Bring on 2012!
Friday, 20th January 2012
Well Christmas has come and gone. I celebrated New Year and I’ve slogged my academic brain to within an inch of its life revising for my Physio exams! Now I have a week off to breath before lectures start, and of course spend much needed time with Tissy.So last year on paper: no lameness, 1 race win, 1 national champs win, 1st 160km (qualifying us for the Senior GB Team) and 4th in the national trophies despite having done half the amount of rides the others have done!
Last year for me: heart breaking. I’m not going to lie, being away from Tissy was so, so hard and for me it did affect our races, she didn’t have the same willingness to go and I felt bad asking her to run for me when I hadn’t been there for her. That’s why I’ve meticulously planned this season to fit around my holidays so that I can be there to train her in the weeks coming up to an event. Why I didn’t think of this last year?!? Live and learn!! Which brings me to the conclusion last year was a pretty good year.
This year is going to be an excellent year (If you don’t mind Equine Gods.) The ultimate goal? My last chance at a Young Rider Championship title in September in Belgium on a course that might as well have been made for my little rocket! It’s hilly and made up of forestry like tracks and a winning speed around the 20kph mark, all factors within our comfort zone.
Along the way I intend to do an 80km, 100km and 120km race in preparation. I’ll have to attend a few GB Team assessment weekends, Young Rider camp and a selection ride - 80km two weeks before we travel (not sure where the science or sense is behind that but if we want that gold it’s something we’ll have to do first).
My week off has been bliss. I started by getting my muddy pony out the field and grooming her, taking all the tangles out her mane and tail from weeks of rolling around in the Welsh mud and on inspection, after the brown had cleared, I had one extremely fluffy grey pony. Cue clipper time! So as I was only around for a week’s training on a trace clip, on go the clippers and whoops, I’ve gone up to the saddle line already…….now she has a bare bottom and I have no choice but to make both sides equal - sorry Tissy!
However, after a bit of interval training on the hills and a good munch on Baileys, I found her a heavier rug in the pile of ‘God knows how many must have rugs’ and she went back out a cheerful pony (in reality only 4 are must have, but she’s a superstar athlete and deserves all the rugs she gets).
The following days consist of continuous interval training and schooling with only a few bucks and huffs on the side, making one very happy rider and I’m pretty sure, one very happy pony. Only a few days now until lectures start but this year I’m feeling more positive that the bond that makes Tissy and I a world class combination will be back and ready to claim what we’ve always been aiming for - Championship GOLD!!!!
Nationals at the Red Dragon
Wednesday, 12th October 2011
So after a whole summer with no academic work to affect my days it was time to go back to university and get stuck into my second year of Physiotherapy, a week before my final competition of the season. This meant the weekend before I left I had to pack the trailer and crew car as well as shift all my stuff into my new student house. I hated leaving Tissy yet again and the reality that being able to train her myself and live at home was no longer viable and that actually after Uni I’d have to get a job, a house and maybe have even less time for my horse was devastating. This made my first week of lectures quite unbearable so on Thursday night I was so glad to be heading back to Wales, so that we could travel to Builth Wells the following Friday morning to represent Wales in the National Championships otherwise known as the Home International.
This was going to be my first 2 day 160km and I was quite excited to be competitive and really determined to win. On the Saturday morning there was an impressive field of exceptional horses and riders, including Madjin who’d Tissy’d been field mates with the previous season. The first few kilometres were up a steep stony hill and onto moorland, usually we’d be expecting rain and wind but today it was hot, very, very hot. We were running in the front until the 2nd crew point where I felt that Tissy was just not right so I pulled her back hoping that eventually she’d get back into her full swing. We then took a steady pace into the first vet gate where she took an unusual amount of time to present, about 6 minutes. I put this down to the heat, as many horses and crews were struggling. We did another loop and another vet gate, still at a steady pace and I jumped off to run down the hill a few miles in the hope it would speed up our presentation but to no avail. I was quite worried that maybe Tissy wasn’t up for it, but as a member of the team they depended on all the horses to complete for any chance of success so we continued to the venue and end of day one.
The following morning I was not looking forward to jumping back in the saddle, I was not used to having to encourage my pocket rocket around a course and I felt so guilty having not been there to train and look after her that I might be asking too much of her. But with a lot of encouragement from my crew I jumped back on, rallied my emotions and was positive that today would be different and we’d enjoy our ride, putting the scorching long pull we’d done by ourselves the previous day out of our minds.
