Three Lions

I’m back home after a full on two days at St George’s Park. It’s been so much fun. I’m one of those special people who loves running around like an idiot making sure everything goes smoothly.

It was a great venue too. You can’t help but feel inspired when you’re surrounded by images of legends and so much memorabilia and trophies.

I left Burton-on-Trent later than I’d planned with another Burton on my mind. Today was the funeral of a friend’s partner, Steve Burton. Steve was a lovely bloke so I wanted to be there to show my respect. And support a family who’ve been a great support to me over the years.

Balloon arch

I’m slightly in love with the balloon arch we had at the event tonight. It’s been a very long day. But a very successful one. The feedback has been great. And my client is very happy.

I’ve been on my feet so long, they have their own pulse. I‘m now officially off duty and can have a drink. I will sleep very well tonight.

I consider myself very lucky to have created a business where I get to do so many things I love. And people pay me to do it!

And I have some wonderful clients who trust me to do a good job.

St George’s Park

Greetings from St George’s Park. The training ground for the England Football Team. I’m here running a conference tomorrow. It’s fair to say that they’ve fully embraced the England Team branding. The meeting rooms are named after England Legends. We’re in the Sir Bobby Robson ballroom tomorrow.

Today’s been a long day and tomorrow will be longer, but I bloody love my job.

Yellows

For the second Tuesday running I was ‘super sub’ at Carrow Road. And it appears my jinx had well and truly been lifted as it was the second home win with a score of 3-1.

There was a blast from the past too as John Ruddy was in goal. I used to have many a chat with him before the match. I have so many happy memories from behind the scenes. Very lucky indeed. Of course I did have to sweat a lot for them.

Ferdinand

I thought I’d go and take a photo of the pretty hellebore in my garden. Hugo came to help. He kept getting in front of the flower and sniffing it. He so reminds me of Ferdinand the Bull. I often find him in the borders sniffing the flowers.

It was so lovely to be able to go out in the garden in the light when I got back from peopling. The nights are drawing out for sure. It’s amazing how much people’s moods have been lifted by the sunshine. Almost everyone who came in today commented on it.

We’re a bit like plants really. We need feeding, watering and a bit of sunshine. Simple really.

You are my sunshine

Took Buddy out for a long hack in the sunshine. I wanted to check he was OK after the issue with his shoe yesterday. Thankfully he was sound as pound. Where does that phrase comes from?

It was such a glorious day. Spring is definitely on the way. Nature is definitely waking up too.

Lucky for some

Again, I’m no farrier, but when you walk your horse in from the field and realise something isn’t right. Buddy had moved his shoe over considerable and the clip looked like it had gone into the hoof wall.

By some miracle, it hadn’t and Buddy was sound on it. He was weight-bearing and didn’t seemed bothered at all by it. But it could go some way to explaining Buddy’s overreaction on Thursday. But who knows?!

Very grateful that my farrier was able to come out and sort it out. And that it didn’t do any damage. Looks like horseshoes are lucky on the horse too.

Growth

So I’ve been processing today. It’s something I have to do from time to time. I woke up feeling rather sore after my falls yesterday as well as a bit disheartened. So I took some time this morning to work through it.

Buddy is such an important part of my life. Doing well together makes me feel good about myself. So when I have disappointments like yesterday, the self-doubt creeps in. Am I a good enough rider? Will we achieve the goals I’ve set us? Can my dreams come true? I started down a bit of a rabbit hole if I’m honest.

As a rider, I look to myself first. Did he pick up on my nerves and apprehensions? Could I have ridden better? You know the sort of thing. But honestly, I think we both just had a bad day. And we’ll learn from it.

It’s easy to focus on the things that didn’t go well. Or how far the goals seem. But sometimes we forget the 10,000 little steps we take along the way. I sat and looked at the pictures on our Wall of Fame, the rosettes we’ve won and videos of us in action. We’ve succeeded before. We will succeed again!

I’m proud of me for getting back on the horse, literally and metaphorically. It’s important to me. So I’m happy to put in the time and effort needed. Just wish it didn’t come with so many bruises sometimes…

Road test

Well I said I wanted to road test my new body protector today. But I didn’t mean actually road test it! Seems Buddy took me literally when we went XC schooling today.

He also took the Tiger Trap literally too. He’s jumped it so many times in the past. But today it was terrifying. We parted company. Twice. Second time after jumping the bigger fence in an attempt to evade the fence I was asking him to jump. Horse logic huh?!

It’s been a while since we went XC schooling so I kinda get why he was a little unsure again.

It’s so frustrating. There are times when I feel like we’re going backwards. But we worked through it. And finished together smiling.

At least my new body protector is very comfortable. It definitely did a good job today. Oh and I am all good. Few more bruises to add to the collection.

I know I’ve been working really hard on our flat work and jumping. So guess I need to work on the XC a bit more before we tackle our first ODE. The road with horses is rarely linear.

Trust

This resonated with me today. I’ve definitely done this over the past decade.

I’ve had a rather productive day. I allowed myself time to reflect and feel the emotions around today. Then I cracked on with my day.

Trust is an interesting concept. One I’ve struggled with over the years. But I’m learning to trust myself, my abilities and my journey.