My aim in life is to be happy. What makes me happy? Horses, writing, photography and chocolate. Welcome to my world.
21/01/2025
I got to listen to Bernard Jackman at the RDS this year with Equieire and he was great!
Looking forward to Friday, tickets just €20 on itsplainsailing - not a bad price for some food and motivation in January! 😊🐴
The South Leinster Region AGM will be held on Friday 24 January 2025, 6.30pm at Cill Dara Golf Club, Whitesland East, Kildare, R51 KD56
To be followed by a meal and 2024 awards presentations with guest speaker Bernard Jackman - €20 per head – tickets available from itsplainsailing.com/org/sle
18/01/2025
My Little Jean Claude getting all grown up 🥰🐈⬛ he is three months old now 😍
Pumpkin 🎃 and Chica 🐶 have accepted him as part of the family.
He loves his food, loves his humans and generally sleeps on top of my shoulder
Crazy cat lady fate accepted!
17/01/2025
That sunset though 🌅👌
15/01/2025
I have two things to say about this movie.
The first is Nicholas Cage is honestly terrifying 😱 incredible acting, literally unrecognisable from “put the bunny in the box” type roles. I hate clowns mainly since I read Stephen Kings “It “🤡 so it didn’t help that he’s like a creepy clown with the make up half washed off.
The second is don’t watch it before bed and definitely not if you have to go down and night check in the dark before bed 😱 much as Chica likes to act tough she wasn’t gonna protect me from the imaginary monsters😂
I’d have told myself to man up and that it’s ridiculous to be scared of anything except a few years back after watching something scary I went to do late night checks on a really dark night and told myself to cop on. I then walked face first into a black horse in the courtyard and almost gave myself a heart attack. .downey.98 big black horse had let himself out of his stable, had a wander, got tired and fell asleep standing up. As I smacked into him he woke up and gave out a groan. Honestly I was having an asthma attack at that stage 😵💫 so I turned on a light, put him back to bed, went upstairs and had a well deserved gin.
The next day one of the team told me they had popped down to the yard quite late as they were sure they had heard a horse loose but couldn’t find it! 🙃
15/01/2025
Well someone had fun yesterday 😅
Tick Tock 🖤🤍 party pony, part Hippo 🦛 honestly have never ridden anything that likes mud as much as this lad it’s like riding a plough 🤣
Safe to say he had a bath after and the girth sleeve is in the wash!
13/01/2025
Pumpkin beside her favourite thing in the world 🌎
She went through a phase last year of p*ssing in her and Chicas water bowl. No medical cause, she just liked doing it. Chica funnily enough did not enjoy this.
I got her a smaller water bowl and I swear to god she would wiggle about just to squat over it and do the same 🤦♀️
So Ross went to the pet shop and came home with a drinking fountain shaped like a flower which the cat doesn’t p*ss in and is obsessed with. She is absolutely transfixed when anyone fills it up. Serious notions for an animal dragged out of a ditch but she knows her standards 😅
13/01/2025
Sammy grows hair like it’s an Olympic sport. For that reason he’s usually clipped year round. I’d left it much longer than usual due to the cold so the amount of hair that came off him yesterday is unnatural - he didn’t look too bad underneath albeit an entirely different colour. 🧡
Last year, he wasn’t himself at one stage and I had the vet out and the vet who had never seen him hairy before was asking me is he normally this hairy (yep) that big in the neck (yep) and that chunky (by default yep). They asked had he had a cushings test- yes but not for a few years. So they took blood and I resigned myself that he probably had it as he’s a bit older now.
Vet rang a few days later to inform me that I had the hairiest non cushings horse they had ever seen 😅 so it turned out he’s just fat and hairy or as of yesterday bald and just “in show condition”.
I’d imagine in return for that comment Sammy would suggest that unfit asthmatic riders who ate quality street like it was the bottom section of the food pyramid all Christmas shouldn’t be commenting on anything, which would be valid 🤣 so let’s just say we will both be working on fitness this season ….
13/01/2025
Oisin has skills - how exactly he manages to plaster this much mud on him in a full neck rug is beyond me 🫠 the patch on his bum is particularly impressive.
I didn’t ride yesterday, I opted instead to clip the boys as they were looking fairly feral and were just going to be uncomfortable and sweaty in work so it was haircuts yesterday, a lunge today and back to work tomorrow.
Naturally as soon as the ice departed the rain returned but given it was about 15 degrees warmer than last week I couldn’t complain 😅
12/01/2025
BHS (British Horse Society) have announced their assessment (exam) dates for 2025. This includes BHS exam dates for Ireland. I have collated all of the dates for you across Ireland. I provide training towards BHS exams Stage 1 to Stage 4 as well as sign off, mock exams and journey consultations at
09/01/2025
Ended up playing an equestrian version of squid game last night which involved seeing how well I could balance a bucket of water in each hand while wobbling across ice like a hobbit penguin. 🐧🤦♀️I’m not gonna lie it’s rare I impress myself but I did 💪 naturally no one was around to witness this unlike when I make a tit of myself and there’s always an audience 🙄
While our drinkers held up admirably up to last night; they did of course go in the back yard at about 11pm. Thankfully having some sort of Girl Scout OCD I’d stocked up on spare buckets and gritting salt last week. The main yard is fully salted and gritted and safe as are the walk ways at the back yard where the team work however being thick I hadn’t salted myself a little path from my own back door to the yard so that’s todays project 😂
Top tips for equestrian ice capades
🧊 put your yard hoses inside overnight so they don’t freeze and just defrost your pipe and tap with a kettle and reconnect the hose in the morning
🧊 Layer up. There’s no such thing as bad weather just bad clothes. A few light layers is much warmer than less thick ones as the air gets trapped in between and warms up.
