Wow! What an incredible couple of weeks it has been! So incredibly busy but so many amazing experiences as well! I am fully immersed into Uni work and dissertation. Working at Hartpury and Summerhouse equestrian as well as getting all of the horses geared up for the season!

I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to go to Holland for the KWPN stallion show. The show was absolutely incredible! I loved so many of the horses and I found out that I have expensive taste… So many of the horses were amazing and you could tell years of breeding and monitoring bloodlines brought them here. The arena those young horses go into is full of atmosphere. It is surrounded by bleachers and trade stands and has the screen suspended over the middle so you can watch them live but also see the slo motion captures after they have finished. Its no wonder that these horses are able to perform in arenas like this so young with their riders. They have literally seen it all during their grading!

The trade stands were of course amazing and had some amazing pancakes and stroopwaffles while I was there! It was such an incredible trip and we were very lucky that one of the inspectors came and sat with us so we could understand what they were looking for when they looked at the jump horses and the dressage horses. It was really interesting to see what concerned them in terms of confirmation and movement. As well as what they were looking for in the confirmation of the different horses as well as what type of movement was preferential. We were super lucky to be able to see the legendary Totilas and his offspring at the end of the Friday evening Gala. He was absolutely stunning and so were is sons. I couldn’t believe he is 19! He is absolutely stunning and is in incredible condition for his age! It was such a privilege to see such a legend in the flesh. I learned loads throughout the couple of days and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip! I would go again in a heartbeat!

I arrived home to SNOW! It was quite the shock and it was nice while it lasted but happy that it didn’t take long to clear! I was home for a short while then I was off to Saumur!

The journey to Saumur took 2 days as we drove from Hartpury to near the crossing and stayed the night. We took the eurotunnel to Callais and then it was a very long drive to Saumur. We arrived late monday evening and were treated to a lovely dinner with the coaches and manager of Le Cadre Noir de Saumur. Tuesday was amazing and full of new experiences! We started with riding for the french students on the flat. I had an old event horse who was quite the character and very sensitive. But over the week I got the hang of him and enjoyed what I learned in the process! The french students where so welcoming and had really interesting lesson exercises planned for us. Every student on the trip was assigned a french coaching student and two horses. We had two lessons a day one flat with the french students and one jump with either Eric or Eloise who teach the coaching students.

We then went on to have a tour of the school. Their facilities are absolutely stunning! We got to see where all of the military horses and school horses are trained. They have beautiful barns and an amazing conveyor belt system that is in the ground in front of the stables in the barns. You just have to lift the boards and muck out into the hatch and it takes it away. I want that system! It is so time efficient and it also gives you somewhere to sweep everything into! There is also a pipe system over the stables that delivers the grain into the feed bins at a particular time so no one has to run around with a bucket and scoop. It is such a great idea and system as they have over 300 horses on site so the system has to be efficient. They have loads of horse walkers and round pens to work horses in. As well as numerous outdoor arenas. There is a gallop track that they condition the horses on and a cross country course. They host a international horse trials every may.  They have everything they need to work and train performance horses.

We then had lunch… and let me just say the food there was amazing! Everything was homemade and fresh and it was all so delicious, I was in love! After having a beautiful lunch it was time for the jump lesson with Eric. My  horse was called Cappuchino Champeix, and he was a absolute hoot. He was such a character and had a lovely temperament. I loved working with him and I learned a lot over the four days. Eric gave some incredible lessons! Each lesson was geared toward a specific focus for the horses for the day and was adapted for each horse. I learned so much and I have exercises I am going to implement at home to help my own horses! I will blog about them and how they work in later posts!

Over the week we also were presented with  numerous amazing opportunities. We had a rider fitness session, vaulting lessons on a horse and on a simulator, and informational talks by research scientists at the top of the equine performance field. The week was filled to the brim with activities. The rider fitness was really interesting and helpful. We did a variety of exercises and I will definitely be using them to help prep for the event season! The vaulting was a whole new experience for me. It was so different to riding in a saddle and with a bridle, you don’t have any control and you are way farther back than you would be sat in a saddle. It requires so much strength and stamina, and I have earned so much respect for vaulters now! I knew it was tough but its a whole different level! It was such a cool experience and I really enjoyed learning it. But I think I will stick to my riding with saddles and bridles from now on!

The week was finished off by all of the english students riding for the coaching students exams. Afterwards I got to have my final jump lesson with Eric and Cappuchino. He was a star and we got to jump around a little course of fences which was great fun! I absolutely loved this trip. It will stay with me for the rest of my life and I learned so much for both my riding and myself. If you ever get a chance to go to Le Cadre Noir de Saumur I strongly urge you too! There isn’t a place like it!

Well thank you so much for reading! I will continue to keep this space up to date with the horses, Maisey and I’s adventures!

Onwards to 2019!

Until next time! 🙂