It’s that time of year again for the ‘big day’ where I usually get the Farrier, Vets, Equine Dentist and Physio all in at the same time. This year however we didn’t have the Physio but we still had a lot going on.
Qantas has had his re-scan and the fibres in his bicep are healing nicely, he’s moving much better and seems to be on the right path to making a full recovery so fingers crossed for him!
Roo had some new shoes with pins in ready for Red Dragon and Tissy and Qantas have now gone barefoot for their autumn holidays.
Poor Tissy had another tooth extracted but hopefully this will mean less food will get compacted in the gaps, making her overall mouth health much better. We’ve actually finally managed to get a decent amount of weight on her by reducing her training so hopefully she’s all ready for wintering well.
Vaccinations are all done and up to date and my little herd of three are all in all doing ok.
Those of you who know me from real life will remember a horse called Pria. Those of you who have joined the journey since we started vlogging won’t have met her. So Pria is now a 14yo arab from Halsdon Arabians. I went down to Devon to pick her up when she was 5 and we made it all the way to 1* FEI.
We were ready to take her to her first 2* when training had really plateaued, she wasn’t muscling up the way she should be with the amount of training she was doing so our Physio recommended taking her for a bit of an MOT with the vets before our race. She wasn’t lame, she didn’t seem to be in pain, the only real ‘symptom’ would be stiffness after any canter work and the lack of muscle development.
It turned out she had some issues with her bones, at 16.1hh she was very tall and had very long legs for an arab. She also had some issues with her SIJ’s. I gave her a year off to recover, to mature (she was 8 at the time) and chill out. I then bought her back into work a year later, we did a 64km ride and she passed with flying colours. But the vets had told me that with hard, intense work her bony issues were likely to come back and that she was at a high risk of stress fractures and would need constant assessment.
I just wasn’t willing to continue to train and compete her at a level that could potentially break her. Now I know that elite athletes are always on the cusp of injury, balancing along that fine line between performance and breakdown. But when it comes to horses, for me anyway, if they are struggling as they get up to the top of the sport I don’t want to push them just to achieve my goals and potentially put them at risk, especially when I already know it’s more likely.
So rather than walk that knife edge and always wonder if I was doing the right thing by continuing Pria on her FEI career I decided to sell her. Pria landed well and truly on all four hooves as she is now with the most wonderful owner who couldn’t love her more if she tried and Pria is most definitely happy being treated like the Princess she always knew she was.
So since then Sara, Pria’s new owner, and I have tried to meet up and go for a ride every year. Tissy and Pria always recognise each other and have a good whicker and squeal. And although letting go of a horse always breaks my heart, and it’s bitter sweet seeing them again, we have a lovely time catching up on the horses and it’s so nice to see Pria loving life and giving someone else so much joy.
Kate and I were on the Young Rider Team together in 2012, my brother started to help crew for her in 2018 and Dan, Will, my Mum and I all crewed her for her first senior Championships in 2019 because Kate’s Mum, Rachael, was also competing in the same Championship. The very first time a Mother and Daughter combo have made it onto a Team GBR team together, a feat in itself getting two horses to the start line of a Championship, but they both also completed the Championship course.
So when Kate asked us to crew her for an 80km at the Cumbrian Challenge of course we said yes. Readwood had two horses competing Eros and Nessie, with Jess and Kate riding. It also meant we got to visit my brother Will as he lives at Readwood.
Both horses flew through the initial vetting and went out onto what is a technical and tough course. The weather was perfect, not too hot, the rain held off and not too windy. The pair came into the first vet gate just behind the lead horse but managed to present 2 minutes ahead so were out on the next loop in the lead.
The second loop made for an exciting race as the horse in third caught up and started to pull away as it was just flying on the downhills, whereas Kate and Jess were picking their way across the rocky terrain. Crewing was just as quick as we tried to get them every 5km due to how tough the course was. Just sloshing one crew point and then doing a full crew stop the next.
I swear crewing is harder than riding! They came in behind the leader for the last vet gate, presented ahead again but sadly the other horse didn’t continue on the last loop. Which was a great shame not just for horse and rider but also as it makes for a fun last loop for both riders and crews when the competition is hot.
