Tilly spent Saturday in bed recovering from her adventures at Stafford on Friday. She came in first thing and then pretty much slept all day. I took the opportunity to ride Mez and practice for our Dressage on Wednesday. We are doing N27 I think...I will check but the test is in the office. Anyhow it has counter canter, rein back, lengthened trot and canter.....all which we practiced for the first time on Saturday!!! I am still waiting for my wormers which I ordered a week last Thursday to arrive, so I have chased them up and it seems they are lost in the post, so they are sending me some recorded delivery today. Yesterday we went to look at a possible prospective new home.......was amazing.....the house was like something from Grand Designs!! Just waiting for the estate agents to value the property today to see how viable a proposition it is. Was so worth going though as the pigs got loose and Peter made a new friend!!!! Sunday, 25 July 2010 There should only be one 5 o'clock in a day but on Friday we saw two! I was up at 5am to feed and turn out / bring in the horses on the yard before my helpers (Alex and Xanthe) arrived at about 5.30am. They helped muck out and get Tilly brushed off and booted up before loading and heading down the lane by 6.07am. On arrival at Stafford we walked the SJ and XC courses which I did not think looked as scary as they have in the past, so this must be a goo thing! The last 4 jumps of the sj were up to height (1.05m) but not bigger than we had jumped with Uncle Richard on Wednesday. The xc had the dreaded corner where I had a run out last year so I decided that I would do the skinny alternative as I jut wanted to try and get round clear and there were a couple of other fences that asked questions that we have not answered before. I felt it was achievable but would be a fair test of how we are doing. On the way to the dressage she was pinging all over and the flies were driving her mad but once we got working in she settled and did one of her best tests yet. She was also in season which did not help proceedings as she twitches all over so all in all we did very well to hold it together for 5 minutes! SJ next and there were not very many clear rounds to be had, poles flying all over and people taking the wrong routes, it was carnage! We went in and I jut tried to keep her in rhythm and listening to me and she jumped fantastically - see above video from Alex's phone! I was really pleased with her so we went back to the lorry and changed clothes and tack and headed off for the XC. She got a bit excited on the way to the start but I entered the start box with 5 seconds to go and off we went. I was trying VERY hard NOT to kick on after Hutton as I did not want to dismount before the end of the course again so let her just go at her own pace to the first fence and made sure I had her head up on landing, my lower leg forward and my body upright...just in case!!! The second fence was a sheep feeder then over the little hill down to a fairly wide ditch before the first combination which was a pheasant feeder then three strides to a wide carrot fence which was on an angle to the left. I got her straight and steady for the first part and then turned as we were landing to ward the other and she flew over it. Then the skinny alternative for the corner down to the log then two strides to the sunken road which she jumped like a true professional. The next fence was the chair and we took off but she dropped her front legs and knocked the fence and then proceeded to crash into it with her hind legs, tipping herself forward and I thought she was going to fall, throwing me in front of the saddle with no stirrups. All I could think was 'Oh no not again!' but at the last moment she recovered and found her footing and I managed to get back in the saddle and keep kicking onto the next fence! PHEW. I thought she would back off the next fence but OH NO she took a stride out and left me on the buckle end. Down the hill to the little village which was two houses, the second on being skinny so I got her back together and we had a little chat before jumping them perfectly. Next was the step up then one stride to the RED ladybird fence which she looked at but never hesitated, then on up the hill to the log wagon, two skinny logs on a dog leg, down the hill to Larry the Lizard and onto what used to be the water. It seems the water has disappeared and was replaced by another house and the a skinny fence on an angle before a gallop up to another misshapen skinny log which she just ate up before the last two fairly straight forward jumps. She was a little tired by this point but she tries her little heart out and kept on going as fast as she could through the finish. We got 11.8 time penalties and finish 20th out of 46. I was soooo pleased with her and feel that we are definitely ready to make the move up to BE100 now. What a brilliant day on my fantastic pony. Posted by Jeni Ball at 10:54 Monday, 19 July 2010 Today is not going well. I got up this morning with all good intentions...do my jobs and then go to the beach to do some fast work with Tilly. However, Stan went missing and after frantically searching for him for 3/4 hour I found him at the next door farm - It seems there spaniel is in season. I then finished doing the liveries and went to get mine in who could not be bothered to come to the gate, so I left the bay field and just got Tilly in, only to discover Stan missing again. Back round to the farm to retrieve him only this time he knew he was in doodoo and it took me a while to catch him. He is now on house arrest. By now I am now 1 1/2 hours behind schedule and have completely lost all motivation. Problem being....today is the last chance for fast work before Friday so no beach today means no eventing on Friday.......that's if it is not rained off!!!
Also have unrest in the livery department.......why can't people just be upfront and honest instead of trying to bitch and weedle information out of others. Feel an eviction coming along.........feel like giving up eventing for the rest of the year......feel totally FED UP. Also have headache to make matters worse and it is not self inflicted!!! Have not had one decent nights sleep since I fell off and it is taking it's toll.
Maybe it's time to think about a career change....... google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad); I could not get any wetter than I was yesterday morning! I did all my jobs in the pouring rain and gale force winds....most of the horses were really well behaved considering how bad the weather was. It was one of those days where you wish for an office job! I was meant to have been teaching at 9am but after waking and hearing the weather outside we re-scheduled for next week. After I finished my jobs I went in and completely changed my clothes for dry ones and a cup of coffee and a chocolate digestive. My horses did not want to come in, so I left them out until lunch time when Peter came home and it had stopped raining and got them in for the afternoon.
Now Mo has very sadly gone I can fit all my horses on the top yard (5 stables) which has made life a lot easier for me. It means that Kirkby sees a lot more of life and I get to spend more time with them all.
I weigh taped Tilly (599), Mez (519) and Maisey (421) yesterday. I thought I had put it on incorrectly when I put it round Tilly as it would not go all the way round.....I cannot believe how heavy she is. She will lose some in the next week as I need to go to the beach, have a jumping lesson and have Stafford BE100, all by next Friday.
I have also done worm counts this week which have been interesting as it seems Kirkby and Maisey have very high counts where as the others are medium. They are all kept together and wormed the same so I am presuming that their age is a factor here. There were strongyles present in all and ascarids in Kirkby so I have ordered my wormers accordingly and I hope they may be here today.
Well I better get to it. I am teaching this morning after I have done all my jobs and need to ride Tilly later. This evening we are having a yard party for Chris and my birthdays and are making home made pizzas so that will be fab.....hopefully I will not get too wet today....... Posted by Jeni Ball a DO YOU NEED SOME HELP OR SUPPORT WITH YOUR HORSE? ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A YARD WHERE NO QUESTION IS TOO SMALL OR SILLY? DO YOU WANT HELP WITH THE LITTLE THINGS BUT DO NOT WANT TO ASK? ARE SADDLE FITTING, STABLE MANAGEMENT, FEEDING, WORMING ETC A MINEFIELD? WELL WE CAN HELP YOU.
We offer part or full livery for nervous / first time owners / less confident riders / owners. We are on hand to help and offer support with all aspects of horse care and riding no matter how small or silly you may feel it its. We have a friendly approachable team including a saddle fitter, equine body worker, instructor and more and we would love to make a difference to you and help you regain your confidence or just enjoy your horse again.
Please contact Jeni for further details.
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Friday, 2 July 2010 Oh dear......I have just checked the dates for Richard Bartons next lesson which I really need to get Tilly to in order to jump around a bigger course so we are prepared for Stafford on 24th July and it falls on the same day (21July) as the BD I was planning on taking Mez to. Which is also my birthday!!! So what to do? Feel like poor Mez is once again getting left on the shelf as I had to cancel last weeks BD due to being on box rest with concussion! Did mention maybe going to dressage and then stopping on the way home for a lesson to Peter last night....probably not his idea of a fun day!! Probably quite hard time wise to organise too....however, I could give it go. Skipton (1)  26th & 27th June
Nicola Baguley trounced the opposition in the Lycetts 5 Year Old qualifier, with a winning margin of 11.5 penalties. The home bred Pebble Mill, who is by Nicola’s Advanced eventer Mill Law, finished on his impressive dressage score of just 16.0. Nicola Baguley & Pebble Mill “He made one or two little mistakes in the dressage,” Nicola admitted, “so I’m not entirely sure he deserved a 16, but last time out at Catton the judge hated him so it made up for that! It’s funny, last year he was for sale and no one wanted him but I really think he’s in the same league as Run of the Mill and Cotton King so I won’t do much more with him over the summer. He’s a very big horse, finds the cross country easy and I don’t want him to lose his exuberant style of jumping before Burghley (Young Event Horse Finals). He’s a poppet, I love him to death! “Mill Law does produce very trainable offspring who love their job. They give you an amazing feel across country. Pebble Mill is so low maintenance, he lives out 24/7 and is just lovely to have around.” It was so hot when we brought them in this morning that I thought they could all have a nice refreshing bath. Tilly and Millie are really used to it and Maisey was banging on her door as I bathed them so I thought maybe she was looking forward to hers! However, this was her first bath ever and she was very good but a little freaked out about what was happening. Thank goodness Peter was on hand to hold her for me. Kirkby hid in his stable whilst we bathed Maisey and again was very unsure about what was happening. I started with his legs and then just went up a little bit onto his chest and shoulders but as soon as he got worried I stopped. He played with the end of the hosepipe for a while and tried to put it in his mouth bless him. He is certainly a lot easier to handle now and his personality seems to be changing a lot at the moment. He is a lot more inquisitive and getting braver each day.
Mez and Mo both stood and enjoyed their baths but I think I was as wet as them by the time I had finished!
I have just entered Stafford BE100 in July and this will be our next event now. My hat and air jacket have gone to the manufacturers, the hat for investigation and the jacket to be upgraded but I do not want to ride in the HS1 again unless the clip is altered. Back to the Charles Owen for now.
