day. Now I still have lots of flexibility in terms of timing, it can be overnight, in the day and there are no set hours or timings.

This means I do have a new stable, so it was time to get everything prepped and ready for the switch to the winter routine. I’m actually quite excited in terms of the routine of it, a little apprehensive about the horse management side, ideally I would love to have my horses somewhere they can choose, in a field with others and a big barn/field shelter with ad lib forage and access as they wish. This is how our horses were kept at home when I was growing up and it’s how I believe we can keep them happiest. However, when you don’t have your own land it’s just not practical and there are many situations where it’s not possible. So fingers crossed Estrid settles into stabled life fairly quickly and we make it through the winter happy and healthy!