We set off and Tissy felt pretty good and keen and I was then excited for the rest of the race, where Carri-Ann Dark, Tricia Hirst (on Madjin) and Janice Cockley-Adams, all GB riders, were fighting it out for first and I knew my horse was more than usually capable of giving them a run for their money but it just wasn’t to be. Once we’d got to the hill she fell back into a steady trot and lost her enthusiasm, I tried my best not to let this dishearten me but having spent so long in the excitement of top competition on a pony that gave her all I couldn’t help but feel a little sad and went through in my head all the reasons I could think of but at the end of the day, Tissy’s off day was still a pretty good performance and in an experienced field we were in 6th position coming into our first vet gate.
Having not seen anyone for the first 40km it was such a relief to join another competitor for the remaining two 20km loops. After toying with pulling up several times I decided to just concentrate on getting round and tough it out. On the final loop the rest of the Welsh team were out on course to cheer us on and it almost brought me to tears, when the venue was in sight I saw a huge crowd of people, all the teams awaiting their 160km riders. My companion, Linda Coperthwaite, turned the corner and pushed on to race for fourth. I didn’t follow her and rolled in at a steady canter.
It was such a relief to jump off despite still having the final vetting to go. My last race here, a 120km FEI, I came in first and was vetted out at the very end. Much to my delight Tissy passed the final vetting where we were then informed my success had meant the Welsh Team had won gold at the nationals!! I was also pleased to hear that Madjin had won.
Tissy pulled me back to her stable and I was so proud of her for yet another season without lameness, two 160km races at weight and an 80km senior win. I was so upset to have to leave her that night to return to Physio lectures the next day, but Dad rang me the following morning to say she was happily galloping around her field none the worse for such a gruelling ride.
Now it’s her time off until Christmas and I hope she doesn’t feel abandoned by me, I love her so much and she’s given me everything. All the apples in the world could not repay for all the amazing experiences I’ve had with her and this season she’s shown that were capable of taking our partnership onwards into seniors for what I hope is many successful seasons to come.
Euston and beyond!
Thursday, 18th August 2011
Firstly my apologies for the lateness of this blog after Euston, I had a week till Malvern and then 2 days after that I flew to Egypt to do a spot of diving in the Red Sea. Now I’m at my Uni House doing the cleaning and decorating but have a spare minute or two, sitting in front of the TV with my dinner, which in case anyone wants to know is dried tomato pesto stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon with broccoli - yum. So here we go!
The day finally came for my first 160km FEI 3* event. I won’t lie, the day before I was extremely nervous, mostly about weigh in; I’d been trying so hard to get a perfect weight that meant no lead had to be carried by Tissy. However, after the pre-ride vetting on Saturday night and a weigh in at a spectacularly accurate 75.6kg, just 0.6kg above the minimum weight, I relaxed and felt a lot happier about the ride to come.
Something like 70 starters from all over the world, all very experienced endurance athletes both human and horse gathered on a cloudy Sunday morning for the World Championship dry run. My aim was merely GET ROUND! So it was in no way daunting seeing the pure quality of competitors warming up around us.
For the first two loops Tissy has never pulled so much in my life, I had to let her run or risk an injury from her misbehaving. Riders were coming off and loose horses where galloping past but this didn’t faze my little pony, she just wanted to race and despite my greatest efforts to slow her down we overtook horse after horse.
The day was getting hot but her presentation times were all brilliant as usual, she munched her way through an extraordinary amount of feed in the vet gates and enjoyed the high octane atmosphere as if we were at a full blown championship.
I didn’t think 160km would be that difficult, after all it’s only 40km more than a 120km and we fly around them……I couldn’t have been more wrong. After 120km was done Tissy did not want to leave the venue, she walked away from the vet gate and I almost turned her around and retired there and then. But as soon as we were out of sight of the venue she realised she wasn’t finished and trotted and cantered the 2 20km loops we had left with the company of one of Bahrain’s riders, much to my delight. I didn’t want to think how agonizing those loops would have been without company.
