The photo on the left was our first-ever competition on 30th October 2021 – my jacket was a freebie from a friend, numbers drawn on paper with a Sharpie and a very green spooky 4-year-old.

On the right – competing at the same venue 3 years later but with a horse that’s now understanding balance and has come a phenomenally long way since then.

Point is, I could look at my scores from the weekend and think I’ve got nowhere – throw a strop (tbh I did a bit) and say enough is enough. However, in reality, look how far we’ve come! I’m a sponsored rider with a following that’s growing by the day making waves for mental health in the equestrian world (okay maybe not waves, but perhaps little ripples). Blake is much more established and confident in himself and we have a very good relationship that’s been built slowly over the past few years.

This horsey stuff can be pretty disappointing and even downright nasty at times – the important thing is how we frame it. Wish the rider before you good luck in their test, cheer eachother on and spread kindness like it’s confetti . We are all in this game together.

“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.” – Dave Willis

Not our best effort (or even remotely close) – there was a horse-eating banner at the end of the arena which Blake took great offence to! Combine this with some harsh marking and you get a bit of a sh*t day

Am I bitter? Yes. Is this helpful? No…

Therefore, taking away the positives – his warm up was absolutely brilliant, he loaded without issue both times, I got to catch up with my friends, in the second test he didn’t spook as much and lots of learning occurred. Oh – and I didn’t cry which is always a bonus!

However, a lot of expletives left my mouth on the way home

Now you get the privilege of watching me frantically attend every competition between now and the end of December to try and get my qualifying scores – something that my bank account is not best pleased about! Oh well, onwards and upwards…