ROR - Historical Giant at Burghley for CUDH meet

All these amazing photos are taken by Sam Pawley Photography 

Cambridge University Drag Hounds - Burghley Meet, March 8th 2015

After a busy weekend of leading Francesca out on a ride Saturday morning, then going out with Jo on the Polo ponies in the afternoon, and then a wedding in the evening I was pretty blurry eyed yesterday morning getting ready for Burghley.

I tried tirelessly for over a month to get a hireling for this meet but sadly everyone had booked them out for the Saturday and completely understandable that they couldn't do two days on the trot (pun sort of intended). So alas I didn't ride, but the upside to this is I got loads of photos and footage!

Here is the video edit I made of the footage I made on the ground, and here are the photos, hope you like them!!

Plus coming soon - Headcam footage from Georgie

Huntingdon Races - Great days National Hunt and Hurdles Racing!

Just got in from a great day at Huntingdon Racecourse thanks to Racing UK!

Myself and my lovely friend Hannah donned our chicest warmest outfits and off we went. Well despite it being sunny it was also super windy which made it chilly

Me and Hannah!

So after watching quite a lot of jump racing this season I've learnt a thing or two about good trainers, horse and jockeys. 

Much to my annoyance all the horses I favored but didn't back only went and bloody win.

Here is a little slow mo video demonstrating just that of AP McCoy storming on Fredo to later go on and win! Who I didn't back! Kicking myself!

And the time I did back AP McCoy got beaten by a massive outsider by Sam Twiston Davis! Dammit!

Never mind I bet my money back on BallyHenry in the last race! 

But just before the horses were due on the course it rained. And when I said it rained I mean sideways Noah's ark type rain. You looked out onto the course only to literally see sheets of rain! 

But as the horses galloped round the rain eased up, Ballyhenry won so I quickly collected my winnings and swiftly got back to the car!

I've had an absolutely lovely day with Hannah, I've got her completely hooked and we are already planning our next outting.

Thank you so much to Colleen Salmon and Retraining of Racehorses for organizing tickets for me and great thanks to Huntingdon Racecourse for supplying them! 

Pictures below 

Accessories. Keeping it chic

Best snuggly scalf, and thanks to Georgie for lending me her hat! I needed that so much it was cold!

Daryl Jacob after his win came back to sign an autograph and have a photo with a young fan! So kind

AP McCoy getting mobbed by fans wanting an autograph before he retires

Riff Fredo into the winners circle after storming home 

Talking with owners and trainers after his win in Fredo

Carriage Driving Experience

Following my previous post about yesterdays Tattersalls Meet I thought I'd share the rest of my weekends adventures.
So... today I can tick off a bucket list thing, which is I tried Carriage driving for the first time.
Well, sort of first time. Back when I was about 15 I got asked to go and groom at carriage driving display at a well known racecourse. Where I got to dress like this!

Very cool aye?!

 But that was a long time ago and I only ever had to hold the horses and tack them up, never drive them!

But today for a last minute stand in I got to try carriage driving.
Colleen Salmon kindly organised this at Valley Farm Equestrian near Ipswich. 

First of all we were taught how to tack up a horse for carriage driving and that part is very important.
You don't tack them up like a normal riding horse. First you start with the Collar or breast plate, back strap, crupper, reins, then bridle! 

Photo of Jack being tacked up with breast plait and saddle

After being shown exactly how to tack up we picked a pony and of course I picked the little shetty that looked like Millie. She was called Beauty and she was an angel!

Look how cute she is!

So once we were tacked up and inspected to make sure we hadn't buckled up something we shouldn't have we headed outside to have a go!
We were shown how to attach the trap to the horse without hurting it and doing it safely as not to frighten the horse. Remember they have blinkers on and cannot see behind them!

So Etoile (French for Star) was loaded into the trap and off we went! Georgie kindly lent me her hat cam so I could capture my first go! Only a little way up a track but so fun and feels like nothing i've done before! Definitely going to have a go and something tells me Millie would be good at this!

Learning how to tack up. Photo by Colleen Salmon 

How to load the horse into the trap without hurting or frightening them. Photo by Colleen Salmon

And off I go! First time driving a carriage 

And to top it off I met a camel!! I think my face says it all 

Tattersalls Thurlow Meet

Evening everyone,

Well as I sit here on the cold wet evening I thought i'd write about my very horsey weekend.

Early start Saturday for The Thurlow meet at Tattersalls. (Tattersalls being Newmarkets Horse Auction House) where the Thurlow hosts its Newmarket meet.

The horses were absolutely filthy when we got them in so all systems go to get Millie look more like a Shetland Pony and less like a hippopotamus!

We plaited both horses and get them looking good and loaded up.

