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Welcome to Amateur Equestrian Antics

I set up this blog up back in 2014 to share stories of my equestrian trials and tribulations. I had just started to event for the first time ever after a 10 year break from horses and wanted to document my journey for friends and family. 

​In that time I have achieved so much but still have so much further to go. 

I have been supported and sponsored by some fantastic friends, trainers and businesses in this time and I have a new dedicated section of the site to tell you more about them all. 

Find out more

Training, preparation and more training – will our season ever start!

13/4/2018

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Along with most other eventers we have been hampered by the abysmal weather and no Scottish events have managed to run as yet. The weather report is looking more positive for the coming weeks though so fingers crossed we get our first run soon.
In the meantime we have been going to lots of training which is not actually a bad thing as Maisie and I continue to build our new partnership.
As she continues to relax more on the flat her neck is starting to stretch out and she is less tucked in which is fantastic. We can’t maintain it consistently yet and she does slip back into her old habit of curling her neck in but there is a visible improvement which is great. We have been out to a few local dressage competitions scoring low/mid 60s. Positive comments from the judges and once Maisie can relax and show off her paces rather than going round like a sewing machine I know the scores will improve!
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Our jumping is also improving but there are still a few bumps on the way – miscommunications on where we are taking off (usually caused by me!) resulting in one unplanned dismount and a few eliminations but it’s all moving in the right direction. All part of the process so I’m told!
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We have also been training over lots of different cross country fences in an all-weather arena. We are very lucky to have a great facility ran by James and Sarah Oakden only an hour away.
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Slow and steady wins the race

14/12/2017

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Things have been moving at a much slower pace than I am use to over the last two months since I bought Maisie. Unfortunately I badly injured my coccyx the day before collecting her which was terrible timing!

For the first few weeks I was managing to still ride Corky on his rehab walks but I was not able to ride Maisie. I had to be sensible as I wasn’t very effective and quite sore I didn’t trust myself to ride a new and unknown horse!

Fortunately I was able to start riding Maisie after a few weeks, though progress was still slow. In hindsight it maybe wasn’t the worse thing though as we have had time to get to know each other without the pressure of going out competing too soon.

Saying that after 5 weeks I finally manage to get out to our first competition. I rode two prelim tests at The Scottish National Equestrian Centre. Maisie behaved fantastically; travelling well, standing in the lorry and produced two decent tests. She was quite tense which is understandable for our first show but our scores were low 60s which I think is respectable for our first BD show. She also looked beautiful plaited up 

We have now started to jump too which has been interesting - she has a fantastic jump but needs me to be very positive or she lacks confidence. At our first BS show last weekend, after a slight miscommunication in our first class, she then went on to jump round producing two lovely double clears. I think, given time to build our partnership over the winter, she will be a very exciting prospect for next season.

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So it’s time for my season round up including some sad new and some exciting news

12/10/2017

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This season has been an emotional roller-coaster starting by jumping double clear in our first three BE90s, clear XC and PB dressage in our first four BE100s and qualifying for the Scottish Eventing Championships.

I set out my goals at the beginning of the season to jump DCs at BE90 and to step up to BE100 and I had met them all by June – Corky was an absolute superstar, trying his heart out at every turn.

Unfortunately as most people know he became lame in the dressage warm-up at the Scottish Champs so we withdrew him and after a trip to the Dick Equine Vet we realised Corky has some damage to a ligament so he was going to have some very well deserved time off. Fortunately his prognosis is good, his injury is healing well and he should make a full recovery.

It left me in a difficult situation as to make sure Corky gets the time off from competing that he needs and to let me continue to event I needed to look selling my other horse Lucas, who does not want to event, and take on a project for the next year.

It has been very hard to find anything I want to ride half as much as super Corks but I have found an exciting new pony to join the gang.

Maisie is an 8yo 15.2hh ID x Tb grey mare – yes, a grey mare! The opposite of what I was looking for but with her lovely nature and desire to have fun and jump I am sure she will fit in fine.