Kate and Jess went out on the last loop and brought both the horses home for a steady 1, 2 across the finish line. Jess getting her first win as the pair had ridden the whole ride together and Kate had taken the top spot in their last 80km so it was only fair Jess got the glory this time.
Both horses recovered well and were ready to go into the final vetting without much crewing. Eros passed with flying colours but sadly Nessie needed a three card trick and was vetted out. Nessie didn’t know he was out though and we smothered both horses in praise and carrots.
We headed home for a celebratory takeaway together, even though Nessie was out he still rode a great ride and we had all had a good day, so plenty of reasons to celebrate still, and the next day we all went bouldering at the local climbing centre. A lovely weekend full of activity and friends, it made me miss racing so much but I also enjoyed being part of the day as crew.
I didn’t know I needed this! I’ve done a few Pleasure rides this year. One on Tissy, who of course I love to ride, but I expect her to do well, you’d hope so after all her training, I expect her to ace the terrain, be good to trot up. I know her every move, I know she’ll throw in totally random spooks and bucks just for the sheer hell of it, she loves her job and I love her, but there’s still an expectation. One on Qantas, that was brimming with anxiety (on my part and his) because it’s been such a tough road getting him there, he’s a difficult horse on the ground, to ride, to manage. When he’s good he’s incredible when he’s bad he goes all out.
And my third of the year on Roo, who is laid back, up for anything and who I had absolutely no expectations, pre-conceptions or idea of how he’d be at a ride. So I went with an open mind, the goal of just to go with it and enjoy, and that is exactly what I did. I had a great time at the Ranskill 24km pleasure ride. I hadn’t realised up until that point that I hadn’t really been enjoying the rides themselves but expecting the results and using them as a tick box. It was an excellent reminder that although I want to be competitive and I’m always going to have structure to my goals, I also need to prioritise fun!!
Anyway, onto the point of this blog! I’ve had a couple of questions about how you’re meant to conduct yourself out on course so I thought this would be a good time to go through them. It would be interesting to hear if other endurance riders have other ‘unwritten rules’ or things that they expect from their fellow riders out on course?
Firstly I always ask if I can pass, I then always wait until there is a safe space to do so, if I’m behind a slower rider on a narrow track I’m just going to slow down and wait at a respectable distance so they don’t feel pressured into going faster.
When I’ve been given the ok to pass I kind of assess the horse as I’m approaching, if they’re chilled I’ll trot past, if they look anxious I’ll walk. Once I’ve overtaken I will then look behind me for a while to make sure they’re not having any difficulty and the horse isn’t chasing after us.
If you come across someone in need of help or a loose horse, always help them, but only if it is safe for you to do so. Don’t worry about your time, there are more important things in life. But also when you make it to the next check point, let them know you’ve been helping someone and how long it took, because the Technical steward may then grant you that time back.
When opening gates with other people around, say thank you to whoever the opener is of course, but also stay on the other side, a safe distance away so none of the horses have the opportunity to kick each other and don’t continue until everyone is safely back on board. There’s nothing worse than trying to get back on a horse that’s been hyped up by others careering off into the distance without it. Always check the ride schedule too, as if there is a lot of gates out on course, there is usually a gate allowance and that will effect your average speed.
As for checkpoints I always think it’s my responsibility to make sure they have my number so I always shout it out to them and of course thank them for their time. The same with all stewards out on course, without them we wouldn’t be riding, so make sure you say thank you to everyone.
If I come into a crew point and there is a horse across the track but it’s drinking I wait for it to finish drinking before I ask to pass. Now, there’s another point here that crew should really try and take their horses off track for crewing if possible so that they’re not blocking the track but sometimes there’s just not enough space.
I may have been keeping this a little quiet over the past couple of months because I wanted time to make sure it was going to work out and to get to know him.
But I think it’s now time to share the newbie of our herd, Roo! I was offered Roo on loan at the start of 2021 but I was at my maximum capacity and budget of three horses so I had to say no. He went to someone else and I was sad to have passed up the opportunity. The very week I put Azid up for sale, Roo was sent back from his new home as it wasn’t working out, and I was offered him again, knowing I now had space for a new horse. Fate, some might say.
