9 October 2026
Prep time: One rider, three horses, many early mornings
Cook time: June → September
Ingredients:
- Maple’s first Area Festival
- A top-ten finish at Midway Champs
- Etty turning one
- Winnie’s retirement (plus one viral moment)
- Started a YouTube channel
- A WiFi-free hiking holiday
- Etty comes home!!
- Endless buckets of EquiGlo ✨
Method: Prepare with care, make adjustments as needed, allow time to rest and enjoy every moment.
What. A. Summer.
And how quickly has it flown by! I already start and end my days in the dark… Winter sure is coming, and I’m not yet ready to say my goodbyes.
I’ll be honest, I’m at a loss for words, not because I have nothing to say, but because there is too much! I barely know where to begin, let alone how to recount all the memories in a way that gives them the appreciation they so very deserve.
So perhaps, rather than a botched job simply trying to retell the stories that unfurled, I’ll share how they left me feeling. Pride in how far we’ve come; grateful for the memories we have made and excited for everything still to experience!
As for what this summer has taught me? Progress isn’t extraordinary. In actual fact, it’s the most ordinary of days that make the difference, slowly, slowly chipping away, until one day what you have created is nearly unrecognisable from where you began.
Of all the highs I’ve been blessed with, it feels impossible to pick a single favourite moment. But selfishly, if you were to hold a gun to my head, it wouldn’t be a horsey one at all. Which feels blasphemous, particularly with how blessed I’ve been.
But that short week in the Brecon Beacons was exactly what I needed. Limited signal, no WiFi and, most importantly… not a single horse in sight! Which, even as I write, I know sounds terrible and ungrateful, which couldn’t be further from the reality of how I feel. I absolutely adore my girls and everything that comes with them. But I’m also aware that I myself have a serious inability to halt, immobility, salute. My breaks are a bit sketchy and I don’t know how to stop. That horse medium trotting down the final centreline, ready to mow down the judges? Yep. That’s me.
There is always something to be doing, and so there I am, doing. Which is great, because it's that discipline that gets me through those early mornings and late nights. But it also means I rarely switch off, which, as it turns out, is actually pretty exhausting! Somewhere in amongst my muddy walking boots and complete absence of notifications, I was reminded that rest isn't something we earn once all the jobs are finished… Because let’s be real, with horses, the jobs are never finished!
Instead, rest needs to be another distinct part of the process. Scheduled in, given the same level of respect as the day-to-day care, the riding and those goals we work so hard towards. I think perhaps that's why this summer has felt so special. Despite the ‘obvious’ big moments, it doesn’t feel defined by any single achievement. Instead, it is made up of hundreds of ordinary moments carefully knitted together. So whilst I'm certainly not quite ready to welcome winter with open arms, I am excited for more ordinary days, and incredibly grateful for a summer that can only be described as ‘delicious’.
Until next time x
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