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Through the winter months I will continue with Corky’s rehab which involves lots of hacking which we are both enjoying. I will start to get Maisie out to some unaffiliated SJ, DR and arena eventing so we can hit the ground running at the start of the 2018 event season.

Horses are levellers as people say, the highest highs and the lowest lows but I wouldn’t change having them for the world.

I’ll keep you posted with our progress with my team of two pocket rockets!

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Summer update

10/8/2017

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June and July have been very busy months for me both at work and out competing with the horses. It has required lots of juggling my workload to make sure I have enough time for lessons and competitions too. I’m fortunately that I can be flexible with my working hours so if I need to leave early for an early evening lesson, I can then finish my work at home afterwards – I think they call it work life blend rather than work life balance!

Over the two months Corky competed in four more BE100s with improving dressage scores, variable show jumping and faster clear XC runs. The first three events were at Belsay, Kirremuir and Forgandenny – we are starting to feel more established at BE100 now and our dressage seems to be better at this level as the test are a little more challenging. Our last event at Warwick Hall was abandoned due to heavy rain while we were in the XC warm-up but with some sizable fences out on the course and us still being relatively new at the level I didn’t mind – it seemed to be a sensible and safe decision by the officials.

As our show jumping has still been a bit hit or miss so we have been going to schooling evenings at SNEC and Rockrose weekday evenings for extra practice and also spent a weekend competing at British Show Jumping. We managed to pick up a double clear at 95 qualifying for second rounds which was great but we need lots more practice until we feel consistent at this level.

After a bit of time off recovering from overreaching and injuring himself Lucas has also been back out at British Show Jumping. He jumped two nice rounds at SNEC last weekend only taking one unlucky pole. We are off to Howe this weekend coming for some more jumping in preparation for three days of competing at Blair Castle International Horse Trails later in August. Corky is entered in the arena eventing on the Thursday and then both horses will compete in the British Show Jumping classes Friday – Sunday. Fortunately there will also be able to watch the British Eventing while we are there and maybe even some shopping. Fingers crossed for good weather for a change!


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2017 goals complete - what now??

24/5/2017

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For 2017 we were aiming to ride a few strong double clears at BE90 and make it round our first BE100 safely - who would have through we could do it by the end of May!!

So we have bagged 3 double clears at BE90 including 2 placings, a PB dressage and a clear XC on our first attempt at BE100!! I could not be prouder of wee Corky who is jumping his heart out for me just now. We still have work to do on our eventing dressage to help our finishing scores but that's a work in progress! Our BE90s were at Forgandenny, Dalkeith and Floor Castle and our BE100 at Kirriemuir.
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We have also been on a trip down south to represent Area 1 at the Riding Club Intermediate Dressage Championship at Bury Farm. We were riding in a team for the South East Scotland Dressage Group which made it even better as I am the membership secretary for the group so was very proud to represent them. We finished individually in 10th place out of the 26 riding clubs competing from throughout the U.K. 

To finish off the month we have also qualified for the Pet Plan Dressage Semi-Finals in October.
All in all probably our best few months in a long-time. Now to continue to build on this success over the coming months - working on improving our dressage and try to complete a few more BE100s!  Our next outing is to Belsay BE100 which will be a challenging XC track and an up to height SJ so we have lots lessons and training planned for the next 2 weeks in preparation.
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All about Corky!

