"Oh not you again, we'll be last then!"

I'm not going to lie, when someone said that to me yesterday I didn't know what to think. It is nice to arrive at a showground and be a 'threat' to someone, but then at the same time is that what I want to be? Do I want to be like one of those people I dread seeing at a show and thinking to myself  "Well, I may as well go home".

Yesterday the pressure was on me and Ceaser big time. When he was about 4 years old he had a lovely girl who had him on loan for a few years and up until yesterday she hadn't seen him for roughly 10 years. It was so nice to see her and her mum again after such a long time and even better still that they obviously cared for him when they had him as upon seeing him shed a few tears. I had never realised when I was younger that they thought so much of him and it was amazing to hear of the stories they had to tell about him that I can't remember because I was so young.

Since Ceaser was poorly a few weeks back now, I haven't done much jumping with him as I had wanted to take everything slowly, but after putting a cross pole up earlier on in the week and him flying over it with no bother I decided I had to stop panicking and worrying whether or not he was fit enough and start jumping him again.

So, off I went to walk the Novice Pony working hunter class at Arena UK show on Sunday. I must admit I had a slight panic as my phobia of spreads arose again and sure enough, the first jump was a spread. Although, I don't know why I worried though as Ceaser flew over the first and went on to produce a lovely clear round over planks, fillers, brush fences and more spreads. I always think with Working-Hunter that if you go clear you're in with a good chance of getting placed, but after I saw how many went clear I knew I had to pull out all the stops in the second phase, the ridden show and prove that Ceaser deserved that top spot.

As soon as I asked for trot in our ridden show it all just felt amazing. He wasn't strong, stuffy and felt right on form. After one loop of a figure of eight in canter I decided to go for it and ask for a walk to canter for the change of rein. Although I had perfected this in the school at home I have found that Ceaser is reluctant to do it anywhere else because his mind is often focused elsewhere but because of how well he had been going I decided to push my luck and go for it. I admit, as I sat deep and put my outside leg back I tensed in hope he would hop in to canter and sure enough my boy didn't let me down and proceeded to canter and then show a lovely gallop down the long side to finish our show.

I was thrilled to be pulled in first against some lovely moving and stunning ponies. Ceaser never fails to amaze me and it really feels like whatever show we attend he tries his damned hardest to please, which is what makes him even more special.

After posing for lots of photos for the photographer I trotted off to the Riding Club pony class which was waiting for me. Again, Ceaser pulled out all the stops, produced a lovely show piece and again we were pulled in 1st place.

Next was Ridden Veteran but after a mix up I found myself in the Style & Appearance class up against some beautifully turned out horses and ponies. It didn't initially click to me that when I heard a child telling the judge her ponies age she had said 7. At the time I thought "Ah she must be wrong, this is the veteran class" but low and behold I was in the wrong class. After beckoning the steward over she kindly explained this was Style & Appearance and what did I want to do. I thought that I was in there so I may as well stay but didn't have much hope. Once again though I was more than surprised when the judge pulled us in 3rd, in front of some stunning horses and ponies.

In the ridden veteran we were initially pulled in 5th after the go-round, but with me being the type of person I am, I aimed to produce a lovely show piece which resulted in us being pulled in at 3rd for the final result. Ceaser was the only pony to pulled in within the top 6 so I was really pleased.

Despite not being pulled in for any of the championships I was still really happy with how the day had gone. All classes we entered all had lots in and the competition was very tough.

Ceaser is now having a weeks holiday and only some light lunging work whilst I go away and also soak up the sun in Malta! I think we both deserve a short holiday after his great performances over the past couple of weeks. 

Although I don't like being the person people dread turning up at competitions, I am so proud to be able to hold my head up high and say all work done is my own and I rarely ask for help.

View Post

A little update

I firstly must apologise for not updating this sooner but things have been a little hectic and before I knew it I realised I hadn't posted in a long time.

Showing and Dressage has came to a halt for the past two weeks due to a combination of the weather and my dissertation hand-in deadline dooming. I am now pleased to say that my dissertation is handed in. Although if I have to discuss British Eventing and its unrepresentation in the British print quality media one more time I will cry. At the end my dissertation ended on just over 9,000 words and I was more than glad to see the back of it when I handed it in. Although I may not have competed for three weeks now, it has been a good chance to get some serious schooling done with Ceaser and given me a chance to work on areas that needed polishing.

