Posts
Dressage is often the phase that makes me feel most exposed. In show jumping, I can focus on the next fence, and cross-country gives me a clear rhythm of…
Our first novice-level event with Archie began long before we loaded the lorry. It started with quiet schooling sessions, conversations with our coach, and the…
The two days before a three-day event are when I become especially careful about Archie’s feed routine. I am not trying to transform his condition, fill him…
Trot transitions have become one of the clearest ways for me to judge how Archie is feeling and how effectively I am riding. A transition can look simple from…
A busy show ground can change the atmosphere before a horse ever enters the warm-up ring. Lorries arrive, doors slam, loudspeakers crackle, children run…
A competition weekend is shaped by much more than the course itself. When Archie and I travel for an event, the hotel becomes part of the preparation: a place…
A refusal can look like one sharp moment from the outside: the horse slows, the rider loses rhythm, and the jump is left behind. From the saddle, though, it…
A competition warm-up is rarely the most glamorous part of eventing, but it has a huge influence on how the rest of the day unfolds. Before Archie enters a…
Cross-country asks a horse to use his legs with speed, power, and accuracy over uneven ground. Archie may be fit and careful, but a solid fence, a hidden…
Training Archie to hold a steady rhythm through a show jumping combination has become one of those jobs that looks simple from the ground and feels…