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Well this has been a while since the last diary! reason being I had been so busy cramming everything into each day before I went skiing. Lucky me, have been away again, I use this as a pre-season fitness week, or at least that’s my excuse! I love skiing and was lovely to spend some time with my family, sadly my mother couldn’t come as her knees are too painful but hopefully she will be fixed soon… The snow was quite good in the first half of the week but towards the middle of the second half it was getting very icy. They have had no snow for 4 weeks (our resort was the best around, La Plagne), they do an amazing job of bringing the snow of the mountain and onto the piste but I wouldn’t want to be going in the next couple of weeks, sorry if you are.
With the ice I saw plenty of broken people walking around, luckily I wasn’t one of them, I only had a few crashes and those were mostly down mogul runs which I still have to get accomplished at, here’s hoping next year! The week was gloriously sunny so Im still sporting a slight tan, definitely makes you feel better.
I managed to go XC schooling twice before I went away, both times to Littleton Manor which have fantastic facilities. You can use the show jumping arena with a full set of jumps, the XC course which is suitable from first timers to advanced and the gallops (there is also a dressage arena too!). The ground was amazing, exceptional for this time of year. As usual I took six horses the first time, the Barocca four which went exceptionally well and Imp who was great and Brian who was also. It was Brians’ last XC session with me as I was preparing him for sale. I have sold him to a lovely family; his new rider is a 12 year old very competent jockey who is also very ambitious which is all I had ever hoped for! I am incredibly lucky too as I have their second horse to bring on for now who has been bred by the Funnels. She is a 5 year old black mare called ‘Billy Blackcat’ owned by Frances Davies and very smart!
I returned back to LMEC with another load of horses (chauffeured by Charlotte!), all went even better than last time and are certainly very encouraging for this year.. Becky rode Bomber who was fantastic- he is a little tiger now! The good thing with that course is that each time you can go back we keep doing slightly more difficult fences so we can build their confidence up.
I went blood hounding with the Coakham Bloodhounds. Absolutely brilliant but completely crazy. I took Imp as he needs to gain confidence and have as much fun as possible. Some of the hedges were enormous and I went around a few, I have to admit! However Imp and I had an amazing day and he has improved beyond recognition. I have to thank Sacha Pemble for advising me to go; I was very impressed with her for jumping some of those hedges! I hope to go when it’s slightly drier again, but have definitely got the bug.
The horses have been galloping at Brightling where the gallop has been resurfaced. It has a superb hill, its only five furlongs but really works them hard. We go up that three times, today though we took Harry and Amber up four times and they feel incredibly good. I am hoping to do some stamina work soon, long, slow canters but need drier ground first and the forecast is not good!! They have got much fitter very quickly, proving to me that hills make such a difference. I too have been running each day as I have put on a couple of pounds since last season with my good living! I have a serious cardio plan for me for the next few weeks, I am determined to be super, super fit this season.
I have another new horse named Billy. He is a 4 year old bay 16 2. Very nice, comes from Andrew Williams Bally. He is owned by Mrs Sue Cross who also owns Bambi. He is quite green as you’d expect but very smart. I will have to get the camera working again, the over use of a new one has led it to malfunction and is waiting for me to replace it!
As the countdown is on for Barocca, (nearly very excited now!) I have everyday filled so it means good planning!!-I am even entering events for the end of March now!!
It seems as though my holiday was a long time ago now, I have crammed in as much as possible since being back from sunny Thailand! The day after I went to Greenwich (with slight jet-lag) for a day looking around the site. There isn’t too much to see as all the arenas and fences are going in about five weeks before it starts, although the terrain is pretty serious and needed to be viewed… The main arena will have a wonderful view over London and will be fairly spectacular! The stadium will be huge, big enough for 22,000 people!! The terrain itself is incredibly undulating with a very steep hill and as the park isn’t enormous then I suspect we will be back and forth across it needing a horse that can go 0 to 60 in a few seconds… Looks very exciting anyway and has made it all the more real, hence the heavy campaign this week, the countdown is on!!
I rode seven horses the first day back, they all went really well, the girls have done a great job of looking after them. I then rode nine the next day and so I had what I can only describe as ‘saddle sore’ something I haven’t had for years and was really not very comfortable!! I now sympathise with anyone who is learning to ride! After over doing it slightly I left for Newmarket with a few horses for their pre season checks. All looks good so they are ready for an exciting year I hope… I also met up with the BBC for an interview and videoing of us at the vets and at the gallops. This is for an update of ‘one to watch’ in the run up to 2012, rather fitting as I’d just been to see the venue. Rossdales were very accommodating and let us film various things, e.g. scanning, trotting up and Sarah B-S did a fantastic interview, thank you!! I cantered Harry and Amber up the Links gallops, they went really well, was only their first canter back so nothing too crazy, was surprising how easily they went up the hill (although it isn’t too much of a hill compared with our local ones now!!).
