Welcome to blog! I started it in 2020 to chart my recovery from breaking my ankle (hence the name). I guess no-one saw a global pandemic coming. It's turned into a place where I can talk about the things happening in my life, my horse and my cats. Enjoy!
So it seems that in order to get the best from Buddy, I have to ride in howling winds.
We had an early lesson with Simon Grieve this morning. When I left the yard, it wasn’t too bad but by the time I arrived at the venue, it was howling. Nearly got taken out opening the gate. Parked up the lorry and it was rocking. Then got blown off the mounting block. I know there’s not much of me, but seriously?!
Still I’d made it there so we gave it a go. Started with poles and worked on adjusting the canter. Simon put out two poles and gave me the number of strides to get between then. It’s hard for Buddy as he can get a bit strung out, so a great exercise for us. One I need to repeat at home.
A few of the jumps had blown over, so Simon secured one with some sandbags. Pretty sure that’s a first for me. But it worked. And we got to have a play over the jump.
Buddy was awesome! He was so chilled considering it was really strong gusts! He was focused. The drive back wasn’t too bad either. So seems it was definitely worse at the coast.
So 2020 was going to be my year. The year I got my life sorted after being served redundancy notice from my job in November 2019. The year I ticked off more things from my horsey bucket list. The year I got my mental health back under control and reduced stress in my life.
I had a plan. And it was a good one. Then the plan changed dramatically on 2 January. I came off my horse at speed and broke my ankle. Badly. Like all good equestrians, I got back on and rode back to the yard, sorted Buddy out and then drove myself to A&E. That’s where this journey really began...
I was sent home from A&E and told to crack on, only to receive a phone call later to say they’d missed a fracture (and a rather serious one at that). Whoops! So fracture clinic on 3 January, surgery on 5 January and home to recover.
I started this blog as a way to chart my recover back to the saddle. As I cleared clinics and competitions out of my diary and wondered what the next few months would bring, it's been a safe space for me to say how I'm feeling.
The new plan was to get a new job, to keep Buddy is kept ticking over and recover from my injury. Another good plan! I didn't expect a global pandemic, lockdown and all that happened in 2020.
This blog has changed over time but it's continued to be my safe space to share the things going on in my life, with Buddy and the cats. Enjoy!
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