Feeling slightly better today but very worried about over doing things and having another relapse!! A space has become available for full or part livery. I offer the following: - All year round turn out
- Indoor and Outdoor schools
- Show jumps
- 24 hour supervision
- Tuition (BHSAI Int SM)
- Big airey stables
- Horse box parking FOC
- Quality haylage
- A friendly yard where everyone gets along and we have regular nights out!
I am happy to accomodate your needs and tailor make you a package, just call me to discuss your requirements. For further details you can go to my website www.livetoevent.co.uk Posted by Jeni Ball at 10:42 Wednesday, 23 June 2010 STUNNING 7 YO 15.2hh MARE BY COUNTRY TOP GUN Mo was backed as a 4 year old and then bred a lovely foal and has just come back into work. She is talented but green with a trainable temperament and very low mileage. She is a real sweetie with a big jump and with an experienced rider will excel in any discipline. For further details please contact Jeni
Posted by Jeni Ball at 11:07 Well that's that.....Peter is now stuck with me and the girls and the boys for the rest of his life! Had a wonderful time, it was like paradise. However back to reality.....Tilly and I are eventing at Hutton on Friday and her tummy has increased slightly while we were away........we did some fast work on the beach yesterday and have schooled her today. She has been really good in the school and seems to remember all that I did with Hils.....until Friday that is if Rodbaston is anything to go by!!! I will be working her in for longer before the dressage this time! I will have to be organised as I am going on my own so everything just takes that little bit longer. Mez had a bit of a shock on Saturday when I let Alex ride her. I am the only one to have ever ridden her and she had a bit startled expression to begin with but behaved herself, Alex can now appreciate how bouncy she is! Mo has had about a month off and is in season...oh joy!!!! Lunged her yesterday in the outdoor which was very excititng and then Kirkby started to neigh and it was worse than when I weaned them!!! Anyway eventually she settled down. I lunged her again today and then got on and just walked round concentrating on the contact. She was swishing her tail at me but was not naughty and the more I did the better she got. Did not want to push it though as I was here on my own. I rang Peter before I got on to let him know that if I had not rung back in 1/2 hour I needed help! Kirkby and Maisey have both grown loads...pic from Sunday.... Last Friday Hils brought two Balance saddles for me to try. We tried them on Tilly and then took her into the outdoor to ride her in them. I tried the Nexus Dressage saddle which has now been made in wider sizes and this is the first saddle of this width to be used. Tilly was relaxed and went well in it and I felt in a fantastic position and loved it but I needed to try the other one as well. This was a Felix in a GPD which is not exactly what I wanted but I always go with how the horses feel and not my preference. Tilly went well in this too but I felt I moved around a lot more and was reaching down for my stirrups as this saddle had a bigger seat than the Nexus. However when we cantered I felt she came through better and was softer so asked just to try the Nexus again with a slightly narrower pad under and luckily she went the same. The more I canter Tilly in a schooling session the better the canter becomes and this was the case here, not the saddle. Hils left the Nexus so I could try it on Mez the following day and ride them both in it a couple of times before we had to say which one I wanted. Mez also went well in it and it gives me a much more stable seat so my core feels stronger and I can then use myself better to help the horses. So hopefully this is it.....Dressage saddle sorted!!!
Kirkby has had his first experience of Barry the farrier and also had his mane done so he is looking very dapper. Maisey launched a spectacular escape from the field the other night by trashing the electric fencing, pushing a gate open, going off down another field that the landlord has taken the gate off, before climbing back over another fence into the field with Millie and Tilly! The lovely farmer, Robert, from next door rang me at 10pm to tell me something was not quite right!
Shelly is doing very well with Somala and today will get on and pretend I am not there at all so that she can carry on working her while I am away.
So I am not going to be able to Blog for a couple of weeks due to going away to get married on a beach!! The yard is taken care of by my very good friends and Tilly will be lunged by Alex to keep her going until I return. I hate leaving the animals but I'm sure they have a great time bribing everyone to get the sausages out!! Overnight I managed to leave the sprinkler on and flood the indoor school!! Even after I had levelled it it was s till very soggy at the bottom end! I rode Tilly just in walk and concentrated on suppleness and then a little trot to make sure there was no humping before our saddle fitting tomorrow night..........yep I said saddle fitting woo woo. Balance have sent Hils two dressage saddles for me to try in my lesson tomorrow and I am so excited... I also rode Mo who has had a week off now as well and she was brilliant. I walked and trotted round in the indoor...soggy bits included....and she was not fussy in her mouth at all. Is this a fluke??? We'll find out soon enough. I then opened the school door and rode her around the yard back to her stable. I am so pleased with her. I had front shoes put on her last week as she was a little footy on the stones with me on board and I am hoping that Peter will be able to come down the lane and back with me before we go away. Kirkby has had a hair cut and his front feet rasped which was a bit of a trauma for him as he was seriously scared of Barry! Barry was so good with him and has said that he will come and play with him whenever he is at the yard as Kirkby was shaking bless him! I have also been helping my friend Shelly back her horse Somala (see pic) and, touch wood, it is going really well. She has ridden her four times now and is trotting round happily on the lunge but walking etc all alone. Well done Shell!! Posted by Jeni Walker at 18:14 Wednesday, 19 May 2010 Today I took Mez to Arkenfield to do some British Dressage. It seems it is longer than I thought since we did our last dressage test there as it seems to have changed hands and is now run by new owners. Anyway Mez behaved brilliantly and worked in well after saying hello to herself in the mirrors along the short side of the indoor school! We have been working hard on our canter at home and this really paid off today and she produced her best canter so far. This is really satisfying when I know that I am the only one who has ever ridden her and have done all her training myself. I had swapped by whip into my left hand so I could place it on her shoulder in the canter to try to encourage her to carry herself and not to fall in but I made the huge mistake of saluting at the end and I used the hand that had the whip in........so the judge minused 2 marks from us. We finished with a score of 66.3 per cent but it would have been 67.2 per cent if I had not made that silly mistake which would have left us in third place. As it was we came 4th and I was so pleased with her as she had been perfect all day and as far as I was concerned she could not have gone any better today than she did. That is all I ask. Hilary has just emailed me to say that she will hopefully have two dressage saddles for me to try on Friday when she comes over to take some lessons here. How exciting.... Posted by Jeni Walker at 18:25 Friday, 14 May 2010 Well Rodbaston certainly turned into a day of two halves. We arrived in plenty of time and went to collect numbers etc. As we were walking back across the car park a rider rode past so we looked up to smile only to find it was Zara Phillips! She had two horses in the BE100. Anyway we got Tilly ready and went to warm up for the dressage, now bearing in mind the rolling she had done on Tuesday night had resulted in soreness in the lumbar region on her right side and she had had my Equilibrium pad on 3 times and I had given her a short massage, she worked in well. Very full of herself and ready to get on with the job in hand. I was told by the steward to make my way to the dressage ring but not to rush as the judge was just having a break. So I mooched down and was just walking round the ring as I had seen their bacon butties arrive but as I neared A to my horror she pomped the horn. So I asked for trot but then Tilly had not settled and was tense as we headed on down the centre line. I have to say it was one of the worst tests of my life. I even considered just getting off half way through!!! She fought me the whole way round, would not relax, every time I put my inside leg on she wanted to canter, I couldn't get her to trot again after the canter, she would not go forward and it took me 3 attempts to halt! I took her back into the working in arena and worked her for a good 15 minutes and she calmed down and did some really good work. I have to say I am not one for blaming my horses for anything as mostly I am to blame but this time I was really cross with her. I have put so much work in recently and she has been going so well at home I was so disappointed and upset. I wanted to tie her to someone else's lorry and go home!!! So I then decided that I did not want to carry on but we would walk round the XC to give the dogs a walk. Peter said we should find out what my score was before I decided if I wanted to withdraw but it was not on the board...probably because they couldn't believe someone could be so bad! However after asking a scoring lady it was 37. I was very shocked and decided the judge must have been eating her bacon butty as I was doing my test! I still went to the tent to withdraw but then decided I would probably be most upset with myself for going home like this than having a go at the rest of it. We tacked up quickly for the Show Jumping and trotted on down to the working in. Her back had felt a lot more supple and relaxed after riding her but in the working in she was not very keen to turn to the left and kept tilting her head and getting hold of the bit. Her jumping in the ring was some of the best she had done and she listened to me and I tried to put everything from my lessons into practice which obviously worked as we got a clear round. Maybe a little speedy in the middle but no the less clear! So we got changed and I put on my air jacket and off we went to the xc where we just jumped one log in the working in, perfectly if I say so myself. She is getting keener and keener as we get near the start box now so I don't enter it until I am counted down from 5 seconds and I always make sure I shout 'thank you' at the starters as I set off. The course was relatively straight forward and we had a couple of roll tops and a lovely mushroom fence before a gallop, where I cut the corner off the field to save some seconds. She had jumped extravagantly over the first two jumps so I steadied for the third before allowing her to open up which did the trick as we were then in our stride and away. The fourth was a double of logs followed by a diamond shaped skinny which can produce strange jumps but she did brilliantly. Next the three waters with a log trailer in the middle before steps up to a skinny and away to the railway gate and the picnic table. The angled rails followed by Peters Log Pile!! Before the parallel of rails, an arrowhead and a small hedge. Second from home was the only fence I had been a little apprehensive about as it was a fairly decent hedge with a drop on the off side (Pic above) then a turn to the left for the last fence (see below). I really steadied her up for this and she just popped over it and then we were home and dry and I had to remember to UNPLUG before dismounting as I do not want to blow up in public! This was one her best xc runs ever and I was really pleased with her and I think she is ready to move up to pre novice this year. Unfortunately because of the dressage score we came 11th. So frustrating when I know she can go so much better.........well there's always next time....though I'm not sure if Peter will want to come!!!! Posted by Jeni Walker at 10:07 Well Tilly certainly pulled all the stops out on Tuesday night. I turned her out with the intention of bringing her and Millie in for the night ready for Rodbaston and then letting Tilly have a couple of hours in the field Wednesday morning before our journey began at 11am. However when we went to bring them in at bedtime on Tuesday they had both been rolling in the wet mud! They have NEVER done this before and it was caked on both sides, all up her face and her plaits were barely visable...I could not believe my eyes. So I then had to set to bathing her after 2 glasses of wine in the semi darkness....I think they had a little giggle to theirselves! SO there was NO WAY I was turning her out the morning of the event!
