I have never got on well with public transport. Blame it on the countryside upbringing, when seeing a bus on our lane was at talking point at dinner, or blame it on my famous lack of common sense, public transport and I are just not meant to be.
When I moved to London, I unwillingly resigned myself to the fact that I would have to get the tube to work and the train back home to Dorset. This didn’t last long. It took me just a few months to get a bike and start cycling to work, but it took me a bit longer to get a parking permit for my car. Now the waiting is over, and I am free at last!
Having a car in London will hopefully give me a bit more flexibility to ride and teach in the area. Getting to yards via public transport just doesn’t work so well! It will also mean that Dad won’t have to pick me up from the nearest station in the lorry when I want to meet him and Freya at a competition.
In other news, we are rapidly moving towards the dissolution of Parliament before the Election. The last few major Bills have been pushed through, and we’re frantically tying up loose ends. I will be working from home until 8th June so I will have to chance to spend some more time with Freya cracking on with the Advanced work. She has been having a nice time since the Nationals, and she’s very pleased that the ground is dry enough for her to go out in the field again! She never really goes further than about ten metres from the gate as she can’t tear herself away from the grass long enough to move.
We have just picked up the flying changes again after a bit of a break from them before the Nationals. She was SO happy to be doing them again. She thinks they’re much more fun than simple changes! With a younger horse who isn’t fully established, it’s really important to keep the balance and straightness going into the change. It’s very easy to over ride it, but all you end up doing is throwing them off balance. With Freya, I need to make sure I keep the canter short enough because she’s so keen to have a go at the change that she goes a bit too fast to jump through cleanly!
Finally, Freya’s lovely owner, Fay Thomas, has welcomed two very gorgeous foals to the family, one by D’Egalite and one by Franklin. Fay always has a selection of beautifully bred youngsters, and it’s well worth checking out her website at FST Sport Horses.
That’s all for this week. I will leave you with a video of Freya loving every second of her performance at the Nationals. Let me know if you have any questions or topics you want me to cover. E.x