Quick drive up the A11 to Newmarket. The meet was absolutely awesome! I've never actually been at Tattersalls for anything so to see it full of beautifully turned out horses was awesome!

The weather was sunny but warm (which it totally better than rain) so there was a lot of people! Saw some old friends and made some new ones!

We took Millie for Francesca to ride, although she's a little young for a drag hunt yet!

And boy did she get lot's of new fans. Georgie has bought a gorgeous navy jacket from Sandon Saddlery before it closed down and Frankie borrowed my new velvet hat cover and she looked just a like a mini Georgie! 

Beanie loved it and was really wel behaved. We met up with Jo and Katy on the ponies Tadpole and Thistle!

After a quick glass of port (well not me, can't drink and lead rein haha) and a sausage role and mini mars bar or two at 12 noon the Masters blew their horn and the pack and followers set off!

Up the high street, onto the gallops and away!

Me and MIllie trotted up the hill but to avoid Millie getting too excited and strong we elected to keep at the back of the pack and only go a short way!

Millie and Frankie were so wel behaved and absolutely no trouble what so ever.

A lovely lady from Tattersalls ran after us to tell Frankie and I that were the 1 hundredth rider! How cool is that!

With the feidl rounding off at 105! What a great turn out!

Georgie had her headcam on so look out for the edited footage when I get hold of the raw files from G later this week!

So with the pack gone we walked back to the box and loaded Millie in the trailer for the short drive down to Six Mile Bottom to meet up with the pack later.

Francesca was absolutely bubbling over to get back on so we unloaded and got straight back out there! 

We walked up a huge hill to watch the huge pack on the horizon. And slowly but surely everyone made their way up the hill to where we were to go into the woods and jump a big post and rails out! What a cool experience that was watching so many lovely horses leap out from a gorgeous wood!

We finally we were all back together and walked back down the hill to the boxes to draw the end to a really cool day!

I had an absolutely amazing time and really enjoyed ourselves!

Saddle Fit - How much does it affect your horses back muscles? This study tells us!

Evening everyone,

So I stumbled upon this really interesting article today titled "Exercise's Effects on Horses' Back Dimensions and Saddle Fit" and it can be found here where you can read the full article

The research was done right here in Newmarket at the Animal Health Trust by Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, and her colleagues.

Basically the jist of the article is that when horses exercise they get greater fiber hypertrophy (thickening) due to fluid shifts and work and that the how you ride your horse, fit of your saddle and the quality of work you do with your horse is extremely important in making sure your horses can get good muscle building and development. 

This in the long term is really detrimental to your horses top line and top line is what you want in a horse! It shows they're well muscled from work and exercise, that you're feeding them correctly (just like you'd feed a human athlete with good food, you do the same with horses) and that the 

Photo: Courtesy Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS

food you feed your horse contains essential and nonessential proteins, as well as the right vitamins and minerals!

But most importantly is your saddle fitting? Your saddle might look like it fits correctly when no-one is in the saddle, but how does it fit when you're in the saddle? I would recommend regular checks with a saddle fitter. Flocking in your saddle can compress and cause the saddle to either not fit properly or cause pressure points. With work and exercise your horses back will change shape. Have you had your horses saddle checked since they're gained a good top line?

Your weight. Have you gained weight that could be pushing your saddle into your horses back and withers causing pain? 

Now that I ride Beanie I've taken a really good look at myself and I know that I'm a bit too heavy for him so i've drastically changed my diet! And in under a month i've lost  significant amount of weight. Onwards and inwards ha ha ha!

This photo I got from Nine Acres Equestrian  where this photo shows the difference saddle pressure can have on a horses back. See that square at the front? That's from a numnah tab being tucked underneath. We'd notice something as our laces in our shoe and how uncomfortable it is. Just imagine that horse who cannot tell you that numnah tab hurts her!

Remember your GG's can't talk so we need to do these things regularly to make sure they're happy, comfortable and healthy.

Bit of good for thought!

Horses Temperature, Pulse & Breathing Rate from NEH

So this popped up on my facebook feed last night and I had to share!

Newmarket Equine Hospital are always posting interesting articles and bits information. You really should follow them on facebook if you're not already 

But this I had no idea! Plus it may come in handy for when you're in a situation where your horse is ill and you want to check these things while the vet is on the way or if you want to call the vet and tell them something is wrong, you can follow up with this information once you've assessed your horse.

Or even if you're not sure if your horse has recovered after hard work on not, you can check their breathing rate.

I keep little diagrams on my phone like this for emergencies. I have one for which leads to put on my battery and the other car if I need a jump start! 

So if something like this can be referred to when you need it in a pinch, it could be extremely helpful! 

We always have our phones in us wherever we go now, so why not save this?

Save this photo -

I'm attending a vet talk in March at NEH so will do a write up of that afterwards

Safe horsing everyone!