Unfortunately I cannot say we have seen the back of this dreadful weather we're experiencing. I suppose I am lucky that as a dressage rider most competitions are held on surfaces so rain rarely stops play. A lot of my friends that event (its that word again cropping up) have had many of their events cancelled due to waterlogged ground. In-fact, whilst on the topic of cancellations, for the first since 1987 due to bad weather, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials has had to be cancelled. Badminton has only had to be cancelled due to weather conditions three times since it started, thus now making it four. In 1963, the three-day event was turned into a one-day contest, because of the state of the ground. World number one William Fox-Pitt had been in line for a £220,000 bonus if he had been successful at Badminton.
He has won at Burghley and Kentucky, with Badminton the third and final part of the Rolex Grand Slam.
Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Piggy French and Nicola Wilson are all expected to feature for Britain during the London 2012 test event at Greenwich Park in July. Along with the Chatsworth Horse Trials on 11 May, Badminton had been expected to help decide who gets the final place, though most of the top riders were not entered on their potential Olympic horses.

My plans over the next few weeks is to get back out in to the show ring with some Veteran showing class qualifiers and aim to do my first Medium Dressage test early in June. I'm hoping to get a lesson in with Julie Corrigan, a listed British Dressage judge before I go on holiday at the end of May. As well as this, my partner Mark has begun the task of putting together some music for a dressage to music class I am entering. I suppose I am lucky I have a musician for a boyfriend that enjoys composing as he really is in his element creating some tracks for both Ceaser and I. When it comes to dancing I have absolutely no rhythm so I'm glad Ceaser has!

I have invested in an Equilbirum Massage pad this week and cannot wait for it to arrive. I would like to thank Carley from Tally Ho! for providing me with this.

Before I sign off I'd just like to thank a company called Golly Galoshes for sending me their product to review. I am hoping to get this done towards the end of next week and with the weather we are experiencing its a fantastic opportunity.

I am also enjoying featuring in Prime Equines "Five to follow 2012" feature. I am meeting lots of lovely people through it and am thrilled by everyones interest in what Ceaser and I are up to and how are we are doing.

Diane Pitchers, a lovely friend from Twitter wrote a blog post on Ceaser and my aims for 2012 with him. Please take a read at: http://www.kitschcultured.blogspot.co.uk/ and let both Diane and I know what you think!

I do promise that I will not leave it so long next time to update. Now I am no longer a university student I should have lots more time to keep you updated on competition news and product reviews I am doing.

View Post

Review: Equisoothe

When I was first searching for this product I had in mind something that would enable me to stop bathing Ceaser every other day. Being a very boy-ish Skewbald means he loves to roll in the muddiest patches of the field and I end up with a pony that resembles a bay rather than a coloured. 


I knew when I was first looking for an ideal product I was setting my limits high. 


Something to get the poo stains off his hocks? 
Something to remove the dirt and grime from where he had rolled in the field?

Something that left a shine?


I wanted it all and I wanted my product to work. There are so many products out there on the market that say they do certain things, so we spend hard earned money on them only to find they don't actually do as it says on the tin and they are then shoved in the bottom of our grooming box until we feel like using them. 


This is until I came across "PRIZE" on Twitter. Prize is made by Equisoothe which is a British manufacturer based in West Wales. I was a little reluctant to spend money on a product I had never heard of before so I contacted the company and asked if they would give me the option to write a review for them.


So here I am. 


Admittedly, due to being let down by so many products before I was apprehensive and I did think "Well, will it really work?". I am happy to say, it did.


Although it doesn't remove Ceaser's stable stains, it is the only product that has left him looking soft and silky. Being a coloured that is mainly white I struggle to find something that will make his white bits look shiny. 


Prize did just the job. It is one of those products that never sees the bottom of your tack box and always manages to resurface after a few days. 


I am able to use it on my horses bodies, mane, tails and feathers and it works on everything I want it to. 


In just a few days I noticed that all of Ceaser's coat looked healthy and shiny in stead of just the brown patches on him having a shine. It also lifted the dirt that was bedded in his coat and brought it to the top which then enabled me to brush it off. 


The biggest noticeable difference I saw after using Prize was on my recently purchased bay New forest Cross, Frosty. When he came to us his coat lacked shine and despite endless brushing I felt his coat needed a little help.


I am pleased with the huge difference in Frostys coat after just a few days of using Prize and cannot believe how healthy it looks now compared to what it did before using Prize. 


Prize is described as a product that is mineral-oil based and will nourish you horse's skin and coat. Which I can honestly say it did a tremendous job of doing. 

When being used on tails it isn't one of those products that needs using every day to keep it tangle-free. I only applied roughly twice a week and all of my horses tails stayed shiny and tangle-free, which for me is a huge help as I have eight horses. 


