Leavers' Day, rugs, and in need of new gloves!

Good evening everyone, how are you all?

I've reached a point in my leave where things are the same but are also changing, and I think everyone that has had their final day at school can relate to this. On Friday, my years turned up at school at 7am in fancy dress to decorate the school in a theme of our choosing to mark that our seven years had come to an end. I joined my secondary school in year seven, and I honestly couldn't have wished for a better experience, so it was quite strange to hear goodbyes and best wishes. It hasn't quite settled in yet because even though I've had my last day at school, it isn't the last time I'll be at school. Friday simply marked the end of timetable for sixth formers and the start of study leave, so over the course of this month and the next, I'll be going back in to sit my exams. As I'll also be going in to see some teachers to get feedback on practice essays, it doesn't feel like anything has changed. After all, I had study leave last year too. It's a strange feeling, and the final assembly certainly made me quite nostalgic!

After we left school at midday, me and a few friends went to have a picnic. It was so relaxing, but the
high UV levels meant that I inevitably ended up a bit sunburnt and from the activities at school, I had also managed to pull my quads a little bit. All in all, horse riding the next day became a bit of a challenge. From my sunburn I was warmer than usual, and from my achy legs I hated light seat/jumping position. Actually going over the jumps was fine, but the practice lap to get us into the correct seat (and having to shorten the stirrups) was a tad painful! I'm so glad I went though, as Mary has a fantastic jump in her. In all honesty, jumping her felt the best that jumping has felt in a while because she didn't change her stride at all, and it felt so exhilarating. The downside to Mary is that she can be quite strong, and she doesn't always like to carry her head. Without gloves, my hands are still sore today so I definitely need to get a new pair soon. Does anyone have any recommendations?

In the stable management section of the lesson, we learnt about different types of rugs. It was a bit difficult cramming so many of us into the rug room, so I think all of us a bit iffy, but it was still a good crash course. For the most part we were okay at identifying indoor and outdoor rugs, but knowledge of specific types - such as waffle - went straight over our heads. It was still interesting to look at however, and it certainly made me think when the instructor for the day and one of the stable hands discussed whether to leave one of the horses in the rug he was in or change it to a heavier one. It's not something I've ever really thought about, having never owned or loaned a horse, but it's something I'll be sure to keep in mind for the future!

In other news, I now have a Pinterest account, which you can follow @EquiHolly. Be sure to follow to be updated on the fandoms I love!

Until next time...

Badminton Horse Trials 2016

The Mitsubishi Motor Badminton Horse Trials have once again played host to some of the best eventers in the world, and there was definitely plenty of exciting moments to keep me gripped. I was unable to watch the coverage of the cross country on Saturday, which is why this post is so late - I spent Sunday and Monday catching up with the cross country, and was only able to watch the show jumping of coverage last night! There were many hours that had to be dedicated to watching all the footage the BBC had to offer on iPlayer, and it was definitely worth it!

As always, there were some riders that really stuck out for me. The first of these was Ben Hobday, because he's had such a difficult year what with battling cancer and on top of that he is now patron to Hannah's Willberry Wonder Pony charity, a fact highlighted by the fact he had Willberry strapped to his back when he rode the course. It was such a lovely thing to do, and I think it highlights the entire Willberry's Wishes aspects of the charity. The course he rode was brilliant, and I think the entire crowd were right behind him. A fantastic rider, and I certainly wish him all the best in both riding and for supporting such a great charity. 

The second rider that stood out from the crowd for me is someone who didn't finish the cross country course but chose to retire. Nicola Wilson had a bit of a fall at the PHEV oxer after Mirage Pond. She stayed on, and the horse managed to stand, but nevertheless the two retired and I thought it was such a brilliant thing to do. I think it would have been tempting for many to try and carry on, seen as the horse almost immediately set back off, but she put the horse first and pulled up a little bit further on. The commentators noted how the horse looked fine, and I think that in itself demonstrates her consideration. She was never going to place with her horse anyway, so the pin related penalties wouldn't have made much difference if her aim was to simply get around the course. Her compassion is inspirational to me. 