Maybe she realises that something is happening to her now when I plait her up the night before....I bet Millie was egging her on! Posted by Jeni Walker at 18:24 Tuesday, 11 May 2010  What a fantastic lesson we had yesterday with Richard Barton. I don't jump Tilly much at home and usually save it for my lessons and competing. We began as normal down the poles and over a fence at the end, building up from a cross pole to a parallel before jumping around the course. This time the course had 5 show jumps at the beginning and then 6 working hunter fences including a parallel with a big water tray under it. The first round she stood off about 3 of them and I felt like she jumped in slow motion, although Richard said that is a good feeling, but I felt it could have been better. Whilst we got our breath back Richard put them all up and we set off again. She was a little stronger second time round and still stood off the water tray and the next fence but we jumped the rest really well. I asked Richard what I was doing wrong and he just told me to sit up and wait once I was on a good stride rather than following her and letting her get longer. We tried this and she jumped them perfectly! So I just need to remember to ride like that tomorrow at Rodbaston and we will hopefully get a clear round. The course was at least 1.05m and this is probably one of the biggest courses she has jumped and not a rattle of a pole to be heard! I was a very happy bunny. Posted by Jeni Walker at 12:41 Thursday, 6 May 2010 Tilly with her stickers on after her Biomechanical analysis. Dr Sarah Hobbs (who is also my good friend) offered to do an analysis of Tilly to see if we could shed any light on the action of her right hind. Sarah set p the high speed camera and I led Tilly up and down in trot to begin with before tacking up and riding. I rode past the camera on both reins and then away from it before doing a canter transition in front of it on the right rein. Sarah then took all the data home and analysised it. The results were amazing. I now can see where Tilly's problems lie and address them. Below are the measurements if Tilly's strides when being led and ridden. Stride Characteristics Speed and stride characteristics are detailed in the table below. Speed is more difficult to control when lead in hand, so not surprisingly there are differences in left and right trials. This makes comparison of these data difficult, as speed directly influences stride length. Ridden stride lengths suggest that at trot the right diagonal is shorter than the left diagonal. Joint angles may then provide us more information as to where the reduction in protraction is occurring. | Measure | Lead Left | Lead Right | Ridden Left | Ridden Right | | Speed (m/s) | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | | Stride length fore (m) | 2.00 | 2.24 | 2.25 | 2.15 | | Stride length hind (m) | 2.03 | 2.23 | 2.23 | 2.13 | I will post more information regarding this analysis later but for now riding and mucking out are calling! Posted by Jeni Walker at 12:32 One of the worlds most prolific riders Mark Todd jumps into the The Countryside Complex which provides a variation of its successful use last year with a series of technical fences to jump on the way through requiring agility, accuracy & control of the highest order. The shape and position of these obstacles just invites horses to run out! Luckily Mark Todd got through clear although it was the end of the road for Clea Phillipps who we met at Solihull last week when I had to tell her she was not wearing her number for the XC! This week I nearly caught her horse for her.....is there a job opportunity in there somewhere? Badminton was fantastic despite the wind and the rain and the wellies and all the mud! It was like returning to winter. It really is inspiring to see all the top riders in action on horses that are so fit and ready to do their job. The fences mainly looked huge but some not quite so imtimdating and frightening these days as they might have seemed in the past.....still a bit above Tilly and I for now! Along side the International course some of the Grassroot jumps could still be seen and hopefully we will be jumping these one day! It was so exciting to think that at Grassroot level you can gallop on past the jumps and intertwine with the International course - such an experience. Anyway I'd better get practicing as after the end of June or my next top 4 placing I have to go up to Pre Novice...still a way to go until Badminton 4 star though!...We can all dream can't we! Well with the XC at Badminton so close Alex and I went and had some fun in the back field on Saturday. Pictured is Alex jumping her first XC jump EVER with Millie who was having a fab time! I rode Mez and we both did a bit of schooling on the flat first to make sure we were in control before jumping. I had a good flatwork lesson on Mez with Hils on Friday so I was practicing my canter and my position relating to her, especially on the right rein as she pushes my seat over to the left so she can run through that side. We are making such good progress and will hopefully (if I pull my finger out) get to some affiliated dressage before we go away. Mez was a star over the XC jumps but I had moved the tyres and this was VERY scary to begin with but she knocked down the cross poles we had put up! Millie needless to say cleared everything that Alex asked her to jump! Please use the above link to read the full story and to donate anything you can afford. Posted by Jeni Walker at 15:55
Mo was back in work yesterday after a week off due one thing or another. She bobbed round on the lunge for 10 minutes very quietly so I popped on with Peter there just to be on the safe side and off we went. I walked round a couple of times and did some change of rein and cricles to get her used to turning and started to ask her to move away from my leg and bend correctly which she picked up really quickly. I then trotted down the long side with Peter before carrying on and trotting for about 10 minutes. Again we did circles and changes of rein before having a walk and practicing our trot transititions. To end I let her walk round and just asked her to be soft in her mouth and accept the contact a little better. She can be a little fussy in her mouth so I am not going to make an issue of it, I am just going to quietly work away with her and it will come. All in all I was very pleased with her as she is such a sweet horse and it is going to be really hard to sell her!! Sorry Peter!!
Off to fertilise and spread some seed on the fields before the rain comes....... 27thApril 2010 Midsomer Clover Start of XC Solihull ODE.wmv To see the video please go to www.livetoevent.blogspot.com Tilly and I started with the best dressage score on Sunday that we have ever had together. We finished on 32 and even managed to get an 8 from our centre line. We lay 3rd after the dressage but she coughed once in the canter which slightly unbalanced her transition to trot. On the way back to the lorry park she coughed three or four times which caused me a great deal of concern. We decided to walk the XC course and then go and warm up fot the show jumping and if she coughed again I would withdraw her.
The show jumping was in side on a surface so was up to height, however we managed to have the smallest jump down leaving us with another 4 faults to add to our score.
All kitted out in my Point 2 Air Jacket we went to warm up for the XC. Tilly was very excited when she saw the jumps and could not wait to get going! The course was fairly straight forward but the gound was very hard and I was now very concious of the coughing earlier so I did not push her as much as I may have done. There was a variety of fences and number 4 was a step down, 3 strides and then a step up, stride and an upright which I thought came fairly early on in the course. There were no more combinations after that but there was a big open ditch and a trakhener which I hate but I sat up and kicked on and everything was fine! We got a clear but clocked up 2.4 time pentalties.
This left us with a score of 38.4 and I had been 8th to go so could not really work out if this was good enough for a placing. As it was after 5pm and we had a 3 hour journey home we decided to head off and get Tilly back. On returning home, via the chinese, we discovered the scores already up on the BE page and I had come 5th. I now have to send a SAE to them and they will send my rosette and prze money.
Well done Tilly, who now does have a cough and is resting and on lots of drugs! Posted by Jeni Walker at 08:22  I think it may be time to take Mez to Somerford for a play. I had the fields rolled etc this last week so today I was able to ride both girls in there. I have a few logs, barrels and a tyre and a NWW pipe to jump over so off I went first with Tilly who tried to tell me she had not been in the field before! I schooled them both for quite a while in trot and canter before even looking at a jump to ensure I had some control before leaving the ground! Tilly and I had a little chat about the speed she was approaching the fences and in the end I had to jump each fence on a circle before she decided she was going to listen to me. By the time we had finished she was cantering into them all in a rythym without speeding up or getting strong, it felt better than it ever has. Mez was quite strong on the flat but popped the log but then refused at the tyres as Tilly had disloged one earlier....however I did not let her turn around as it was only small so she had a little think and then launched over it with me hanging on! She jumped everything else with confidence...even the blue water board pipe which she has not jumped before and I steadied her into it but she was ...come on mum!! What a little star. I will have to practice my dressage test tomorrow on Tilly ready for Solihull on Sunday. I have also pulled Mo's mane....OMG it was so thick and out of control! Off to level the school before teaching later. Posted by Jeni Walker at 14:54 Wednesday, 21 April 2010 Well I can hardly believe that Kirkby has been here for a full year. This is him this morning in the sunshine. He has become much easier to handle since his testosterone levels have subsided! He is living out at night now with Maisey and coming in for a rest during the day and this seems to suit them well. It also gives me more time to spend with them grooming and playing. We are able to get his headcollar off and on again now so everything is improving. Mo is going well and this morning I was trotting her round the Indoor school while Peter kept a close eye on preceedings. Peter ran with me to begin with but after 3 laps he needed a little rest! Posted by Jeni Walker at 12:26 Tilly was on fantastic form yesterday at Kelsall Hill. She did a good dressage test and we got a score of 36 which is not bad for her and the canter work has paid off as she was far more fluent and had much more self carriage than normal. The comments were about suppleness of the back and asking a little more from her to gain better marks in the future. The working in for the show jumping was full of people jumping huge spreads but I know Tilly and we were there to warm up not to practice our jumping, so we just popped the cross pole aand the upright a couple of times before going into the ring. She jumped brilliantly and listened to me all the way round. On the approach to the last fence she got a little strong so I checked her but without conviction so she was a little flat and we had a pole down. So with a score of 40 we went to the XC....the most exciting bit! Tilly's last XC event was in July last year. We set off with gusto out of the starting box and popped the first fence before kicking on up the hill to the next combination of fences. She was fantastic, she moved on when I asked her to and she steadied before each jump and never got strong once. I really kicked on in the places I could to ensure we got no time penalties and she flew over everything including the corner (in pic) and gave me a wonderful ride. I remembered to unclip my air jacket before dismounting (my dad had his camera at the ready just in case I forgot!) and lead her back to the lorry so she could get her breath and cool off. We finished on 40 and this put us in 9th place out of a section with 46 starters. Peter worked out this morning that my speed was 491 meters per min which is roughly 18 miles per hour! We completed in 4 mins 23 seconds. Good to know so I can gauge how fast I am going in my future events. Solihull here we come! We hacked out this morning and she felt as fresh as a daisy and we have a jumping lesson tomorrow so I think she can have Tuesday off.... Posted by Jeni Walker at 16:20 Friday, 16 April 2010 Friday 16th April Getting ready...... After a brilliant flatwork lesson with Hils on Tuesday I feel we are much more prepared for our dressage test tomorrow. The canter is much improved with Tilly starting to carry herself on the right rein much better. So one last practice this afternoon before bath and plaits go in.
