There are weeks when the horses are getting fitter, the competition calendar is moving closer, and I am nowhere near a saddle. Work, weather, family plans,…
Posts
How I Build Riding Fitness Without a Horse
The Unexpected Challenges of Riding in Windy Weather
Wind can turn an ordinary schooling session into a lesson in adaptability. A calm arena may suddenly feel unfamiliar when plastic fencing snaps, tree branches…
Why I Prefer Early Morning Stabling at Competitions
Competition mornings have a particular kind of energy. The lorries are arriving, stable doors are opening, radios are crackling, and everyone seems to be…
What My Horse’s Coat Condition Tells Me About Health
A horse’s coat is one of the first things I notice when I walk into the barn. Before I check the water bucket or pick up a hoof, I am often looking at the…
Staying Positive When Your Equestrian Season Gets Interrupted
An interrupted season can feel strangely personal. You may have spent months conditioning your horse, polishing your dressage tests, schooling combinations,…
The First Stallion Ride That Changed My Eventing
I had ridden plenty of opinionated horses before, but I had never taken a stallion to an event. That distinction mattered. A horse trial already brings its own…
Why I Keep A Training Journal For Each Horse
Every horse teaches me to pay attention in a slightly different way. One might arrive tense and distracted, another bold but easily frustrated, while a third…
What a Broken Dressage Test Taught Me About Eventing
There is a particular kind of silence that follows a dressage test gone wrong. It is not the peaceful quiet of a settled horse walking back to the trailer. It…
Why Rest Days Matter For Every Event Horse
Eventing has a way of making every day feel important. There is always another dressage movement to polish, another fence to school, another fitness session to…
When Every Fence Looks Like a Question
There is a particular kind of frustration that comes from riding a horse that chips at nearly every fence. The jump may be small, the approach may look tidy,…