Long time no post

Well, evidently summer 2011 became a busy, happy one as apparantly I had no time to post!

Time to dust off the cobwebs and bring it to life I think.

A quick recap of the last 18 months. We finished 2011 competing at BE100, with placings at BE90. Unfortunately the rider was sacked at the last event where we had a 29 dressage, clear sj and rider had sat nav problems XC and missed a fence.

Luckily rider was reinstated and we left the comforts at home to work at a competition livery yard full of promises regarding lessons with Yogi Breisner and such like.

I found the transition difficult to say the least. I hated how my horse was kept; minimal turnout and limited hay, my lessons were infrequent and my boss patronising and rude at best. I gave it a good shot and stayed there for 6 months before the other staff began getting sacked left right and centre and so I bode a hasty retreat.

I moved myself and Squirrel to Gubby Leech's yard in Salisbury. This was more like it! It was backbreakingly hard work, a minimum of 60 hours a week and days could be up to 18 hours long, for a measly £50 a week. But I learnt a lot. I learnt how to get a tune out of a variety of horses, I improved my instincts, I learnt how to feed and fitten the event horse. I learnt what was required at the top level; the sweat, the gruelling long days, the dedication and the passion. Weeks I was eventing meant I was on the go, doing horses 7 days a week.

I left at the end of the season as I missed home and quite frankly, although I enjoyed my time there, I was tired of not having a life. When I got home I was a quivering wreck, it was all I could do to collapse on the sofa and not go right to sleep. So enough was enough.

I am now a freelance rider/groom. My clients vary from the family yard who needs to keep the horses fit through to schooling the novice owner's 4 year old. I have a couple of lovely horses lined up to do some unaffiliated competing with. I really hope I will be able to prove myself and perhaps get a ride BE.

Last season Squirrel and I became very established at BE100, our best result being a 30 d/c and close second at Tweseldown. We had a stab going novice but encountered some setbacks. He started throwing in some stops, so we had his hocks x-rayed. He had bone changes so needed his hocks medicated. Once he came back, we still weren't quite right as I had lost confidence and so had he. We dropped down a level and got our form back, although I lost my brain in time for the regionals (riding a terrible line to a skinny at Daunstey leading to a run out, and going wrong in my dressage AND missing out a fence at larkhill), and then had a really pathetic fall at Aldon 3DBE100.

Squirrel had a well deserved month off, with me vowing to get my head back in the game ready for next year.

So here we are. The event season is looming.

Squirrel is going very nicely, we've been out competing twice, winning both our dressage tests a couple of weeks ago with 76.2% and 67.8% (different judges and he was tired in the second test!), and gaining a 6th and 4th at some Arena Hunter trials last week.

We've started training with Warren Lampard and planning our season ahead.