5 days, 3 shows!

Regionals - February 2019

Sixth place for Galanci RS in the Novice Gold Freestyle.

We have had various setbacks which did not give us the best preparation this year.  Tilly was rather cross she did not get an invite to Hughes Dressage!  Never mind ... she far exceeded our expectations with her behaviour at the Merristwood Regional Championships.

We know there is so much more to come from Tilly. She really tried for me in her freestyle test.  Overall I was really pleased with her performance, we had one communication blip which was unfortunate.









Daya and I contested our first Inter I together at Bury Farm Equestrian Centre. It was a seriously windy day but nothing phases Daya!

Having had our time away at Hughes Dressage training at Grand Prix we were both feeling  stronger and more confident.
We had one mistake in the two times but over all Daya really tried and the test felt flowing and harmonious.














 Finn competed at Addington in the Prix St George.

Finn was absolutely fab! He was so relaxed and with me. This is his first time out in a while and he kept his cool ...even when there was a major outside disturbance during the walk in this test!

Very impressed with his behaviour and looking I am looking forward to going out again soon.









Huge thanks to all of our Sponsors, owners, vets, farriers and physios who help keep the horses happy, healthy and feeling fab!

Starting the year with a trip away....

January brought an exciting adventure!!  Daya, Finn and I escaped from Hertfordshire and travelled to Warwick training for a month with the fabulous Hughes Dressage.

Stunning views in the morning over Hughes Dressage

Finn looking pleased with his new space

The facilities at Hughes Dressage are absolutely incredible, everything is immaculate, well thought out, with the horses wellbeing at the forefront of every decision. 

Daya and Finn settled really well, they quickly adapted into their new routine of hand walking and grazing as well as some time on the walker, rather than their usual turnout in the field (which they definitely missed!).

Each week the horses had about three or four lessons and between training they stretched, lunged and had a day off. 

It was so good to train consistently with so much help. The horses absolutely thrived under Gareth's knowledgable tuition. 

Finn modelling his Blue Chip and Equo

I was so happy to see the improvement in the horses over the month. Daya and Finn are both currently training at Grand Prix..... we worked on finding the swing in the Passage, creating energy in the Piaffe, one time changes and lots of lines from the Grand Prix tests.

Thank you so much Gareth for all of the incredible training!! 

Daya rocking the Classic Dressage Double bridle

The team at Hughes were so welcoming and it was a pleasure to work on the yard during my stay.

Daya looking gorgeous in Catago Navy Diamond Range

A Ball!!!

I had a surprise invitation to a Ball....which was lovely,  apart from the fact I didn't pack a ball gown in amongst my breeches! and certainly not any heels!!  Julia Hornig was my 'Fairy God Mother 'and after finishing the yard on Saturday night I went into the house and there was a red ball gown and shoes in my size on the bed!  Awesome!

from the yard

Off to the Ball

We had a fun night with the wonderful Classic Dressage girls, thank you for taking me to my first ball of 2019!

Daya enjoying turn out when she got home!

I am so grateful to Gareth and Rebecca for having me, they are both so inspiring and have worked incredibly hard to create the ultimate training facility!

Also a huge "thanks to the team at Hughes" for talking care of me and the horses, we had a great time!

"Thank You" to the Young Professionals Programme for supporting me in this time away, it really was a career changing opportunity!

Digging a track in the snowy arena to continue training when we got back... "it was easier at Hughes!!'

Our Exciting News

Daya started our year off well with a win at Bury Farm EC on Monday, she posted 66% in the Prix St George test to win the class.

The test went well, I was especially pleased with the trot work, we had a couple of blips in the canter, but there is still so much more to come! 

2019 is getting off to a very exciting start for us... we are heading off to Hughes Dressage tomorrow,  training with two horses for three weeks!

I am extremely excited and very grateful to Gareth, Rebecca and the Team for having us.

I would also like to thank the Young Professionals Programme for helping us make it happen! 

I'm currently packing the lorry... there are Konig boots hidden in gaps, boxes piled high and rugs/saddle pads in every cupboard! Excited!

What a way to end the year!

Our last show of 2018 was the icing on the cake to a great year. Aramis T was Miss consitency the weekend of the Small Tour championships.

We qualified for the championships a few months prior at Woodlands Equestrian Centre winning the class on 71%.

The Small Tour championships were hosted at Keysoe Equestrian centre over two days.

