A Fresh Start

As most of you will already know, two of my most precious possessions are my horses. My lovely Bambi Blue, an Irish Sport Horse who has ridden with me to hell and back (or that's what it feels like sometimes). In reality, Bambi & I were just very unfortunate, our ridden partnership was short and speckled with injuries, the last injury enough to end her ridden career forever. We had good times and very, very bad times. She reminds me of that old rhyme: "When she was good, she was very very good and when she was bad she was awful!" Bambi was the horse that first made me realise what it felt like to fly. Countless hours were spent with her, cantering around the rolling hills of the farm. When her latest injury forced her into an early retirement at just the age of 8, I thought I'd stop riding forever.

That was until, Lady crossed my path. I'd been vaguely considering purchasing another horse, but I wasn't entirely certain what I wanted. I've always adored showing since a very young age. I knew I wanted to get back out there showing and I knew that I'd love a horse that I could take to county level. I just wasn't sure what classes I wanted to compete in again! Hunter classes, or perhaps ladies hack. I'd need something elegant and gentle, with enough height to balance out all 5'11 of me! The biggest conundrum I was facing was that I wanted something that I could produce myself (so something young preferably) , but it needed to be sane and sensible, with a little bit of experience, something to bring me back the confidence that had left me. It was a bit like looking for a magical golden unicorn. One day whilst at work, I had a message from my manager of the livery where Bambi lived. She had seen a nice horse out and about that was for sale and thought it looked like something that might suit me. I messaged the owner and she was happy for Lady to come for a weeks trial at my livery yard. When the lorry arrived at the yard, I had no idea what to expect. As the ramp was lowered, I could hear heavy feet stamping in anticipation. She came out of the lorry looking like a dragon. Her neck was high as she stood as tall as she was able. Her eyes were on stalks. Her leadrope was handed to me and nervously I took her into the yard. As I tied her up in the cross-ties, I took my first actual look at her. My heart sank. I was in love already. Even worse, I was in love with a cob. I loved the look of a cob, but I was yet to ride one that I clicked with. Something about me and cobs just didn't work! She was dapple grey...16 hands of solid muscle. A wide chest and even wider bottom led to four straight legs (leg at each corner type!) with four large feet. She was smartly hogged, with a pulled tail. I could see her potential in one quick glance. What made me stop and stare though, was her face. She was beautiful, her pretty face was perfectly in proportion with the rest of her body but was somehow still delicate. Her personality shone through her, she commanded the attention of every horse & human near by as she surveyed her surroundings. The week I spent with her on trial was perfect. I was able to test her in so many different situations, I really felt like I'd got to know her for the horse she really was. Even though I'd already made my mind up to buy her as soon as I sat on her! A massive plus for me was her breeding. Her direct Great-great-grand sire is the fabulous King of Diamonds. It was such a privilege for me to be able to own a horse that's been carefully bred. Then, my life took an unexpected turn, when a few months into owning Lady, my partner and I found out we were expecting a baby. One year later and we have moved 3 hours away from my friends and family and we have our little boy Ted. But now, it's time to get back on board. At the end of this month, Lady and I are moving to a new livery yard. This year, I've decided, is our year. With two shows or clinics booked in each month at least, Lady and I are looking forward to getting back into the show ring! I'm very excited to document my journey here and can't wait to share it all with you! Until next time x