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Author: Lisa McKendry

17 May

Posted at 16:30h in Uncategorized
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FOMO is delighted to have recently brought on board Hoofprints Innovations as a supplier of our award-winning body protector FAZE. Donal O’Beirne, the brains behind Hoofprints Innovations, along with his dog Scruffy Joe, has been in the business for many years.  Originally an equestrian photographer and then, after a short spell in project management for Horsewear Ireland, he was forced to take his business in a different direction following a serious accident while out hunting. There’s nothing like a life changing incident to make you take stock and appreciate what you have in life.  Donal decided to ensure that the focus of his new business would be to provide safety advice and products to riders and is now the preferred supplier of safety and performance equipment to Eventing Ireland competitors throughout Ireland. When our MD, Carmen first made contact with Donal, they hit it off with their shared passion for safety and dogs; Scruffy is Donal’s co-pilot and Whisky is Carmen’s second in command.  Following Carmen’s own serious fall from riding, she has created our body protector, FAZE, that is built on the science behind the safety without compromising on comfort or the look.     FOMO is delighted that Donal understands the technology behind our product making it an easier product to sell to his customers.  Having a BETA Level 3 body protector with innovative foam panelling, using our own DION technology, which exceeds the industry standard by up to 65%, and a unique adjustment mechanism providing a comfortable solution without inhibiting movement, ensures that Hoofprint’s customers will not only get the safety they are after but the comfort too. Hoofprints Innovations have only been selling FAZE for a month or so but already has seen great interest with the demand for FAZE increasing week by week.  Attending every show nationwide, we hope that more of the Irish riding community meet up with Donal and hear all about why riding in a FOMO FAZE body protector is the safest way to go. ...

17 May

Posted at 11:02h in Uncategorized
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Here at FOMO, we’ve been committed to being more sustainable and reaching our net zero goals, for our planet and our 4-legged friends. THE BACKGROUND In this blog post, we want to share with you the carbon footprint of one of our FAZE body protectors and how we did it. Carbon footprinting is the process of measuring the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product or service throughout its life cycle. It helps us understand the environmental impact of our products and identify opportunities for improvement. THE CALCULATIONS To calculate the carbon footprint of one FAZE body protector, we followed these steps: - We weighed all the components of the body protector, such as the foam, fabric, zipper, velcro, etc - We identified the materials and their location of manufacture for each component - We used 'The 2030 Calculator', which is an online tool that calculates the carbon footprint of different materials and processes based on industry data and conversion factors - We added the energy required for the manufacturing processes of FAZE - We added up the carbon footprint of each component to get the total carbon footprint of one FAZE body protector Our scope was from material extraction and manufacture to assembly of the finished product.  We did not include the transportation, distribution, use,  and end-of-life stages of the product life cycle (yet). THE RESULT One FAZE body protector has a carbon footprint of 13.82 kgCO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). To put this into perspective, here are some examples of the carbon footprint of other products: - One pair of Levi 501 jeans has a carbon footprint of  33.4 kg CO2e - One iPhone 13 has a carbon footprint of  64 kg CO2e We want to reduce our carbon footprint further and make our product more sustainable. That's why we are committed to improving our design, materials, and processes to lower our environmental impact. We also want to be transparent about our carbon footprinting process and share our data and methods with anyone who is interested.  We hope by doing this, we can inspire other companies and consumers to join us in stepping up to net zero and fighting climate change. Thank you for reading this blog post and stay tuned for more updates on our journey to net zero. #TeamFOMO   *Sources: https://www.2030calculator.com https://www.levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Full-LCA-Results-Deck-FINAL.pdf https://8billiontrees.com/carbon-offsets-credits/carbon-footprint-of-iphone/#:~:text=The%20carbon%20footprint%20of%20iPhone%20is%20estimated%20to%20be%2064,with%20onboard%20storage%20of%20128GB.  ...

