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!
Buddy Boy became a Beach Boy today. Fab afternoon mooching about on Sea Palling. We totally lucked out with the weather! It was a glorious day.
After initially being slightly weirded out by the waves, Buddy was soon having a paddle. In fact he was rather enthusiastic in his paddling and soaked me!!
How stunning does the beach look?! I love Norfolk, I really do.
After a longer than expected hiatus, Buddy and I entered the boards today for a spot of pretty trotting. I worked out that our last pure dresssge competition was December 2019. I’ve done camp tests and ODEs since then though.
So this was a big deal for us. Well me. We’ve been working hard on our flatwork so I was hoping to see some improvements. But as I drove there, I told myself today was about having fun. And if I got over 60% I’d be thrilled.
Things didn’t run smoothly this morning. It took me longer to plait and the Buddymobile needed another jump start again. But we were off only about 10 mins behind schedule. The A11 was crawling along. So I was behind when I arrived at WHW.
Still got tacked up and onboard in super quick time. I’ve been riding a lot in sticky jods recently, so to switch back to non-sticky took a bit of adjusting. I slide quite violently when I asked for canter. Poor Buddy wasn’t sure what to make of it all!
Still we entered and the test went rather smoothly. I was really pleased with Buddy as he’s only ever been to WHW for jumping. He did all the moves at roughly the right places. And didn’t spook at anything.
Really pleased with 64.21% (6th place). And we got a 7.5 for our first centre line.
Then it was a bit of a wait for the second test. I lost track of time chatting so Buddy had a very short warm up. It was all going rather well till my brain decided to go AWOL and I totally blanked. Error of course for me then. Like I can afford to throw marks away. Doh!
Picked it up again and finished the test. I was expecting a very low mark. So 58.46% wasn’t too shabby (10th).
All in all there were lots of positives to take from today. And I know where I need to improve.
First thing I need to do is buy some competition sticky jods. Then I need to sort out my nutrition as I felt the tank empty. Two bits of toast isn’t enough it seems for a full day out.…
This is what happens when the tail flap comes off your rug, your Mother gets a 15% discount voucher and there’s a sale on. Happy New Rug Day Buddy!!
Yes I know that’s not an official thing. But it could be. My rug addiction has been under control recently. I even sold some. And I haven’t bought a new rug for ages.
Not that I’m justifying my purchase of course. Doesn’t Buddy look smart in it?
What a lovely way to start the day. A Sunday stroll round Blickling with Katie and Archie.
Buddy and Archie are so cute together. This morning when I went to get Buddy in, I told him we were going to see Archie and he came trotting over.
It was rather busy on the estate. But I guess it’s the nicest Sunday we’ve had for a while. So many people wanted to say hello to the boys too. Can’t believe we both bumped into people we knew.
Got home to watch Brighton v Liverpool in the FA Cup. Managed to avoid the result. I’m so glad I got to watch it without knowing Brighton had won! So all in all a pretty fab Sunday. And a very good one for this Sussex girl!
7 years ago I said my final goodbye to Murphy. He was the horse of my dreams. He saved me from myself. After having my first ‘Pip blip’, I realised I needed another horse. A focus. An outlet for my stress. A reason to leave the office.
I’d always wanted to event. But never had the horse to do it. So when I started looking, I was keen to find one to achieve that dream. Murphy ticked every box for my dream horse. 16’2, KPWN, grey, event horse…
When I bought him, I’d never even done a dressage test. Let alone had the first clue how to event or what it entailed. I mean, how hard can it be?! Right?! Very it seems.
One of my strengths is determination. Sometimes to my own detriment. So I put in the hard work and after years of lessons, fall, bruises, highs and lows, we completed our first ODE. I was officially an eventer!
I’m eternally grateful that this gorgeous creature came into my life. He taught me so much. Tolerated even more. I loved him then and I love him still. And I miss his quirks.
He laid the foundations for Buddy. I hope he’s proud of how we’re doing.
I know I sound like a broken record, but my goodness it was cold today. I had to scrape ice off the inside of my car last night when I left the party. That was interesting sitting in the car park waiting till I could see enough to safely drive.
Today I headed back to WHW Snetterton to watch day 2 of lessons. The fields were frozen but the ponies were very happy munching on the hay.
It was lovely catching up with everyone. It was the same jump floor plan as Buddy and I did yesterday. It was really interesting to see how it rode from the ground.
The downside to being on the ground is that I got very cold (even with multiple layer).
It may have taken a while for my feet to thaw out but it was fun watching everyone.
Took Buddy to World Horse Welfare for a jumping lesson with Simon Grieve this afternoon. He had us doing some technical lines and fun exercises. Buddy was brilliant. Me, not so much as got a bit tIght and started overthinking rather than letting it flow.
Then a speedy turnaround to get out for a black tie birthday bash. Left the yard at 6:25pm, arrived at the do at 7:15pm. Pretty impressive as that included a shower, feeding the cats and a 20 mins drive to the venues. There are many advantages to being low maintenance.
The sky looked like it was on fire as I left Snetterton.
Well I wasn’t expecting snow and ice this morning. It was a bit hairy getting off the close this morning I can tell you. Well once I’d a) got out of my front door that was frozen shut, b) opened the car doors that were frozen shut and c) defrosted the ice off the inside of the car!!!
The last one isn’t something I expected or really knew how to deal with. Needless to say, I got covered in ice! Good job I had lots of layers on.
Still when I did get to the yard, I had a brilliant flat lesson with Lewis. Buddy worked his little socks off. We were both glowing by the end! So grateful to have an indoor school to ride in on days like this.
I saw this and it made me smile. Buddy and I did that this morning on yet another wind-assisted hack. It’s a good job he’s not that bothered by the wind. Of course a piece of flapping plastic on the ground – terrifying!!
I was feeling slightly jaded after a weird night. Woken up by cat wails in the early hours. Jumped out of bed to find the big ginger cat in my conservatory fighting with a tabby. Assumed it was Dodo and tried to break it up. They both ran out the cat flap and carried on fighting on the lawn. 😱
Dodo is so small next to the ginger Tom, I honestly thought it would kill him. So rushed out there calling and calling as they both ran off.
Came back in the house to get treats to find Dodo sat on my office chair!
I know I was very bleary eyed but I’m still not sure who was fighting in my conservatory!! All I know is my heart rate went up and there was enough cat fur to fill a cushion!!
Why don’t people neuter their pets?! It’s usually caused by intact males. And yes, I’m going to get a trap set to catch the ginger one. Hopefully he’ll be microchipped.
Buddy has a new favourite spot to shelter from the wind and the rain. He’s a very happy boy there.
Of course I had a minor heart attack when I couldn’t see him in his field. Then his little head popped up from behind the brambles.
He definitely had the right idea though. The weather was beyond weird. Still we managed to avoid the rain showers and pop a few jumps in the sunshine.
Tales, Tails and Talus 