I recommend Prize to any equine customer wanting something that keeps grooming efforts minimal when they don't have a lot of time without a huge price ticket. 


For a 500ml Trigger spray bottle expect to pay around £14.50 and up to £75.50 for a 5litre economy sized Jerry can.  Although this may seem a lot to initially pay out, I have had my 500ml trigger spray for roughly 6 weeks now and I still have just under half left. 


In my opinion this a product that soon could be one found in every tack box. 

(I have included a photo a Frosty before using Prize and a photo after using it for 2 weeks)


For more information visit: http://www.equisoothe.co.uk/

View Post

Wow, what a week

This week has once again been surreal. Both Frosty and Ceaser have once again proved just how fantastic they both are and with every day that passes I am more sure Frosty is going to turn into a brilliant alrounder.

We set off for Faldingworth Equestrian Centre on Sunday at 7.30am last Sunday morning. Due to taking 4 horses it was an early start and a long day.

Frosty was the first to set everything off in the Unregistered Mountain and Moorland class. I am so pleased with how he behaved; apart from being a little wary of the judge walking behind him out his sight he was 100%. He did a perfect trot round with the other horses, a perfect individual show and then a very well behaved lap of honor. I am so pleased with how Frosty coped with everything and took all the atmosphere in his stride. I don't doubt for a second he wont make a good riding school pony but his confidence in people is something that worries me.


A few days after the show I was delighted to get a card in the post to say Frosty had qualified for the MIDARC Championships in August. Unfortunately I am unsure at the moment if we can go due to it clashing with some dressage championships I have planned for Ceaser.

Once again Ceaser excelled himself and took 2nd in the Ridden Coloured. He was good to stand from half past 8 in the morning until 4 o clock for his class. In the one outing we managed to qualify for the British Skewbald and Piebald Association Championships, Equifest and the 15+ Championship which is pretty good going. I like getting my qualifications under my belt early on in the season so then I know where I am and what I'm doing towards the end of the season in terms of championships.

The following week I also had my Dressage trailblazers 2nd rounds which is a qualifier for the finals to be held at Stoneliegh in August. Just a month later it will be the Petplan Area festival so Autumn is set to be a busy period for both Ceaser and I!

I am on a three week holiday from university at the moment so I have been making the most of my time with the horses. I must say its lovely having no lectures and spending most days with the horses is lovely. Frosty is still coming on leaps and bounds and this week I have been on him whilst walking. He is a completely different pony to the one that arrived and I am looking forward to seeing even more progress in him.

It has been a busy week preparing for Dressage, organising things at the yard and looking after one of my ponies that isn't well. The riding school side of our yard is expanding quicker than I expected it to and suddenly things are becoming very busy. We have just got another horse in for the school who is lovely.

Yesterday was the day of the Trailblazers 2nd rounds which is a qualifier for Stoneliegh in August. I was booked in to do the Prelim and Elementary test and unfortunately during the week I hadn't had time to practice neither tests. Ceaser went well despite me not riding my best due to me being in some pain having pulled a muscle (or cracked a rib - I don't know what I've done!) in my side. We were 3rd in our Prelim section with 67.08% and then went on to win the Elementary class with 63%. This result meant we have now qualified for the Trailblazers finals in August.

I am so pleased with our results throughout the past week and am delighted to have now gotten four qualifications already in just a few months. I hope the rest of the season goes as well as it has begun.

View Post

All work no play?

This week has been full of work and only a tiny bit of play. I have become 'used' (and I use that word very lightly in this context) to the idea that for the next 8 weeks of my life I will not see a horse from Monday to Friday.

Let me explain a little further.

I am in my 3rd year at university where I am studying Journalism. My dream as a child was always to become an interpreter. Not many know this but I can speak German, Spanish, a little Japanese and English (of course). I used to be very fluent in them all but sadly as time has moved on I have lost my ability to speak in a range of different languages and now just usually stick to English. 

So, during Secondary School I was adament I would be an interpreter. I wanted to have an interesting job, work for the Police force as one and travel around. Sadly, when I moved to Lincolnshire my plans became a distant memory and here I am following my second dream: to become a Journalist.

3rd year is hell. I'm not going to lie, its the most awful time of my life. I have spent the past three days pulling my hair out, crying, screaming, shouting, moaning and ranting. Whilst being at university I have had to just deal with the fact that Monday to Friday is study time and weekends only are for equine adventures. That was until the beginning of 3rd year begun. Suddenly I found myself with more freedom than I've had in two years and I began to not leave Lincolnshire to go to university until a Monday night and then would go home again on a Thursday. Looking back now I was an idiot and could have got so much more work done if I hadn't have been in a rush to go home.