The first day was a straight Inter I test and the second a freestyle, the marks were then combined to an average percentage which created the final result.

The first day were contested the Inter I, Merri produced some super trot and canter work to score 68%. The following day we performed our freestyle test to score 71%!!

We were over the moon with the test, it was probably the best the floor plan has ever worked to the music- we were so in time. Merri was relaxed, expressive and enjoyed her music performance.

There was a short wait for the scores, and it was extremely difficult to calculate where we might be lying in the results but it was starting the look more and more like a top three finish as the results kept going up.

We were delighted to finish in second place amongst some extremely hot competition.

This show was our aim with Merri this year and she couldn't have tried more for me :)

It was a great way to finish the year.

I would like to say a huge Thank you to my sponsors, owners, friends and family for supporting us this year, as well as vets, physios, farriers, venues and clients who we couldnt do it without.

A little update...

Tilly has qualfied for Winter Regionals!

Tilly has been out three times in Novemeber and achieved some great scores! We have been to Windmill Farm, Merrist Wood and Woodlands Equestrian. We have scored from 71% to a great 78%! Tilly is now qualified for the Winter Regionals at Novice Gold and Novice gold Freestyle.

Tilly had a year out after a field injury and she has come back feeling stronger than ever. She has a lovely character and her canter always puts a smile on my face!

Merri hasn't been out since we had a double win at Woodlands Equestrian in the Small Tour qualifiers at Inter I.
We are now looking forward to the championships at Keysoe EC in December.

Affinity Bay has been working well at home and we went out for a lesson with Stephen Clarke last week. We worked on getting the piaffe passge more on the aids and collecting the canter enough to be able to do more one time changes in balance. We are so lucky to have an increbible trainer like Stephen coach so locally! Thank you for having us Peta.

In other new I have recently been to the British Dressage National Convention. BD kindly gave me some VIP passes which meant we had a great view for the whole day and plenty of refreshments!
I was really honoured to receive the Young Professionals Trophy Awarded from Islay Auty, it was a lovely surprise!

The convention was very informative and inspiring. There were incredible combinations of horses, riders, coaches, vet and judges who gave us an all round view of the different aspects of training and performance.

Demo Day

Bury Farm's Unaffiliated Championships took place from the 22nd - 23rd of September 2018.

This was Bury Farm's first year hosting the Championships. The atmosphere was friendly and encouraging with plenty of opportunities for the riders to win prizes, to enter prize draws, raffles and receive goody bags for qualifying! What a great show, to arrive and receive a prize!

The day saw plenty of smiling riders even though the rain decided to fall. The day ran smoothly, as it always does at Bury Farm with such a great team.

I presented a Masterclass riding the talented Tilly (aka Galanci RS).

Tilly was a total star!!!! She hasn't been back in work that long and she loved showing off in front of the crowd. She was fairly relaxed and dealt with the entire outing like a professional.

Tilly scrubs up very well, although it did take two baths, as she has a real talent for attracting dirt overnight! Tilly looked very smart, dressed head to hoof in Catago Diamond range in white! 

We looked at techniques and tips that the riders could use over the course of the weekend as well as exercises for developing the trot and improving transitions in the future.

We explored what makes a good warm up and some exercises I use to get my horses feeling ready. As well as looking at one of my favourite exercises for a spooky or tense horse (I thought this may be appropriate for Tilly, although she proved me wrong and excelled herself!)

We then shared our top tips for the best test. How to warm up in a busy arena, what to do if your test goes wrong and some of the best ways to reflect on your test for future progression and development.

My wonderful Sponsors Catago, Equilibrium Products and Blue Chip feed kindly donated goody bags for all our Winners as well as a prize draw for all the competitors to enter.

Blue Chip Feed handed out free samples, caps, vouchers and lovely canvas bags which are so high quality I probably would use them to go shopping rather than at the yard!

Equilibrium Products shared some of their new release 'skin soother' with our winners, which smells of chamomile and spearmint- its great! 

As well as some £10 off vouchers for their online shop. Our three winners also received a set of Stretch and flex boots!

Catago sponsored all three classes and awarded first second and third with some incredible goodies from the FIR Tech range.

First prize received a FIR Tech saddle pad, the saddle pad is stunning it is high quality and also boosts healing and muscle recovery in your horse through its FIR Tech healing properties.

Second prize received a FIR Tech fly veil and third a FIR Tech poll guard, so a very good day for our winners!