I am lucky enough that one of my friends is a Dr in Biomechanics and has some very high tech equipment and cameras with her. She has offered to come down later today and carry out a gait analysis on Tilly so we can see exactly where her problems are. This will be very interesting and a chance to see what difference I make to her aswell.
After a manic Mo yesterday, calm has been restored and she worked calmly this morning on the lunge and whilst I rode her. I was on my own so a quick call to Peter to let him know I was mounting and if I had not called back in 20 mins it was because I couldn't and he needed to come and get me!!! I just rode her in walk and did lots of change of rein and halt transitions. I will wait to trot her until I have someone on the ground...just to be on the safe side and not advisable the day before an event!
Kirkby has been very well behaved lately and we have been taking his headcollar off whilst he is in during the day.....I have just mucked him out though and he neighed the whole time as I was obviously violating his private space!
At last the fields are drying up enough to get someone to harrow and roll them so hopefully in the next week or so they will look much better.
Ok off to practice dressage and get ready for Kelsall Hill tomorrow......So Excited!!! Posted by Jeni Walker at 12:29 Tuesday, 13 April 2010 Tilly and I picked the perfect day yesterday to go XC schooling at Craven Country Ride near Skipton. I was glad to be able to have a little practice before Kelsall Hill on Saturday and to have such glorious weather was just the icing on the cake. Tilly was very keen but also listened to me and was a lot more responsive than she has been in the past. After spooking at the water troughs and some of the jumps, it became apparent that she was in season! The track was 7.2 miles long and at points it was like being on top of the world. The hills are something that Tilly is not used to and are great for helping to fitten your horse and she was certainly tired by the end. I was really pleased as she jumped well and we practiced a variety of fences including jumping into water, which is something she has not done a lot of but is included in BE100 so this year we will becoming across more of this type of jump. I would throroughly recommend a trip to Craven for everyone as you do not have to jump at all if you would rather not and could just have a lovely hack over the hills and through woodland. Enjoy...... :) Posted by Jeni Walker at 07:45 | |
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 www.britisheventing.com | Mitsubishi Motors BE90 Regional Final 2010 Dear Jeni Congratulations! Your horse MIDSOMER CLOVER, ridden by yourself, has qualified at Cumwhinton for a Mitsubishi Motors Grassroots BE90 Regional Final, qualifier for the Mitsubishi Motors BE90 Championship to be held at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Grass Roots Festival 2011. To be eligible to compete at the Regional Final, please check the criteria below: - Your horse must be a grade 4 for the Regional Final and Championship Final. (This means if you go on to compete at Novice level on this horse and gain points, you will be ineligible to compete.)
- Riders must not have completed a CIC2*, CCI2*, national Advanced/CIC3*/CCI3*/4* competition in the current or preceding five calendar seasons.
- Except with the permission of the Chief Executive, horses must be ridden by the same rider throughout the qualifying process and at the final.
- 2010 BE90 Regional Finals, confined to qualified horses, will be conducted in accordance with the heights for BE90 classes at One Day Events.
- Horse and rider combinations may only compete in one of any of the BE90 Regional Finals for each qualifying result attained, but having qualified for the Championship Final, may not compete in subsequent BE90 Regional Finals.
- The top 20% of eligible starters at each BE90 Regional Final will qualify for the BE90 Championship Final subject to validation and confirmation from the BE Office
You may enter any BE90RF of your choice (per qualifying result). The 2010 Regional Final calendar is listed below: BE90 Regional Finals 2010 Please refer to the relevant British Eventing Magazine for schedules and entry details and please mark your entry "BE90 Regional Final" in the special requests box. Please note normal ballot procedures apply for all regional finals. Good luck and if you have any questions or wish to check the horse’s or your own eligibility do not hesitate to contact the BE office on 02476 698859. Yours sincerely, Debbie Marfell Sport Manager (Events) | |  | | | | | | | |  Yesterday I lunged Mo over a small cross pole, she loves jumping and soon got back into the swing of it. Peter then held her whilst I mounted her from the block and then he walked me round a couple of times before lunging me just in walk. I practised halt to work transitions as I need to know I have got some brakes and Mo halts like it's an emergancy stop at the moment! She was very good and went forward from my leg when I asked her and her bend improved a great deal. She has had today off and is flilthy as I turned them out without rugs on this morning!
Tilly and I went to the beach to do some fast work today. We did 4 mins walk, 6 mins trot, 2 mins walk, 2 mins trot and then 7 mins strong canter before walking the 15 mins back to the lorry. For once she broke out into a sweat! She coped very well with the canter which I was pleased about as it has been hard to keep track of her fitness whilst riding with others on the beach.
Hopefully we will be going to Craven Country Ride on Monday and I will use that as next weeks hard work before (fingers crossed) competing at Kelsall Hill on Saturday the 17th.
I am also in two minds about whether to sell Mez at the moment as I just do not feel that I have got enough time to go round them all. It would have to be word of mouth and be a very special home!
A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALEX today! Posted by Jeni Walker at 17:45 Monday, 5 April 2010
This is Mo, Kirkby's dam, being ridden for the first time in over two years. I lunged her this morning in tack which she has not worn for over two years either and then Peter legged me up to lean over. She was so cool about it that I then just got on and Peter walked me round a few times, she was really good apart from a scary moment when someone dropped a bucket next to the school. I am really pleased with her and will lunge her tomorrow in side reins before riding her again on Wednesday when Peter is here to help again. Before she went to Mill Law, she had just learnt to canter in the school but that was as far as we had got with her so it will be interesting to see how she goes this time and how quickly she progresses......then I need to sell her.... :(......to a very nice home only.......... Posted by Jeni Walker at 12:16 Sunday, 4 April 2010  Carol from Balance International came out to give me some help with my Dressage Saddle today. Straight away she identified that it was not wide enough but we tried riding with a variation of pads just to see what happened. It slipped forward with all the combinations so the next step was trying two other saddles that Carol had brought with her. The first one slipped forward as much as my dressage saddle and the second one was better but Tilly is a very sensitive soul and makes it quite clear when she does not like something and she did not like either of these saddles! I then put my Nexus Jump Saddle on her and that was fine so Carol got an idea of how she normally went. Carol has taken my saddle and is sending it off to Frank Baines to check that the tree was the correct width when it was made. Then she is going to send a few saddles up to Hils so that I can try them out and decide which fits the best. She is also going to try and track down the original saddle I tried Tilly in last July as that fit perfectly and Tilly went amazingly in it. SO.... after treating myself to some Devoucoux dressage leathers I now have no saddle to put them on! Typical.....This also means that at the first events I go to I will have to do the dressage in my jumping saddle.
However...it does mean that my riding has nothing to do with the saddle moving around which made me feel better!
Happy Easter and enjoy all your eggs..... Posted by Jeni Walker at 18:46 Friday, 2 April 2010
Well it seems Eden Valley ODE is cancelled next Sunday so Tilly can have a lie in instead of setting off at the crack of dawn. I am disappointed but was expecting it as the weather has been so awful and the event is near Penrith which does not help. So it's fingers crossed for Kelsall Hill on the 17th of April and then the Pre Novice at Bradwall the week after. I entered for the pre novice as I thought we would have had three runs under our belt by then and be ready to move on up....however it seems at best I will now have one! Schooling at Somerford Park was cancelled as well on Wednesday due to the weather so we took the opportunity and went shopping for a wedding dress! We had a lovely day in Manchester shopping, it has been so long since we have been out for the day to something that is not horsey! This morning Alex and I are off to the beach with Tilly and Millie to do some canter work and then tomorrow I think I will take Tilly to Barton EC to do some BSJA. Off to feed as I can hear Billy neighing from here!
Posted by Jeni Walker at 07:58 Sunday, 28 March 2010  Another red rosette for Mez at the Arena Eventing yesterday. Her dressage was 29 and we were in the lead from the start, then we had a clear round in the jumping to secure our first position. We also entered the next class up and I was very pleased with her dressage and I felt that she could not have done a better test and felt that my work over the last few weeks is starting to pay off.....a big thanks to Hils for the flatwork lessons!
We were planning to go to Somerford Park on Wednesday to do some xc schooling with both girls but I have just looked at the weather forcast and it is awful....heavy rain all week with a bit of snow and high wind mixed in for fun!
The horsebox was back on form yesterday so hopefully the problems have been sorted out...although it is having an MOT at the beginning of April!