Taken from the Badminton Horse Trials website

I could name so many more riders (Mark Todd, Jock Paget, Oliver Townend, Andreas Ostholt, Emily King) but to keep this blog post somewhat concise, I'll discuss just one more. Michael Jung. What a rider! I felt very privileged to see history being made, so I'm quite envious of people who got to see him ride in person. First German and second Rolex Grand Slam Winner! Not something that happens every year, but he really deserved it. His horse is brilliant. Did you see the show jumping? Not a hoof put wrong! Many congratulations to him and the German team because they had a brilliant result every day.

Well done to all the riders, horses and teams that took part, and to everyone who suffered an injury then I wish you all a very speedy recovery. Let's hope next year will produce equally outstanding performances.

Until next time...

D+ Training

Saturday saw myself and the other Pony Club girls working on our positions and trying to remember why we do things in certain ways as part of our training for the D and D+ tests we will be completing this summer.

Going back to basics is really useful because for the most part you don't need to worry about the horse in a way you might if you were doing something more advanced. So if you were doing something like a leg yield or a shoulder in, you would have to think of yourself and the horse but things like walk to trot/halt transitions are pretty standard. The D and D+ tests require knowledge of rider position, and whilst I think we all knew what we went over at some stage in our riding life, where we haven't gone over it in a while it's falling through to the very backs of our minds.

I think my biggest problem is my legs. On some horses they don't sit in the right position, like on the horse I was riding yesterday. On bigger horses my legs will sit beneath me, but on 'skinnier' steeds they have a tendency to shoot forwards. Standing up in the stirrups would probably solve this, but as it wasn't too bad on Saturday I think I got away with it. With conscience effort I was able to bring them back underneath me, it just didn't come as naturally as it does when I'm on JD. Of course, this could also be because my stirrups were longer. It'll be something to consider next time at any rate.

In addition to answering questions about what makes a good position, how to give certain aids and how to ask for bend etc, we also worked on our jumping positions. The cross we went over was quite small, but the point wasn't for us to be going over massive fences. It was simply to show that we could actually go into jumping position.

My favourite moment of the session was when we attempted to sit to the trot. Thankfully the horse I was riding wasn't too bouncy so I could sit to it, even if I had to start cutting off corners to keep up with the lead horses in the ride. It was great fun though, especially when our instructor imitated us by showing how we kind of just collapse in the saddle. She commented on how our positions change even though they shouldn't. It was very generous of her to say I wasn't as bad as the others, but I think that was more a result of the tension I felt doing sitting trot! I didn't mention that part; it's an ongoing thing haha.

Flatwork is always really useful for me. I think I'm naturally better at dressage of the three main English disciplines, so I always appreciate a good flatwork lesson simply because it impacts on jumping as well.

I hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday weekend. The weather isn't brilliant where I am, but it's nice to have an extra day of relaxation!

Until next time...

Photography Walk

The weather today has been a bit temperamental, but I really wanted to get outside and do some photography. The heavy cloud cover at times delayed my outing, as my camera doesn't have any waterproof coverings to speak of, so I was reluctant to get caught in the rain. However, there was only so much time that I could spend cooped up with my homework and revision before I simply had to go for a walk at the least even if my camera stayed at home.

 This afternoon brought with it the perfect opportunity. One of the dogs wanted to go for a walk to escape the relatives that had popped by for a visit, so I followed suit. The pooch didn't really feel like staying still long enough for me to get many photos, but it was nice to go on a longer walk than usual. I still felt like a Billy No Mates as Molly was walking ahead of me for the majority of the walk, but I think she enjoyed getting to go a bit further than usual. It was quite refreshing to see lots of other people enjoying the day as well. It wasn't exactly warm outside by any means, but the rain largely held off so it wasn't too bad.

I did manage to get some photos (although I haven't yet edited them - so if the quality isn't brilliant then this is partly why) and it has definitely inspired me to get outside more. My Dad mentioned going for an early morning walk at some point so that I can try my hand at getting some snaps of the birds, so I look forward to that. I really love wildlife photography, but I don't practice it nearly as much as I should if I want to improve! 

I've also recently tried to be big and brave and move away from automatic mode. I had to use manual for the school production in February given the stage lighting and not being able to use flash or even the auto-focus light to help me, and it did give me some confidence, but the environment then was quite controlled. Being outside where the sun can't make up its mind is more of a challenge, but one I will consider broaching when I don't have a dog wrapping the lead around my legs.