10 May

Posted at 10:21h in Uncategorized
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I would be lying if I said I had done extensive market research for body protectors before I bought my FAZE. After an 18-year break from eventing, thanks to medical school and anaesthetic training, I have had the great fortune of being paired with a friend’s horse who is significantly more experienced in the sport than I am, and with some very light persuasion, I grabbed a last minute space at Lindores’ Eventing Camp. I vaguely remembered an email from BRC about new body protector standards and thought it prudent to check my trusty old Pony Club number, it would be fine right? Oh god no, it’s not been allowed on a cross-country course since the mid-noughties, oops! So, in a blind panic with 5 days’ notice, I messaged FOMO and Carmen was able to bring one in my size along to camp for me to try/ buy immediately so I could go out on the course. My initial impressions were “jeez that’s heavy” and “god that’s going to make me look massive”, but I didn’t have much choice. I arrived at camp immediately after a 12h ICU night shift and met Carmen as I arrived in the car park. I had an extremely efficient fitting beside my trailer, and once she was happy it fitted well, I leapt on and trotted off to join my XC lesson, leaving Carmen in a cloud of dust and arriving on the course with ten minutes spare to warm up. I honestly have never been so comfortable in a body protector, I kind of forgot I was wearing it if I’m honest, to the point I nearly got caught on my stirrup when I dismounted as I didn’t jump off with the extra wee bit of clearance I normally would with a body protector on. It fits like a glove; I’m quite tall with boobs out of proportion to my waist, so have struggled in the past to find body protectors to fit well. I’m a size 12 but my height is mostly legs, so FOMO’s range of sizes being the same as ladies’ clothing sizes made it really easy to pick and the 12 regular was perfect for me. The extra bit of security from the adjuster was great as well, meaning there was a bit of room to play with the next day when I was back on the course straight after lunch. It’s so secure but not restricting in any way, to the point I’m pretty sure I could go bra-less, and with big boobs and a horse that jogs 98% of the time that is a very significant statement! As an anaesthetist, I have seen a fair amount of horse-riding related injuries in my work in Intensive Care.  The vast majority that end up in critical care are rib fractures or spinal injuries, usually in people who weren’t wearing body protectors. I felt so safe in my FAZE, it has good coverage over all my ribs, no defects in the zip areas, is reinforced over the spine at the back and definitely has better collarbone coverage than my last one. Off the course the fact you can remove the cover to wash it is brilliant (my old one still has gross sweat marks on it), and FOMO will repair damaged covers for free which I love for reducing waste. I feel proud to wear it, especially since it has been designed, engineered and made in Glasgow. So proud in fact that I forgot to take any photos, but here is Captain showing me how it’s done, jacket over my FAZE unfortunately, but I promise it’s there. I hope to never actually part ways with Captain over a course of jumps, but I’m confident that my chest and back will be safe even if I do thanks to FOMO 😊. ...

05 Apr

Posted at 14:03h in Uncategorized
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6 months ago, I tried on a FOMO body protector for the first time. My horse Maisey is a very enthusiastic 15hh coloured sports cob, and despite her forward-thinking nature making her perfect for the activities we participate in (riding club, cross country, and endurance), it also means I refuse to ride her without a body protector. My first impression of the FOMO body protector was how comfortable it is. The foam is much thicker than previous brands of body protectors I have worn however it still felt lightweight and easy to ride in. I was particularly impressed with the dial feature which adjusts the size depending on what you are wearing. For cross country, I usually just wear a thin base layer but for endurance, I can wear a jumper if it’s a bit colder so this flexibility means I can have the perfect fit all the time.   My first test with the FOMO body protector was how it felt jumping and I was delighted to find that its comfortable and lightweight design meant it was very easy to jump in and I actually forgot I had it on! The security I feel with it means I now won’t jump without it as I feel much safer in the event that I do have a fall. The next test was my first endurance ride as that required having it on for much longer periods of time. Despite it being a warm day, I felt very comfortable and forgot I was wearing it for the couple of hours I was riding. This weekend we completed our first 30k ride and it made a huge difference wearing something that was so comfortable for such a long period of time. Would definitely recommend to anyone wanting a safe, secure, and comfortable body protector as I absolutely love mine Helena ...

