Here we catch up with brand ambassador Harriet Falshaw as she kicks off her season with a winning start…
The start to 2022 has been pretty slow for us. I have managed to get Fergus out a few times dressaging in preparation for the Petplan Area Festival at the beginning of February. After such a long time off he is starting to get back into the swing of things but we are still having plenty of rusty moments!
Our first outing was to the Yorkshire Riding Centre. Sarah Huntridge always puts on a lovely friendly show with the added bonus of it only being a 10 minute drive from home. Despite convincing himself that the greenery around the outside of the area was most definitely a horse-eating monster he managed to contain himself relatively well in both Medium tests, albeit there is still lots to improve upon. It was lovely to find he had won both classes (I keep all my rosettes and write the date on the back of them) so it was good to start my 2022 campaign off with two red ones!
We then started focusing on our test for the Area Festival. We have been working really hard on relaxation and suppleness – something we both struggle with! After breaking the test down into manageable chunks we worked on the flow as we slowly built it all back together. This meant I felt confident that we could give it our best shot and was really looking forward to getting out there and strutting our stuff!
We arrived with plenty of time and as you warmed up next to the main arena I started to notice that the test being ridden looked very different to the one we had learnt! I rushed over to the steward who told me I had learnt the wrong test and kindly found me a sheet to start learning the right one. Frustratingly this is something I have never done before and will never do again, but it also meant that tension crept in and we deservingly got a very poor mark!
Back to the drawing board!
We are heading off to Port Royal next for two elementaries to start our Summer Regional campaign followed by another visit to the Yorkshire Riding Centre a week later for two Medium classes.
It feels very bizarre not to have anything to event this season but I am hopeful that now the nights are lighter and I can ride before and after work, I might be able to fill the last stable on my yard!
I am also delighted that, now the warm weather has arrived, Fergus still seems calm and is not manically itching as he normally does at this time of year thanks to being fed The Golden Paste Company’s TurmerItch for almost two years now. I have seen a steady improvement over this timeframe and now incorporate this into the feeding routine of every horse alongside British Horse Feeds Fibre-Beet and Cooked Linseed.
On to the rest of the 2022 season – we are so up for it!
Harriet x
