I realised I haven't really mentioned Django for some time. Sometimes it can be hard to think of things to write when he spends about 90% of his life sleeping, but in reality we have been doing lots.
I have been walking him in hand around the fields and village to try and desensitise him to the world, as well taking him to a little show. We went out to Silver Leys In Hand Showing and the classes were quite big. He pulled a respectable 3rd place in all three classes, despite being incredibly bum high, and going through the dreadful youngster stage. However he stood much better in the line up than previous shows, especially as the big classes meant long waits, with no pawing the ground or nipping this time, so for me it was a nice improvement to see. Village walks are also coming on in leaps and bounds, from being spooky at different coloured tarmac and cars to not paying attention to anything, including the odd fast car! He even decided to sniff a few wheelie bins so hopefully the age old frustration of horses spooking at bins won't be an issue for us.
We have still been having monthly lessons with Sovereign Quarter Horses, and are learning so much, as the task of breaking him lures ever closer, with me still feeling very green as a western rider.
We are aiming for the American Quarter Horse Association National Championships and the Sovereign Quarter Horse All Breed Extravaganza, both in September. We will enter a few classes, but will be staying the whole weekend so he can get used to overnight stays and I can sit and watch the Pro's! I learnt so much last time about the different disciplines at the last championship show, but as a first timer, I found the whole thing very overwhelming, so I am hoping this time I will feel more relaxed with less nerves and hopefully learn even more.
Equine insurance specialist now able to offer live prices and immediate cover. Equesure Insurance has launched a new insurance product for horse trailers valued up to £15,000.
The annual trip to Your Horse Live was completed and even my partner enjoyed a bit of it! Okay, he mainly enjoyed the cake stalls (and they were amazing – we took three bags of cake home with us), but also liked the rescue village and heavy horse yard. We got to go into the stable with two donkeys for pats and cuddles and we both loved it.
Five years ago, I had the absolute dream of having my own acreage, but this has honestly been the biggest learning curve, relearning so much about how to better look after our horses and what the land requires. Hopefully, I can give some insight into things I have learnt, mostly by trial and error and lots of mistakes.
After five or six years away from the British showjumping circuit, I’ve rejoined, and this time with my little Connemara standing just about 15HH – and he’s been amazing!