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!
I love finishing the day with a hack. There’s something wonderful about a Summer evening ride. It’s so still. And hardly a soul about.
Sadly the same can’t be said for the horseflies and other bitey creatures!! I put fly spray on Buddy. Which means they bother him less. The downside is that the bitey things then pick on me instead. I killed 8 horseflies tonight!
Honestly, we wait all year for nice weather. Then within minutes, the ground is too hard. It’s too dusty. And there’s too many bugs around. 😆
This made me laugh today. It reminded me of the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The one where Indiana Jones uses the gold medallion to find the next clue.
I got a bit blinded by it as I lunged Buddy. It’s funny how memories get triggered by simple things.
Thankfully Buddy and I didn’t have to face any bad guys today. But we are off on an adventure next week… It’s nearly Camp Time!
My black eye is a bit uncomfortable at the moment. It doesn’t hurt as much, it’s just there. It’s started throbbing so I took a break from the laptop and went for a walk.
A few things have happened that have made me feel a bit sad and unsettled. I’ve found that when I get like it, I need to go and ground myself by the water. So off I headed to chat to the ducks for a bit. They’re OK listeners.
Walked past a herd of cows and calves. They were super cute and very curious of me.
Finally I walked back past the yard and watched Buddy sleeping in his field. Brought him in and he stood for ages with his head resting in my lap. I think he knew I needed a hug.
Being outdoors, moving and being with Buddy always improves my mood. So feeling much better for it.
I took Buddy out for a leg stretch after his show jumping yesterday. He’s rather partial to a bit of wheat. So shortly after I took this photo, he grabbed a mouthful. Made me giggle.
My eye on the other hand is not. It’s a rather technicolour affair now. It’s not painful, but rather uncomfortable nonetheless. I look like I’m wearing purple eyeshadow. But on one eye only. Not sure it’ll catch on.
Well today has been one of more firsts. Buddy and I made our debut representing Carleton Riding Club. We were in two teams no less! And first time jumping at Geldeston.
First up was Style Show Jumping. I’m going to be honest here, I’d never heard of Style SJ before. Rarely has the word ‘style’ been used in a complimentary way about my jumping. Well apart from being told I’m an elegant faller… So I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.
To come away with 6th place was a huge surprise. Especially as it was a challenge getting round the course. Buddy wasn’t feeling jumping this morning. Still we jumped all the jumps (not necessarily first time) and we put a score on the board for the team. Thankfully the other members were much more stylish so the team ended up in 3rd place.
Then onto SJ and the 80cm team. I took a jumping whip with me this time and made sure that Buddy was moving off my leg in the warm up. He was a bit shocked when I gave him a little tap. But was soon flying the practise jumps.
A couple of feral moments in the ring with two run outs and a pole down. Disappointed with it but I know I overrode it. Still we started together and finished together, even when I lost a stirrup and had to jump the double without it.
Another regroup before going back into the second round. A bigger and longer track this time. Oh my goodness, Buddy was so much more confidence. I let it flow and we were clear to the last two. Sadly we had them both down. But I was thrilled to finish on a much better note.
So imagine my surprise when I heard our team won! Again, grateful that the other team members were much better riders and all had double clears. We were definitely making up the numbers today (as both our rounds were the discard score). But that’s OK. We did it!
Sadly I’m now sporting a black eye where I head butted a metal corner in the lorry. That’s definitely not a first for me.…
Popped over to catch up with a friend today. As it was dry, we took her dogs out for a walk. The clouds were so pretty today. They made me smile. I know I’ve said it before, but I love Norfolk skies.
Then I took Buddy out for a hack. We stopped to watch a Marsh Harrier sweeping across the wheat. It was quite magical as we were the only people in sight…
Auntie Sam came to see Buddy today. It’s the first time she’s been to see him since she’s been on some new training. She now does Myofascial Release too. Well Buddy sure released!!
It was fascinating watching him process everything and then releasing. He had a lot of tight spots. Weirdly exactly where I thought they’d be. So shows how in tune we’re getting.
I know how good I feel after a treatment. Hoping Buddy feels the same.
Buddy and I got trapped today. I was planning on taking him out for a hack. But as I was tacking up, the heavens opened and it threw it down!!
And not just rain, hail stones, thunder and lightening. A proper Summer storm. It was so heavy, I didn’t want to leave his stable. In fact I could barely see the other side of the stable yard. Eventually it eased enough for us to make a break to the indoor arena.
This was my office today. Back home after a flipping marvellous day. I was commentating the XC for the Area 14 & 8 Riding Club ODE at Poplar Park.
The XC Control dream team was in full force. Not a clue how many combinations there were, but the first horse went off at 10:20am and the last one came back at 5:40pm.
We had to deal with pretty much everything you could deal with on a XC course. Falls, eliminations, loose horses, the removal of a fence mid-class, missed fences, jumping the wrong course to name a few. But we had it covered from start to finish.
We’ve been asked back next year. And I managed to pronounce almost all of the horses names! Bonus!!
Today saw the return of the Awesome Foursome. My hacking partner has been on holiday and Buddy’s been out of action, so it’s been a while since we hacked out. But this was very good for the soul. Lots to catch up on as we wandered about.
We even faced the ’waterer of doom’ on the way back. It makes quite a noise as it clicks round. The boys were incredibly well behaved.
Oh and it’s good to know that my Hi-Viz is super bright! You ain’t missing us!!
Tales, Tails and Talus 