Fundraiser update!
So it’s taken a while - mostly because I went on holiday for a week - but the final figure is in.A fantastic £1096.68 was raised for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. A huge thank you to everyone who attended, a even bigger thank you to all those who made the evening possible - from the first planning ideas to setting up, cooking food, preparing the quiz and gathering donations, and perhaps the biggest thank you to those amazing local companies and small businesses who donated some amazing items and experiences for the auction and raffle! You are all bloody awesome! Wiltshire Air Ambulance
So good to get this one out out - just in a small pen this week. So happy with how he has coped these last 8wks - although I may change my mind next week when I get on him again 🙈🤣🐎
8wks post TVEC! So good to get him out this last week. It may only be a small pen but he is ‘out out’ 🙂. So happy with how he’s behaved and coped these last 8wks - although I may change my mind when I get back on him next week 🙈😁
B&W Equine Hospital
TVEC rehab so far……So we’re 11 days into 8 wks of complete rest following Rocky’s heart rhythm correction surgery. Basically we need his heart rate to stay low for a while so his body recognises the correct rhythm as normal and doesn’t get confused and consider going back into a crazy irregular rhythm (the heart is of course a muscle so we’re talking basic muscle memory) So far Rocky has been amazing and I’ve been able to lead him out to grass and short ambles around the yard - but mostly he is on complete box rest and is coping well. He’s kept occupied with toys and snacks, grooming and stretching and has the best view of the arena to make sure the others are working properly! And I keep reminding myself it is the only way to give him the best chance of a long and happy life ……. And we are already 1/5 of the way through box rest and then it will be down to him to keep his cool as best he can while beginning to introduce exercise and turnout again. 🤞🤞
And he’s back in his own bed! 😁😁😁His heart rhythm converted at a low strength zap although he was rather dramatic when coming round from the anaesthetic (no surprise there) and then spent 24hrs on an ECG but so far he still has a correct heart rhythm. He travelled home super chilled (I did take a buddy to keep him company) Now to keep him occupied and happy for at least a month on box rest! Please wish me luck 🫤😜🤞#horses #rehabtime
Training sessions with a difference for me and Rocky earlier this week - it’s actually taken me a few days to process too (and I’ve been really busy so I needed to find the time to process) So I didint ride Rocky in training myself because my own complacency got my foot well and truly stomped on a few days earlier when turning out a livery horse. Absolutely could have been avoided and, although not broken, some serious bruising and swelling meant I couldn’t get my boots on - so Justine rode him both days. She’d ridden him for a training session some three years ago so it was great to see her on him again. Of course she rode him beautifully, but she also highlighted mine and his weaknesses, and it all lead to conversations about my goals and expectations…….🤔So, after being pushed by both Justine and Vicky I admitted I didn’t really set goals - I just had hopes. And I bought Rocky, as a foal, with the hope that I could produce a dancing partner to be competitive at regionals and maybe one day make it to BD national championships. So with 4 regional titles and 3 top 10 national placings we had more than made my hopes a reality and now I was happy to just drift along 🤷🏻♀️A bit more pushing and it transpires that maybe I don’t like the idea of setting goals because I don’t want to become so focused on those goals that I lose sight of other important things in my life - I mean I have a husband, kids, friends and a business - I want to support them all without becoming so driven by my competitive goals that I stop finding time for them. And of course there is that thing called failure 😱 😱😱😱No goals = no failure. Doesn’t it? And if I don’t fail then surely that makes me successful? Do you consider yourself a successful person is a question that was asked a few years ago by Becky after she had been listening to a podcast, and is something I thought about a lot. And that leads me back down a whole new rabbit hole for more pro
So early in our journey but loving 4yr old Viscount’s positive attitude to everything. 😍
New lorry, good friends and 5 days at the Winter Championships with the little one in one short video!Mistakes in the Advanced Medium silver kept us out of the placing but we held our own despite tension creeping in in the indoor arena atmosphere for 6th in the advanced medium freestyle. A couple of days to relax and support friends before the PSG silver champs - too many mistakes kept our score down but still enough to secure 8th place! Couldn’t be happier with the pretty black one who’s becoming such a superstar.It would be easy to let the frustration of those mistakes take away from the enormity of our achievements but that’s 2 years, 4 big championships at every level from novice to PSG with 3 top 10 placing…… the boy is so bloody cool! So many people to thank along the way… Justine Sole , Abby Bannell Shelly Smit DressageKay Taylor Gillard Sam Shanks Victoria Turner Veterinary Physiotherapist Kate Rapley and everyone who supports us along the way.