As back in Suffolk I was incredibly spoilt by my sister and David and Sue Howard cooking me fantastic meals, is nice coming back and being spoilt… My parents were in Greneda sunning themselves so is left to others to look after me! It’s lovely to catch up with everyone, but it goes too quickly and I’m off again. In between meals I taught at Fenning Farm for the day, we had an eventing clinic which was great fun. We had groups of five, different standard groups which worked well. It was the windiest day ever and I was amazed how I had a voice left afterwards! I hope everyone else enjoyed it too, was a good day.
When we arrived back we had a new edition for the week, Sarah who was on work experience with us. I think she had a great week, I gave her a lesson on Imp and worked on her position mainly which really helped, she improved dramatically in a day! We decided that we are all to have lunge lessons again next week, can never stop improving your position… I’ve had lessons with Anna this week with Bertie who is just unbelievably brilliant and tries his heart out, Harry, ditto and has now nearly established his changes! Amber with whom we are carefully working on more expression and cadence and Red who is really starting to relax throughout all his lateral work and made big improvements. They are all also becoming much stronger in their bodies too which is undoubtedly helping. We are also feeding the new Baileys ‘Performance balancer’ which contributes to this too. I am very proud to say my horses look fantastic at the moment!
I had jump lessons with Joao aswell; again I rode Harry who with his new established changes makes everything much easier as he used to be disunited often to a fence off a tight turn. Now he is balanced and able to take off with full power and the result is that his jump has significantly improved. I jumped Red too, he is also learning to change and is happy to be more forward than previously and so between fences he is beginning to think less about my leg and more about the fences which is also improving his jump. These two boys should have a great season! I had my first lesson with Ken, we worked on riding him more forward as sometimes as he is strong I can ride him too quietly to keep him quiet, but by riding him stronger myself he then started to accept this and jumped really well. He finds it all very easy and perhaps as he is so brave could respect the fences a little more. By the end of the session he was really jumping, Luhmuhlen here we come!
I took Charlotte for a test drive in ‘Rita’ today, she has passed her HGV a few weeks ago and the roads weren’t ideal to practise on with snow and ice, but as they now- off we go… I was very impressed! A good driver but I hope that Rita still looks the same in a few weeks time!! I am very much looking forward to having some help… More sleep at last!!
I am preparing to go XC schooling tomorrow so hopefully it won’t be too wet and cold, that’s not ideal preparation for Portugal!!
I am writing this from Thailand, it’s absolutely gorgeous weather and background, I’m next to the pool and its 30 degrees! After all the snow and ice it’s a welcome change of climate and after the build up to Christmas with sometimes only two of us on with fifteen horses all in work I need a rest too!
I have however a new head girl just start as I was leaving. Her name is Harriet Docker and we are very pleased to have her on board! I also have a working pupil called Naomi starting once I’m back next week. I am only away for 13 days in total but it feels already (with 1 week still to go) much longer. I really enjoy my holidays and believe me they are needed as we work incredibly hard most of the year!!
Before I left we had a busy week before Christmas but still weren’t able to hack the horses out, but as soon as we could after we were straight out! I was/ am conscious of not ‘boring’ the horses in the school as the indoors have been the only place to work them. We found some new roads to hack around with good hills as the track into the forest was still lethal with fresh horses. Not a good combination! So luckily with no more snow the girls are able to hack and lunge them whilst I’m away.
As I was off just after Christmas and I wanted to work Christmas and Boxing Day, I asked my family to come and stay with me, my Mum and Dad, Sister, Husband and two children. They came down Christmas Eve lunchtime. This meant we had time for Aimee my 5 year old Niece to ride Glen, an 11 hand ex champion show pony of Gabriellas’. I was a very proud Aunty watching her trot around the school, she was great, a natural! I did have to rescue her a couple of times when she was half off but no falls! She also rode Boxing Day and the day after and improved daily, I hope her instructor has noticed!
The horses went on the walker and were lunged at Christmas, I hate them staying in their stables all day and worry about colic possibilities too.
It was so lovely to have my family there with me, I hope they enjoyed it as much as me, we went out for lunch Christmas day for the first day ever and it was superb! I also took them on a couple of walks (the 2nd considerably longer, got lost!) and showed them the beautiful area I am in. Suitably impressed we ate, drank and then ate some more.
I now am now sat here planning my season for next year, as I’m able to have time to think clearly about things. We are off to Barocca for the first time this March, I can’t wait as Red, Amber, Harry will do the 2* and Bertie will do the 1*. And hopefully then Amber will do a 3* in the spring and the others in the autumn. So suddenly I will start to have a strong team of advanced horses… Jasper is making good progress too so I hope he will be back next autumn, fingers and toes crossed. He walks daily in hand, he is very amusing, an angel with everyone other than me with whom he is very naughty! My bruise incidentally has only just gone from the kick, but I still have a lump. That’s 6 weeks on!
Well I’m off for a swim now, hard life I know, but I’ll soon be back working before I know it. Am off to Greenwich for a look at the Olympic site as soon as I’m back so will be fascinating, will report back…
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