Thoughts Horse People have when watching Tiger King

$2000 for a tiger, That sounds… very reasonable. Are we talking about getting a good tiger for that price or more like a ‘project’ tiger that is more likely to try and kill you? Look at these crazy people involved with big strong animals who can or will try to kill you. That sounds prettyContinue reading “Thoughts Horse People have when watching Tiger King”

Winter Finals, here we come!

Sunday was quite simply, an experience. I headed off with two friends to our first Dressage Ireland competition of the season. They were keen to qualify for Cavan,  I just needed three more scores myself and one wanted to test drive her new lorry so we thought why not and headed off out West toContinue reading “Winter Finals, here we come!”

Elementary my dear horse

Why the national championships? Goals are personal and what matters to each rider really does depend on their own experiences. For me, competing successfully at the National Dressage Championships has meaning because when I first started proper dressage training a few years ago it seemed ridiculously unlikely that I would ever be good enough toContinue reading “Elementary my dear horse”

20 Things I Learned From Starting Eventing Ireland

Always watch the 1 and 2* riders XC. No one gets it right every time but their ability to handle what comes up is what counts and gets them around. There was me having an asthma attack in case I got the wrong stride at a log when I saw someone get no stride atContinue reading “20 Things I Learned From Starting Eventing Ireland”

People You Will Meet When Using an Arena

When you are riding by yourself with other people in the arena…. These are the other riders you can often meet….. The Magnet It doesn’t matter how big the arena is or how much you try to ride exercises and movements in your own space – the magnet will gravitate towards you and stick toContinue reading “People You Will Meet When Using an Arena”

Things you should know before having dressage lessons

Get used to being on a circle. You won’t be moving sideways at the greatest of ease any time soon. The circle is your friend, embrace the circle. Don’t go large around the arena – this does not go down well. If you have enough grasp of spatial relations to be able to ride aContinue reading “Things you should know before having dressage lessons”

Horse Related Injuries that are Practically a Rite of Passage

Having a horse stand on you either being a delinquent brat or jumping on you terrified when expecting you to save them. Injuries will range from the standard ‘oh my f**king god it hurts’ bruised foot to broken toes.   Losing a toe nail thanks to the above and spending at least one season unableContinue reading “Horse Related Injuries that are Practically a Rite of Passage”

A Ladies Guide to Preparing To Hunt Side Saddle in Ireland

The first step is to prepare to ride side saddle in general and you can find a guide to this here. Once you have mastered the bar stool and ridden side saddle on an actual horse without face planting it is time to start preparation for hunting side saddle in Ireland. Once Autumn hits everyoneContinue reading “A Ladies Guide to Preparing To Hunt Side Saddle in Ireland”