I obviously did not know at the time that Qantas was going to injure himself and thought of Roo as a project pony, a lovely opportunity to have a horse on loan, and see how far we got without too much pressure. Despite now having to step up and be my main focus I’m still going to try and have a no pressure, no expectations attitude, as it’s actually really nice to be so chilled.
Roo is 8 years old and owned by a rider who was my absolute idol as a Junior, Liz, making this an even more surreal and dreamy experience. Liz and her mare Falaina were like my pin- ups, if there were signed posters of them, I would have had it on my wall. Falaina was an incredible mare and to have the opportunity to ride one of her sons is such an honour.
He was also backed by the extremely talented team at Stride Ahead so I know he’s had an excellent start to his training but he’s also not done very much, which I see as a positive, as he’s had time to mature and grow. He’s done a few graded rides but not yet done a 40km or above. So that’s my aim for this year, get his first 40km Novice qualification under his belt, spend the winter strengthening him up and improving his fitness and just enjoy next year and see where it takes us.
I can’t thank Liz enough for trusting him with me and I hope that we’ll have lots of fun adventures together.
Training myself to be as well balanced, strong and symmetrical as I can be is super important to me both physically and mentally. Physically for obvious reasons, I want to be the best human I can be for my horses but mentally so that when I’m out on a tough course I know that I’ve got this and when I cross that start line I know I’ve done everything I can. I was once told my a Young Rider, who was one of my idol at the time, that ‘A fit horse can do nothing with a tired rider, but a fit rider can hold together a tired horse’. That’s stuck with me and something I’ve tried to live up to.
Now I won’t lie I’m failing a bit on the tip top condition human part at the moment. When I’m training for FEI I have loads of motivation to train myself, because I need the extra muscle to make weight. But when I don’t have that goal I sometimes find it a bit harder to motivate myself to go hard at the gym. Couple that with multiple injuries over the past three years; two sets of broken ribs on different occasions, dislocating my shoulder twice, breaking my hand, three concussions, multiple bike crashes and horse falls, and I’m no where near where I need to be.
But actually that’s ok, I know that, I know what I need to do and sometimes taking a slightly easier, slower route is fine. It means than when I get back to the bigger distances I won’t be sour about training, I’ll be excited. That’s where mixing it up really comes in handy, keeping it fresh, interesting and fun is so important, otherwise it just becomes a chore.
So at the moment I do three strength/weight sessions in the gym a week. Two bodyweight sessions at home following either Madfit or Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. Then one to two cardio sessions either on the rower at work or on my mountain bike.
Is it my fault? That’s the question that’s been bobbing around my brain recently. I have had three horses since retiring Tissy from international competition, in the hope of returning to FEI and Team selection. It’s been 7 years since I was last selected to represent Team GBR. So what am I doing wrong? Or is it really just luck?
I am very grateful that both Pria and Azid have been rehomed to wonderful owners, who enjoy them and care for them, that they have been able to have a ridden career and continue to compete and have adventures. But both couldn’t cope with the higher level training. Qantas has recently pulled his bicep muscle in the field and is out for the rest of the season. Was it my fault?
I keep a detailed diary of my training and the care of my horses and when I look back through the training I see nothing that could be deemed too much. I very very rarely train over 20km at a time, they only train 3-4 x a week in their novice years, day on day off up to 80km and 4 days on one day off above that. I mix up my training throughout the week and change the training focus every 6 weeks. They have three months off every year to just be horses and have a holiday. I don’t over compete with only 3-5 competitions a season and those aren’t at high speeds. They have weeks off after competition and are always bought back slowly into work.
So when I analyse my training I can’t see where I’m going wrong and I wouldn’t change what I do. But maybe something does need to change? But what? A conundrum I have been mulling over for a while, is it me, is it luck, are there external factors, do I need a major overhaul?
But for now Qantas is actually recovering well, he’ll get everything he needs to help him through and then we’ll make a plan and see how he goes. I’m remaining hopeful that this is just a blip in his endurance horse road and not a full stop. The hardest part is seeing all the potential in your horse, being excited about that spark they show, having hope that they’ll get there and then it being taken away. That’s why equestrians are so emotionally resilient, we have grit, we get back up again and we don’t give up, but most of all we always put the horse first.
