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…

DIY-er

Now this may not look like a lot to some, but I’m rather proud of myself. It involved a ladder and a power drill!

A bit of guttering fell off a while ago. It’s been on the list but not made it to the top. Today was the day!

While the ladder was out, I checked the roof as it has started leaking in the boot room again. Looks like the flashing had split. Again. So I got some sealant out. Not the best job ever, but fingers crossed it stops the leak.

In typical fashion, the minute I started looking at things, I saw so many more jobs that need doing. So the list may have grown. But at least I get to tick a few off as well.

Wet weather gear

Oh my days! What a lot of rain we’ve had today. Now you might be thinking ‘but Pip, you’re British. You should be used to it?!’ It was torrential. In fact, I’m not sure what the next category of rain is after torrential?! Anyone?

I was woken up at 5am as it was so loud on the lorry roof. It didn’t stop all day. But we are far from fair weather riders. And we have wet weather gear. OK, so pretty much everything I brought is now wet as my lorry is leaking. Again. Still it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm.

We had been due to go XC schooling at Burnham Market today. Weather put pay to that, so Emily set up a spot of Arena Eventing instead.

Another fab lesson. Even if we were like drowned rats by the end. Buddy flew everything! And I understand finally why I get so many dodgy lines to jump. Definite lightbulb moment.

They say that mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Well here it was mad women in swimsuits go out in the afternoon rain. Buddy got an extra rider after our lesson for a fun photo. She even popped a jump on him. Such fun!

Back to the land

I saw this great sign today. I’ve often wondered what’s growing in the fields around me. It’s also a great reminder to everyone to respect the fields and stick to the footpaths.

I had to pick my lorry up as it was having done work done. It has sprung a leak. Not ideal as it was in the living. The roof has now been resealed so should be nice and water tight. Good job too as we’re off for our first training camp next weekend.

I’m grateful that I can walk over to get it. After 3 days away at a conference, it felt good to be outside and moving.

Indoor hacking

Blimey! What a wet old day. Grateful to be able to do a bit of indoor hacking today. Still got soaked walking to and from the indoor school.

Typically I got home to find my new long riding coat had been delivered. Oh my days, it’s gorgeous. I didn’t want to take it off as I was so toasty. Looking forward to test driving it tomorrow. 👏🏻

Unfortunately I got home to a new water feature and a puddle on the floor. My garage gutter wasn’t draining away so water was pouring into the log store. And my roof has sprung a leak. Good job I have lots of waterproofs as I clambered up the ladder to sort the gutter. It was simple once I saw the issue. Not a clue how it moved but the down pipe was totally covered. Very odd.

Tried to see if I could see what was happening with the roof. Still clueless on that one. But at least I sorted one of them.

Camp life

Day 2 of our training camp and happy to report with had a much better day, with no dramas. 😊 Well my little lorry has sprung a leak so woke up with a wet pillow. The rain was so loud last night. Least we didn’t have the thunderstorm that was forecast.

2 great lessons today and a ton of learnings. Thankfully it was cooler too. Even had to break out a hoodie!! Bizarre after being so hot yesterday.

Buddy and I still burned a few calories. He deserved some grazing time. And I definitely earned my veggie lasagne and garlic bread. 👏🏻