05 Apr

Posted at 13:59h in Uncategorized
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My name is Grace Botterell and I am an 18-year-old event rider based in the Borders.  I started riding when I was around 5 and instantly loved it.  I had some very cheeky ponies through my pony club years but they didn’t put me off, if anything it made me keener. My interest has always been towards eventing despite my mum being a dressage rider and I competed in my first event when I was 13, on my horse Winston, and after that, I had my goal set for the 100u18 team. Winston was an absolute XC machine, we had so much fun and he gave me so much confidence, taking me around the 100u18 championships at Frikley in 2019.  After that, I wanted to step up to novice and felt that Winston had taught me all he could and it was time for him to go and teach someone else the ropes.  During the summer of 2019, my sister kindly gave me the ride of Pip and I spent the summer getting to know her.  My aim with her was to step up to novice and eventually compete in the 2* u18 team. In 2021 we stepped up to novice and in 2022 we were part of the 2*u18 team at Bishop Burton and were 3rd individually, we also competed in the 2* at Blair. My plans for Pip this year is to start our season at Breckenbrough in the open novice.  Later in the season, I am planning on stepping her up to intermediate.  Last summer I also got to ride on Cameron Crawford’s Up Up and Away (Russell) which was really exciting and we spent the end of last season getting to know one another and competed in a couple of novices.  This season we are starting at Forgandenny in the open novice and then step him up to Intermediate this year. I am looking forward to a busy and successful season ahead. Grace...

21 Feb

Posted at 12:30h in Uncategorized
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Our ambassador Rachel Williamson competes successfully on the showjumping and eventing circuit.  Read below how she manages to balance them both. "I have personally found that to successfully balance both a showjumping and eventing style career,  all of my planning at home and for the show season needs to be carefully thought out and planned accordingly for each horse.  Not everything will go the way I want it to, so it's important to add in some wiggle room to allow for problems and issues that may arise. Firstly, I plan the eventing season with my 3 boys, who are all competing around the same level.  I work out where they need to be going and what the main aim is, I then decide where they’ll go to tick over or gain qualifications, and then where they’ll go if any planned events are missed due to possible cancellations, a horse being lame or if the show has genuinely not gone to plan and we haven’t gained a qualification. Next up is planning my show jumping season.  It’s a lot easier to plan the show year when all the horses are established at higher levels as I  can be more specific on where I go and plan everything they do around the big shows. I decide which showjumping shows I’m going to aim high at and which showjumping shows I’ll go to in between, which are normally qualifying classes for whichever show I am aiming for. For example, I have the Highland Show planned with the jumpers I have just now, and I have all the qualifier dates in the diary that I can go to when I’m not eventing. I like to figure out the eventing season plan first as I find it much easier to work around those. Some BSJA shows can be held on a Wednesday/Thursday too, leaving the weekend free for an event, and vice versa. Around all of this, I also need to take into account the young, competition livery horses that I will have to compete with as well. This year, I have decided to only have a couple of young ones to ride at some of the BE events and none to show jump at a lower level. Alongside all of the planning of shows, I like to plan all the training that we need to do and attend and have an individual plan on how to get each horse as fit as they need to be for their first events. This includes everything; gallop work, hacking, flatwork, and jumping. As you can imagine, it takes a long time to plan out the whole year hence why I try to do it as early in the year as possible. I'm working hard and looking forward to the season ahead."...

24 Aug

Posted at 14:51h in Uncategorized
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We are delighted to introduce our newest ambassador, Cameron Swales. He is a 17-year-old event rider based in East Lothian. Riding is his passion and has his sights set on pursuing a career in eventing. He has high ambitions, aiming to ride 4* at Badminton one day. Cameron has two horses that he events.  His own horse, Topper Boy Alfie, a grey 9-year-old Gelding, who fully started his eventing career last year. They started out at 90 and moved onto 100. They have had a good season and a promising future together. His other horse is Millie's Law Tilly, a 10-year-old Bay mare who he rides for Annie Allen. Tilly and Cameron had a whirlwind season last year, doing their first novice in May. Since then, he’s done three 2* International classes with her and has performed for the Scottish 2* U18s eventing team in 2021 and 2022.  He and Tilly look forward to competing 2* at Blair this weekend, we wish them both lots of luck. Asking Cameron about himself, he says he is his own worst enemy as is very hard and critical of himself, always thinking that he can do better, even on a good day. He is also a great team player and loves helping his younger peers in the pony club, giving them advice, and loves seeing them thrive.  One of his favourite riders is William Fox-Pitt; he loves how quiet a rider he is and how his horse's always come first, even before competitions. His other passion is football and is Man United crazy which he has received a bit of an ear bashing from fellow ambassador Wills Oakden for. Cameron on wearing his FOMO FAZE: “What I love most about FOMO, is you always have the rider's comfort as the highest priority. Safety wear isn’t always the most comfortable but you have managed to design a lightweight, super safe body-protector that completely moulds to your body which you almost don't feel as if you’re wearing it.”...

