A Story of Addiction, Dysfunction, Codependency… and Horses
I talk a lot about the brain in MBF (as I like to call it), as well as the body. For me, horseback riding has been a union of the two, which came as a surprise because I hadn't been aware how separate they were, for me. The paradox is that I have become united …
Continue reading "An Excerpt from Many Brave Fools"
Hmmm, can't immediately recall when this was (too lazy to for a trawl through the posts), but it's a while ago — cannot imagine getting Cathal round a course of 80s at this stage... *** We didn't jump on Tuesday, and we didn't jump on Saturday, and I woke up on Sunday wondering, Do I …
Continue reading "No Pictures, No Ribbons, No Nothing — But a Really Good Round"
This will stand, I think, as my annual IWD greeting. Delilah figures largely in Many Brave Fools, so even more fitting, then. When going over the proofs I came across the part where I was talking about how I had gone to back to riding her after an injury, because I wasn't 100% and couldn't …
Early on in the book (not really much of a spoiler), I recount my first day on the yard, a neophyte, unsure of where I should be or what I should be doing. I was so intimidated by the whole taking-a-horseback-riding-lesson thing that I wandered around in a daze. I spotted a clutch of girls …
Continue reading "It’s Officially Official! Many Brave Fools Is Live!"
Another blast from the past. We were thwarted by fog last week: it was so thick the 7 o'clock lesson had to leave the lower arena and work indoors, as did we at 8. The fog started creeping over the half doors toward the end, it was pretty creepy. Did we stop? We did not. *** …
Awwwww... so glad I blogged, it's like having a family album. This is my old Saturday routine and while I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy about it, my journey to the yard is much easier these days! *** OCTOBER 2006 I get up. I leave the flat in good time, to do some errands in town, …
Another blast from the past... hahahahahahahahahahahaha! SERIOUSLY So I got to the yard early, as I am now wont to do on a Tuesday. It's summer, and who wants to be anywhere else when the sun is shining on a Tuesday night a week before the solstice? I ask you. When I went to say …
Here's post from 2012. Once, I arrived back on a Tuesday morning at stupid o'clock, took a nap, and went up for my lesson. Once we were mounted, one of my pals said, 'Didn't you just get back today?' and I was like SHHHHHHH — I was sure my instructor would tell me to go …
This may be the best question of them all! The title of the book Many Brave Fools is based on a mnemonic taught to riders in order to remember letter markers in a dressage ring. What does this title mean to you and how does it capture the heart of your memoir? This memoir had …
Love this question... In your book you follow your evolution from green horse girl to competitive rider, often focusing on the frustrations and the falls along the way. What is important about recognising your perceived failures as you set yourself this new set of challenges? Unlike the rest of my life, whether it be in …
