well obviously she's much better than me but i really don't like the way she rides anymore. she rocks her upper body way too much coming into fences and her lower leg is so far forward it scares me a bit :p i think the tackless stuff she does is all well and good but nonetheless its a bit of a waste having boo as a trick horse when i think she was jumping 1.20 dc's when lauren got her
Do you think Rebecca Raeburn is a good rider?
yes :) i love the way becs rides, shes so quiet and gentle and she always rides jd forward into the contact instead of pulling him down and together. their flat has improved to no end and she still has a beautiful jumping position and a really good eye for stride
Do you think Grace Lidster is a good rider?
i remember a good few years ago being completely in awe of the way she rode simon, ginger simon, milo etc! considering she had such a long break out of horses and threw herself right in the deep end by getting a really green ottb, shes doing an amazing job and hopefully she'll get back to where she was in terms of her level before she went on her uni break :)
Do you think Michelle Whyte is a good rider?
i have no idea who that is lol
Do you think Ally Wilson is a good rider?
yep shes decent :) quite a versatile rider, not really a fan of the whole leaning back and hang on the reins when the horse spooks or whatever but she gets them all going really well and other than that she seems like a really quiet, soft rider
Do you think Gemma with Murphy is a good rider? Why?
i think shes improved tonnes since she's moved yards. the only thing that im like wwwahhh about with her riding is the fact it seems like she twists her body as she folds when she jumps, and i hate it when people do that because it can fuck around with the horses backs... plus the lower leg being waaay too far forward. but other than those tiny things i think she rides really well and i love how she just does her thing instead of worrying about what the rest of the world think :)
Do you think Issy King is a good rider? Why?
to be honest i don't really watch issy that much. if i'm honest i think she's a decent rider, as much the same as everyone else at her level. lady however is a credit to her and is a little powerhouse, i love that mare! i think people would be less obsessive and critical over issy if she didn't have such a scary cult like obsessive band of followers, but it's not as if the girl asked for that so you can't exactly pin all the blame on her
Why do you think Jazz Kearey is a good rider?
she handles casper brilliantly, i mean he looks like such a handful all the time. she's done a great job on reeno, shes ridden an assortment of horses and got them all going really well, she's been to HOYS etc so has proven herself in terms of results... shes just a very versatile rider, although her flat could do with a lot of tweaking :P
Do you think Jazz Kearey is a good rider?
yes how far she's come with casper is insane
Do you have a favourite picture of you and Bonnie in general?
i have loads, but i do love this one in particular shes my girlllll <3
Who was Foxy sold to?
a girl called shannon
Why was Foxy sold? :)
the whole idea when i got her was that i would bring her on to be sold. she'd been backed and everything, she was just really green. she improved a lot, went of the voice, had a bold jump but like she was awkward, if you tipped a centimeter too far forward before the jump she'd just spin away and refuse it :') oh i loved her
yeah but considering their past and alex has a bit of a history of being a slag, were you not worried?
not at all i trust alex kim is his friend, there is no problem there!
do you care that Kim was round Alexs?
no, why should i care? she's his friend
Who is the happiest person you know?
aw damn those horse questions were funand i genuinely dont have a clue
What do you do the most of with your horse? Flatwork, jumping, lunging or hacking? What would you do in a typical one of each of these sessions?
ok, so mostly i do flatwork with her.typical sessions: flat: warm up long and low, in the trot i'll rise for two strides and sit for one to let her back open up. play with the striding try and get a bigger more swingy stride and then ask to collect up etc. then bending to encourage her to supple up (still l&l) the more work i do, gradually take up the contact to get her working more uphill and forward :) will do bits of lateral work as welljumping: usually only jump in lessons now, so it's either gridwork or just attempting to get gruff to jump a water tray or something
Favourite place to hack?
desborough island it's always exciting to see how many rude dog-walkers scream at you
Best looking horse/pony you've ever ridden?
skewbald charlie by far. beautiful mane, beautiful face, well put together, the best personality :)
A horse/pony from your past that you didn't own/loan that you would love to see/ride again?
spi!
Who was your favourite riding school horse/pony before you got Pickles?
blizzard and midnight on par. blizzard had been my favourite for YEARS, i would bag him in advance for all the special holiday things, i just loved spending time with him and thought it was incredible that he used to neigh when he saw me and stuff. hes the reason why i have fairly gentle hands because he was so sensitive mouthed that it meant you had to be quiet and careful, and you also had to give him confidence. midnight was on par with him because she's AWESOME. literally awesome. i loved riding her because i was learning from a pony that knew a lot anyway, she improved my jumping and my flatwork immensely and she was just great fun to ride. not to mention the fact that she was incredibly sweet and affectionate
Did you used to have a pony called Foxy? What was she like?
i did indeed. and she was the most sensitive, beautiful, gentle sweet-natured mare i have ever met. no mare has ever come close to fox in terms of personality. foxy was an all round pleasure. a bit of a nut at times, but she was a baby and not naughty in any way shape or form. if i could buy this pony back, i would do it in a heartbeat. we were just so in tune with each other and i loved the legs off of her. i don;t think ive ever cried as much as when i found out she had been sold.