Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been at lots of shows, but I wanted to share with you what we’ve been doing with some of the younger horses.
It is so important to give them as much experience away from home as possible, and Cherwell is a great place to do this because of the big arena, the scary fillers and competition atmosphere it gives. This show starts at 90cm and goes up to 1.20m, which may seem small compared to some of the courses you’ve seen me jump in previous blogs, but is just as significant to the horses’ training as any of those larger events.
For this trip to Cherwell we took 14 horses (by we I mean myself, Scott, Jackie, Mikey and Sunniva, who all make a guest appearance in the video). It’s so important with this kind of event to work together and be organised. As it’s a day show we don’t have stabling, so have to rely on getting the horses on and off the lorries as and when we need them. This in itself can be a whole logistical nightmare, and even with the five of us, there still isn’t enough hands for horses!
I was jumping four horses — this time I’ve decided to show you less in the ring and more behind the scenes. As any rider will tell you, it’s not all glamour, it’s rainy days, muddy car parks and busy teams that can often be the basis of what we’re doing – but I still love it! Cherwell was no exception to this rule. The centre is amazing but can’t control the weather, and as I mention (a few times) in my vlog, I’m not huge fan of the mud, especially in my new smart Filli Fabbri boots, that I am particularly fussy about keeping in perfect condition!
You can see here I’m with a lot of the Z7 horses who will be jetting off to Dubai with us in December, when I return to jump with Team Z7 for a few months (much less wet, much less muddy!). But it’s important that when we go out there, all the horses have the right training and have experienced as many different arenas as we can.
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The horses are so well behaved, which I think is a huge credit to the Breen Team and how they are handled by everyone here. Taking them on and off the lorry could stress a lot of horses out, but all our guys need is a little encouragement and they’re good as gold!
This month was particularly special for me as it was my 21st birthday. I couldn’t help but add a small video in at the end of this, as my wonderful friends and team mates organised a surprise party for me — bucking bronco and all!
G x
Music credit: bensound.com
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