On the Shortlist!

I’m delighted to say that following the latest selection trial at Wellington, myself and LJT Diamond Crusador (aka Loki) have been officially nominated for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games! As a rider, it’s always a privilege to get this far, and having been shortlisted for London 2012 with Nirvana Morroko and first reserve for Rio 2016 with Dior, to now see Loki’s name on a shortlist for the first time at just 8 years old is a real honour and a testament to the team I have around me. Thank you everyone!

After the restrictions of Covid, it’s been a busy few months with training and getting the horses out to competitions to try to best prepare them for the summer. In May I had my first able bodied Regionals in over 10 years where I contested the Elementary Silver Freestyle class after doing the qualifiers back in December. After mainly concentrating on the Para tests I had decided it would be a different challenge for me and Loki, and with no expectations to qualify for the Nationals, this felt like our Para Nationals. Despite it being May, there was a definite ‘Winter Regional’ feel as the weather was awful, and although the competition was indoors, the warm-up was not!

Fortunately for us, our winter training and lack of an indoor school meant Loki kept his head down and warmed up well for the test. Our previous music had been Christmas themed - which in December is fun but in May not so much - so I’d put together a new one for the competition, featuring some dramatic music from The Witches. We managed a relatively clean test (with some slightly ‘off’ trot circles) to finish in 2nd place out of 17, and with over 73% gaining our ticket to the National Championships!

It was a definite confidence boost and I went into Wellington with the aim to ride at my best and enjoy the experience, letting go of any outcome expectations we tend to have going into a selection trial. Unlike our last two competitions, the weather had transformed from cold and wet to 25 degrees but Loki felt on fire, if anything a little too hot (which I love) and produced three consistent tests of over 72%, 74% and 76% in the freestyle. It felt great to be able to produce some of the work we’ve been getting at home and in training in the test and I couldn’t be prouder of him for some of the work and consistency he showed that week. It was great to be able to sit around outside and watch some live competition, I’ve definitely missed the social side to it and being able to watch friends and competitors warming up and supporting them in person.

We now have a couple of weeks training before we head to Hartpury for the Winter Championships and then Loki will have the weekend off before returning for our final selection trials at Hartpury International! After this, the team of 4 and the reserves for Tokyo will be announced – not long now!

Thank you for everything Pimms!

Me and my girl!

At the beginning of the year, I made the most difficult decision and after six years of campaigning Pimms (Dior), where she's either been first reserve or selected for the team every year since 2016, we felt like it was the right time for her to take the pressure off a little and enjoy a new adventure. Having being selected as first reserve for Rio 2016 I desperately wanted to get her to Tokyo to show the world what we could do, but with it being postponed another year, I had to make a decision based on what was right for Pimms.

Pimms has been a massive part of my career and my life for the last six years, and behind the Championships, sashes and medals, she is also responsible for so many memories and experiences along the way. I can’t put into words what this horse means to me and thank you just doesn’t seem enough for the opportunities that I’ve had as a result of having her in my life. She owes me nothing and I owe her everything and I'll be forever grateful to owners Annie Hunter Blair and Nicky Whittet, for not just giving me the opportunity, but also being such fantastic members of the team over the years.

Thank you to owners Annie (pictured) and Nicky

Our journey together started back in 2014, which for me consisted of a year of bad falls, several trips to the hospital and my top horse recovering from an injury. But my luck changed when I met Pimms and after realising I’d left my riding legs and looped reins in another car when I went to try her, I had no other option but to resort to wearing jeans and with the reins wrapped around my wrists I gave it my best. Despite being appalled at her rider wearing trainers, Pimms exceeded all our expectations and at the beginning of 2015 she joined me as my Rio contender.

Pimms was always a sensitive horse and after my year of hospital visits (one of which included breaking my back in four places and five ribs) I’d lost my confidence, so for the first six months I was a little bit wary of this horse that I hadn’t yet figured out. She never did anything to make me doubt her or think she might be dangerous, but sometimes I had the feeling that we both knew she was the one who was really in charge!

