A personal blog about eventing, horses & life in the middle of it all

Posts

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,…

Building A Cross-Country Speed Strategy For Your Horse

Cross-country speed is often described as a number on a score sheet, but a successful round is built from much more than an average pace. It depends on rhythm,…

The Quiet Magic of a Perfect Canter

There is a particular moment in riding when effort seems to disappear. The reins feel quiet, the saddle feels balanced, and the horse’s stride begins to carry…

The Quiet Moments Between Fences at a Horse Trial

A horse trial is usually remembered in snapshots: a clean line of show jumps, a splash through the water, a tense halt in front of the dressage judge, or a…

Why I Always Pack a Spare Pair of Breeches

There are things I remember clearly from horse trials: the sound of hooves on the start box ramp, the sudden quiet before entering the dressage arena, and the…

How I Use Visualization Before a Jump Round

Before I enter a show-jumping arena, I spend time riding the course in my head. This does not replace schooling, course walking, or paying attention to my…

Lessons From the Horse Who Hated Loading

There are horse trials where the memorable moment is a perfect flying change, a clean cross-country round, or the sort of show jumping finish that makes…

My reliable hip stretches after a long day in the saddle

Riding can leave my hips feeling wonderfully worked and strangely stuck at the same time. After a dressage school, a jumping session, or a full day at a horse…

What the dressage judge really wants to see

Dressage can feel like the most exposed part of an eventing competition. In the jumping phases, a horse’s effort is visible in a single bound, while…