I think it is safe to say a week is a very long time in politics at the moment! It is totally impossible to predict what’s going to happen day to day. I am just very thankful that I have some consistency in my own projects or I would be tearing my hair out. It is certainly an interesting time but I do wonder how much more uncertainty we can all take.
One thing that will always be certain in Parliament is the sudden summer rush of work experience students. It always amazes me how different they all are – from teenagers who are even more politically engaged than I am, to those who don’t seem interested at all. We seem to attract a range of political spectrums, too. I have had everything from dyed-in-the-wool Conservatives to Corbynistas.
The other predictable part of life in Parliament in the summer is the heat. For the vast majority of offices, air conditioning is a thing of myth and legend. We have two fans on all the time, the door open, and the window open, and I still feel sweat trickling down my back my mid-afternoon! I wouldn’t trade where I work for anywhere, but I do sometimes dream of a nice, new, cool, air-conditioned office…
Away from Parliament, I have been having a lot of fun riding and training. Freya did her first Premier League Advanced Medium at Hartpury on Saturday. She was a really good girl – I’m so pleased with how consistent she’s getting in the arena – but we just had a couple of miscommunications that brought the score down. I can’t complain too much, we still got 69.87% and came 6th but I know that we can do more. She was so keen to get in the arena and perform that I was still doing up my jacket when the gates opened, and she took the executive decision to march on in! I had to move very quickly to pick up the reins and gain control!
I also competed Dom (Dormilon XV) at Kingston Maurward on Sunday. Dom’s owner, Caroline, is getting more confident and skilled but we need to get that in the arena now. I rode him in the first test and Caroline took over for the second. I was really pleased with how he went – I haven’t ridden him much in the last couple of weeks and it was a baking hot day. He did a very smooth, accomplished test to win the Medium 69 on 70%. Caroline then took over the reins for the Medium 75. It’s a more difficult test and he was starting to tire, but they both had some great moments.
While I always try to seem prepared and professional , this weekend wasn’t my finest moment. I spent a lot of time on Friday night practising the Advanced Medium 96 with Freya, only to discover that my test was Advanced Medium 98… I then turned up to Kingston Maurward expecting to ride the Medium 61, and was instead confronted with Medium 69. Maybe a little bit more checking of the test I’m doing is needed in future!! My next competition is the Regionals at Hickstead this coming weekend. I’m really looking forward to competing at Hickstead again as it’s been a while since I was last there. I just have to make sure I learn the right tests…
As always, let me know if you have any questions, complaints or suggested topics!
E.x