9th August - Olympic excitement!

I’ve had so much to do this last couple of weeks but I’ve been hugely distracted – by the Olympic Games!

I can’t get enough of it and the equestrian competitions have been AWESOME! I didn’t think it could get any more exciting after I watched the Eventing, where we won team silver. But the show jumping was AMAZING and, not to be bettered, so was the dressage, with both GB teams winning GOLD – so, so, so incredible. There was an Andalusian stallion in the Spanish dressage team, called Fuego, and watching his dressage to music (‘Kur’) test was so inspirational, I can’t wait to get schooling Zano and see how far we can get in the dressage arena! I definitely want to try riding to music, the horses can pick up on the rhythm in the music and a lot of them really enjoy it. The really exciting thing is that Zano has the most beautiful paces – his walk is incredible – which will mean, hopefully, that he’s got lots of potential to do well in dressage tests. I know I’ve got to be patient, because he needs to be brought on slowly, but I’m so so excited about what lies ahead for me and Zano. I just can’t help it! Ooooh, and I’ve been distracted again writing this – watching Laura B, Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin in the dressage final and Charlotte’s just won GOLD with a breathtakingly supreme dressage test – her horse, Valegro, is out of this world and so exciting to watch. Phew!

Back to earth again! And back to Zano. Jo, my riding instructor, suggested that I take Zano on lots of hacks so that he goes forward and doesn’t do too much in the school too soon. It’s easy for horses to get bored, and I really want Zano to enjoy himself in all his work, so we’ve been heading out with Nicky and Chico, and my partner Paul’s been coming with us on his bike. So far Zano’s been very relaxed and he’s proving to be totally bombproof. Today he even walked past a cement mixer with dust puffing out without blinking, he’s a real star! And I still can’t quite believe our journey so far – only a few weeks ago I was leading Zano round on the ground, watching the other riders hacking out without us. Now it’s us going out on hacks in the sunshine – I’m so happy and pleased with Zano that I could almost burst!

All smiles as Zano and Chico hack out - cool as a cucumber!

Oh, and how can I forget? Puzzle: The Runaway Pony and Phantom: One Last Chance are now, officially, on sale! Yey!! Take a look at the dedication in Phantom, there’s a mention of a certain dapple grey horse in there!!

You can buy your copy here

30th July - Birthday celebrations

It was my birthday this week and everyone at the yard was amazing – I got cards, cakes and pressies, even though I’d tried to keep it quiet! Just after my birthday Jo came to give me and Zano our first lesson and she taught Megan on the lovely Chico, too. Jo came with me when I tried Zano, and she hasn’t seen him since, so it was lovely to see her reaction when we went to see him in the field before I brought him in. He’s such a handsome chap and he loves having attention! Here he is, soaking up all the admiration! Who wouldn’t be impressed?

Jo started off by watching me lunge Zano, giving me loads of really helpful pointers, and then I had a fifteen minute lesson. Jo’s advice is to ride Zano ‘long and low’ to begin with to make sure that he develops all his muscles along his ‘top line’ (from his poll all the way along his back to his tail!) in the right way. He behaved himself very nicely and we’ve booked our next lesson already!

I’m sure that Zano is quite bright. He seems to know when I’m about to come and bring him in from the field, because he always decides to have a lie down two minutes before I appear with the headcollar! I’m a complete softie and I don’t like disturbing his beauty sleep. Instead I tend to wait and have a cup of tea until he’s ready to wake up! But yesterday I went to see him and sat next to him for a while, stroking his face and ears as he rested his chin on the grass and snored. It was a very peaceful and calming five minutes!

I’m still taking Zano over his poles to make sure that he’s using himself well and to keep him relaxed in the school. He’s so funny over them now though, he’s a real show off and hardly needs me next to him because he knows the routine so well. Jo, his physiotherapist, would be proud. She’s volunteering at the Olympic Games with the equestrian team for the next couple of weeks. She’s amazing at her job, so all I can say is that any horses who are worked on by her are very, very lucky! Good luck & have fun, Jo!