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I arrived at the venue with the sort of nerves that begin quietly and then seem to occupy every spare thought. Archie had travelled well, eaten his breakfast,…
Packing for a horse trial is a small event in itself. There is the lorry, the tack room, Archie’s grooming kit, feed, rugs, paperwork, and all the spare items…
Show week always changes the rhythm at home. Archie knows when the lorry appears, the tack is cleaned twice in one evening, and my attention turns toward…
Some advice sounds useful in the moment and then disappears beneath the noise of loading, warming up, walking courses, and trying to remember which boot goes…
A low dressage mark can follow me around for the rest of an eventing weekend if I let it. After preparing Archie for weeks, travelling to the venue, plaiting,…
A slippery downhill or uphill section on a cross-country course can change the entire feel of a round. The fences may be straightforward, yet the ground…
Changing a horse’s bit is never a decision I make casually. Archie and I had spent a long time developing our dressage work in a simple snaffle, and it had…
Overnight travel to a competition changes my usual leg-protection routine. Archie may spend several hours standing in a trailer, then arrive at a venue where…
Waiting in the warm-up ring has become one of the most revealing parts of competing with Archie. The jumping, dressage test, and cross-country course all…
Before my lesson on related distances, I thought I understood the basic question: count the strides, keep Archie balanced, and arrive at the next fence with…