Lauren Shannon’s eventing blog: Badminton Horse Trials is only 10 weeks away
Suddenly the event season seems very close and that is being helped along by what can only be described as spring-like weather. I believe I’ve seen the sun for the past three days in a row!
We are all systems go here at the yard for the fast approaching season. All the horses are having their final clips, I am being shouted at in dressage lessons (in the best possible way), and we are off schooling at Newton Cross Country Course on Thursday with six of the younger horses.
Louie (Zero Flight, pictured at Badminton 2011) is starting galloping work this week at our local all-weather gallops, and it was quite shocking to look at the calendar last night and see that the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials is only 10 weeks away! Every year we event riders all say the same thing, “I can’t believe it’s nearly the season already!” and yet every year it seems to creep up on us. I swear last week it was January and I was recovering from the holidays!
In preparation for this season, I also had my first session with Dawn Blackwell who is a specialist in Neuro Linguistic Programming for Sport this week. I find sports psychology very useful and interesting, so it was nice to be put in touch with Dawn and I will now aim to see her fortnightly throughout the season.
Badminton final scores
All the lessons I’ve been teaching through the winter seem to be paying off as well, with students doing well at local dressage and showjumping shows before the event season kicks off.
The only dampener on things is that Smartie’s (Smart Lady) owners have decided that school commitments are becoming too great and so she is unfortunately going to be for sale this spring. I will be sad to see her go from the yard, but she is an amazing horse with loads of fun to give to an ambitious young rider, so I’m sure she’ll find a new home easily!
Lauren
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Event rider Lauren Shannon blogged on Horseandhound.co.uk from June 2011 until September 2014. Born in Brighton, she lived in America from the age of three to 16, returning to the UK to go to university after she finished school. After university she worked for Mark and Tanya Kyle before setting up her own yard in Leicestershire. Her best result to date was finishing 9th at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials with her top horse, Zero Flight.