Hi all,
I hope everyone is well, especially as we approach December with increasingly shorter and darker days!
I have actually been living and working in Spain for the past two months which is very different to my normal autumn/winter of hacking and schooling the horses wearing endless layers and two pairs of gloves. I will be home in three weeks time ready to crack on with some winter training.
In the meantime, the horses have enjoyed a bit of down time following a busy end of the season, contesting my first 3*S classes at Somerford Park and Cornbury; as well as a couple more Intermediates. My mum has kindly started picking the horses back up now, taking the two mares on a couple of days hunting as well as beginning some hacking and schooling.
While here in Spain, I received some very exciting news in that I have been selected to join the European Youth Development Squad for the 2022 season along with many other young event riders. This is a programme offered by British Eventing which supports young riders by offering training opportunities and performance guidelines with a view to increasing chances of selection for the 2022 European championships (held at Hartpury next July). It is really rewarding to have hard work and results recognised so I am hugely looking forward to next season and have already got some squad training dates in the diary.
Plans for the winter include improving the dressage and SJ phases by heading to some BD and BS competitions – I really enjoy having a go at different disciplines as a change of scene during the off season.
We will also make a trip to Somerford Park’s amazing technical XC arena in early January – something that has become a bit of an annual tradition. It is a great way to see how all the horses are feeling at the start of the year, both in terms of fitness and technical questions. It is always worth the journey for such incredible facilities, especially when you can go away with a plan of action for each horse before the event season comes around again in March/April…
Xanthe