I had a call from Carol at Balance International and she is coming out to check my saddle on Easter Sunday so hopefully we can get it sorted. It is much better now and really only moves in canter but Tilly has been on the Kate Moss diet and is looking much trimmer now so I really hope she can make it more secure and hopefuly help me with my riding and position so I can help myself too. I have treated myself this week and ordered a pair of Devoucoux dressage stirrup leathers to go on my new saddle. This will mean less bulk at the stirrup bar so less stretching for my little legs!
I have also entered for Bradwall Pre Novice on 25th April. I have no ballot sticker left so I thought I'd let fate dictate whether I go or not. Hopefully Eden Vally and Kelsall Hill will still run after all this awful weather. google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad); Congratulations to the youngest member of the Live To Event team....ALEX.....who has just passed her BHS Stage One Exam. Thursday, 25 March 2010 Tuesday we had a slightly different trip to the beach. It was a friends birthday so I took her as a treat on Millie and I went on Tilly. We had a lovely time but did not do any fast work which confused Tilly, Jack and Stan!! It did Tilly the world of good though to turn around and walk and trot back up the beach instead of galloping! I have entered Mez for the Arena Eventing on Saturday at Barton EC. We are going in the Intro and the Prelim Classes as I want to move her up but for her still to be confident around the slightly higher jumps, so this way she can do the normal class and then go into the bigger class. It does mean however that I have two dressage tests to learn. Needless to say both Mez and Tilly have been practicing this morning while one of my very nice liveries has done most of the mucking out whilst waiting for her vet! This means that inbetween waiting for wedding emails I can spend some time on my nutritional course this afternoon. I have received my haylage analysis back from Dodson and Horrell so am keen to get on with balancing my diets now. Posted by Jeni Walker at 12:15 Saturday, 20 March 2010
Please don't make us go out in the rain mum!!
Oh I think it is fair to say that over the last few weeks we have been spoilt with the weather.....what a shock to open the door this morning and find it chucking it down. Jack and Stan (my dogs) would not venture out and stayed curled up on the sofa and I had to start rugging everyone up again. I had de-robed everyone this week and they have been naked for a few days now. I have not ridden for a week as I have not been feeling too well so yesterday morning I put the Equilibrium pad on Tilly for 1/2 hour then schooled her outside. We practiced everything from our lesson last week and she is much improved on the right rein. She is a lot straighter in trot and does not curl and come back at me and her right canter is better but this is hard work for her so she tries to get a little faster and I have to slow her and not try to get tense or brace and keep her body over to the left. She tries so hard bless her and gets upset when she does not think it is right so I just keep tickling her with my fingers so she knows she is a good girl. Mez and Mo both had their teeth done on Monday. Mo (Kirkby's mum) can now come back into work ready to be sold unless we have a mad idea about breeding more foals........and Mez has got Arena Eventing on Saturday so we need to practice our dressage. I am going to ask them if I can enter two classes with her so she will be more confident around the showjumps in the second class. Not sure if they will let me but I'll let you know. On a more personal note we have booked our honeymoon. We had to fit it in around my eventing schedule and the longest slot we had is between Rodaston (12 May) and Hutton (19 June) so we fly to Mauritius on the 29th May. Not sure what we are doing for a wedding yet.....various suggestions but waiting on a few quotes for things. I am so excited!!! google_protectAndRun("ads_core.google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad); Last Thursday in anticipation of Stafford, I had a flatwork lesson on both Tilly and Mez. Both horses worked really hard and improved greatly throughout their sessions. I felt that Mez needed to use her hindquarter and hind legs more so we did some halt and walk transitions and explained to her where we wanted her hind legs to be and she got the idea with some shuffling around to start with. Then we asked her to move off using her hind legs first and not rocking forward with her front end and this again improved things. I cantered on the right rein at the end and Hils told me to keep looking to the right and turning my body so she will follow me and to sit still and prevent her from rushing so we have the same rythym and tempo as much as possible. She was pooped at the end of it! Tilly is not straight on the right rein and I have been doing exercises including counter flexion and turn on the haunches to try and encourage her to move her shoulders over in an attempt to be straighter. Hils told me to concentrate more on pushing her hind quarters over to the outside and asking her to move her ribcage to the left so she can bring her hindleg under her and become more engaged. This made a huge difference to her and her frame became a lot longer and more relaxed and we had some of the best trot and canter work we have ever done. I have to try to remember NOT to do the things I am used to doing ...counter flexion and getting tighter and bracing myself against her when she is not straight as this makes her curl round and come back at me. I need to concentrate on the things Hils showed me and move her into the correct position with my leg and then again as with Mez keep the rythym and the tempo and not let her rush. Well this is where the horsebox is this morning!!! It should be just arriving at Stafford ODE but after spending 4 days last week in the garage it seems we still have a problem! I took it to the garage to fill it up yesterday and the pressure for the air brakes got a little high. On further inspection it turns out the release valve is not working which would mean the compressor overworks and could get very hot and melt the brake pipes which would cause the brakes to cease on and stop the wagon immediately. Not a very good senario with a horse in the back on the M6!!! So needless to say it will be going back to the garage later.........so here I am eating soggy shreddies in a very soggy mood!!! Tilly is all dressed up with no where to go! I will enter for two other events later in an attempt to cheer myself up! Good luck to all at Stafford. Posted by Jeni Walker at 08:28 Monday, 8 March 2010 Today I took Mez and Tilly to Richard Barton at Osbaldeston RC for a jumping lesson. Richard could not believe the difference in Mez as she is so much more confident about everything now. We just had one stop at the double which was spooky and a parallel, she did manage to take off this time though, just put down in the jump and poor Richard had to do a spot of fence building! Apart from that she jumped really well and is much more forward and taking me now. Richard says to keep her head up into the spooky fences and kick! Tilly jumped her socks off and it is fair to say jumped the best she ever has. We finished with the fences around BE100 height and she flew over them. Richard was teaching me to set her up and ride into the fences but down the related distances how to sit and hold or increase the pace so the strides are as even as possible. She had one fence down which was my fault as I let her run down the four strides and did not check her so she got a little flat and deep to the fence. I was really pleased with both of them and now can not wait for Stafford ODE on Sunday............ Sunday, 7 March 2010 We arrived at Arena UK on Tuesday evening and put the girls to bed in their stables before driving to our hotel which was just up the road. Wedensday morning we were up bright and early to muck out and groom before Mez's lesson at 10.30am. She was very relaxed considering this was her first time away from home and first time in a group lesson. Lucinda Green had various obstacles set up in the arena and asked us to warm up over each obstacle but to remain in trot to begin with. This was easier said than done as Mez was very forward and excited! Mez behaved impecciably, did everything I asked of her and really improved during the session. She learnt a lot and her attitude towards it all was very mature. Unfortunately we did not attend the second day of training due to a slight problem with the horsebox and on the Thursday we just boxed up and came home. Today I have been doing some bounce work with Tilly. I have her in a French link 3 ring gag but I am not convinced this is the best bit for her. If anyone has any ideas as to what to try then please let me know. I have tried a gag and a waterford but she was strong in these and ran through them. Thursday, 25 February 2010  Today Tilly and I went to do some canter work on the beach. I always start to get worried that the horses are not fit enough when eventing starts but usually I am worrying about nothing but better safe than sorry. There is nothing worse than being on a horse that tires 3/4 of the way round the XC and you have to ease to the end as this is when mistakes and injuries happen. However after my return trip up the beach this morning I think we will have plenty in the tank! I even did some schooling at the end practicing my canter transititions and she was strong and wanting to play! Over the last couple of days I have been riding them over arrowheads and skinny fences in the indoor trying to get a little practice in for next week and they have both been great. I need to ring for my times now for Mez's Arena Eventing on Saturday, hopefully it will not have been cancelled again. Posted by Jeni Walker at 17:38 Kirkby and Maisey have been happily going out in the field each day and then at night he has his stable and Maisey goes on the top yard with the girls. He has a 20 second paddy and then eats his haylage and is fine. Last night though Maisey had an injury on her hind leg, after cleaning it I thought it was better that they just go in the indoor school during the day until it dries up and heals over as I do not want mud getting in it and infecton starting. Today they were playing indoors but one of my liveries had a new saddle coming so just after lunch we brought them in. On kirkbys block there are three stables, two normal size and then his huge one, so I thought that I would put them in the two smaller ones until bed time.......However, Kirkby is not happy with this situation and has been having a paddy and throwing his toys out this afternoon. I have decided to leave them like this now for the night, obviously I will check them but I felt if I put him back in his bedroom he was learning that having a paddy got him what he wanted. Maisey, bless her, is quite happy next door despite his tap dancing and neighing and is just munching her haylage. It is a good job that Maisey came first as I am not sure I would have wanted another after him!!! MEN!!!
Posted by Jeni Walker at 17:23 
Lucinda, Tilly and Jeni 2009 I have booked both Tilly and Mez in for a two day clinic with Lucinda Green next week. It is all systems go now trying to get organised and make sure everything is ready to leave for those lovey generous people who are going to help out at home in our absence....you know who you are!!! Tilly redeemed herself today after acting like she had never been in the indoor on Saturday.....Mares!!!!!! She had a little Mctimony treatment on Saturday as her atlas was slightly out to the left as was vertebrae C4 and her pelvis was to the right and forward. I have decided that I should put into practice a few things that Lucinda showed us last year so I have set a little course of skinnys and arrowheads up in the indoor for tomorrow. At least it may give Mez a head start when we get there. I have done a few schooling sessions like this with her in the past and she had responded very well but practice makes perfect. It will also be good training for her Arena Eventing on Saturday at Barton EC.
I am sorry this is short but I am really tired so I am off for a bath and bed and to dream about lessons with Lucinda!!!
