Will the big money route pay off for eventing?

Equestrianism is taking a high-glamour big-money route to try to boost interest in the Olympic sport this weekend.
Following in the footsteps of the fast-paced new events such as Twenty20 in cricket and Rugby Sevens, the world’s leading three-day eventers are taking part in Express Eventing at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Sunday.
Spurred on by the chance [...]

Some very upsetting news…

So. Yesterday I was told I have to give up horse riding. Or, to be more precise, I have to give it up until at least March 2009.
The order came from my consultant neurologist who pointed out that if I fell from a horse I could quite easily end up dead.
Much to my [...]

I’m not quite a cowgirl…

A friend emailed me a link today to video of a lady called Stacy Westfall, a professional horse trainer who specialises in reining.
Reining is, I guess, the Western form of dressage riding. Most of the work is usually done in canter and involves circles, sliding stops and spins.
Stacy was the first woman to [...]

To buy or not to buy…

For a while now I’ve been mulling over whether or not I should buy my own horse.
I’ve weighed up all the pros and cons several times but I’ve never been able to reach a solid decision.
I’ve thought about the cost and I know I could budget £10,000 to buy a horse as well as [...]

Perfecting the canter

There are some areas of horse riding that come natural to me.
I found my rising trot instantly (as soon as it clicked that I need to rise with my hips and not my legs.)
My steering took a little longer. I was, according, to my instructor “over thinking”. As soon as I stopped churning [...]

Horse riding – it’s like walking on air

I was in a pretty awful mood this morning despite having the day off work.
Generally my bad moods come from when I’ve been thinking too much about stuff. So today I set about keeping myself busy. I mowed the lawn (even though it‘s not my job and was going to be done at the [...]

Not that I’m jealous but…

I came across this You Tube video of Horse Girl TV (yes, the name is lame) that’s worth watching.
This girl, Lara Schleining, seems barely out of school and yet she’s had a personal trainer for three years to help her improve her riding! It really does put my two hour of pilates and one [...]

A bouncy horse and a sore bottom!

Today’s riding lesson was something of a test for me.
My instructor said I was going to be riding a new horse, Olaf. At the beginning of the lesson she warned me that Olaf was “a bit bouncy” and also stubborn.
Five minutes in and I realised just how bouncy and stubborn he was! My [...]

My guide to mounting a horse

In my last couple of lessons I have perfected my technique for getting on my horse without using a mounting block.
The proper technique requires some leg strength and practice and I’ve put together a short guide below on how to do it properly.
Mounting blocks do makes it easier for you and it is [...]

Pilates and horse riding – Part 2

So, it seems my pilates instructor really did listen to me when I asked her to work some equestrian-related exercises into our class (see post below).
Last night, I spend more than 30 minutes just working on my leg muscles with the help of an exercise band.
What was slightly horrifying was when I was called [...]