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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
Bit of a weird day for me. 10 years ago my then husband came home and said he didn’t want to be married anymore. Another life-changing event in my life.
I’m sad that it didn’t work. I honestly thought after everything that happened after my brother’s death, we would get through anything. But it wasn’t to be. I’ve accepted my part in it’s failure and I’m working on forgiving myself.
I chose to fight for me rather than my marriage. I chose to put my energy into creating a life that worked for me. Rightly or wrongly. I’m very proud of how I have handled the trials and tribulations of the past 10 years alone. And let’s face it there have been some doozies!
I’m disappointed that I haven’t met someone else. I know I needed this time to heal, rebuild and grow. To work on me. To work out what I need in my life. And what brings me joy.
Today, I sat on my conservatory steps and reflected on how far I’ve come in the past decade. I sure didn’t think I’d still be single. Again, that’s how the cards have fallen.
I’m sure I will meet another man one day. This time I won’t need rescuing though. Till then, I have a ‘stable’ relationship. Yes, I’m talking about Buddy.
And I’m know I have the love and support of so many people. I’m grateful for those who let me cry on their shoulders, vent my frustrations or help me with the mundane two-person tasks. Being single has it’s benefits. But my god there are times when I definitely need an extra pair of hands, a hug or someone to carry a tiny bit of the responsibilities I have on my small shoulders…
It seems that many things in life are getting smaller so imagine my surprise when I ordered a large coffee and got a soup bowl full!!
It was a good job it had two handles as I’m not sure I would have lifted it with just one!
Now I’m very partial to a coffee but this was too much even for me. I was overly caffeinated indeed. And partially baked as we sat in the sunshine. It was a tad warm behind the glass. Still it was 3 hours of non-stop talking putting the world to rights.
Tales, Tails and Talus 