Eventers talk a lot about rideability, fitness and balance, but ask anyone who has walked a course with skinny brush fences on the cross-country map and they…
Posts
Confidence When Riding a Skinnier Fence
What one bold horse taught me about tricky cross-country combinations
It was a stinking hot January arvo at Werribee when I finally realised how little I actually knew about riding a combination. The kind of heat that makes the…
to Stay Connected With Your Horse Through the Bridle
Every rider knows the moment the reins go slack and the horse walks off without you. That hollow, almost embarrassed feeling is the opposite of what a bridle…
Why I never skip the cool-down walk after a gallop
There's a moment after the cross-country finish flags when every part of me wants to leap off, throw my arms around my horse's neck, and sprint back to the…
Packing Your Tack Trunk for a Weekend Horse Trial
Whether you're heading to Boneo Park, Sydney Eventing, or a smaller club trial out near Toowoomba, the weekend away starts long before the horse floats roll…
Warming up your back before you mount up
Picture this: you have arrived at Melbourne Three Day Event with your horse sweating in the float, the ground crew is calling your dressage time, your saddle…
When a Horse Says No at a Fence: How I Handle a Stop in the Show Ring
The thud of a refusal is something every eventer recognises in their bones. One moment you're cantering towards a brush oxer with the right pace, the right…
A Spare Pair of Socks and What Wet Days Have Taught Me About Eventing
There's a pair of woollen socks that lives permanently in the passenger footwell of my ute. They came out of a Bunnings grab-bag three winters ago and they've…
Practising your dressage test pattern in a small space
For many riders around Australia, the dream of a full-size 60x20 metre dressage arena stays exactly that—a dream. Between the cost of land in places like the…
The Unexpected Gift of Bringing a Non-Horse Friend to an Event
Horse trials have a way of swallowing you whole. From the moment you drive through the gates of a venue, the world shrinks to a swirl of warm-up arenas,…