Olympic medal-winning dressage rider Laura Tomlinson on preparing for the big day, festive fun in the snow and aiming for a team spot in 2023
Trying to get ready for Christmas with four children has proved quite challenging…
I had hoped to be able to discuss the dressage at the London International Horse Show, but I struggled to find time to watch it, or anything else for that matter. In fact, my horses are lucky if I know who I am sitting on and don’t ask the five-year-olds for piaffe and passage, while making the grand prix horses think their holiday has come early when I am pleased with one nice simple change.
I have lost the phone in the fridge and spent 15 minutes looking for something I was holding in my left hand. To say that I am chasing my tail would be an understatement.
There has been quite a lot of chat on my mummy friends’ WhatsApp group about why on earth he is called “Father” Christmas. Without sparking a debate on gender stereotypes, I have to say that it definitely feels more like “Mummy” Christmas in all the households of which I am aware.
Even if I had found time to watch the London International Horse Show, the TV was being hogged in favour of the football World Cup. Luckily, I was able to follow the results and catch up online. I must congratulate Lottie Fry on another sensational performance full of power and expression, and Gareth Hughes for showing such precision and harmony.
How exciting to have such combinations on fire at the moment. With Charlotte Dujardin due to have her baby soon, she will no doubt be hoping to be ready for the important parts of the 2023 season, too. There are also many more combinations chipping away and improving, and it means that the next few years look extremely rosy for British dressage.
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A testament to the sport
We thoroughly enjoyed the week of snow here. The highlight was my five-year-old son shouting, “This is the best day of my life” at the top of his lungs as he and his sister rode in a toboggan behind the pony that my other daughter was cantering across the snow. It has since been rather a shock to have a 20-degree temperature change overnight, and the horses were all rather sweaty the morning after the change.
The weather has definitely created some logistical challenges too; we are extremely fortunate to have the indoor school, but I feel for all those who have struggled to exercise horses safely during the freezing conditions and who, now the ice and snow has gone, have some very fresh rides to tackle.
I am looking forward to some days away with my family over Christmas, but am already excited to get back to my training in the new year. I am keen to get competing and see what the season holds for me and my advanced horses, but also for some of my younger horses I have not managed to get out enough this year. My five- and eight-year-olds in particular need to get on with their competitive journeys.
My two grand prix horses, Betty (Rose Of Bavaria) and Finn (Fallatjin), will start with some of the indoor World Cup shows to get going in 2023 and I will, once again, make a bid for a team spot with one of them. I am rather ready to move out of the reserve position and now with Betty looking super-fit again, I am cautiously hopeful that I might be able to claw my way back into the mix.
The fact that it is so competitive to get on the British team is a testament to where the sport is at the moment. It serves as great motivation to remain self-critical and keep doing better, so bring on 2023!
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This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 29 December
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