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Lockdown blog

So, it has been a crazily long time since I last did a blog, but I promise to get better! Last time I wrote, the world was reasonably ‘normal’ and if the recent coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything it is that you should NEVER take for granted your freedom but most importantly your health. I realise that comparatively I am so lucky that my family and I (touching all wood possible) have stayed healthy, but I would be lying if I said that I haven’t been feeling a little sorry for myself for the last few months!! I was meant to be getting married on 4th July to my fiancé – we have been together for 10 years and 2020 was set to be the best year ever. I also had big dreams with the horses; Theo was to step up to Novice and I was hoping to give 4* a crack on Finley, who is feeling incredible. All of that has obviously now been postponed…..but equally all very minor things in the grand scheme of what is going on the world! 

I have tried to make the most of lockdown, if that is even possible!! Normally I would be driving 100 miles a day to and from work, so those extra hours of free time in the day have meant that I have been able to look after the horses at home rather than have them on livery. I feel so grateful to have been able to do this as the horses have definitely kept me sane and cheered me up. I made the conscious decision at the start of lockdown not to ride my young horse Theo, but lunge him and keep him ticking over. So many people had different views on the to ride or not to ride debate, but at the end of the day we know our horses and I know Theo is an exuberant horse so I felt better not riding him. The decision was a totally personal one and I actually quite enjoyed the time I had working with Theo on the ground. The Jump4Joy poles were a lifesaver in keeping his brain ticking on the lunge. I did a fun exercise where I put four poles in a square, which you could approach from several different angles. He found it so exciting and was making a proper bascule over the poles, it was hilarious. 

 

I am now riding Theo again, since the BHS gave everything the green light and the coronavirus situation improved slightly. He has come back really well and seems to be fit and ready to go. It was quite funny actually as when I last rode him, he was fully clipped as we were coming out of winter. He is dun and now has his beautiful summer coat, so when I got on him and looked down it was as if I was riding a completely different horse as his colouring was so different

 

Finley my Advanced horse is 15 now and I have owned him for 8 years, so riding him is like putting on an old pair of slippers! I decided to ride him over lockdown and keep him ticking over as at his age I was worried that a break would do him more harm than good. I also know him like the back of my hand and trust him so much. We didn’t jump for several months, but it was fun to get inventive with polework. We have been jumping now for about two weeks and he is feeling absolutely incredible. He always makes me smile!

 

In terms of competitions, I guess I am just as much in the dark as everyone else! It was announced by BE today that as long as lockdown rules don’t tighten again, BE will be running from 4th July. This was meant to be my wedding day, which is a very strange coincidence and I guess that running my horses in their first event this year on that date would definitely cheer me up. My Jump4Joy jumps are definitely going to be seeing a lot of action over the next few weeks as we prepare for the potential start of the season, so I will make sure that I have someone on the ground to take some snaps. I don’t think I will be going cross country schooling until we (hopefully) get a bit of rain, but I always enjoy making ‘simulated’ cross country jumps in the arena. It is amazing what you can do with poles and wings, building angles, corners, skinnies, bounces….you name it! I also have the Jump4Joy skinny brush (probably one of my best ever birthday presents), so that will be getting lots of use. I often will walk a cross country course and remember some of the more technical elements so that I can build them in the school. I remember when I did my first ever International at Brightling, the bounce to a one strided double on the top of the hill absolutely terrified me. I walked the course the day before, so when I got home I built the combination in the arena and jumped it until I was happy. Obviously the arena was flat, but I felt like I had jumped it already (and then a 100 extra times in my head) so when I then came to do it at the competition, it didn’t feel nearly as daunting. I remember we got placed in our first 2* (then 1*), so it obviously worked….if only psychologically making me feel better!

The only blessing about this enforced down time is that it gives our horses legs a break whilst the ground has been so hard…..and the riders a chance to top up on the farmers tan! I have been telling myself that this is only going to be good for them in the long run, which I guess is true. I hope that everyone has managed to stay safe and I can’t wait to catch up with eventing friends from a distance once we are allowed out. Hopefully it is very soon as I have just finished my last project, which involved turning the garden of my once derelict cottage into somewhere that we could enjoy. Whoever thought I would actually enjoy gardening – it is funny what isolation does to you!

A blurry example of Theos idea of polework!
Theo sporting his lockdown belly!!! Hopefully the next time I do a blog he will have his summer body back!
Finley, Theo and Murphy my sisters horse enjoying the sunshine at home! You can see how small my two are compared to a -normal- sized 16.1hh horse.