03 Nov

Posted at 15:43h in Uncategorized
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We are delighted to have Caroline Mosley of Orange Fox Eventing onboard as one of our new ambassadors.  Read Caroline's competition entry below which gives a great insight into all about her as a person and Orange Fox Eventing. Hello Team FOMO! I would love to be considered to join the team as a FOMO Ambassador. As someone who is a supporter of the advancement of safety and the development of innovative, useful products, I am a fan of the FAZE as it has been developed with some important safety considerations without compromising on comfort which, in my opinion, makes it the best BP on the market. I was impressed that in the design process, the zip area on a typical BP’s had been considered as an area of weakness, so the design to offset the zip to protect the sternum had been included in the development of the FAZE. For me, this showed a massive demonstration in the consideration of safety. I have found the FOMO FAZE to be incredibly comfortable and have already recommended it to many riders. About me I have been lucky enough to be involved with horses all my life. I started out competing at affiliated show jumping competitions on ponies and was fortunate to represent my country on home-produced ponies several times. After growing up and having to concentrate on my career as a Registered Veterinary Nurse I gave up riding for several years to obtain my qualifications. Towards the end of this non-horse period, I worked in Australia and happened upon a show jumping yard where I picked it all up again. I rode several super horses and picked up some high placings at large shows such as the Royal Dubbo Horse Show and many others around New South Wales. I returned to the UK and moved to Edinburgh to start working at the Vet School. I met my non-horsey husband John, and at this same time, a friend eventually convinced me to give eventing a try. That was just over a decade ago and I have been hooked ever since! I have produced my own horse up to British Eventing Novice and was placed consistently in the top 10 with him. We had won at horse trials, qualified for grassroots eventing championships and riding club team championships, but it was all halted after I was a passenger in a serious car crash in June 2014.  I spent three weeks in high dependency with abdominal drains, chest drain and underwent spinal surgery. I had to take time to rebuild myself so all riding was put on hold and there was a possibility I may not ride again but I was determined to get back in the saddle. This drive helped me stay positive and keep pushing forwards with the plan to get on board and go hacking. My horse at the time was super quirky so I was loaned a superstar older horse Classy Touch to help me. Classy didn't just get me hacking again, he surpassed all expectations and took me around several three-day events at (old) 1* and we obtained top ten placings at BE Intermediate too which was fantastic for a 22yo horse. He was retired from eventing in 2017 and continued to have fun at Trec, dressage, and was a natural at side-saddle. His most recent outing was in 2018 where we were placed in the large Side Saddle classes at the Royal Highland Show (RHS). Shortly after the RHS I sadly found he had died in the field from a massive heart attack. It was a big shock and broke my heart. I will be forever grateful for having such a wonderful horse in my life. Classy gave me the ability to ride again, and the drive to enjoy every day as it comes. I love my hobby and the horse’s happiness and welfare are my number one priority (sorry John!). The horses live on our smallholding in the Scottish Borders shared with my husband’s Hebridean Sheep. They love a varied life and so alongside national and international horse trials, I take part in other spheres such as Trec and showing. I also take my Miniature Shetlands running with me to keep their weight off, keep them and myself fit too! It is a happy gang and another important part is the Labradors – aka The Eventadors – who are a constant source of support (and licks). In my full-time role at Edinburgh University’s Vet School, I lead the clinical skills department teaching practical skills to veterinary students; this involves everything from basic animal handling to performing clinical tasks. I also lead and train examiners