Merry Christmas from the Horses and I!

Merry Christmas! I hope all is well with all of you. The horses and I are doing very well! I am now in California for the Holidays enjoying some sun and warmer weather then England! Although I think that the weather has followed me here as we just had a LOT of rain here… But apart from that it has been lovely being at home. I have already had mexican food, dim sum, fresh bagels, a caramel brûlée late and lots of cuddles with my dogs. So I am very happy! I still have other things on my list to do before I go back to England but I have gotten a good start on it!

Anyways, back to the horses! Ainle is over in England now at Nicks with my other three and has settled in like a pro! I now have the whole herd of 4 at Nicks with me. Next season is going to be amazing and VERY busy! I already have planned out my competition schedule for 2017, but I am under no illusions that with horses nothing is set in stone! So I am using it more as a “set of guidelines” 😉 (Whoever gets that reference, I am very proud). Sorry letting out my inner nerd there… So back to the horses! Annabelle, Feyre, and Fintan are all very well and enjoying their holiday time. Annabelle is loving ruling the other three as usual. Fintan is always calling to the other three whenever they leave and come back to their stalls. Feyre is always calling to me for treats and cuddling me to search my pockets and play with my jacket hood. And Ainle is always patiently waiting for a cuddle and cookies with his head over his door and ears forward. They all have been super and good with each other which is all I can ask for…! They each have gotten carrots, apples, polo mints and candy canes to celebrate Christmas. They deserve it and I love treating them with a festive treat like Candy Canes which they all gobble up greedily. We also got an amazing new shipment of Finishline Total Control before christmas and HRP Wing Saddle Pads are also on the way! Very lucky ponies and me! 

We will be starting our season up around end of March as the weather in England is normally too wet to start any earlier… The opposite of California when we start mid February! But our season will run through summer with events going on every weekend. I am planning on going to Europe to compete again so that will be exciting! I am looking forward to those new experiences and opportunities. So lots to look forward too in the New Year! I will be doing some dressage and show jumping schooling shows in January and February to get us all communicating and rust free. It will be a fun way to start!

University next semester also starts to kick up a bit as well! I go to 5 modules instead of the 3 I was taking this last semester. I will be taking Equine Exercise Physiology, Equine Nutrition, Equine Biomechanics, Equine Diagnostics and Therapy as well as Undergraduate Research Process. I am really looking forward to all of the new modules and what we will cover, even though it is going to be busy! My student rep and ambassadorship positions are also busy but going well. I get some great insight into what’s going on at Hartpury as well as potential new courses that they are thinking of implementing. It also gives you cool ideas about dissertation because you are always the first to be recruited to help with dissertation research or research in general for Hartpury. So I have really been enjoying it and I am looking forward to continuing helping out.
Merry Christmas to you all from Annabelle , Fintan, Feyre and Ainle! I hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family. Until next time!