Poor Maisey has been delegated to Kirkby control! After redeeming himself some what by behaving a little better and letting us groom and handle him without having to throw his dummy out, I decided the time had come for him to go back in the field with his big sister Maisey. Aunty Millie and Tilly were in the next door field keeping an eye on proceedings but all went well. They were waiting at the gate tonight like a little pair of angels........either that or Maisey had had enough! Kirkby does a little dance when he goes in his stable and Maisey leaves him but he soon gives up and starts to eat....typical man!! Needless to say she does not look back!!! We have been out yard hunting today. We arranged to look around a property near by but it was not suitable as it had other people living in an adjoining barn and they had 5 acres in the middle of what would have been our land...bit of a strange set up so we have decided to let that one go! It could have been a lovely place if it had been a sole residence. The house was a little weird too......a bathroom for each room nearly and an electronic waterfall in one of them.....uuuummmmmm!!! Please everyone keep your eyes open for us. The farrier is here first thing tomorrow so Tilly will be having her stud holes in....we have entered for Stafford BE 90 on Sunday so watch this space......we can not wait!
After my jumping lessons and trips to the beach last week my back decided to tell me that I had done too much and on Tuesday I could barely walk. My Physio suggested maybe giving up jumping and sticking to dressage! Where's the fun in that then!!! However after a painful trip to the nurse and some heavy duty pain killers I am now as recovered as I ever am but until Friday riding was out of the question. So on Friday morning I rode them both in the sunshine but the school was a little hard where the sun had not quite warmed it up so I only did a little trotting but worked on my position in the dressage saddle. Shelly has kindly let me try her professional choice non slip girth and the saddle seemed to stay in place much better. I reserved judgement though until this morning when I rode them both in the indoor. I did quite a lot of canter on Mez and the saddle did not move as much as normal, which is barely not at all, but the difference on Tilly was amazing. I did a lot of trot and lateral work and the saddle did not move at all and then I managed to canter on both reins without a hump in site! The saddle moved slightly, see picture below, but this is the first time I have been able to canter her in it. Amazing. I will have to ask Shelly if she wants to sell the girth or find one elsewhere. It made me feel like it may all becoming together and maybe we will be doing our dressage at Stafford in this saddle and not our jumping one!  Please ignore the stable stain!! I have emailed this pic to Carol and Hilary at Balance to ask for their advice. Still a bit of tummy to go yet!
WB X Country Top Gun 7 yrs Bay Mare Only for sale due to being overhorsed! Mo was backed and schooled as a 3 / 4 year old. I then put her in foal and she caught first time and bred a lovely colt last year. I have just weaned them so she is either for sale now at the price below or I can start her schooling again but the price will then reflect this. She was easy to break in and very comfy to ride with a huge jump. Has seen a lot of farm traffic and JCBs in the last two years. Good to shoe, catch, vaccinated, wormed. I have never clipped her. She is a sweetie and very affectionate and needs a lovely 5 star home. She would suit an experienced rider wanting something to start or an experienced pony clubber who wants to jump / event. Serious enquries only please £2500 now Yesterday I took Tilly and Mez to Osbaldeston for a jumping lesson with Richard Barton. I have been to Richard for over 3 years now and I really like his teaching and his down to earth approach. He tells it like it is. I rode Mez first and she was lovely and forward as she had not been ridden for a few days. Her canter had really improved and she was really keen down the poles and over the grid. Mez needs to see a bit more and to build her confidence up, she likes to have a good look at everything! We set off round the course that had been left up from the BSJA (only much smaller!), the first jump was a wall but she confidently jumped it and continued to jump well until the last fence which was a white filler with big green dots on it. She stopped last minute and I shot in front of the saddle but bless her she kept her head up and I climbed back into the saddle before she had chance to look down! Second attempt and a little encouragement from Richard and we cleared it. Second time round Richard put the back poles on the parallels but at the first one she left her back legs behind and clattered through the fence which scared her slightly. We practiced over both of them again until she jumped them confidently. We left Mez on the horsebox whilst I had my lesson on Tilly. She has never been left before but after the initial foot stamping she ate her haylage and recovered from her lesson! Tilly has not jumped for 5 months and I wondered what she would be like. She was so keen and it was lovely to ride her. Richard said the jumps could have been a foot higher and she wouldn't have noticed! I can not wait for the start of the eventing season as she will LOVE it. I have decided to start at Intro at Stafford in March and try to qualify for a second attempt at the regionals as I really would like to qualify for Badminton next year. What a fantastic experience it would be. A bit of shut eye after her lesson!
I have just renewed my membership with British Eventing and bought Tilly a season ticket......how exciting..... I am taking Tilly and Mez to Richard Barton at Osbaldeston tomorrow afternoon for a jumping lesson so I now feel things are starting to get organised as Stafford ODE is approaching very quickly! Headcollar on!!
Peter and I spent about half an hour this morning trying to put Kirkby's headcollar on and we triumphed! We changed his blue one for a hot pink headcollar with a noseband that undid to make life easier and I managed to fasten it around his neck while Peter stopped him from running around the stable! A few pony nuts helped aswell!! Needs must and all that. He then got to play in the indoor school for the day and was fine to catch and bring in tonnight. He seems to get his knickers in a knot and then wind himself up for no reason. As you can see he is growing up fast and is nearly too big for me already!! We were planning on going show jumping tonight with Tilly and Mez and I needed to see how they reacted when we left them on the horsebox alone. But the only problem is it's SNOWING..WOOWOO. So change of plan and Peter is hopefully going to come with me on Monday for my lesson with Richard Barton and keep an eye on them. I have just got a new bit for Tilly and was looking forward to trying it out but I will just have to wait. I usually jump her in a 3 ring contental gag but she is not completely happy in it. I have tried a waterford and a gag over the past year but she seems to like the 3 ring better than any other. I have got her a 3 ring but with a french link in it like her flatwork bit as she seems to be taking a much better contact on the flat and is a lot more settled. So watch this space and I will hopefully try it on Monday. Good news is that now the SJ is cancelled we can go out for a curry!!
Yesterday began with Kirkby refusing to let me put his headcollar on in the stable. I had planned to turn him and Maisey out in the field but after two seperate attempts I decided he could carry on his little paddy on his own and we turned Maisey out with Millie and Tilly and left him on his own in the stable. He did some lovely dressage mives at the door but soon calmed down when he realised it was all in vain! So he is well and truly weaned now! I spent some time with him in the stable yesterday and he was back to normal in no time at all. Today I turned him out in the school for a while and spent time playing with him and making him stand whilst I groomed him.
Miraculously the outsoor school was not flooded this morning so I took the chance to school both Mez and Tilly. I worked on transitions with Mez as I want to engage her hindquarters more and encourage her hindlegs to come underneath her. She improved dramatically in the short schooling session and I was really pleased with her. I worked mainly on keeping Tilly's trot regular on smaller circles as she finds it a lot more difficult on the right rein so I did some suppling exercises and she started to stretch more toward the end of our schooling. My saddle moved forward but was a lot better than it has been in the past and I did not have to get off and move it at all.
Barry Morton my blacksmith came this morning and I have had stud holes put in Mez's shoes....wooo the beginning of the season is approaching....I have just had one hole put in the outside of each shoe and I plugged them with cotton wool soaked in hoof oil before turning her out.
I gave my friend Danni a lesson on Millie this morning and she rode her very well and had a really good lesson building confidence and working on her postition. Tomorrow I am teaching one of my liveries on her horse, she has got a new saddle and her horse is much more forward going now so that should give us lots to work with.
Monday, 25 January 2010 Well yesterday morning we put Kirkby and Maisey in the indoor school with two big haynets on either side of the school and pulled the big door across the opening so there was no chance of any legs becoming stuck. I do not think Kirkby even realised his mum had gone! He thought it was great fun having someone to play with. Maisey was really good with him and they had a play and a run round but eventually she got a little fed up with his constant nipping and turned her bum on him and kicked him and then chased him around the school! He was really shocked and ran off jumping over the poles (starting training early!) and tried to escape. They were both sweating so I took Maisey's rug off but could not do Kirkbys as life was just too exciting at that point! They played well together all day so we fed them later and left them in the school overnight.
Poor Peter led Mo to the field and I had Mez. Peter had one arm longer than the other by the time we got there as Mo has not been down the lane for over a year and we had to walk past two fields of horses that had just been turned out...it was just all too much but seriously took her mind off Kirkby.
She had her own bedroom and haynet for the first time in 9 months which I think she was very grateful for. This morning I got up early and took her and Mez together to the field before anyone arrived to turn the other horses out. She neighed a couple of times but apart from that she was very cool about it all, she had I noticed very full udders. I need to keep an eye on this and make sure she does not get mastitis as that is very painful.
Maisey and Kirkby have tonight gone into the double sized stable that he and Mo had been in. Maisey is a little confused about things and has met he automatic waterer for the first time and Kirkby seems a lot more chilled and not quite as cocky as yesterday! We will keep a close eye on them tonight as Maisey is certainly the boss and I do not want anything untoward to happen to either of them!
Sunday, 24 January 2010
When we weaned Maisey from Millie I think we had it easy! We just put them in stables next to each other one night and they did not bother at all. I turned them out together for a whie during the day but kept them seperate at night and then one day turned Maisey out with Mez and put Millie down the lane with Tilly. Millie neighed a few times and then that was that!
So on Friday evening we tried the same with Kirkby.......well.......he got his knickers in a right knot....stomping and neighing and throwing himself on the floor (for effect only not to injure himself!) Mo however was not bothered in the slightest, I think she was grateful to have some peace! Anyway he settled down and ate his hay but by 10.30 pm when we did our last checks he was kicking the door quite violently! I was worried about him hurting himself so we put them back in their big stable together for the night...Mo was gutted!
I spoke to Joe my vet yesterday and we have come up with a plan for today.....keep your fingers crossed! The plan is to turn Kirkby and Maisey in the indoor school together and then put Mo down the lane with Mez. I have spoken to my liveries and they have kindly agreed not to use the indoor today and perhaps tomorrow depending on how it goes so I can leave them together until he settles down. When I bring them in I may put them both in the big stable but I need to make sure that they are getting on very well by that point as I do not want any injuries. So...today could be quite stressful!!!!! Wish me and Peter luck!
