A Story of Addiction, Dysfunction, Codependency… and Horses
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"
I've competed before, up the yard, but never with my white jodhs on. The addition of them, for the first riding club competition of the year, seemed to make a huge difference to my attitude. Previously, I had simply rocked up in my usual whatever, but the degree of planning required to ferry the white …
Continue reading "A Competition Is Not 100% About The Competition"
I have been many places in the sunshine, and there is really no better place on earth than Ireland when the sky is clear, blue, and cloud-free. And there is no better thing to be doing than racketing around the fields, up in the hills, on horseback. If you're not me. I have had an …
Continue reading "Sunshine, and the F Corner: A Weekend of Two Halves"
We didn't jump on Tuesday, and we didn't jump on Saturday, and I woke up on Sunday wondering, Do I remember how to jump? I ride often, but I haven't been riding for very long, and so stuff like that gets into my head. In the beginning, even up until my second year, time taken …
Continue reading "No Pictures, No Ribbons, No Nothing — But a Really Good Round"
So, I can't post video here, but I have it up on FB, and — and I put it on my phone, too... I've got a list: > Toes in > Contact! > Sit back > Elbows in, too > Look up! I'm sure there's more, but I swear, if I look at that thing …
I woke up and thought, Wouldn't it be nice to just lie here and daydream about going double clear over the 80s on Connell? This is the thing that makes people not do what they say they're going to do: it is nice to just lounge around and make up the story, the perfect story, …
*Because horse people hang their rosettes from their rear-view mirrors. MY SECOND ROSETTE We found out on Saturday that there was going to be more showjumping starting on Sunday. Not a league, we didn't think, it was only for a month, but ah, sure, why not go along and have another go? I thought, I'll …
... I was also on Delilah, and I know I was conscious of this experience going up last Sunday — only the second time I've showjumped a whole entire course in front of people! But here's why I was so worried about remembering where fence no. 5 was. Four years later... sure, it doesn't seem …
MY FIRST ROSETTE! So. The showjumping league has been going on for ages, and yesterday was the last one until summer. I talked myself out of it the first week, and after that, there wasn't even a voice in my head to ignore. I was doing okay on Connell, but every fence felt like a …
MANY BRAVE FOOLS 