Our first trip to Holland just a couple of months after I got her was a huge honour and although it definitely came too early for us to show the quality of her work, I found out so much about her. A month later the pieces fitted together, and we happily floated around the arena and I started to wonder if my ‘electric bum’ might have found a good match with her chestnut flair. Pimms went on to win Bishop Burton International that summer, then Stoneleigh National Championships and Bury Farm International to finish her first season.

Pimms at WEG 2018

She went on to have so many successes at National and International level and Annie and Nicky travelled around the country and abroad to support us. I will always appreciate Pimms and all of the opportunities she gave me and when her potential new rider Di Green came to try her earlier this year I was very confident that Pimms would be happy, which was my priority. I believe they will form a super partnership and I’m excited to see what they will do together. I have been given so many great opportunities in my career and to be able to pay some of that forward to another rider is a huge privilege.

A massive thank you must go to everyone who has been part of my team along the way, supporting me in helping to achieve my dreams with this special horse.

Pimms – thank you for everything and enjoy the next chapter..

The Paralympics countdown has reappeared!

Loki at the Summer Championships

2021 has arrived and it feels strange to think how much should have happened by now. With the postponement of the Olympics and Paralympics to this year it feels a bit like déjà vu having planned our diaries again and seeing the countdowns to the Games reappear. Many have labelled it ‘2020-again’ but I think we’d all agree that’s one year that we’d rather not re-live!

Once I was able to return to riding and with the confirmation of Tokyo being postponed it was refreshing to be able to enjoy the summer months without the pressure of selection trials and an upcoming championship to contend or prepare for, which we usually have at that time of the year. It’s rare to have such a long period where you can teach the horses new things without the fear of them making mistakes that will come out in competition.

Pimms in training at Solihull

Mixed in with intermittent lockdown periods we did in fact manage to get the horses out to compete, with the revised Summer Championships at Solihull at the end of August where LJT Diamond Crusador (Loki) took wins in both classes and Dior (Pimms) came along for a training outing and did some brilliant work in the arenas. We then had the Keysoe International where just before I got on for the team test Pimms managed to snap her shoe in half. I’ve heard the phrase “I’ve never seen that before” quite a lot throughout my career and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down… Ever the professional, despite the mild pre-test panic, Pimms trotted out to complete a solid team test finishing just behind Loki, who went on to complete three consistent tests throughout the show, adding to his growing International experience.

When allowed, I’ve managed to continue with some coaching and I also partnered up with the BD Central Region for my first coaching day with them, which saw some lovely combinations come forwards. With only December left to qualify for the Winter Regionals and my goal to ‘enjoy the competitions’ I decided to take on a new challenge and do my first able bodied competition with Loki. I’ve never done a Christmas themed freestyle before but with both shows in December I thought there wouldn’t be a better chance, so I put together a combination of Mariah Carey, Deck the Halls and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and off we went! I was over the moon to win both my classes on scores of over 77% gaining our ticket to Regionals. Having previously focussed fully on Para classes, it’s been a number of years since I’ve attended so I was quite looking forward to competing and being able to put myself under a different kind of pressure. With the gaol of getting him in another arena with (hopefully) a busy atmosphere, fingers crossed BD are able to work their magic and reschedule them so that they can take place.

I love my horsebox - thank you John Oates Horseboxes!

Finally, we had a very special delivery of my lovely new horsebox by John Oates Horseboxes. They’ve managed to create a stunning and spacious design that fits all of my needs within a 7- tonne lorry, combining the pro’s of both a small and larger horsebox into one! I’m so thrilled to be working with such a fantastic and forward-thinking company, so do take a look at their site if you’re looking for your next lorry.

This lockdown I’ve moved to Lincoln to be able to continue riding and as the January weather brings rain, snow and more rain I’ve set up my trampette in Soph’s garage as I might not be able to avoid getting wet when I ride but I can at least stay dry for my work out! I feel grateful to have been able to continue working and riding throughout these crazy times but all we can do is continue to adapt and take each day as it comes.