11/4/2017

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March has all been about Corky – getting him fit and ready for his first British Eventing of the season after this time off.
I had forgotten how much fun he was and feel like I have been smiling all month long!
We have had a couple of good show jumping lessons with David Harland, our regular trainer, working on balancing the canter and keeping a consistent rhythm which is hard with a horse as keen to get to the jump as Corky! We have also been to two fantastic facilities to XC school. Firstly Dunbog to train over XC jumps on a surface in their beautiful outdoor arena and then onto Lindores to train on grass. As always Corky was brave and bold, he actually almost dunked us both into the water after a flying leap in over a log!
Meanwhile we have kept up the dressage collecting our last qualifying sheets for the Petplan British Dressage Qualifier in May. We also stepped in last minute to make up a team for the South East Scotland Dressage Group at the BRC Intermediate Dressage Qualifiers and our team actually won qualifying to compete at the championship at Bury Farm (300 miles away) later this month. I’m very proud to be representing the club, especially as I am the member ship secretary!
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The beginning of April meant it was time for our first event of the season up at Forgandenny which was one of my favourite events of last season so I was really looking forward to it. Turns out, so was Corky! He was rather over-excited in the dressage warm up and we struggled to come back to trot in our test scoring a fair 37.8. Fortunately Corky’s excitement lead to a clear show jumping round which is fantastic for us. He was then an absolute dream out on the XC taking it all in his stride – lucky I had my watch on to keep an eye on our time as we would have been far too fast otherwise. It meant we could both relax and enjoy the round not pushing at all. We finished on our DR score and were placed 10th! Amazing start to the season. Maybe my goal of riding a BE100 is not as far off as I thought!

Photo credit Dave Cameron Photography and Action Replay Photography.
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My jumping machine is back!

19/3/2017

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Back in February Corky has his first jump in 5 months and I think you can hear how happy this made me!
We then headed off for some lessons with out SJ instructor David Hardland and also hired out different local areas to practice. Corky was so keen and we hadn't even started to jump XC!
Next was a trip to Dunbog to start jumping some solid fences and to get our feet wet!!
Safe to say Corky is extremely happy to be back out jumping. Ssshhhh don't tell him we are off to the Intermediate BRC Dressage Qualifier on Sat!
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Press pause 

8/2/2017

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I can't believe it's almost March already! Usually I am wishing the months away until the start of the event season but this year I would like to press pause! With Corky being injured at the end of last year and only just bring signed off by the vet, our pre-season prep is definitely not where I would like it to be. Usually we would be out arena eventing in Jan/Feb and then a few hunter trails in March. This year we have been doing lots of walking and trotting to slowly build up him fitness. We have started to canter this week but jumping is unfortunately still a few weeks off. I worked out that Corky has only jumped once since our last event at the beginning of September which is crazy! Especially as he loves it so much. I am so temped to get him out jumping now but am having to be sensible and make sure he is fit enough first. Last thing we need is for me to rush things and end up putting us back!
It had given me the opportunity to concentrate on Lucas which has had mixed results. Our show jumping seems to have gone to pot (which is the bit we are meant to be good at!) however our flatwork is actually improving. Lucas has naturally fabulous paces but is usually trying so hard not to work that he spoils things. It sounds strange but I am jealous of his ability on Corky's behalf as Corky tries so hard but will never float like like Lucas does when he isn't even trying! It leaves me thinking, would you rather have a horse who always tries his best for you but will never be a world beater or a natural talent who is quirky and unpredictable?!

I think my answer is that as an amateur it's the former and as a professional the latter??

Either way, I am lucky enough to have both and will keep trying to get the best out of them as hard as it is at times.

Plans this year for Lucas are to sort out all the contact issues and get him in front of my leg and actually manage to ride him than be a passenger! Competition aims are to qualify for the National Amateur Champs down at Aintree later in the year and to continue to work on our flatwork at home taking him to unaffected dressage at novice and elementary by the end of the year with the hopes of joining BD next year.

Corky will hopefully get out eventing at BE90 again and move up to BE100 if I ever get my brace pants on! We are both happy at BE90 and will be a strong combination if we can sort out the dressage on grass so that's the number one aim rather than going up a class. With that in mind we will also be back out BD aiming to qualify for summer regionals at prelim and PetPlan at novice.

As we all know too well making plans with horses is pointless at times but I think there is no harm in setting goals to keep you motivated!

I'm embracing the jumping this weekend with Lucas by attending a training clinic with David Gatherer on Saturday and then hopefully using what we have learnt at the BS at Howe on Sunday. Fingers crossed it goes better than the last time we jumped! Update will follow on Instagram and Facebook!
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2016 stats - horse rich but cash poor!

