August 2017 - Blenheim here we come!

All About Tack

I don’t know about you but I always seem to be skint. If I ever have any spare cash I spend it immediately on a lesson or a competition, or if I am feeling very flush (or have a desperate need), new tack for my beloved horse. Tack is a tool, a fashion statement, a way to show off your horse’s best features, to show you understand the new field of equestrian science or simply to display your own good taste in saddles. It can help or hinder your horse as much as bad riding, and if chosen well it can improve your riding too. Always use a qualified saddle fitter to help you – they have been thoroughly trained by the Society for Master Saddlers – a list is available on their website here: https://www.mastersaddlers.co.uk/ £ There’s no getting away from it though – it’s an investment. Decent tack from nosebands to discipline specific saddles is expensive. Even if you trawl eBay and pick up good quality second-hand tack it’s still not cheap to buy, or to have to replace – so

Horses at Northampton Carnival!

I grew up in Cheshire, and when i was very little i remember a village fete with knights and jousting horses. I can't be sure but i think that is how horses got into my blood. I can remember being completely awestruck (and possibly even speechless) at the sight of the brave knights and beautiful horses. That day has stayed with me all these years, and never since that day have i seen horses at a carnival - until last week! We had the honour of being invited by the Mayor and Mayoress of Northampton to lead the carnival procession through the town on Saturday June 9th 2018. Of course without even thinking about it I said yes, and didn't find it particularly difficult to persuade the rest of the quadrille team to join me So it was agreed that we would go in our Ride of the Valkyries costumes, followed by Maloney pulling his decorated wagonette containing the Mayor and Mayoress As we got closer to the day we all started to wonder whether this had been a sensible choic

May 2016

March’s weather proved challenging for us in the wilds of Northants. The mud was becoming unbearable, but perhaps more so the cattle shed muckings out in the nearby farmyard. So we moved both horses to our dear friend and neighbour’s yard down the road. (The humans can close the window…) They now have grass and more space, and my sister Tory keeps her horse there too so we can all play ponies together – perfect. I am unbearably excited about the approaching Spring and Summer now – it seems as though opportunities for improvement are everywhere – not least because the boys’ new landlady is Mrs Motivator and doesn’t let me get away with the old stock excuses of ‘it’s raining’, or ‘he’s too lively to ride today (very rare)’! I intend to grab eac h advancement and build on it as much as I can Progress? I had another lesson with Jonathan Canty just before the Cherwell Valley RC dressage competition on March 26th, and we practised strategies for improving my inconsistent contact

How to Excel At Being Average

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