for clinical practical exams and run a teaching qualification programme. The Eventadors join me daily in these classes and play an important part in the training of the next generation of veterinary Surgeons! My horses are all chestnut! Not by choice but they do seem to have ended up that way! Here is a bit about them all: Marqued Man, 11yo, Thoroughbred, gelding I had the pleasure of riding Kenny while his owner was expecting her first baby, and he settled into the team life really well. He can be a bit of a drama queen, but we love him and earlier this year he joined the team permanently. Kenny has competed at 2* with me including a fabulous ride around the Blair CCI2* long this season, ending the week on a clear showjumping round. While we had a blip on the cross country I can take so many positives (it was rider error!) and I am so excited about what the next season will bring together. My aim for 2022 is to step up to 3*/Intermediate and possibly in the future maybe achieve an ambition of competing abroad! Dwina de Cavron, 14yo, Belgium Warmblood, mare. I bought Dwina in 2017. I saw her advertised and loved her and spent a week convincing my husband we had room in the stables for one more! She had recovered from a suspensory injury and was looking for a forever home. She is a wonderful mare and I competed at CCI2* and Intermediate with her last run being at Belsay in the Intermediate in 2019. My aim for 2022 really is to see how she feels. She was unable to hold a foal and owes me nothing so there is no pressure, but I would love to pop round an event one day again however just seeing her trot up the field for breakfast gives me so much joy, I’m happy as long as she is happy. Dwina and I have also completed an endurance ride, taken part in lots of Trec competitions and, generally, we have fun and enjoy everything we do (except being rugged up, Dwina doesn’t like this so much!) Lobinstown Elite, 12yo, Irish Sports Horse, Gelding I’ve known Larry since he was 3yo as I originally bought him to the event. It turned out he was a bit unlucky and has spent many years in and out of the hospital for a variety of reasons! It was due to Larry that I met my best friend Sarah who now part-owns him and enjoys him as a happy hacker, although this year he seems to be feeling incredibly well and I’ve tried to event him! He has completed two BE80 and 90’s and if he feels well again next year we might try to do a few more! He can also be seen with Sarah at Trec competitions and any other outings we take him on. His main role has been partnering my horses to the gallops to keep them fit (he gallops fast!) so you could say he is the fittest happy hacker around! Motivations Live each and every day to the full is how I view my life. I am so lucky to be able to do what I do, I enjoy my job, my hobby and have the support of a wonderful husband and friends. When I go out with the horses I want to always be improving, and while I know I will always be an amateur rider, I have a professional approach to this and continually strive to do better. I am in awe of the amazing athletes we have in many different sports. I love following athletics as well as equestrianism and my hero’s include John Whittaker, Frankie Sloothaak, Lucinda Green, and Princess Anne, (Princess Anne rode a horse my god mother produced – Goodwill!), Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin, and many others in equestrian plus Liz McColgan, Paula Radcliffe, Katarina JT, Roger Black, Jessica Ennis Hill, and many others. One of the most inspiring people I follow is Suzanna Hext, who had life changing injuries from a fall off a young horse in 2012. She became a Para dressage rider, and went on to be European champion in 2017, and then moved to para swimming where she has just become a Paralympian competing in Tokyo despite her body trying to fail on her. Her journey is inspiring, and her hard work and dedication are seen in her posts on social media and her successes in sport. I have the most incredible support from my husband, family, and friends. In my spare time, I try to catch up with them, I like a quiet dinner out and a good catch up when I can, it’s a great way to unwind and something that has been missing a bit over the last year due to the pandemic…. that and dog walking holidays exploring the British Isles! Hopefully, they can pick up again soon! Caz  ...