Anyway, you can imagine my excitement when an old friend, Sam, from my previous yard in Nottingham asked me go and see her and her new horse this week. When I say friend I do mean so much more. I remember throughout my teenage years she was like a second mum to me. We would often joke she was my adoptive Mum and through the years when I lost all my confidence she would be the one standing in the wind and rain with me in the menage willing me to just jump the tiny cross pole.

She keeps her horse not too far away from university so it didn't take long to get there and the whole way there I was really excited. When I arrived I was equally as excited to learn that the girl, Sarah, who used to loan Ceaser - in his naughty days - was there too! It was like a Bowleys Farm reunion and now all we needed was the ample water and poo fights we used to have.

Sam now owns a gorgeous 17.2h ex racehorse called "Chester" and I was lucky enough to be able to have a go.

All week Sam has been messaging me telling me not to expect too much when visiting her but when I arrived at the yard I instantly fell in love. The horses are all turned out in three or four big fields, the stables are big, the menage is nestled in woodland and at a short few steps away from the stables you walk into a adventure. The woodland there is fantastic, it goes on for miles and the liveries have all built some natural fences in there. I truly believe you could hack out all day and not hit one road. Everyone that arrived on the yard greeted me and stood speaking to me like we'd been friends for life. The atmosphere was lovely and I just couldn't get the riding opportunities there out of my mind.

I was lucky enough that Sam let me borrow Chester for a ride and took me down into the woods so I could have a jump on him. He truly is brilliant and if Sam ever sells him I would snap him up instantly. He doesn't at all ride like a 17.2hh and if you remember one of my previous posts I declared I hated riding big horses. Chester though didn't ride like he was so big and I felt comfortable; which doesn't usually happen on something bigger than 15.2hh. He has an amazing jump and his lateral work is brilliant. I have thoroughly had my faith in ex racehorses restored.

Apart from riding, myself, Sam and Sarah spent the day reliving our "youth" at Bowleys Farm and the fun we used to have. It was lovely to hear some of the stories about Ceaser's previous naughty behavior and the things he used to get up to. It seems escaping into the village (which was a good 2 miles away from the old yard) and destroying lots of Garden plants used to be his habit. How did I ever forget all that?

If I ever am competing Nottingham way for a couple of days I will certainly be taking Ceaser to this yard. I am pretty confident we would have so much fun exploring the woodland and jumping those brilliant fences!


Overall I had a fantastic day and it was lovely to be in the company of some equine friends during the week and I certainly have missed days like I had yesterday.

Thank you to Sam and Sarah for taking my mind of the ever growing list of university work I have had this week and for a lovely day.

View Post

Introducing "Hundlebys Lovatt First Sight"

I haven't introduced my new little project properly and I am dying to show him off.

"Hundlebys Lovatt First Sight", Frosty is a 14.1hh New Forest x Cob (we think). He is 5 years old, was backed at 3 and then left to mature in a field for 2 years. I don't really know a lot about his history and although I know he was backed I'm not sure what he has done.

My initial plan with him was to go right back to basics and take it really slow with him but Dad has given me 6 weeks to get him ready for the riding school so on the day he arrived I thought I would test the waters and throw scary things at him.

So far he has taken everything in his stride, he's had a saddle on, lunges in a bridle, lunges with side reins and I have leant over him whilst he is walking. I really don't think that re-backing him will be a problem as he is such a kind little pony that he wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, its just his nerves that are getting in the way.

As I said, I am not sure about his past and I wish I knew. His nerves are the main problem standing in the way at the moment. If there are more than two people stood around him he panics and doesn't like groups. I have also found that if you rush over to him he panics and you need to approach slowly. This could be because he is in a new place with new surroundings, smells and people but I am hoping he will learn to trust soon.

Frosty is my 6 week project and I am very excited to have the opportunity to bring another youngster on. I have been given this opportunity before, both with Ceaser and Sara my 12.2hh but never have I been given a deadline. Although the pressure is on I am loving every moment of it and in just three days notice a huge difference in Frosty.

I will be blogging about Frostys progression throughout the next few weeks and how he is getting on. This weekend he has been lunged for half an hour every day and I have leant over his back both whilst standing and in walk. As well as this I have been walking him in-hand around the yard to try and get him used to different surroundings. Already I have had plenty of offers to buy him and in just three days could have sold him a few times over. I am back at university now and wont be home until Friday so he is having four days off to relax in the field and take everything in from the weekend.




I think it is safe to say, this little sweetie wont be going anywhere!

View Post