Competition days start long before a horse walks down the centerline. There is the early alarm, the drive to the venue, the familiar knot of nerves, and the…
Posts
Fueling for Eventing: What I Eat on Competition Day
The Unexpected Value Of A Bad Show Jumping Round
A polished show jumping round gives you a satisfying result: clear fences, steady rhythm, and a score that reflects the work put in at home. A poor round…
Building A Better Canter One Drill At A Time
A good canter is one of those things riders can recognize long before they can explain it. The horse feels balanced without becoming rigid, the stride covers…
How my horse taught me to handle rider nerves
I used to think rider nerves were a problem to solve before entering the arena. If I prepared enough, memorised every movement, and ran through the…
Five Things I Do The Night Before A Competition
The night before a horse trial has its own particular atmosphere. The lorry may be parked outside, boots may be drying by the door, and my brain may be running…
Why I stopped comparing my dressage test to everyone else’s
For a long time, a dressage test felt like a public ranking of my riding before the results were even posted. I would leave the arena and immediately start…
The Art of Walking the Cross-Country Course Twice
There is a particular kind of tiredness that arrives before a cross-country round has even begun. It comes from climbing hills, studying fences, stopping…
What my warmboots say about my riding confidence
There is a particular pair of boots I reach for when the forecast is miserable, the yard is dark, and my confidence feels less reliable than the weather. They…
Lessons My First Horse Trial Taught Me
I arrived at my first horse trial carrying a carefully packed trunk, a freshly cleaned saddle, and the kind of optimism that comes from imagining how…