5/1/2017

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I was pulling together an update for Blue Chip Feeds on my 2016 social media stats as my sponsorship is up for review this month and it got me thinking about more general stats for the year. How many outings, lessons, falls etc so I have spent this evening sadly pulling them together!

In future when I wonder why I have a good job but am still skint all the time, I just need to look at this list to understand why! Horse rich but cash poor!

2016 stats!

· Updates sent to Blue Chip Feeds: 10
· BE events: 8
· BE double clears: 2
· BE clear XC: 8
· BD tests ridden: 23
· BD points: 76
· BE foundation points: 2
· Show jumping rounds: 41
· PetPlan Area Dressage Festivals: 2
· Other BD Championships: 1
· DR results in Horse and Hound: 19
· Hunter trials: 3
· Lessons: 30 plus!
· Arena events: 3
· RC teams: 2
· Number of venues competed at: 17
· Numbers of holidays taken from work to compete: 7
· Falls: 1
· Lorry breakdowns: 1
· Dressage tests forgotten: 4
· Volunteering days - stewarding/DR writing: 3
· Emergency vet visits: 3
· House moves: 2
· Best DB DR: 70.37%
· Worst DB DR: 60.38%
· Best BE DR: 32.8
· Worst BE DR: 42.8 (Floors 2 years running!)
· Total time faults for BE season: 3.6
· Equine physio session: 4
· Human physio sessions:10
•Holidays: 0


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Highs and lows of 2016

10/12/2016

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I thought it was time to do a look back on 2016, the good, the bad and the ugly!

Life with horses will always have ups and downs; just now is probably a mix of both.

My top boy Cork's was injured in the field a few weeks ago so is off for the next few months with damage to a bone in his hind leg. He may need a small operation in the New Year but the long term prognosis is good so he should be back fighting fit for the start of the 2017 eventing season.

I was thinking back to everything I have achieved with him this year and I'm blown away. We have competed 8 BE90s with no XC faults, 2 double clear picking up our first foundation points. We also took the leap into British Dressage collecting 76 BD points, qualifying and competing at 2 PetPlan Area Festivals coming 5th up at the Cabin in the summer.
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Things have not always gone well, notably both of us going flying XC schooling at Hendersyde early on last year - the first real test for my Hit Air jacket which I think saved me being as sore as I should have! Also probably Floors BE which is our bogie event! Worst DR of the season second year in a row and I got lost fence 3 on the XC! Still went clear with only 1 TF in the end thankfully.

I'm missing riding the wee man so much as he always cheers me up and makes me smile after a hard day at work but the beauty of owning two horses is you always have a back up!

The lovely Lucas has now stepped up to be top horse and we have a busy few months planned. He had already bagged lots of DCs out at BS in 2016 so hopefully he can do the same in 2017.
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In the last few weeks he has been out to a few show jump lessons with David Harland and even a dressage lesson with Karen Dewar who is desperately trying to get him to be a dressage diva (never say never Karen!!) The plan is to try to collect our 5 DC qualifying BS rounds to go down to the Amateur Champs at Aintree next November. Then we might think about some dressage!

Blue Chip Feeds
I have had a great year with my sponsor Blue Chip Feeds who have been so supporting and encouraging sending us some fantastic kit and top quality feed keeping the boys in top condition!
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South East Scotland Dressage Group
I've also recently joined the SESDG committee as their membership secretary for 2017 which is great! Nice to get more involved with a group who has already helped me so much with my dressage.

Olympia
​The final event of the year sees me heading down to London to go to the Olympia Horse show to see Valegro's retirement on Wednesday and the puissance on Thursday coupled with a lot of horsey shopping for me and the boys. Best way to round off a great year!

PetPlan Equine
Oh and I should also say as you know I have been shortlisted to become an ambassador for PetPlan Equine who were absolutely fantastic supporting me and paying for Lucas' full vet bills when he was injured in 2013. If anyone hasn't been able to endorse me yet as a strong candidate for the role please take 5 mins to compete this short form. https://www.petplanequine.co.uk/ambassadors/

Many thanks and Merry Christmas from me, Lucas and Corks! Xx
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