October & November 2022 and a trip to Copenhagen

Mark and I had a lovely few days in Copenhagen at the end of October. We walked miles and miles admiring this incredibly clean, friendly and stylish city, and we were staying in Vesterbro, an easy walk from the centre and right next to the old meat packing area, which houses some the most fantastically cool restaurants, I think we ate some the most delicious food ever. It was also a great opportunity to introduce Mark to Smorgasbrod, Danish open sandwich, one of my favourite things! Also a fascinating visit to Royal Copenhagen China and Georg Jensen - my favourite jewellery shop.

With a nice break behind us it was time for Arietta and Khalissy to get back to work. Both came in looking fantastic and it was great to have Ellie still at home to make sure we got back on board safely. I had a couple of weeks with four to ride, and three of them still walking on the road, so I was very grateful to have some help from Beverley Eaton, the Freelance Groom, so that we could get them all started and keep up with the clipping. They got quite warm with the mild weather.

Lauren Andrews has now joined the team, Lauren is a lovely rider and great with the horses, so hopefully we can build a good partnership going forward - equestrianism may look like an individual sport, but that all important confidence to go out and do your best in the ring comes from knowing you have a good team behind you.

Billy Breakdance has continued to make good progress. Sometimes it's difficult to quantify this, and certainly it doesn't always look perfect on paper, but he continues to get stronger and less naive, and is so much easier in his ride. He has struggled a bit with getting very stressed in the lorry, but with some handy tellings off from Khalissy he seems to be getting the hang of behaving himself with the result that he has more energy for his real job. He has jumped two lovely rounds and Felbridge, and another good round in a meaty Newcomers at Coombelands so hopefully we're on our way.

Billy Arietta has now been to two shows as well, one and Felbridge and one at Coombelands. Both times double clear in the Newcomers. She has come back looking so strong and well, and so I'm keen to consolidate all she learnt last year in smaller classes before we press on in the New Year.

Be Khalissy is also ready to jump a small class so we're all off to Hascombe on Wednesday. It's been really great to have two training sessions with Trevor Breen, I've missed the continuity of his training while the horses have been on holiday and Trevor has been in Vilamoura. The value of a good trainer cannot be over emphasised. Trevor is brilliant at pushing me, teaching me self-discipline in my riding, and is unbelievably good at trying to understand most of my rather muddling anxieties.

Two sessions with Trevor have made me much more confident with Breakdance, made me realise that I have some serious homework to do with Arietta, and Khalissy was absolutely thrilled to be back out jumping again. Whilst I'm not particularly looking forward to the cold weather forecast for Hascombe, I am excited to have a bit of a team of horses back competing again.

Askeaton is taking a little longer than I hoped to get back to full work. After eight weeks in work Ed Lyall wasn't as happy with her as we'd all hoped, so she's had some very special new treatment, two more weeks of walking and is now moving back up into full work again. I've had her since she was four and for the whole of her ridden life. She's super-sensitive and super-special. She has given me some very proud moments, she was a phenomenal six and seven year old, jumping great rounds in some huge seven year old championships, and will always have a very big corner of my heart, I don't think I've ever had a horse that I've fallen off so many times, nor one whose attitude to her own safety makes me more anxious, but I adore her! I hope we will enjoy many more rounds of jumping together, but if not she is also tremendously talented on the flat, and then hopefully will have super-talented babies.

Alchornes Pure Gold, Tom, is one of the foals in the Breen Equestrian Christmas Auction. The preparation of the foals for the Auction has been a whole new learning curve, and it's been brilliant to be part of the Breen Team's amazing input into preparing not only the foals and horses for the Auction, but watching the amazing PR Team, Izzy & Liv from Equisportif swing into action along with Greg le Gear and Badr al Amrin from the Breen Equestrian Stud Team, and the amazing Admin Team of Chloe, Lori and Debbie in the Breen Office. It is certainly a pretty enormous village that is putting this show on the road. Everyone should put the 14th December in their diaries and buy a ticket for what is going to be the most amazing Gala Evening.

Doonaveeragh Emma and Zarnita are home for the winter. They are two absolutely amazing mares, they not only have won a huge amount of money between them, but have also given huge pleasure to their owners, riders and supporters. They come here for the winter for a bit of a spa break, some serious TLC and to teach us exactly how they would like the yard run, we love them and they make us giggle every day. At 8.30 sharp each morning Emma throws her feed bowl into the yard and takes her headcollar off the hook outside the door and Zarnie starts to nicker and scrape- time to go out to the field!

It takes a huge team to keep a geriatric, and increasingly forgetful show jumper on the road, so many thanks to Mark and Lauren, my wonderful sponsors Saracen Horse Feeds, Just Equine, Protexin, MacWet Gloves and NDS Equine, and also to Casserley & Sons, Sussex Equine, Cinder Hill Equine, Chris Warren & Partners and Caitlin McCaffery who keep the horses on the road too.