If you have any photography tips then please let me know. I'd rather have too much advice than not enough, especially as I broach the scary world of the exposure triangle.

Until next time...

Where's your leg?

Good evening, everyone. How are you all?

Today I wanted to talk to you about exercises to improve your leg position. I am the sort of rider who typically has a lot of issues in getting my legs to stay in the proper position. They move too far forwards, they wiggle and back when I was first learning to canter they flapped around quite a bit too! I was and still am far away from the control elite riders demonstrate, but over my years of riding I have realised that there are lots of little exercises that can be done to improve my leg position. I've opted to focus on three in this post. They've really helped me improve my equitation and I hope that they will be able to help you too.

The first and perhaps most obvious exercise is riding without stirrups. I know, I know. It's not the most pleasant thing in the world, especially if you have a particularly bouncy horse, but it does work wonders. If you can open your pelvis up then you'll be sitting deeper in the saddle (and there's no harm in having a more secure seat. Yes, Snip, I'm thinking of you!) and your encouraging your legs to hang long. By swinging your legs backwards and forwards from your knee and then hip, or by catching your ankle and pushing your knee downwards, you're loosening up all your joints and stretching your leg muscles. That's why when you take your stirrups back, you quite feel as though they can go down a hole or two. More importantly, your leg is more likely to fall naturally into the position its supposed to be in. I could go into a great level of detail about all the different mini-exercises within riding without stirrups, but I think I'll make that into a separate blog post at some point.

If its a sneakily rising heel that is getting you in trouble with your instructor, then the second bit of advice I would give to you is to stand on the bottom step of a flight of stairs, with your balls of your feet against the edge. Once in position, push your heels downwards. You can do this one leg at a time or both at the same time. It's really whatever you feel comfortable with. You don't need to do it for long, but doing this daily will encourage stretching and hopefully you're heels will start to stay in a more appropriate place. If this still isn't helping you keep your heels down, then I have this other piece of advice which my instructor told me a year or so ago and has helped me greatly; rather than imagining a weight in your heels to keep them down, imagine that there is something connected to the front of your boot pulling your toes up. It sounds strange at first, but try it and I think you'll be surprised!

The third pearl of wisdom I will share is this; stand up in the stirrups. This is, without doubt, the exercise that has made the biggest difference for me. This is perhaps partly due to the minor conditioning of the previous two finally encouraging my heel to stay down, but standing up in the stirrups is what has really made a different to the placement of my leg in  its entirety. I'll be the first to admit that I have very little balance, but it is completely fine to use a neck strap/chunk of mane in helping you stay upright. By walking around whilst standing up, and throwing in a few transitions up to and down from trot for good measure, some sort of magic occurs and you'll find your legs are naturally in the correct position. This happened to me a few weeks ago, and I was absolutely thrilled because I felt like I could ride reasonably well (for those of you who have problems with riding position, I'm sure you'll understand!). The absolute best part of this exercise, for me at least, is that my legs were still automatically moving to the right position a month later!

If you have any exercises, please let me know! I'm always looking to improve my riding and if your technique is particularly inspired, I may include it (with credit, of course) to the future blog post about non-stirrup riding exercises.

Until next time,
EquiHolly

Earth Hour

It's that time of year where people turn off the lights in their homes for an hour in order to raise awareness for climate change. It always seems to monumental when governments get involved and allow the lights on Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House, amongst other, to be switched off.

Earth Hour is such a wonderful event because it's so simple. You can even sleep for the hour if you can't think of anything else to do, and so long as all your lights are off then you are technically taking part. It really is that easy. If you didn't take part this year, then remember for next year because it is it is only by raising awareness that we can start to actively fight climate change on a bigger scale.

I first found Earth Hour through WWF. I can't remember exactly why I was searching on their website, but I'm glad I did. As I follow WWF on Twitter, seeing all the excitement in the build up really made me consider the impact I had on the world, by living the way I do. I'm not a materialistic person but I do use a lot of electricity. It inspires me to walk to more places rather than drive, and to unplug for a while as well, something quite difficult in an age where technology seems to be the only past time.

