It has been a long winter and a long time since the last show I went to in September 2021 with Diva. This time, however, centre stage was her buddy, Julius Caesar. I was roped in as the horse box is currently up with me plus, being Easter Sunday, there was also the temptation of an Easter egg in the offing!
This season Julius has a new rider, Paige, and we travelled with Michelle to World Horse Welfare, in Snetterton for the show.
It was the first long trip for me driving the horse box and it was a pleasure to drive, which was a good job since I ended up driving for five hours in total! Despite being a holiday weekend, the traffic was kind and we made good time to the showground. Although I had a lot of driving, the journey for Julius was only an hour.
We arrived in ample time and Paige spent plenty of time letting Julius see the sights and working him in. It was Julius’s first time in an indoor arena. They got their new partnership off to a great start with a third place in the gelding class and a win in the coloured class. They capped a great day by being awarded Reserve Champion. What a day!
Whilst I was in coaching mode, Flora was my trusty helper, though I picked her up when I went into the collecting ring as it would be unsafe to have her on the ground. I think she enjoyed the show as much as we did. Julius certainly was proud of himself as he posed for the photos.
Paige’s family were there to watch, which was lovely, and she travelled back with them as Michelle was happy to put Julius to bed. Unfortunately, once they were dropped off, I still had 90 minutes to go!
I must be crazy, as Diva’s first show is the following week at the same venue!
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!