A first skiing holiday can be a daunting experience, but as a rider, you’ll find you’re already several steps ahead of your ski school peers when you hit the slopes…
1. You are used to falling off (over) and getting back on (up) again.
2. You’re comfortable in a sport where it’s advised to wear a helmet.
3. You understand that confidence is key to success.
4. Both sports are highly addictive.
5. Both sports are also extremely expensive. You are experienced at kidding yourself and those around you about how much you spend.
6. You already own base layers. And those waterproof overtrousers you use for poo picking in wet weather can replace ski trousers in a pinch.
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7. On that note, you know that if it all goes horribly wrong, you can blame it on your kit.
8. If in doubt, go forwards. (Riders who are always in front of the movement will revel in the fact that when skiing, leaning forward is nearly always the right thing to do. You’ve been wanting to lean forward for years!)
9. You are accustomed to the fact that everyone, no matter what their experience or actual level of skill, is desperate to share their opinion on how you should do things.
10. You are experienced at tending to your minor bumps and bruises and reassuring your mother/partner that you don’t plan for the day’s activity to end in a hospital visit.
11. You know that matchy matchy is a vital part of your outfit for any serious player.
12. You are accustomed to always being too hot or too cold.
13. You have had practice at shouting “Sorry!” as you pass people at high speed, completely out of control.
14. Your washing machine is acclimatised to doing lots of loads of kit.
15. You are used to wearing socks that come up to you knees.
16. You have had lots of practice at looking at the weather forecast, sighing and then going outside anyway.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
