He’s back

Final day of camp and we saved the best till last. Buddy and I jumped our first course since his injury. And boy did he jump!

Buddy didn’t seem to have gotten the memo that we were meant to be jumping little jumps. He was mister chill till he realised we were jumping. Then he was like an bloody Exocet missile!!

He was tanking round the jumps. Taking me (well rather dragging me) towards them. He’s back that’s for sure!!

I burst into tears after our first round. I know his injury was minor. I know the vet told me that he’d be fine. But I honestly didn’t know if he was going to be happy jumping again.

Judging by how much fun he was having, I’d say I can put any doubts to one side. Now I need to work on both of our fitness and getting the discipline back. He was a bit of a maniac today! So I can foresee a Winter of training ahead. Today he had his fun. We both did. Even with the tears, we both massive smiles on our faces.

Two stepping

Second day of camp and our second lesson. This time flat work. Now we all know that it’s not our favourite thing. But the more I learn, the more I’m beginning understand the benefits. We had many a conversation about it while watching the lessons. There was also a lot of running about picking up poos and moving poles.

If your horse has a good walk, you can get a good trot. A good trot leads to a good canter. And a good canter leads to a good jump. Hardly rocket science, but something that’s worth keeping in mind.

Today’s lesson was on zig zag and turning using your legs rather than too much rein. Really made my brain hurt. Especially when we changed rein. I have to say, Buddy feels so much softer and improved in his flatwork since his rehab. He’s new and improved. Sadly his Mother wasn’t as improved. I seemed to have lost the ability to ride his canter, resulting in a few wall of death moments.

Then the lightbulb went on in my head and I muscle memory kicked in. Once I actually sat into him and went with him, it was a very different picture. Just shows that I have had time out too.

Last day tomorrow. This really is my happy place. And I’m very happy with my little boy today. As Ed Sheeran would say I was two stepping with the one love. Maybe it’s time to dust off the dancing shoes after all.

Young guns

Buddy definitely slept better than I did. I had a bad night. We had lots of rain overnight. Which meant the Buddymobile leak got worse. Luckily I had some tea towels to mop up the water.

Coffee was my friend today. But thankfully my excitement of getting to ride Buddy at another camp kept me going too.

Buddy came out a bit all guns blazing for our lesson. Not sure it was our best effort. I’m definitely not match sharp. Or fit enough. I can feel I’ve lost some of my core strength.

I’ve been rescued tonight as I’m in a motorhome. Good job too as there are more showers. I will sleep well tonight…

Forest dwellers

Well it’s been a long time come. Buddy and I are back at Forest Edge for the last training camp of 2024.

I set it as a stretch goal for his rehab. A lovely synchronicity in that it was at the first training camp in April that his injury was really noticed.

We’re doing one lesson per day rather than two. And I will be keeping an eye on him. In fact I’m pretty sure there will be lots of eyes on him. So many people have been on this journey with us. There are lots of Buddy fans here too.

He’s tucked up in his stable. I’m tucked up in my lorry. I bet he doesn’t have a leak though. I’m currently experiencing Chinese water torture with a drip behind my head. Another job for the list…

I will be OK. It can’t take the smile off my face right now. We’ve made it to camp. Big tick for us both.

I know I’ve been to a few without him. But it really is wonderful to have him here…

Fancy footwork

Strictly is back! And I am one very happy girl. It’s one of the wonderful things about the end of Summer. Weeks of watching fancy footwork, enjoying the journey and seeing how the celebrities grow.

Welled up watching Amy back dancing. It’s been quite the journey for her too. I have a few favourites already. And there are a few who have further to go…

In fact, fancy footwork was a bit of a theme as I also got to go to Carrow Road to watch Norwich City. They not only won, they played really well too. Though it was so warm, it felt more like a pre-season match. Very odd to be at the football wearing a polo shirt and not layers. I am not complaining though. It won’t be long before I’m lighting the twig burner and breaking out the big coat.

81 not out

Today is my Mum’s 81st birthday. So I drove nearly 350 miles and spent nearly 7 hours in the Comedy Car to go and sing her Happy Birthday.

The nursing home where she is had put balloons and birthday banners in her room. And baked a cake specially for her. It’s a really lovely home. They do so much for the residence. 8 of the staff came in with the cake and sang Happy Birthday too.

The cake was delicious by the way. As was dinner with my Dad before I drove back.

My Mum has deteriorated so much since I saw her at the end July. She’s still here. And every day I have two living parents, I am grateful. One day I know I won’t and I will be the top of the tree. I’m not sure I’m grown up enough to have that level of responsibility.

Ageing is such a weird thing. I still think I’m in my twenties. Odd to think that one day, we’ll all be gone. Till then, I’m enjoying the ride… And aiming for 100 not out!!

Carrots

Harvested my carrots today. I say carrots. They’re all pretty small and twisted. Not sure whether the ground was too hard for them. Or if I’m just not good at carrots. Not enough for a meal. But definitely enough for a Buddy treat!

He will be pleased with my attempts no doubt. Let’s hope he doesn’t try to make my ‘greenish’ fingers off in his excitement.

Irish boys

Today Buddy got to show his friend round one of his favourite rides. Kimberley Fulcher and Irish came over to ride out with us.

It was a beautiful day for it too. Kim and I chatted the whole way round. Irish was very taken with the view from the top too. I love getting to share the beauty of where I live with someone new. I never take for granted how lucky we are to have the hacking we have.

Two gorgeous Irish boys out together. What a wonderful way to start the week.

Human beings

Today was one of those days where I felt torn between doing and being. So I did a mix of both.

I sat on the patio in the glorious sunshine. Having breakfast, journaling and topping up my Vitamin D. It felt so good to just be. To fill my lungs with air and empty my head onto the pages. I even practiced observing my garden, without making a mental note of the things that need to be done. That is very hard for me.

As I was on a writing roll, I drafted the latest newsletter for Carleton Riding Club. An easy bit of doing.

Even easier was taking Buddy out for another long hack. We did the same ride as yesterday – but in reverse. Well you’d think Buddy had never been out before! He was very confused by it all.

As I rode along, I remembered this saying. We are human beings not human doings.

I’ve got a busy period coming up, with lots of doing. So glad I took the change to focus on being. For a change.

Bit of a state

Buddy makes me laugh so much. He got in a bit of a state with his recovery mash. Again. Clearly he’s bothered by it.

He doesn’t always get recovery mash. But it was a beautifully warm September day. The type of day where you don’t know whether to wear long or short sleeves. I went with long in case you’re interested.

It was also the type of day where I wanted to keep hacking. So we did. I felt the need to clear my head. It’s by far the best way I’ve found to do that. Just me, my boy and the great outdoors….