Posts

Archie had been coiled in his box all morning, a ball of muscle and twitchy ears waiting for the cross-country phase. We'd driven down to Melbourne a day…

Archie and I have spent plenty of schooling sessions wrestling with his canter. He drops onto his forehand, rushes when he's unsure, and flicks between feeling…

A dressage test can feel very different from the saddle than it looks from the other side of the arena. I may finish a movement thinking Archie was beautifully…

My routine for checking stud holes and studs before cross-country day has become one of those quiet rituals that makes a competition morning feel manageable.…

Between dressage, show jumping and cross-country, there is rarely enough time for a leisurely grooming session. At an event, I need to make Archie look tidy,…

A horse that becomes too excited in the warm-up ring can make a competition feel difficult before the first bell has even sounded. Archie is usually a sensible…

Summer competitions bring a familiar mixture of early starts, dusty yards, polished boots and horses flicking their tails at every passing fly. For Archie, a…

At home, I can usually get through a schooling session with one pair of gloves and a quick wipe afterwards. Competition days are different. There is more…

A quiet dressage arena looks peaceful from the judge’s box, but it can feel very different from the saddle. There may be a PA system crackling near the…

Cross-country riding has a way of making a familiar horse feel completely new. In the arena, Archie can be precise, patient and wonderfully predictable, but a…