So this blog is about me and my horses and my road to the Olympics.
My story so far ......
I'm 14 years old, I do not come from a particularly horsey family, my Mum rode as a child and my Dad is good at mucking out! I have been riding for 10 years. I had my first riding lesson when I was 4, had my first pony when I was 7 and and then joined the pony club and have had fun being in the teams. My parents believe that if you want something you have to work for it, I have mucked out (nearly) every morning before school since the age of 7. We do not have a groom, we do everything ourselves come rain, shine, wind and snow. We used to have our horses in DIY livery until two years ago when my dream came true and we moved to a house where we could have the horses with us.
I have one brother Ross who is at University and most definitely is not horsey!
I knew the moment I did my first One Day Event that was what I wanted to do when I got older, I loved it, I loved the showing off in the dressage, the trickyness of the Show Jumping and the adrenalin kick you get from the Cross Country.
I kept going in the pony club and then my Auntie Tracey suggested that I started having lessons with Ken Spencer who is an Event Rider and had moved round the corner from us . At my first lesson he told me I would ride for him when I was older. It didn't take long (I have already ridden his horses) I am just waiting for the day when I am allowed to compete them!
Then when I was 13 I was allowed two day tickets to British Eventing even though my Mum thought I was too young. I borrowed my Mum's happy hacking horse she brought, not knowing he had amazing paces and a good jump. I got placed in my first events I did and I got the bug for eventing, I persuaded my Mum to let me become a full member of BE, I spent the winter hunting and practicing and then the next season I used my mums horse again and I did a few intros and then moved up to pre-novice and did Junior 100's but I didn't get many placings because my Mums horse was getting older and too slow to do the time required on the Cross Country, we were consistent in the dressage. So I moved him back to 90 and qualified for Badminton grassroots which I will be going to this April.
Last January I was recommended to go to training with Gill Watson by Ro Jennings. Gill Watson is the British Junior and Young Rider Team Trainer (we had no idea). I was also introduced to the Dunsdons at the same time and Alice and Sarah kindly let me train there instead of having to travel 3 hours to Gill's.
In March Mum recieved a phone call from Ken, he knew of an Advanced Eventer that I may be able to ride, would we be interested?!! Estella was Ken's old ride, she had been off having foals and then had an accident, we were told she was a PROPER horse, NOT a pony club horse, her owner Jill Chator was unsure as I was still only 13, but the moment I sat on her we bonded and then middle of 2010 I started to event her I started her pre-novice (BE100) and then ended at Novice JRN's and she is amazing!!!! Jill, Estella's owner comes to most of our competitions and is really, really supportive.
Next season I will be going into JRN's (now called Under 18 open novice). Thats pretty much it in a nutshell, only to say that when I was 7 my Uncle Grant (Grant Laing, a well known and GREAT farrier) apparently announced that I would make it all the way to the Oympics, everyone laughed about it but I intend to make that come true. My blog will be a true acccount highs and lows of how I get there.
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