As the finish line came into sight I had no idea what placing we might be and I didn’t feel the euphoria I usually feel, I was so worried about whether I might have asked too much of my horse and hoped to God she’d pass the vetting and recover after the ride. My worries had been needless as Tis flew through the final vetting to gain 18th place at an average speed of almost 18kph, a phenomenal performance from a 14.1hh young rider horse.
Despite being over the moon about being qualified for the British Senior Team and the British Young Rider Team the best part was the days after the competition where Tissy trotted out her stable for the fit to travel and galloped around her field at home, having not lost any weight whatsoever and looking like we’d avoided any injuries. I was so proud of her and as she looked so good I decided to enter her for the 2 day 160km race at the Red Dragon to represent the Welsh team at the nationals in October.
Seven days after her 160km debut she also did her Arab showing debut at Malvern. We paraded at the 21st Arab Horse Society national show as a high performance representative of the breed and we were awarded the Prefix Performance award, giving a cheque to the owner and breeder which gave use the opportunity to see Mrs Watts, Tissy’s breeder, for the first time since we bought my fabulous mare. Her and her head groom couldn’t believe what a fantastic horse she had turned out to be and I was so pleased that they approved of how she was and everything we’ve achieved together.
Which brings me to a few thank you’s to the people without whom I could never have gone from a 48kg Young rider to a 65kg senior, and Tissy would not have performed so well with 75kg on her little frame. To Caitlin and Annwen for helping with the horse training while I was at University. To Hilary for putting on shoes that stayed there. To Free and Easy Saddles who made our wonderfully balanced most comfortable saddle both horse and rider have ever had. To Baileys for fuelling my pocket rocket. To Keele: Sport, especially Mike for training me so diligently and bulking up my miniscule frame. But most of all to my family for funding, crewing, driving, encouraging and supporting me every step of the way.
Now time to concentrate on a bit more training so that we can beat the Scots, English and Irish on our home turf in Builth Wells!!
Almost There!
Wednesday, 13th July 2011
During my Neurosurgery placement at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary Hospital, I had my final fully weighted race before the big 160km. I was pretty knackered with up to 30 physio patients a day so my family had to prep, load and tow Tissy to the ride without me for the first time. I can safely say that neither Tissy, nor my family, were fazed by this but I did not enjoy it at all. It’s all part of the mental preparation for a ride and I felt a bit out of sync having not set up my vet gate or put Tis in her coral. However, the next morning routine was restored and we were ready to tackle the fairly tough 81km course.The day started in fabulous sunshine and the first loop went really well. We were in the front group of 3 for half the time before they dropped off and we found ourselves alone and in the lead at vet gate 1. As usual Tissy and my crew of Mum, Dad, William and Mike pulled out some fast presentation times into the vet and my little pony passed with flying colours.
Loop 2 was much the same but the clouds had started rolling in, giving a nice cool climate so Tissy and I sped along the forest tracks enjoying long straights regardless of the inclines that accompanied them. On our way to check point 3, due to the loops criss-crossing, we passed the horses lying in 2nd and 3rd that were on the way to check point 2. I felt a little bit guilty when I asked to pass them and we cruised off into the distance.
By the time we’d got through the last vet gate the heavens opened and torrential rain was beating down. Sunglasses were now definitely swapped for raincoats and my gloves had to sit on the heaters in the car before I set out again with an hour lead on the rest of the field. As this ride was to test how the weight had affected Tissy’s ability, I’d been letting her fly around the course. Luckily she didn’t show any signs of struggling, even when her silly jockey (me) went the wrong way and made her do an extra 10km! Not once was she unwilling and we crossed the finish line with a good 15 minute lead and our first senior win.
I am now home having passed my first year at university and am back into training full swing and loving every minute. Tissy feels so much more balanced beneath me this season and I’m almost certain this is due to my new Free N Easy saddle which, despite being made to have the capability to carry lead, we don’t need to use as I’ve been trained to an ideal weight at Keele. With no extra dead weight and everything going so well, we can only hope that our training continues without hitch and we get round our first ever FEI 3* 160km race. This will also be the dry run for the Senior World Championships next year at Euston Park.
All being well after Euston, we’re due to attend the AHS show at Malvern before we start planning for next year’s Young Rider European Championships in Belgium. This which will be my last opportunity at a Young Rider medal and the Senior World Championships which are due to be held in the UK. But for now I’m trying to rack up the good karma and touch lots of wood!!!