Now please remember I have accumulated all this kit over many years, this is in no way a bragging look at what I’ve got post, but purely an exercise in answering the regular questions about what endurance kit do I have, or what brand my water bottle is or what I find comfiest to ride in.
I will try to link as many bits of my gear as possible and as always would love to hear what you use or any ways in which you may think I could improve my equipment. So lets get into it.
I know many people would not be particularly proud of completing a pleasure ride, and even more so would not expect a rider who’s ridden at FEI level to be proud of completing a pleasure ride, but here I am, REALLY DAMN PROUD of completing a pleasure ride.
I see the novice years as the ‘education’ years for my horses. It’s where I have the opportunity to practice as many of the scenarios that will come up when they eventually get to FEI as I can. I try to emulate the processes they’ll be doing in years to come as closely as possible.
The week running up to a pleasure ride is exactly the same as my run up to a big race. I like to take them on overnight stays and to busy venues. I like to get them out of bed early to watch the race riders warm up and start together, walk through the vet gate the night before and generally be exposed to as much competition atmosphere as possible.
Now in the past this has gone pretty smoothly with Azid and Pria, they have taken everything in their stride, doing their novice rides at FEI venues, but Qantas is a little more sensitive. But that’s ok, it just means the education part of his training is even more important and it may take us a little more time to get him to be at ease at a competition.
Which is why I’m so proud that Qantas was well behaved for his first sleep over, walked around the busy venue listening to me and not freaking out, that he went into the vetting, that he started calmly. He was ace out on course, really forward going and sure footed, he never pulled to follow any horses that passed and he accepted being sponged down by the crew out on course like a champ. He went in front and behind and kept a lovely even pace.
I like to do the shorter distances like a mini race ride. Start slow and then increase the speed as the ride goes on, just like I would each loop of a race. If the conditions are right I also like to canter across the finish line, this gives me a better idea of what they are going to be like to crew in vet gates and gives them a teeny bit of practice for any potential racing finishes.
Qantas then stood beautifully still to be untacked and crewed at the end of his ride and did the most wonderful trot up to finish. His mind was well and truly tired ,you could see it in his face and body language but his body was in top notch form and by the way he turned out in his field later that day he still had plenty of energy left in the tank.
It would be so easy to focus on the negatives, that we had to downgrade to a pleasure ride because his heart rate was too high at the start to risk it, that he panicked and bucked me off, that his initial trot up was sideways across three lanes, that he hates the sound of sloshes, that he spins and bronks at the sound of horses coming up behind him, but to me those are things we can work on. It’s the improvements that make me happy and are what I want to focus on.
Every training session and every competition I do with Qantas I see as a stepping stone to our long term goal, the results don’t really matter, it’s the journey and giving him the best foundation I can so that one day when we are competing for a win I’ll know I did everything I could to set him up for success.
The run up to competing Qantas for the first time in 2021 has not been smooth. His sarcoid wounds took much longer to heal, he was being funny about having a girth on and it seemed like the weeks were flying by without us even starting training. But thanks to Readwood reahabilitation livery Qantas had three weeks on the water treadmill and then I got a solid three weeks of riding in before our first 40km of the season in July, better late then never!
It’s not my normal pre-season routine and without that usual structure I wasn’t exactly my usual confident self. In the week running up to the ride Qantas got me off twice, he’s just so spooky, but, he was going well and all his pre-ride checks were great. So I packed everything up the night before. I use this list to help me:
I gave the horses a bath and off we went to Cirencester. Last time Qantas went to a ride we didn’t make it into the vetting so in the hope of giving him time to settle we decided to go the night before. He also had the added advantage that Tissy was coming too.
Once I got to the venue and set up the corral I gave him a couple of hours to take it all in before taking him on a walk around the venue and most importantly practicing getting into the vetting and doing his trot up. This actually went remarkably well, by the end he was actually getting in the entrance tent and his trot ups were perfect. I went to sleep hopeful that we may actually get to start our ride tomorrow, but the big question was, would he be settled enough to have his heart rate taken and do the 40km GER or would we need to downgrade to just a trot up and do the 30km PR.
Beth Endurance 