Tuesday, 19 January 2010 Tilly, Jack and Stan
Today I began my canter work with Tilly. I am lucky enough to be able to box up and take the horses to the beach at Pilling, it takes around 20 minutes to get there. I like to incorporate fast / canter work into my fittening programme at least once a week. During the eventing season I use the events as my fast work and so only need to go to the beach if there is a gap between competitions.
I use a stop watch to monitor how long I am trotting and cantering for so that I can change it around and keep a check on the fitness of each horse. To be fit enough to compete at Intro level I ensure the horses can maintain a strong canter for over 5 mins on the way back up the beach.
Today I walked for 6 minutes then trotted for 4 minutes before walking for 3 minutes to allow Tilly, Jack and Stan to get their breath back! I then trotted for another 3 minutes, cantered for 2 minutes, trotted for 2 minutes and then walked. I did a big u turn and headed back up the beach, Tilly got very strong at this point as I usually do a strong canter here and push her into gallop. However she has not done any fast work for over 3 months so I wanted to take it slowy...easier said than done!!!! I trotted very stongly for 3 minutes, did medium canter for 4 minutes, trotted for 1 minute and then finished by cantering for 2 1/2 minutes before returning to walk. I walked for over 10 minutes back to the horsebox. Tilly was warm but not sweating but the wind was cold so this will have helped to keep her cool.
I gave her some carrots whilst I booted her up ready for travelling home. I was really pleased as she is a lot fitter than I expected her to be. She will have tomorrow off and I will use the Equilibrium massage pad on her.
I rode Mez in the school first thing this morning, working on my position and putting into practice everything Hilary helped with with yesterday. She was very distracted at first due to the other horses being turned out.and neighed a few times but I just kept riding her in a consistent manner and she began to listed to me and improved dramatically.
Off out to skip out shortly and finish off...boths dogs are crashed out after their long run today.....at least we will all sleep well tonight!
A little overbent - tired at the end of the session!
Well I excelled myself this morning by feeding and turning out 14 horses, mucking out 9, preparing evening and breakfast feeds, levelling the school, catching the girls and having Mez and Tilly washed, groomed and booted up by 2.30pm ready for Hilary (my friend, Instructor and Balance saddle fiitter). Hils came to watch me ride Tilly in my new dressage saddle and see if we could prevent it from slipping forward. Firstly Hils put the saddle on in the stable and made me realise that I had not ben placing far wnough back to start with. We then went into the indoor school and tried lots of different combinations of pads, we even tried a polly pad aswell at one point but the saddle moved forward every time I trotted. The best combination we found was the Griffin dressage numnah on it's own in a conventional manner rather than combining it with any pads. Hils took a template of Till's back with my flexi curve and is very kindly going to refer to Carol who works for Balance. Hilary worked on my position and moved my lower leg further back and made me concentrate on my hands, pelvis and hips all working together to achieve a consistent contact. I have to ride Tilly with her poll higher, slow her down and really encouarge her hind legs to work properly. All this will help with the movement of the saddle. I am to text Hils to keep her upto date after I have ridden Tilly until she manages to make contact with Carol and hopefully we can come up with a solution. Peter came home from work a little earlier so I took the opportunity to ask him to video me riding Mez. I have not ridden her for a while but she was really well behaved and I concentrated on my position especially my lower leg. She was a little quick and strong at times but I was very pleased with her canter and it really helped me to be able to watch it afterwards. I have found that even when you think it feels awful and the horse is not going very well when I watch it back on video it always looks a lot better. Being videoed is a brilliant way of assessing your positional problems and I often video my clients to help them. Peter videos me whenever we go out competing so I can see where my problems and weaknesses lie and then try to improve on them. The video also shows the affect that your position can have on the way your horse moves. I would recommend that everyone tries to get someone to video them from time to time - you never know what you may discover! All those people who complained about the snow and the blue sky should have come to work with me today! Rain and wind this morning, it was awful...give me back the snow anyday!
The girls were all ready to come in by lunch time, they were all standing with their heads down and their bottoms into the rain and wind.
I brought them in and took their rugs off for the afternoon. I like to let them have some time during the day without rugs on so they can have a good scratch. Maisey loves it and would stand all day lip curling over the day while I scratched her itchy bits!
I decided to ride Tilly in the dressage saddle today but after trotting round a few times it moved forward and after correcting it twice I got fed up and changed it for the jumping saddle. She was quite full of herself today and had a bit of a jump around and neighed twice when I was schooling which is not like her at all....maybe the seasons are starting!
Things improved no end after exchanging saddles and by the end of the session Tilly was working well. I was concentrating on keeping her straight on circles to stop her falling in and out. She likes to curl around to the inside on the right rein and go out through her shoulder therefore not working correctly with the inside hind. So I worked on straightness and encouraged the inside hind to work a little harder on both reins. This resulted in a better rythym and made her work quite hard. I did not canter today as she had worked so well I did not want to upset her and then have to calm it all down again. Her contact is greatly improved and she is a different horse in that respect.
I then called Hils, who is a great friend and also a Balance Saddle representive and she is coming out on Monday to help me adjust the pads and give me a lesson on Tilly and Mez to make sure the saddle fits both of them properly.
The automatic waterers have just come back to life tonight and one of them has burst and the stable is flooding! Poor Trixie was hovering in the corner wondering what was going on! We moved her next door and tucked her up for the night.....just shows how important late night checks are!
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 Last year I was lucky enough to win a place on a two day training clinic with Lucinda Green. It was sponsored by Pet Plan and I also won a numnah and Musto Jacket which are lovely and very useful. The clinic was held at Arena UK and a cross country course near by. Peter, Tilly and I set off on our adventure leaving the yard in the capable hands of Lesley, Alex and Jack and Stan (the dogs) on Thursday lunch time and made our way to Arena UK where we settled Tilly in her bedroom for the two nights and took ourselves off to the Belton Woods Hotel.
We had two days of wonderful training. The first day was in the arena jumping corners and skinnys and learning what to do in the event of loosing reins etc and the second day we put it all into practice out on the xc course. Bearing in mind it was the beginning of March, Tilly was very enthusiastic and I struggled for control at times! Lucinda let me use her cheltenham gag which had latex tape around the mouthpiece. This work brilliantly on the course but when we got home I used it at Stafford ODE and Tilly objected big time so I had to go back to my 3 ring gag.
I have just checked out the Pet Plan web page to see what training is available with Lucinda this year as it would be a brilliant start to the year to get Tilly and Mez to one of her courses......mind you at this rate we will still be snowed in!
My lesson with Richard Barton last Monday was cancelled due to the weather and it is so frustrating when you have your training all planned out. But I suppose it is the same for everyone at the moment.
I have not ridden today as it was Peters day off so he helped me on the yard so that we can spend some time together and go out for tea....and wine!
Has anyone got any good training or clinics that you can reccommend?
Kirkby
Kirkby and Mo have been confined to their stable for two days now. I did a full muck out today which constisted of four barrows! It is a double sized stable by the way. Kirkby thought it was great fun and tried to help me. He even had a dance with the wheelbarrow at one point which scared Mo but did not faze him and he went back to the haynet. He is multi talented and even managed to bed himself down with fresh straw. He and Mo had carrots for lunch. He is still getting to grips with them and peels them rather than eating them!
The girls went out for the day but I still could not ride as the yard infront of the Indoor school is like glass. Far to dangerous to risk one of my beloved ponies getting injured. Not that they mind of course!
I have just finished an article for the Regional BHS magazine about Equine Massage and it should be in the next edition so those of you that are members please keep your eyes open for it.
I spent some of this afternoon doing my Nutrional course in the hope that after getting my haylage analysed I will be able to provide a balanced diet for all of my horses no matter what they are doing. The course is run through Equinology and is very indepth. If you want any further details about any of their courses go to http://www.equinology.com/ OK off for a bath and bed.....ready for tomorrow as there is snow forecast overnight.........
We were promised snow but none came and today it is sleeting. The yard is an ice rink and I think I should run a book on who will be first to fall over! I have managed to get my girls out as they are very sensible and walk really slowly but I have had to leave Mo and Kirkby (My yearling) in as it is too slippery from their stable to the indoor school.....his legs are so delicate. Kirkby just arrived!
Kirkby was born on the 21st April 2009. He was 10 days late and huge. Poor Mo pushed and pushed and Peter helped her during her contractions and eventually out came Kirkby. It took him 2 hours to suckle despite Mo standing with her back leg up in the air so he could find her teats! He was castrated on 14th December 2009 and was not easy. It was a life threating feat trying to sedate him and Joe felt the best way forward was to knock him out completely (I think he feared for his life!). Any way we got the job done and I had planned to wean him at Christmas but the weather has put paid to that as I can not turn them out at the moment! As soon as the weather sorts itself out I will seperate them. My plan is to put him with my two year old Maisey and Mo down the lane with Mez who is her best friend. Watch this space!
I have just been and mucked them out and he is not used to this as they have been out everyday since he was 2 weeks old. He found it quite exciting and tried to help but got scared when I chucked the straw around and ran and hid behind hs mother!!
I have been to assess the ice on the way to the indoor school and have decided against riding as I can barely stand up on it never mine the horses. I would never forgive myself if something happened to them. There is always another day!
I have been so lucky having the indoor school as Peter met a poor lady today who has not been able to take her horse out of the stable for 3 weeks. What a nightmare.
Peter and I are trying to relocate and are looking for a property to run a livery / event yard from. If anyone sees anything on their travels please let me know. We would consider a livery yard that is already up and running or a run down farm that needs lots of love and attention!
I am now going to spend an hour trying to catch up a little on my Equine Nutrional course as I have got a little behind over the Christmas period.
