T181T2 Southport, Merseyside, UK. 24th March 2019. Horse Rider on Beach. 21 year old Courtney Monks rides her beloved 7 year old Cleveland Bay 'Cedric' through the sea waters along the golden shores of Southport Beach in Merseyside. Credit: Cernan Elias/Alamy Live News
While many of us have started box-walking, desperate to break free from the restrictions of lockdown and to fully enjoy time spent with our horses once again, you won’t be alone in having pondered the question “What’s the first thing you’ll do when lockdown is lifted?”
Will it be a gallop on the sands, a return to the show ring, a completely new equestrian challenge or even just a hack with friends? We’ve been pondering this ourselves and here are just some of our post-lockdown goals as we dream of a time when things return to “normal”. What’s on your check list?
Horse & Hound’s 50 steps to living your best horsey life
1. Enjoy a beach ride on your horse
2. Support your local point-to-point meeting
3. Hear a round of applause for jumping a clear round
4. See one the big five (lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard and elephant) from horseback
5. Donate (and present) a trophy at your local show
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6. Score a perfect 10 in a dressage test
7. Jump a hedge
8. Take a selfie with your equestrian hero
9. Watch your child compete in his or her first Pony Club event
10. Go to a race meeting which requires a hat/morning suit
11. Compete in the same class as an Olympic rider
12. Volunteer with your local equine charity
13. Ride in a three-day event
14. Attend a Boxing Day meet, either mounted or on foot
15. Be featured in Horse & Hound (preferably for something you are proud of!)
16. Learn to drive a HGV lorry
17. Take the reins in a horse-drawn carriage
18. Watch a foal being born
19. Walk a five-star cross-country course
20. Ride up the gallops on a racehorse
21. Learn how to ride a piaffe (either on your own horse or a schoolmaster)
22. Buy some made-to-measure riding boots
23. Be invited to an equestrian awards ceremony
24. Watch a championship medal being won
25. Own (or share a lift in) a horsebox with living accommodation that is nicer than your own home
26. Introduce a horse to being ridden for the first time
27. Spectate at an equestrian competition in a foreign country
28. Ride in a charity race
29. Support your local independent tack shop
30. Read every horsey Jilly Cooper novel
31. Commission an artist to paint your favourite horse
32. Ride side-saddle
33. Hear the Cheltenham Festival roar
34. Watch a sunrise, or sunset, on horseback
35. Jump bareback
36. Watch the action from a VIP table at a Global Champions Tour show
37. See some of Great Britain’s native ponies in the wild
38. Ride to the top of a mountain
39. Go hunting in Ireland
40. Have a lesson from (or join a clinic with) your equestrian idol
41. Be a fence judge for a day
42. Take part in something that scares you — the Golden Button, a team chase, or step up a level in your next competition
46. Channel your inner cowboy by herding sheep or cattle from horseback
47. Attend your local hunt ball
48. Watch the Grand National in person
49. See the Spanish Riding School perform
50. Learn how to produce perfect plaits
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
