Skip to main content

So this is 2019, and what have you done? 2018 round-up

I have been quiet for a while, family comes first, even over sharing our escapades, and so i have been unable to ride.  However, looking back on 2018 - it was one heck of a year! - I have put this together.  I love that I can remind myself what we got up to by scanning back on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and I can relive it all from the comfort of the sofa ;)

Here's a reminder of what we did, and a reminder of how much fun you can get up to with your horse - even holding down a full time job.  Go on, give it all a go!!

In May, Beau turned 21.  We spent his birthday at a dressage competition and he had a lovely time


The incredible Laura Mary Art drew his portrait for me - she caught the glint in his eye perfectly!





We made it into YourHorse magazine - cheery and keen as ever




We did lots of training - including training our brains with Supercoach Alison Kenward, helped by tea served in beautiful Laura Mary Art mugs


We led the Northampton Town carnival parade!




We performed last year's quadrille routine - Ride of the Valkyries - at Blenheim International Horse Trials.  Good practice for the quadrille qualifier a couple of weeks later!


We launched a unique business!  www.equestriman.co.uk which makes and provides riding gear specifically designed and manufactured for men from the best fabrics at a low price for the quality



I got a Faberge egg in Moscow



 We toured the Moscow subway (no ponies there)



Mrs Whipcracker's daughter's wedding was in July - Equestriman scrubs up pretty well eh?


In October, of course it was the BRC Quadrille qualifiers.  You can see how exciting Beau finds it all


We performed our Moulin Rouge routine for the quadrille qualifiers to a fabulous soundtrack put together by www.equidance.co.uk.  We didn't qualify but we were featured on Horse and Country TV's Dressage to Music programme


We spent months in our quadrille coloured onesies.  LOVE THEM!


Finally, just this - remember it and live by it


Much love, Tam and Beau xx

PS, whilst there's nothing much going on in my horsey life please let me know if there is something you want to hear about.  I will research and share if so :)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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

Comfort Gut Standard, Pro and Ultimate. Miracle panacea?

Of our 4 horses 3 of them needed a boost of some kind or another.  Beau had ulcers in his youth, Parker is a stress-head and Stella is a busybody who loses confidence in stress situations I read that once a horse has had ulcers, they either always have them or always have the risk of recurrence.  Beau has always shown irritation when being girthed up.  I always do it gradually and only as tight as it needs to be which is really important, especially if the girth has elastic inserts.  It's hard to tell whether that's just his grumpiness (he likes his own space best) or discomfort, but I decided not to take a chance and started him on Comfort Gut  Parker is a big stressy juggernaut. Most days he is fine and relaxed and settled.  However some days he worries if Beau is not in eye-shot, or if he is in eye-shot.  He worries if someone else is being exercised, or if nobody is being exercised!  His droppings have a tendency to a pat-like consistency, and he wriggles and jiggles an

June 2017 - It's all about the socks

Confidence Crisis - the end of a love affair? This month, mine and Beau's journey was featured in a blog post by another #horseyblogger - Happyhooves83.  It was so touching and so encouraging to read.  It's my story and I shared it with her but somehow seeing it written down with somebody else's viewpoint really touched me.  It made me cry happy tears! Have a read here:  https://happyhoovesblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/ Centaur Biomechanics I was also lucky enough to be invited to the Centaur Biomechanics day at Moulton College on rider confidence.  It was a truly eye opening and amazing day.   Centaur are part of the team that brought us the knowledge that has gone into Fairfax saddles, shaped girths and pressure free bridles.  Read their intro here for more information:  http://www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/ The opening session was on nerves and conquering fear.   The speaker was Charlie Unwin , a renowned sports psychologist who has competed at the top level