It's also around this time of year that I also find myself watching The Lorax. This is one of my favourite films, and I absolutely love the message behind it. We destroy the world so much without even realising it, and one day it will be too late. We will have gone past the tipping point. I find the quotation at the end of the film particularly moving. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not." Dr Seuss was a brilliant man. I would love to have that quote plastered on my bedroom wall. If you haven't seen the film, I would recommend it because it has songs, humour and an important message all in one.

I feel like I've gone off topic, and I'm tired enough from sitting in a dark room to know that it's probably time I ended this post. I hope you all had a wonderful Earth Hour and that those of you didn't take part will do so next year.

Until next time,
EquiHolly

Sutton Trust Summer School

It's that time of year where year 13 students are starting to fret about upcoming exams and year 12s are organising and booking their places at open days to universities, thinking that if they haven't decided what they want to do by now then they'll be wasting the next two years and if they don't go to university then they are failing in some way.

At least, that's how it feels at my school.

I mentioned in an earlier post about my discovery of equine related degrees, and I felt that there was something else I should also mention. Summer school. There are a lot of companies out there that arrange time for a group of year 12 students to get the feel of what a certain university will be like, and one of these is Sutton Trust (http://www.suttontrust.com).

Sutton Trust is a brilliant programme because it's completely free so it means anyone has a chance of going. It is aimed at people who cannot necessarily afford to pay for one of the other summer schools, and it offers places at some of the leading universities. I was lucky enough to get a placement and I had such a brilliant time that I wanted to tell you all about in the hopes that you will apply or recommend it to someone else who is considering university.

When I first applied to the programme, I didn't get a place. I wanted to do English at Durham because at the time I applied, I was still primarily thinking of studying English and having considered all the universities Sutton Trust has a partnership, I really felt drawn to Durham. It was so disappointing to not get a place but I understood. There are others my age who were more deserving, and English is always going to be an over-subscribed subject. Imagine my surprise, then, when I received an email offering my a place on their Theology and Religion with Philosophy course! They offered me a place because they knew Religious Studies was one of my A Level subjects from the original application and because they had spare places.

I was hesitant as first, I admit. I had already decided that I wanted an equine degree so part of me felt a little selfish in  taking a place on a course at a uni I wasn't going to go to, but I reasoned that they wouldn't have offered me a place if there wasn't a spare one going and it wouldn't hurt to be sure in my mind that I definitely wanted to go down the university route. Deciding to go was one of the best decisions I made.

Durham is an incredibly beautiful place, and the student ambassadors were so lovely and the course professor so friendly that it was actually really upsetting that we were only there for a week. Each day was so full on so that they could demonstrate all that was available that, although exhausting, we settled in pretty much after the first day. Six hours each day were dedicated to the subject stream you had a place on, and then the afternoon would be something else, so on one of the days this was a personal statement workshop and on another we got to look around one of the libraries. In the evening there were various activities. These ranged from creative writing to Quidditch so there really was something for everyone! My favourite part, however bitter sweet, was the formal dinner on the last day because it was followed by a silent disco, which was pretty hilarious!

I loved it so much that I considered using my spare uni application place for a Durham application because part of being accepted on the Sutton Trust programme at Durham was a conditional offer and they allow you to enter a separate personal statement. I would highly recommend Durham to anyone because honestly, if they offered something equine related, I would be there in a heartbeat.

Sutton Trust provided this fantastic experience free of charge, and I gained so much. I met brilliant people, and part of the scheme is a mentor who is always available if I need to talk to her. It was so rewarding and it excited me about life as a university student. If that wasn't enough to tempt you to look at the Sutton Trust website, then consider the fact they also have a link to America. I know less about this as I never considered it, but the website is very clear so if this tempts you be sure to look!

If you need more tempting, then take a look at some of the images I took over the week.

Any Potterhead should recognise this - Durham Cathedral!

The view from the bridge over River Wear

The bedroom I stayed in! Comfortable with plenty of space to relax

The view from my  bedroom window!

                                     

                                       

I sincerely hope you consider applying for a summer school. It really is beneficial, and whilst I may be a little biased towards Durham, all of the placements are great. Good luck!

Until next time,
EquiHolly