SO many Prizes.. and this is before the riders entered the prize draw where there were yet more goody bags to be won and a Diamonte Blue Chip saddle pad!

The day was great fun for everyone involved and a huge thanks to Bury Farm for organising such a super show, it takes so much behind the scenes work to run a show like this, and even more work to make it so great! 

Reserve Champion for Aramis T

This was our first time competing at the British Dressage Summer Music Championships.....

Merri qualified for Prix St George class... 

WE WERE RESERVE CHAMPION!! 

So proud of Merri, she tried so hard for me and gave me a fantastic ride! 

Watch our video here

July! how time flys!

So this month has been one for training and coaching mainly. Now we are all qualified for regionals and the Summer music championship we have a quieter competition calendar.

I drove up to Hartpury last week for a 'Young Judges' day. This was my first time judge training and I really enjoyed it. Jo Graham was an excellent host and it was a very interesting day. We learnt in the class room, watched videos, had interactive group discussions as well as watched some advanced medium combinations competing at the Premier League competition.

June update

Training with Judy Harvey

June... summer has finally arrived!!
It has been beautiful weather in the UK, which means riding early and teaching in the evenings for me.
We have had a busy month, training with Stephen Clarke and Judy Harvey whilst also getting our final points for summer qualifications.We have competed at Wellington Premier League and Windmill Farm on Aramis T and now she is having a quieter time before getting ready for regionals.

Addington Premier League Show

Addington, our second Premier league of the season.

Merri was miss consistency scoring just under 68% for another top ten placing in a HUGE Inter I class.

Our test showed some highlights and improvements in areas we had been working on. Unfortunately we had a mistake in the changes due to a distracting wheel barrow man popping out behind the judges hut just as we were approaching! 

Looking forward to our next one at Wellington Equestrian Centre on the 7th and 9th of June.

Photo- Kevin Sparrow

Huge thanks to our sponsors for your Support!

Exciting News!!

Daya approves- beautiful quality, super smart, rugs.

Finn loves the Diamond range brushing boots!

Life with horses certainly has its up and downs.. but receiving a phone call from a fantastic company  offering sponsorship certainly made for a very happy day! And much excitement for the future!

Catago are a very sucessful Danish Brand who have been in the UK for a few years. I am extremely excited to announce that I will be working with Catago and their team.

They have the most beautiful, luxury products, made from really high quality materials.

I look forward to sharing more with you all in the future about our work together... and until then.. here is an insight into their Diamond range!
The Catago website- see my facebook to find a stockist near you!

What an experience...

Last October I started on the Young Professionals Programme (YPP) supported by the British Equestrian Federation. 
The YPP consisted of a mixture of Show Jumpers, Eventers and Dressage riders. Having this diversity within the 
group allowed us to all exchange experiences, and we came to realisation that, although we came from different disciplines, overall we were developing within the same industry and shared so much in common.



Overall the programme gave us access to specialists within the industry, we learned so much, gained vital information and had some fantastic experiences.
On our last workshop we visited the Betcholshimer's yard... it was completely stunning and such a privilege to have an insight into their day to day workings. 
We then returned to Hartpury college and spent the afternoon reflecting on our experiences, making goals and plans moving forward in our careers.



The Dressage riders had another fantastic opportunity on offer, we had the chance to win the Young Professionals Award, which is a bursary kindly sponsored by Core Context Consulting. 
We had to create a personal statement, five year plan and a business plan. Followed by a 10-15 presentation on "Where we see Dressage as a sport going in the next 10 years"
It was great to further explore where our industry was heading in the future and I really enjoyed the process.

I am very pleased announce, I was lucky enough to receive the Award, and now have the support to pursue some exciting career developments...so watch this space! 
I am extremely grateful to British Dressage and Core Context Consulting for this opportunity!

Here is the link to the YPP Programme, applications open in July! 
The experience has been fun, informative and tangibly effective.

Do you meet the criteria?? Apply for YPP HERE!

First Premier League of the year!

Our first Premier League of the season was at Keysoe Equestrian Centre. 

Keysoe is located in Bedfordshire and takes us about an hour an a half to get there. We had a very civilised competition time- 3pm!

The warm up was extremely busy. Merri wasn't very pleased with the quantity of horses in a such a small space but she coped very well and felt relieved to go outside to the competition arenas when it was our time.

She was a star, the trot work felt great and we got good scores. We gained 7.5's and 8's for some of our eight meter circles as well as the two time changes.