OMG it’s here!
I’ve been super nervous about doing this but I am soooooo glad I did 😁
Thank you Trevett & Smith Horseboxes, it’s fabulous. Drives beautifully and Rocky happily loaded, travelled perfectly and even stood quietly while we made a pit stop for some lunch!
I’m now planning what will go where when heading off to stay aways, so much storage under the raised living floor.
Snippets of our recent training with Justine Sole. 😁
I Love my training stay aways….. Justine always seems to mix the right amount of ‘let’s think ahead’ - we worked on the 2’s and started a bit of skipping - with some ‘here and now’ - we looked at keeping expression round those pesky 8m circles ready for the Winter Champs
OM F**king G!
OM F**king G!!!!! 2 wildcards at Advanced Medium to add to our PSG qualification for the Winter Championships. He is just the coolest 😍 although I’m not sure I can afford for him to be this successful having just paid the entries and stabling fees….. why do my classes always happen to be several days apart at championships?
Anyway as a few people have asked here’s our PSG test at Chard regionals - remember this was just his 5th test at PSG - plenty of room for improvement.
What a weekend
at Chard Equestrian for winter regionals! I’ll go into more detail later but after being away for 2 nights, enduring some ridiculously wet and windy conditions yesterday, today we became PSG REGIONAL CHAMPS!
Of course there is a huge list of people to thank who help us on our journey but this little home coming made it all the more special today….. sometimes it’s the little things.
Sound on for the back ground music that greeted us 😁😁😁
So this is a huge THANK YOU to the team at home who kept everything running smoothly (including dealing with my injured 4yr old - but that’s another story) and who are always there keeping the whole yard in a happy and relaxed routine!
Just what was needed - earlier this week two days away training with the fabulous Justine Sole After struggling to get our focus back following Christmas, Rocky’s facial injury, my holiday and then a horrid cold a bit of time training with Justine and we’re back on it! 💪🏻 Thank you Justine 😁
Walking, walking, walking
We do a lot of walk hacking! Some is rehab from injury, some for strength and fitness reasons and a lot because I believe in variety for all our horses so they only school in the arena 3 times a week.
Now this is all year round but in these colder, wetter months it can be really hard to stay motivated whilst your nose and toes are freezing and your bottom is going numb 🥶
I always remind myself how important the walk is in a dressage test and use my walk hacks to improve the horses suppleness in the walk. Recently I’ve even started to set an interval timer to remind myself change the walk every few minutes - free walk, extended walk, medium walk sometimes adding a right flexion and sometimes left. Some shoulder-in, travers and leg yield all help the focus too. Quite often I can find an hour has passed before I notice my toes have become ice blocks!
Manus’ last dance and Rocky’s festive dance. Manus, the once in my lifetime horse that made me the rider good enough to produce my first foal to grownup horse, Rocky!
2023 - you haven’t been easy, but you haven’t been all bad either - You definitely won’t be forgotten. Thank you to all who have been part of the Bradley Road Stables family this year, you’ve all played a part in making it AWESOME!
How cool is this little cob! Jack is 7 and with us while his mum is away. Our brief was to look after him and re educate him under saddle and introduce him to some work in an arena. Jack had been backed and done some hacking as a young horse but hadn’t been ridden for quite some time. Needless to say he has quickly become a yard favourite. Here he is doing raised poles with our lovely groom Kay Taylor Gillard and loving it!
Rocky said he wasn’t ready to see Father Christmas!
