Girlracer
Well-Known Member
(Please click any links, as they are pro photos, bought and paid for with permission to post, but to avoid button pushers I have added them as links here)
So yet another year has come and gone, where does the time go?
This year has been an odd year for me, personally work wise it's been up down and all over the place, with no real idea of what I want to do or how. I ended 2014 by loosing my job (I worked for my dad) when he closed the business. So in that sense it's ended on a low. Otherwise I have had a good year, I have ended my single streak, met lot's of fabulous people through the new work I've been dabbling in over the summer (which hopefully will work out this year).
Whilst I am struggling to plan my professional and personal life, I think I've learnt a lot in my equestrian world this year.
It's really hard to summarise, without people knowing the history or myself and Major, so I will try and keep it short.
But as some may know I have owned Major since he was 5 (but first met him when he was 3), I have reschooled him entirely myself (from racing), he is the first horse I have bought and kept for myself without any financial help from family. I bought him to eventually event, competing is a big part of why I ride but un-fortunately due to lack of finances for transport not something I've ever really had opportunity to do on the scale I'd like to. Major has always had an aversion to show jumping, I have fallen off him more times than I care to remember trying to get over show jumps. I don't know why he's like he is, but 2013 came with a massive set back in a broken leg at a show jumping clinic. After that I uhhmed and arrred about selling him, and did actually try for a while, then winter came and we went hunting and I fell in love with him all over again (I never didn't love him on the ground, but he can be frustrating under saddle).
So 2014 started with some hunting, in the most horrendous weather I have ever known.
It continued much the same, enjoying some hacking and schooling, with some flatwork lessons thrown in. We then moved to a yard closer to my home, with no facilities but a YO with a lorry and willing to take us a few places. So I decided to give it another shot, and actually I'm quite pleased with what we achieved in a short space of time. Really his competition experience is limited in the time I've had him, and more or less every experience we had in these few months was a first.
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net...=f4a41b08bb2f29db21dd72c47c3bb505&oe=552FA35D
Then came my proudest day in my equine life, seems nothing to some. But we entered a two phase horse trial (eventing without the dressage, right?! Almost a dream realised) and whilst he didn't go clear SJ he didn't stop and he flew round the XC. I have never been so overwhelmingly happy.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd...._=1430306760_a25d6c53a41a33d626c6bbf405a4f495
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net...=6ff6dd3dfb27633e85f7ba9b66e57aa4&oe=552AAD7A
However these few months had not been without frustrating set backs, and through the good times we had had bad and for this reason I had advertised him for sale.
The day after our two phase, he was viewed by a family from Wales, who collected him a week later.
And that there ended an era of four years, and there came my opportunity to find a horse I could possibly realise my dreams with. To cut a long story short, none of them made the grade, despite allowing me to do some of the things I wanted to do I realised the grass perhaps isn't always greener.
After things ended with a meant to be long term loan horse, Major's new owners contacted me with an update on him (I had said I had wanted to keep contact). The day after speaking to them, she had read between the lines what I had said and offered me him back.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I read the message and cried, with relief and happiness. My boy was coming home, what I had realised was a momentous mistake was being rectified, and the next few weeks waiting went incredibly slowly.
And he arrived home on November the 9th, having had a nice holiday in Wales looking after a youngster.
So, 2014 has brought me a realisation that actually my horse of a lifetime isn't a flashy sports horse that can take me eventing. It is in fact this quirky little Thoroughbred that gets depressed and doesn't eat when it's not me doing him daily, that pulls faces when he gets excited, and never does anything quite as I ask him. But there's just something about him I guess, he's my boy, we know each other inside out and I like to think he would do anything for me as I would him (which of course isn't true, because he still won't jump fillers).
So here's to 2015, not worrying about how big I'm jumping or how many marks I'm getting in a dressage test. Just enjoying my time with my wonderful little horse, and who knows what we might get up to this year? And of course, little Oakley is ready to start work this year!
And of course, we will keep on trying.