We placed sixth overall in a huge class of 40 competitors on 68.77%.

Merri enjoying a post test snack!

Earlier in the week we competed locally at Windmill farm in the Prix St George Freestyle class.

We had not competed in a music competition in a long time and Merri was a total pro.

Our floor-plan included long sweeping half pass lines, pirouettes out of counter canter and all of our changes on half (or whole) circles. We placed first and are looking forward to dancing again soon!

Next stop, Addington Premier League!

Calming Balancer- The perfect mix!

I was very excited when Blue Chip told me they were bring out a Calming Balancer, I definitely had a horse who could benefit from some calming...

Since feeding the Calming balancer I have noticed an improvement in Finn's results...
I tend to gradually start introducing the balancer in the days leading up to a show. This means there are no sudden dietary changes and it also influences the horses mood when travelling and adjusting to the competition environment.Finding the right diet for your horse is so important and its amazing how adding something new in the right quantity can make such a difference!

Finn feels more relaxed and rideable which allows him to produce the work he is capable of.
From my experience if your horse is wound up before you get on, it is often to late to get them to truly relax, you have to do everything you can to stop them from getting stressed in the first place.
We tend to do things like allow turn out in the field the day we travel to a show, which can help keep stressing and excitement about leaving the yard to a minimum.

When competing at a Premier League show we tend to go away for about three days so we also try and incorporate some hacking in this time if the venue allows, and if not, we walk the horses in hand.

The calming balancer consists of ingredients such as magnesium and chamomile, which have proven calming effects. the primary reason for combining a calmer and a feed balancer is that stress and digestion have a very close relationship; stress can cause digestive issues, and digestive issues can cause stress.

The probiotics in the balancer restore the natural balance of the gut flora and help to maintain the natural well- being of the digestive system.

watch our video HERE..

Inspiring times!

Mid February I drove down to Hartpury College for a Young Professionals Programme training day. We had the privilege of the Gold medal winning Olympian Helen Richardson-Walsh come and talk to us...
Helen talked about her road to the Rio Olympics and what she believe gave her and her team the gold medal advantage.

She believed it was her teams Culture. By this I mean their values, behaviours, morals, awareness of themselves/others and the appreciation of difference within the team.

Helen spoke about the ‘vision’ which they lived by,
“Be the difference, create history, Inspire the future”. This vision is bigger than an Olympic gold or the individual athletes, it is about inspiring the next generation, the ultimate dream.

The reality of life for Helen was tough.. There was a lot of pain from training, constantly being assessed and competing against other top athletes who she had close personal relationships with. It was the uncertainty and challenge that made having a clear set of values and morals all the more important, to keep driven and motivated every day.

As a team they had a set of values and from these they created a written statement.

“Respect differences, Listen, Got your Back, Belong now and Forever, Connection, Communication, Stamp out fires Early, Strength, one Team.”

Helen and her team lived by these words everyday which put in place the behaviours that eventually became habits. This allowed for them to be the same team under pressure, even at the Olympics. This is what Helen believed allowed them to Win Gold at the Rio Olympics. Thank you for coming Helen!




Overall February has been a productive and inspiring month-I am very thankful to the organisations that allow me to continue to progress and grow. Physical training can be really tough in these Winter months as it can sometimes feel like you are not moving forward but really it just highlights even more how important mindset is, to overcome such challenges and find the best way forward!

Expectations Exceeded....

This month has been very educational.... what with snow and horrendous weather riding at the moment has been feeling at times less like training and more like survival mode! The weather has not stopped everything though! I have been extremely busy teaching clinics at some fantastic venues, going to training days and travelling down to Hartpury for the Young Professionals Programme.

We have had a few weeks of decent weather, luckily Judy Harvey brought some sunshine for my most recent training session! Merri was a total star! Watch a very short snippet of video from our session HERE. 

We have booked another session for March in already so fingers crossed the snow clears soon so we can get practicing!

Through the Pony Club I was invited to attend a CPD day at Bury Farm. Initially I was a little concerned about sitting in the big cold indoor school all day but my expectations were definitely exceeded. 

We whizzed around all morning listening to fantastic talks! Our first talk of the day was from Charlie Unwin a sports physiologist, who has coached five different olympic disciplines and has a particular interest in accelerated learning. An inspiring start to the day! 

