The last few years have been amazing! I have the best horses I have ever had and a brilliant sponsor in Payrolls UK. This is how I got here; I hope it inspires you.
I started riding when I was 11 and got my first fat naughty pony when I was 12. I fell off a lot, often into prickly gorse bushes as I wanted to jump but he didn’t. My next pony was very green, nappy and bad tempered. I hardly had any lessons and having unhorsey parents learnt by trial and error, it took me six rounds to win my first clear round rosette at our local show. It was this pony that gave me the love of bringing on youngsters. By the time I sold her she was a good jumping pony and brilliant XC, although I never got the dressage sorted.
My first horse cost a few hundred pounds and I competed her a bit but she developed arthritis and had to be put down, I was devastated. A local event rider felt sorry for me when I knocked on her door asking if she had anything I could ride and she sold (almost gave) me her old intermediate as he had bone spavins in his hocks. Despite being on the dole I saved every penny and borrowed £1,500 off my dad to buy an old lorry and went eventing. After several good clears at Intermediate he mistook an open corner for a bounce and we fell breaking my leg. A year later we had another fall at Chepstow and were losing confidence in each other and so I sold him to go hunting.
By now I had a job in Worcester Tax Office and bought Mutiny Bay from a local dealer costing £1,900. He’d never competed, was as green as grass, dreadful movement, awful conformation but as brave as you like. He was a headshaker so still my dressage was rubbish. My boyfriend Anthony whom I have been with forever, called him my scope-less wonder horse as he never looked like he could clear even 2 foot! We had lots of successes winning 48 BE points, he was brilliant at Intermediate level and went clear Advanced until his weak conformation forced us to retire him and he was sold to a pony club home.
By now I thought success was easy I would get another horse and do the same again. I had some brilliant results with very average horses, learning huge amounts from every one of them but none were as brave as Mutiny Bay and with only having time and funds to do one horse at a time and starting each from scratch the years slipped by.
Almost 20 years later when I had almost given up hope of finding a horse as good as Mutiny Bay, I bought a bay gelding bred just down the road, Trefeinon Icon. He has become the best horse I have ever had.
I stayed in the Tax Office for 17 years, hated every second and eventually encouraged by Anthony, walked out to coach riders for a living and love it. Anthony is brilliant, he supports me all the way, he helps me with my jumping and Pammy Hutton at Talland helps with my flatwork. I ride, groom, muck out and train all my horses myself which means long hours and its hard work but so much better than that horrid office!