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Tilly and Maisey have a chat at the gate.
I have had to move the girls into a field nearer to the yard as it is too slippery to get to their normal field. Here Tilly (right) and Maisey have come over to see if we have any goodies for them.
Alex came and helped today and she rode Millie this afternoon in the training bit with the lozenge. Millie did not notice the difference so I can now officially have the french link for Tilly without feeling guilty!
Automatic waterers still frozen...one tap working....sugarbeet tucked up in the house...same old story now.....apparently this weather is going to last another week or so yet. Still it is better than rain and wind!
We did manage to get very warm this afternoon when we got on the muck heap. At least it's good for something, our feet were toasty warm and we had to shed layers we worked so hard. I think we have some bunnys living in it and Jack and Stan (my dogs) had a great time digging holes trying to find them!
I am trying to connect this blog with my facebook page but I am not getting anywhere quickly...can anyone help??
Friday, 8 January 2010 The Top Yard Looking Clean!
This is my top yard where the girls live with my office and feed room. The snow is still with us and I think last night was the coldest yet. Our faces nearly froze when we did our 9.30pm checks! The automatic waterers in the new building have frozen up so I have had to bucket fill round there as well today. I am not a fan of automatic waterers but the landlord decided to install them last year when he built the 3 new stables.
I am in the process of approaching magazines so I can write a column about the ups and downs of Grassroot Eventers. H&H have replyed to say unforturnately they only use top brass riders for their columns and I am waiting to hear from the others. If anyone knows of any magazines that may be interested please could you let me know. It will all help when I approach sponsors!
I changed Tilly into the loose ring french link again today and she much prefers it. I am going to steal it from Alex and Millie and they can try the training bit with the lozenge in. We did a lot of canter much to Tilly's disgust and she showed her feelings by trying to hump each time we made our upwards transition! However she settled and did some of the best canter work we have had for a while.....got to break eggs to make an omelette!!
Again we only have one tap working so everything has been filled by hand....I have taken the sugarbeet inside the house as it was just completely frozen so at least they can have the feed they need the most in this weather.
Talking of food we have just been to the supermarket to find the bread and milk shelves are all empty.......will we be on rations next?
What a nice surpirse to get to Skipton ODE in 2009 and find that Tilly and I are the cover stars. This was one of Tillys first ever events!  Alex and Millie at the Dressage Championships Barry Morton is my farrier and he was here at 8am this morning to shoe Tilly and two of the livery horses. We discussed putting stud holes in Tilly's shoes but I decided the chances of me needing them in the next 6 weeks was slim to none! My horses are shod every 6 weeks and I find this works very well and it is almost unheard of for them to lose shoes. You watch tomorrow they will fall off! I rode Mez today but she was not in a good mood from the start. She stamped her foot and swished her tail at me in the stable when I was tacking her up which is a sure sign that she is not in good mood! She was not naughty when I rode her but took a lot longer to become soft and off my leg properly. Any little noise she took as an excuse to try and put her head up and rush and the canter was so strong I did wonder if I could stop! Anyway we got there in the end and she was lovely. Maybe she is coming into season......... Alex my friend and helper rides Millie (Top Totty) now and as her school had been closed she came down and helped me on the yard and then rode Millie. Alex had just started competing Millie at dressage and won the dressage to music first time out and qualified for the Blue Chip championships and won those aswell!!  Well when we woke up this morning it was snowing. It was a lovely surprise. So off I trundled to the field with a wheelbarrow of haylage. I turn my horses out every day unless they are on box rest or the weather conditions are so bad it is dangerous. I feel that it is essential to the well being of my horses for them to have some down time relaxing and socialising in the field. My mare and foal, well strictly speaking he is now officially a yearling, got turned in the indoor school. The ground is too rutted and hard for him in the field at the moment. I then cracked on with the mucking out, 11 stables today, filled haylage and had to bucket fill all my waters as we only have one tap working due to the cold weather. The girls stayed out until early afternoon and still even in this cold weather were not ready to come in...they were all having a meeting down the bottom of the field! In June last year Balance International Saddles held a workshop here and I ordered a Matrix Dressage saddle to use on Mez and Tilly. The saddle was on a waiting list and arrived in October. I have used Balance saddles for 4 years now and originally turned to them as I could not find a saddle wide enough for Tilly. She is a very sensitive person and if something is not right she humps for England. I had wasted a year trying saddles on her and was unable to ride her until I tried her in a Balance saddle. Since then I have had a Nexus Jump and Dressage saddle which she has been great in. Both Mez and Tilly are wide and have no muscle wastage around the withers at all, so in June I tried a saddle that has no tree points in it and is much more flexible than a conventional saddle. The trouble is that not all horses appreciate it as it allows them to move much more freely in the shoulders and the back and some react strongly to this. Anyway Tilly has just come back in to work after a 3 month break and is a completely different shape than she was in June (a lot fatter!). The dressage saddle now slips forward when I ride her in it and she does not like it so I have been using my jumping saddle to school her in until she loses some weight. However the jumping saddle was being used on my other horse Millie so I had to ride Tilly in the dressage saddle. She was very good and until I asked for canter the saddle stayed in position but once she started humping it soon shot forward! I then decided I would lunge her to let her get used to the feeling of the new saddle and also to release a little energy! I remounted and she cantered round but she was tense so I think she needs to lose a little more weight yet! Today I rode her in the Jumping saddle and she worked really well. Our main problem is canter and she gets quite tense and rushes so I tried to concentrate on keeping her straight and not letting her shorten. One of our other problems is that she does not like to take a contact sometimes but I am trying different bits and have changed to a french link and she seems more settled in it. She had her teeth done about 3 weeks ago and they were very sharp along the left side and she is definately better since then. She is having them checked tomorrow aswell as having her vaccinations. All in all I was really pleased with our schooling today. I then left her in the stable with the Equilibrium Massage pad which relaxes her and helps to keep her back muscles soft. I love this pad and use it on all the horses. I then rode Mez in the new dressage saddle and she was fab. I am working on her canter as she has really struggled with it even on the lunge and it has taken a long time for her to find her balance. She had a bit of Mctimoney work a few months ago on her lumbar and pelvic area and this helped her a lot. She has lovely paces and takes the contact down and works in a soft outline. I shared the school with Sarah on her horse and Mez was a true professional and did not even bother about him being there......however a very scary piece of haylage did blow across the school at one point! All the girls are now very well established at doing fairly steps across the yard in the snow and the ice. Looks like it may be here for a few more days yet with more snow forcast for tonight aswell....how exciting I love it! I am now going out to skip out and make sure all 17 horses on the yard are happy and have enough water etc for the night. Then bath and bed. I would like to welcome you all to my blog. I hope you will follow and enjoy it and please feel free to ask any questions or offer me any advice. I will start by introducing myself and my horses. I currently rent a yard near Preston, Lancs where I have 21 stables and around 20 acres of land. I am lucky enough to have an indoor school which has been a life saver through the recent weather and also an outdoor school which I am told by my landlord is being extended...however the work started 3 years ago and little progress has been made!! I have been promised that it will be finished by the end of April.....I hope he meant 2010!!! Needless to say the present outdoor school is falling down and now spends most of it's time 3/4 flooded! We have tried to use this to our advantage by taking the youngsters in to get them used to the water! I have been here for nearly five years and in that time I have run a riding school, Pony Club and NVQ courses but due to the financial crisis and downturn in lessons I had to make the descision to sell my ponies and become a livery and training yard. I also do some freelance teaching which I really enjoy and I have some wonderful clients. I do all the work on the yard myself, except for Wednesdays and Sundays, when my very understanding Fiance, Peter, also works his fingers to the bone. I am an EQUINE BODY WORKER and SPORTS MASSAGE THERAPIST which means I can keep my horses in tip top condition and help to prevent any problems from occuring and deal with any muscular issues that may arise throughtout their training and during the competition season. I really enjoy doing the sports massage as I can really tell a difference in how the horses work and feel after a session and it is so satisfying to be that in tune with them. I feel very strongly that every horse can benefit from Sports Massage Therapy whatever work it may be doing. It is amazing what damage they can do to theirselves just being turned out in the field! Before I became self employed I worked at the Thoroughbred Rehabilitaion Centre for seven years. I began as weekend help and progressed to Yard Manager in charge of all the staff and the horses, including work regimes, feeding, rehoming ...the list was endless! The TRC takes in ex-racehorses and re-schools them and the loans them out to permanent homes hopefully for life. The most famous resident being 'Hallo Dandy' who I was lucky enough to look after for a number of years. I began eventing in 2004 with 'Millie' or 'Top Totty' who is now 18. We started off a bit like the blind leading the blind and had a fantastic time together. She will be with me forever and two years ago gave me a gorgeous foal 'Maisey'. She was born on 28th July 2008 and her sire is the Advanced Eventing Stallion 'Upton's Deli Circus'. I bred a colt this year by another Advanced Eventing Stallion 'Mill Law'. 'Kirkby' was born on 21st April 2009 and both he and Maisey are hopefully going to be my future eventing stars. At present I am eventing 'Tilly' or 'Midsomer Clover' at BE 90 and BE100 and am starting my other horse 'Mez' or 'Mezza Luna' this year. I am completely hooked on eventing and there is no feeling in the world the same as tackling a cross country course on a horse that enjoys it as much as you do!
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Hawthorn Equestrian Centre is a Livery and Schooling yard offering livery to suit the individual needs of the clients. We offer full, part, holiday, schooling and first time owners or supportive livery so please contact Jeni to discuss your requirements. We run a friendly yard where you will be made very welcome.
Jeni taught private clients for a number of years before establishing H.E.C. Jeni is brilliant at helping people regain lost confidence and encouraging people to realise their goals. She is now available on a freelance basis to teach private clients with their own horses either at their yard or at H.E.C.
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