We then went and found Russell Guire from Centaur Biomechanics in another class room, we talked about tack and some interesting new discoveries that Russell has experienced during his gait analysis controlled experiments. 
The day was very interesting, I picked up a few tips and new information and also had a chance to chat with Neue Sheule about bitting! Hopefully my horses will appreciate some change with regards to bits in the next few months.

Equilibrium Magnetic Chaps

• In my opinion the Equilibrium magnetic chaps are the unsung hero of the Equilibrium therapy range.
• My horses tend to wear them more over the winter months as they are spending a bit more time in the stable as long periods of turnout can be tricky in the unpredictable winter weather.
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• The boots are a snug and soft fit, we tend to leave them on over night as there is no fear of them slipping or causing rubs.
• I tend to use the magnet boots mainly on my more advanced horses as it helps keep any swelling/wind gals down and improves blood flow to the legs. They help with arthritis and also any general knocks or bumps. 

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• The magnets are all moveable so you can target specific swellings or an injury, such as a splint.
• We really rate these chaps and i'm so pleased to be able to use them on my horses. 
• Watch the YouTube video HERE!

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Tis the Season... for Snow!

So at the end of last week we had an enormous snowfall!  I couldn't believe it when I woke up on Sunday morning... It is the most snow we have had in years!!

Although snow is extremely pretty... It's never good news for the horses (unless you are lucky enough to have an indoor school!).

All of our horses have been stabled, walked in hand and had a small amount of turn out.

One of our little helpers!

It really effects our lifestyle ... I have gone from spending all day outdoors to doing lots of work on the computer! It has been a good amount of time to start to get on top of some paper work but we are all ready to get going again now!

I am very lucky to have been given tickets to Olympia Freestyle evening tonight (Thank you!).

We are getting the train down this afternoon to make the most of the day and I am so excited to watch a seriously hot competition this evening.

Time to start feeling festive!

WOW

I have had my beautiful WOW Saddle for a year now and I feel like this would be the perfect time to reflect on how myself and Finn have progressed in this time.


Here's a bit about WOW to start...
The WOW team have a wealth of experience and over the years they have worked with many different horses and riders as well as investing much time into scientifically testing different types of saddles to see how they actually perform on horses. Funnily enough they came up with the brand name 'WOW' as thats what people exclaimed when they rode on their saddles!
It took me and Finn a few weeks to get used to the WOW, its incredible as you are so close to the horse and you can feel a lot more movement than in a traditional flocked saddle. I found that over time we had much softer and subtle aids, produced mainly through movement in my body. It felt like the 'conversation' between us was much clearer even though  I was doing less.

I have noticed many of the people I teach have a WOW and they all say how incredible it is. The important benefits are that they can change the saddle according to the horses development or if they get a new horse the saddle can be re worked to fit an entirely different shape. Wow is a modular saddle, so you can get all the components separately. This also means it is a saddle for life!





Since being ridden in the WOW saddle Affinity Bay has had his most successful season to date.
We had many good results at Premier League competitions, including a third place at Addington Manor Premier League in the Inter I and a WIN at Keysoe Premier League in the Prix St George which qualified us directly for the Summer Nationals. And not forgetting our third place at the British Dressage Petplan Inter I at the start of 2017 in the Inter I class (pictured left).

This was Finn's first year at Inter I and I couldn't be more proud of him, his results and development! We are very privileged to be supported by such a wonderful Company and we love their saddles!

Here's a link to my YouTube video of our fitting in the summer with David from Wow Saddles WOW Fitting

Jumping through hoops... The feeling when you make it!

I started applying for the British Equestrian Federation Young Professionals Programme back in October.

The first step in the process was to create a specialised CV and a 3-5 minute video talking about what you can bring to the programme and a brief history of your career so far...

This process was brilliant, I loved the challenge that presented talking to the camera for five minutes... it was very different to an interview! And it was a lot harder than I initially expected.

After a few weeks I received an email informing me I was successfully through hoop number one!!!

Which meant onto number two... the  Interview Day.

We headed off to West Sussex to International dressage rider Sarah Millis' yard with the wonderful Aramis T (Owned by Judy Firmston-Williams).

The yard was exquisite... Everything was immaculate and the horses were all very happy athletes.

I was lucky enough to have a training session with Sarah as well as watching her in an interactive training session in the afternoon with her own horses. In the middle of the day I had my individual interview.

Three days later I had a fantastic email in my inbox...

I am delighted to say that I was successful!!

This poster was hanging in Sarah's tea room...these ideas are definitely present in her life and yard.