Having qualified Carraig Dubh at Ballindenisk, Ireland in February, we can now focus on getting the other horses qualified by June 12, and preparing ourselves for London in July. Dex is fit and rearing…literally…to start the season. Looking forward to a safe and sound journey to London.

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!

Having qualified Blarney Banker (Benny) at Blenheim 2007, for the Beijing Olympics. It was all about fund raising and trying to get enough money together for the long trip to Hong Kong. Not only did the horse and I have to travel but also my team….Liz Brown- Vet, Brian Hyslop- Groom, Sadie Lynes and Liz Brooks- Owners.

I was lucky enough to have my old campaigner, Before I Do It (Folis) on the road and she qualified in Barroca, Portugal in March  2008.

From March until July we were busy preparing for Hong Kong. By the time we went into quarantine in early July both horses felt in top form. The British Team very kindly allowed me to do my weeks quarantine with them. Benny was having an issue with heat in one leg so we were focusing on taking Folis, but since she is rather a “drama queen” we didn’t make a decision until last minute.

I never forget the feeling of driving the horses to the airport. Folis got the nod to go and she travelled with her partner Henry (Minor’s Frolic, eventual Bronze medallist).  Folis is a very calm and well travelled horse so the British Team asked if she could “baby sit” Henry on the journey.
Having loaded the horses into the crates and onto the planes, and waved them off, there was nothing more we could do.
I flew to Hong Kong the next day and on arrival, Folis was happy in her new HOT surroundings. Day 2 was more adventurous with a typhoon hitting HK, we were stuck in our hotel rooms and the horses in their stables.

Everything settled down and we spent the next few days acclimatizing the horses and getting ready for the start of the competition. By now my Mum, my 2 sons Miles and Toby, my 2 sisters Melanie and Abby, my nephew Haydyn, my Dad, and friends Sadie Lynes, Robyn Lynes, Bryony Lynes, Sarah Henderson and Janet Perrins had arrived.

We weren’t a big team but they sure made some noise. There were Jamaican flags flying high!!!!

The whole competition was a bit of a blur but I have to say Folis was amazing. She is one of the biggest hearted horses I have ever owned. She tries 110./’ all the time and I was so proud of her. Even though she had a slight injury she tried all the way. The final result wasn’t what I planned. Hence my battle carries on to LONDON 2012.

LONDON 2012.

I was privileged enough to represent Jamaica in the London test event in 2011. This is a trial run for the Olympics at the Greenwhich site. Squirt had a managed to kick the horse walker 2 days before the competition and was lame. So my new horse Culture Couture, Dex, was quickly promoted. Dex had only done 1 intermediate so it was a bit of a big ask. Apart from the dressage Dex excelled himself and really proved that he could qualify for the Olympics. Being in London had a great vibe and there was lots of hype over the event. It made me all the more hungry to be back in a years time.
Things have not gone to plan in 2011 for my top horse Squirt. But the plan is to hunt him through the winter and qualify him in the spring. Dex is brushing up his dressage, he still has a lot to learn but he tries hard. So all in all a lot of work!!!!