Well, what a rollercoaster life continues to be! I have so enjoyed being able to get back out and compete over the past few weeks and I know it’s made a huge difference to my team and the horses too. We made sure to use the time in lockdown wisely, bringing on the young horses and ticking jobs off the to-do list, but it’s such a tonic to be able to see fellow competitors again! It’s also an important element of the education of our horses, ensuring that they know what’s expected of them when they head out in the lorry and are exposed to the busy environment of an event. Our four-year-olds have made me so proud, taking it all in their stride and doing very well indeed. I’m also delighted to have the ride on not one, not two but three Prix St. George horses at the moment, they will certainly keep me busy.
The staff and I are over the moon that we can visit our local pubs and restaurants again, albeit only using their outside spaces for the next few weeks. Roll on the 17th of May and when indoor hospitality can resume too! Which leads me onto the aforementioned ‘rollercoaster’ comment - what on earth is going on with the weather?! I didn’t for a moment imagine that the day the pubs were set to reopen would begin with snow on the ground across a swathe of the UK. While there is warmer weather in the long-range forecast, at the moment we seem to get snow flurries every other day and the mercury is dipping close to or below freezing at night. It’s a far cry from the warm, sunny spring we had last year which made that first lockdown so much more bearable. I know my riders and the livery owners here at TCE will be hoping the forecast is right, and these snow showers leave us until next winter. When, crucially, we’ll have our indoor school…
Progress is well underway on the build of it now and we’re looking at a completion date of around mid June . The indoor school will make such a big difference to our lives and give the team ever more space to work their magic. I can’t wait to welcome people here for clinics and camps and show it off for the first time. For now, we’re keeping everything crossed for warm spring weather and hope that the next stage of unlocking happens when it’s supposed to. Good luck to any of our followers who are out competing, and we hope to see you soon.