So yet another year has come and gone, where does the time go?
This year has been an odd year for me, personally work wise it's been up down and all over the place, with no real idea of what I want to do or how. I ended 2014 by loosing my job (I worked for my dad) when he closed the business. So in that sense it's ended on a low. Otherwise I have had a good year, I have ended my single streak, met lot's of fabulous people through the new work I've been dabbling in over the summer (which hopefully will work out this year).
Whilst I am struggling to plan my professional and personal life, I think I've learnt a lot in my equestrian world this year.
It's really hard to summarise, without people knowing the history or myself and Major, so I will try and keep it short.
But as some may know I have owned Major since he was 5 (but first met him when he was 3), I have reschooled him entirely myself (from racing), he is the first horse I have bought and kept for myself without any financial help from family. I bought him to eventually event, competing is a big part of why I ride but un-fortunately due to lack of finances for transport not something I've ever really had opportunity to do on the scale I'd like to. Major has always had an aversion to show jumping, I have fallen off him more times than I care to remember trying to get over show jumps. I don't know why he's like he is, but 2013 came with a massive set back in a broken leg at a show jumping clinic. After that I uhhmed and arrred about selling him, and did actually try for a while, then winter came and we went hunting and I fell in love with him all over again (I never didn't love him on the ground, but he can be frustrating under saddle).
So 2014 started with some hunting, in the most horrendous weather I have ever known.
It continued much the same, enjoying some hacking and schooling, with some flatwork lessons thrown in. We then moved to a yard closer to my home, with no facilities but a YO with a lorry and willing to take us a few places. So I decided to give it another shot, and actually I'm quite pleased with what we achieved in a short space of time. Really his competition experience is limited in the time I've had him, and more or less every experience we had in these few months was a first.
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net...=f4a41b08bb2f29db21dd72c47c3bb505&oe=552FA35D
Then came my proudest day in my equine life, seems nothing to some. But we entered a two phase horse trial (eventing without the dressage, right?! Almost a dream realised) and whilst he didn't go clear SJ he didn't stop and he flew round the XC. I have never been so overwhelmingly happy.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd...._=1430306760_a25d6c53a41a33d626c6bbf405a4f495
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net...=6ff6dd3dfb27633e85f7ba9b66e57aa4&oe=552AAD7A
However these few months had not been without frustrating set backs, and through the good times we had had bad and for this reason I had advertised him for sale.
The day after our two phase, he was viewed by a family from Wales, who collected him a week later.
And that there ended an era of four years, and there came my opportunity to find a horse I could possibly realise my dreams with. To cut a long story short, none of them made the grade, despite allowing me to do some of the things I wanted to do I realised the grass perhaps isn't always greener.
After things ended with a meant to be long term loan horse, Major's new owners contacted me with an update on him (I had said I had wanted to keep contact). The day after speaking to them, she had read between the lines what I had said and offered me him back.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I read the message and cried, with relief and happiness. My boy was coming home, what I had realised was a momentous mistake was being rectified, and the next few weeks waiting went incredibly slowly.
And he arrived home on November the 9th, having had a nice holiday in Wales looking after a youngster.
So, 2014 has brought me a realisation that actually my horse of a lifetime isn't a flashy sports horse that can take me eventing. It is in fact this quirky little Thoroughbred that gets depressed and doesn't eat when it's not me doing him daily, that pulls faces when he gets excited, and never does anything quite as I ask him. But there's just something about him I guess, he's my boy, we know each other inside out and I like to think he would do anything for me as I would him (which of course isn't true, because he still won't jump fillers).
So here's to 2015, not worrying about how big I'm jumping or how many marks I'm getting in a dressage test. Just enjoying my time with my wonderful little horse, and who knows what we might get up to this year? And of course, little Oakley is ready to start work this year!
And of course, we will keep on trying.
He was rubbish at SJing as if he don't feel like it he wouldn't pick up his legs, we took to doing hunter trials and he was amazing, flew round everything, might be worth looking into for you and Major 
