Melaney Baker

18 October 2026

Hello everyone,

We seem to have blinked, and just like that, summer is over and autumn has arrived!

​Since my last blog, we have been super-busy. 

Our main goal for this year was taking Hazel to The Royal Welsh. It was her first time on the big stage and her first stay away - as well as our first time staying overnight in the trailer with our  (at the time) 15-month-old daughter. What could go wrong?

We went with no expectations other than to have a good time and get our picture. Hazel, on the other hand, had a different plan and went into the ring ready to shine. She ran absolutely beautifully and finished on the top row in 9th place out of around 20 horses, gaining our first-ever Royal Welsh rosette-something that has been on our bucket list for years. And most importantly camping all together was a success!

Hazel has also been busy under saddle; we had our first ridden competition and did some dressage. Back in August, we did our first ridden showing class, which we won, making it a great start to her ridden journey. She then rounded off her showing season with a 2nd place at Bucks County Show in-hand with Ben.

Mrs Jones has had another successful summer, taking a couple of reserve championships in her recent competitions. We also took her to the Welsh Cob Society 125th Anniversary Show at the Royal Welsh showground for another stay away. 

She went very well, finishing 10th in a strong class, which we were really pleased with.

Mrs Jones also had some exciting news: I've started breaking her in, and I've finally got on and ridden her! It's a moment I've been waiting many years for after buying her at the Welsh Cob auctions as a 5-month-old foal.

Now that our showing season is over, it's time to focus on ridden work with Hazel. We've already been out to a couple of clinics and have plenty more planned over the winter.

Mel

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