🧊 don’t wear your coat in the car!! My old boss used to murder me for it and actually she was right! You don’t feel the benefit of the coat outside if you wear it in the car or indoors. Get in car, coat off and heating on. You then get the benefit of the coat when you put it on to get our.
🧊 the cheap gloves from hardware stores with rubber waterproof palms are a game changer! Buy a size bigger and wear over another pair of gloves if need be
🧊If you suffer from chilblains bathe in hot water with sea salt and cider vinegar (I learned this from who knows so many of these things!) snow fire from chemists also is great (thanks )
🧊 sheepskin insoles that you cut to your foot size are cheap from chemists or Amazon and are an absolute game changer if you suffer from cold toes. Ditto for cashmere blend socks which are not expensive from Amazon
🧊 Plastic bottle of salt water in troughs can help stop them freezing.
09/01/2025
Well there’s sweet FA going on with the horses so here’s a few photos of the other fur children 🐶 🐈⬛ 😅
Jean Claude has doubled in size. Aside from an accidental paw to my eyeball which has me on anti biotic drops he’s been wonderful and is just the best parrot cat who loves to sit and sleep on my shoulder. I never had a cat until last year and have now fulfilled my apparent destiny of being a crazy cat lady and I’m here for it.
Pumpkin has gone from despising to quite liking the newbie. 🎃 They play for hours and gallop around the place. Pumpkin normally loves being outside but I’ve had to keep her in a more this week as it’s baltic so her paws get cold and also as she suffers from cat flu if she gets very wet or cold. She was rescued as a very unwell two week old from a ditch and is generally great but got a fever a few months back after getting soaked so much as she gets annoyed at yard patrol being shorter it’s for her own good.
Chica is still trying to eat everything around her 😵💫 but that’s pancreatitis dog life so I just have to watch her like a hawk. You know it’s cold when Chica stands and waits to have her rug out on! The one pictured is one I bought her from and I love it as it’s waterproof and warm.
Impatiently waiting for the ice to f**k off at the weekend 🙃
07/01/2025
This is what happens when I’m sleep deprived and allowed into the middle aisle of Lidl unsupervised - black beauty gets car pyjamas 🖤
I have discovered these were not designed to be put on by anyone my height, that it’s best not to climb a vehicle In ice and that it’s best to read the instructions before locking them in the car that’s now become a vehicular version of trying to change a duvet cover on your own 🤣
07/01/2025
No one captures a mood like a Zara model!
I call this photo “Artistic representation of equestrianism in January”
It’s been eleventy three weeks since pay day, you’ve spent all your money on matchy stuff that hasn’t yet arrived, the wine has run out, your legs hurt from trying to ride better, you are not adequately attired for the sh*te weather, your horse has thrown a shoe and you need to p*e 🤦♀️
06/01/2025
If anyone needs some good news…
06/01/2025
Do I want to build a snowman? ⛄️
Eh, no
However this morning was quite pretty ❄️ ☀️
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Fantastic session this evening at Emerald with Sparrow Equestrian and Tom Walsh It was another new venue for Tick Tock who didn’t bat an eyelid. He took everything on, made all his distances and most importantly felt happy and confident taking me to fences. Thank you so much Tom for all your help with producing this pony the progress is amazing!! Also - this song is my new favourite song it’s so addictive - puts me in a good mood Lady Gaga What we wore 😊🐴 Equieire black Eve compression tights and Alex base layer 🐴 Mrs Ros full zip 🐴 Antarès Sellier helmet from Paul Morgan🐴 Eskadron black and copper pad that I wanted for aaaages as it’s from a very old collection and Equissentials Dressagesourced it for me online 👌🐴 Freejumpair jacket from Tailored Equestrian #fyp #foryou #cobs #cobscan #cobsofinstagram #fun #horses #showjumping #training #learning #thankyou #ootd #whatiwore #irish
People have been asking me all week about hiring an Overlander 2 horse van as a friend tagged me in a Facebook post where someone was enquiring about it. 🚐 🐴 I hired from the team at the N7 Commercial Centre in Naas. Here’s a quick video answering the frequently asked questions, PM me for contact details and I can put you in touch 👌 #overlander #overlanders #twohorsevan #horsevanhire #horsetransport #overlandervehicles #askedandanswered #faq #happycustomer #vehiclehire #transporthire #naas #kildare #horses #horstagram #recommendation #hi
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Our Story
My aim in life is to be happy. What makes me happy? Horses, dogs, writing, photography and chocolate. Welcome to my world - we’re all mad here.
I use my website and page to document the reality of life with horses - its often hard and frustrating but we equestrians all live for the days where it is rewarding and no matter what is thrown at us most of us wouldn’t change it for the world. Horses are such a passion that they bring together like minded people and my truest friendships were founded upon it. Sharing a laugh or a good day with like minded friends is the cure for many things.
I used to be a very anxious competitor especially over fences. Over the past few years I have really pushed myself as a rider and as a coach. I’ve realised it is never too late to learn or to improve and that there is a lot to be gained from helping others to do the same.
Being a ‘blogger’ often comes with negative connotations and people can be quick to judge or pass remarks. It’s something I’ve made a conscious effort to block out recently as negativity helps no one and someone who judges others has their own issues that you don’t need to be involved in. This is my own journey with horses and if it helps someone else or gives them a laugh then I am delighted. I try to see and bring out the best in my horses and to take every opportunity that comes my way as none of us ever know how many we will get so grab them all with both hands!
