In school time I get the boys up and to school for 8.45am. I am lucky enough to have a good groom, Lizzie Harris, who will start the day at 7.30 with feeding the horses, mucking out and getting them on the walker. I arrive at the yard just after 8.45am and swap the first 5 horses off the walker with another 5. The horse walker is used along side exercise, the horses go on the walker for 1 hour every morning. I then start riding, and riding and riding; I might have an occasional break when someone comes for a lesson. I do a lot of teaching and really enjoy it, I work on people and horses confidence because if you know you can do it the horse will try.
I don’t stop for lunch as I try and get all my riding done while the boys are at school. Galloping days….we go to Andrew Baldings gallops so we can only use them at lunchtime while his race horses are not working. Kingsclere is not far but by the time you get the horses ready, load up, gallop, wash off and un load, 4 hours has passed. I go to Rodney Powell’s yard regularly to have dressage lessons with Alex Franklin. Rodney sometimes helps me with my jumping if I am having a particular problem.
Once I collect the boys from school, its back to the yard to finish up. Lizzie only works mornings so my boys, Miles and Toby have to help. The horses get a good groom, stables skipped out, water filled up, hay in stables, and feed all the horses. Some of my younger horses live in the fields at night, I prefer this as it keeps them happy and as much to their natural habitat as possible.
When the yard is all neat and tidy and tack cleaned, it is time to go home. Cooking isn’t my forte but we try. So its dinner, homework, showers and bed for the 3 of us by 9pm!!!!!!
On competition days we sometimes leave as early as 5am….which ,means a 4am start to get the horses ready and loaded. My kids are very used to this an they load straight into the horse box living and go back to sleep, they dont usually wake up until we are bouncing through the field to park at the event. Again competition days are long….with us not returning till dark sometimes. And then its business as usual the next day to ride all the others! And life goes on like this!
