Posts
The morning started with the usual competition scramble: checking the float, loading hay, finding my gloves, and trying to drink a coffee before it went cold.…
When the eventing season winds down, Archie gets a quieter few weeks, but he does not become a paddock ornament. Hilly cross-country courses ask for a…
At an eventing competition, the short break after dressage can disappear quickly. I might have just changed Archie, walked back from the arena, checked the…
When I first started competing with Archie, I thought finding a distance was mainly about seeing the right take-off spot. I watched the fence, tried to judge…
Show mornings have a way of making ordinary jobs feel surprisingly complicated. Finding a missing number bib, remembering the horse’s water bucket, and…
Teaching Archie to lengthen his canter has been less about asking for more speed and more about developing a stronger, more adjustable stride. In eventing, I…
Archie is a very honest jumper. If I give him a clear question and keep my body quiet, he generally tries hard and jumps with plenty of enthusiasm. His…
Walking a cross-country course twice might sound like overkill when you're juggling work, horse care, a float that is perpetually covered in dust, and the…
When the thermometer at Werribee hits the high thirties and Archie has just cantered around a cross-country course at three-day speed, the first thing on my…
A horse spooking in the warm-up is one of those moments that can change the atmosphere in seconds. One rider loses a stirrup, another horse jumps sideways, and…