I’m just so excited to be able to re-open with the riding school and get back to work! This third lockdown most definitely feels the longest. The riding school horses tack, which was sparkly clean at the start of lockdown, was even looking a little mouldy. It has been so long since it was last used (one of my jobs for this week is to get cleaning).
As I write this blog, my eyes are crazy itchy from horse hair because I’ve been finishing up the very last of the clipping and trimming before we re-open. I am making sure all the horses look super smart and ready for action when everyone comes back. Thanks to Fibre-Beet, they are all looking so well coming out of the winter.
We have a new apprentice Keira, starting on April 6th now that Heidi has finished her apprenticeship with us and has moved on to a new job. But we will still see Heidi every day as her horse is here on livery. Keira was interested in enrolling onto a study programme last year, then of course unfortunately the year didnt turn out how we all expected. She did do some voluntary work experience beforehand and kept in touch with the yard which made her stand out from others that applied for the job. We are looking forward to welcoming her to our little team!
I’m really happy that Frank and I have qualified for Area Festivals at both BE80 and BE90. I can’t wait to get eventing ASAP!
Recently we have two new livery horses added to the Roman Bank crew. We are incredibly lucky to have lovely liveries – I know sometimes it can be really quite hard to find. We all get along well and do our own thing, but support each other at the same time, such a nice atmosphere. One of the new livery horses belongs to a childhood friend of mine. It’s lovely to have Jess back on the yard as we have so many old memories with the ponies together and she is always great fun to have around. I tell her all the time that she is the most glamorous friend I have, so it made me giggle a lot that she helped Mum and I with concreting for our new hay barn last week.
As always, Mum and I have been cracking on with the yard job list over lockdown. Recently we have also been replacing the old fencing in the arena, fencing more paddocks, getting rid of excess sand in our lunging arena and reusing it to put a wildlife pond in our garden. It looks more like a volcano than a wildlife pond, but it will do! I have also spent time in the classroom, adding a library of informative horsey books, leaflets, exam portfolios etc. for those I teach to use as reference for college courses and exams. We are also able to take on six students for an equine study programme in September. I want to make sure the people I train have access to all the information I can provide them to help improve their equine knowledge!
Speak soon guys and hopefully I will be able to tell you all about competing next, stay safe x
