Ahead of the rescheduled Skinner’s Pet Foods National Championship this weekend (Sunday 1 May) at the Heythrop team chase, Jane Carley looks at the signs that you've become a team chasing addict...
1. Monday is spent searching for photos that have been posted of your team chasing round on social media, sharing them, and commenting on yours and everyone else’s pics.
2. You have a black eye/sore ribs/several mysterious bruises because your new horse ditched you in the intermediate/flattened you while tacking up/bucked you off in the warm up.
3. You check your horse four times a day to make sure that that dodgy leg hasn’t flared up again meaning that he might not be able to run next week.
4. You spend hours on the phone or social media to try and work out who’s going to be in your team next week.
5. Your horse is too hot to hunt or showjump because all he wants to do is team chase, and even hacking out is taking your life in your hands.
6. You still only ride him in a snaffle and a cavesson noseband because gadgets wouldn’t actually help.
7. You watch the racing on the TV like a hawk to spot horses that are not quick enough to win a race but might make nice team chasers.
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8. You find it hard to watch other horse sports because the riders just don’t angle their fences tightly enough.
9. You’re outside the newsagent at 7am on Thursday to get your Horse & Hound to see if your team has got a mention or even a photo.
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17 signs you’re a horse addict
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10. Win, lose or fall, you’ll be in the bar with all of the other riders after your round, celebrating and agreeing what a great event it has been.