03 Nov

Posted at 14:49h in Uncategorized
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We have been really lucky to have Muddy Mayhem of Team Chasing Mayhem on board as an ambassador for FOMO.  For those of you who don't know about Team Chasing Mayhem, you can read all about her below: Hi, my name is Karla & you might know me as the blogger Muddy Mayhem. I’ve been involved in eventing my horse Vince (known as Miiiiiince on the blog) at BE Novice level with the ultimate aim being our first 2* international. I share my ups, downs & try to keep a grip of my, quite frankly, chaotic life. I’m so excited to be working with FOMO as an ambassador. The company had impressed me with their design & dedication to creating the ultimate body protector. As soon as I put my FOMO FAZE on I knew that I’d found the perfect body protector, it’s amazingly comfortable…which I tried to demonstrate by doing a ‘bridge’ with my body (a totally bizarre thing to do as I’ve never been able to do one of those even when I’m not wearing a body protector!). For those of you that don’t know what team chasing is, it is the most brilliant sport ever invented. I honestly believe it was created by a bunch of people who were drunk, in a pub. It involves a team of 4 horses & riders, galloping around a course of, mostly, massive hedges. The rules are : 1st 3 horses/riders home times count Jump all the fences Don’t fall off more than 3 times a round. And….well that’s about it really. It’s crazy,  it’s bonkers & it really is the most fun you can have on a horse. If you’d asked me how I was a few months ago how I was I would’ve replied ‘fine’. However I was lying, I would have had a face like a slapped arse and I wouldn’t have meant it. Not at all. My eventing, the very thing that I felt defined me, which previously had been mediocre at best, was…well it was going utterly to shit. I was dispirited and low wondering what had happened to my brilliant Miiiiiince. I was not in a good place. ‘Go Team chasing!’ people shouted at me from the comments of my mopey, miserable posts ‘You will love it! It will cheer up Miiiiiince’ I was assured. Now all of you who suggested it, Do you have an ‘I was right’ dance prepared? Because you were right. I joined a fab team who looked after me and we had the most amazing time at the Warwickshire, I hope you all enjoyed the videos (can I take a moment to assure you all now that the creaking you heard wasn’t me farting in fear but how I’d attached the headcam) However, the intention was always to get Miiiiiince back onside and then return to eventing for the remainder of the season. I got plans after all. I got aims I’ve got to achieve, right? I headed over to the Sweary Kiwi for a lesson and to decide what BE events to enter. This all changed though as Miiiiince absolutely flew through a decent exercise of corners on a curving line with me bellowing how awesome he felt. ‘Whatever you guys are doing at the moment she said ‘keep doing it, because it’s working for you both’ And that’s how I found myself heading to Belvoir for our second team chase run. The first thing to note here is that the English language is fucking weird. I was happily pronouncing it ‘Bell-vwah’ with the flourish I felt that it deserved until I found out it’s actually pronounced ‘Beaver’. Beaver? Fuck. Off. Why? How? What? It doesn’t look anything like Beaver. Secondly, it was a fantastic course, proper big and bold. It made the Warwickshire look tiny. We walked the course with me getting paler and paler and, mainlining gin in a tin as I was, quite frankly, shitting myself, but Miiiiiiince knew what the deal was this time and where he had started a little unsure and backward at Warwickshire. Well, there was none of that. Ears pricked so tightly they were almost touching he gave me the most blinding of rides just bursting in confidence the whole way around. We had one hairy moment as a team where, at the 3rd, our lead rider went left, his horse went right and his testicles got smacked somewhere in the middle as he pulled out the save of the century to stay on.   Our most recent and 3rd run was the Intermediate at the Grafton. The first half of the course was pretty much ‘trip hazard’ with small timbers until about halfway around where it chucked some decent hedges and drops in. When I say ‘decent’ hedge I thought it would be funny to take a picture of one of my teammates stood beside it. Turns out it wasn’t funny in the slightest, because it towered over her and I had to swallow down a little fear sick. It definitely caused enough trouble. At one point instead of the 2 teams of 4 that should’ve been on the course, there were 6 randoms just galloping together laughing,  the commentator tried his very best to work out what the very fuck was going on, but then just gave up and joined in with them laughing. It was chaos. It was then I realised that right now, this very moment, right in the middle of this glorious chaos was JUST where I needed to be. I was so happy. Instead of spending the run-up anxious and nervous, stressing I hadn’t done enough prep, I wasn’t ready and I was going to make an utter twat of myself (I really don’t know why I worry so much about that, it’s pretty much a given, right?) I had spent the run-up excited and looking forward to going. I was no longer going through the motions of what I thought everyone expected me to do and instead I was having the most glorious, brilliant, fucking fabulous fun with my amazing horse. My Miiiiince. We had another superb run. Miiiiince pulling my arms out as he wanted to take on the course, I was literally whooping with the pure joy of it all – and no, I’m not in the slightest bit embarrassed by it. Why should I be? After what feels like months of crying in lorry carparks because I hadn’t had ‘the best day on paper’, of feeling inadequate and like a failure. I’m having the best time and boy, I’m gonna let the world know. Hear me roar bitches, hear me roar (no seriously, you will hear me roar, its that no ‘indoor voice’ thing of mine again, I reckon they could hear me back in Suffolk and I was nearly 3 hours away) I see it all so clearly now. The standards that I was comparing myself to were irrelevant. The things I had convinced myself were important really weren’t. I’d pitched myself and Miiiince into some ridiculous self-created struggle that really wasn’t worth it. What I’d convinced myself was my dream had just turned into a heavy millstone around my neck, dragging every last inch of enjoyment from my riding. Eventing had made me doubt my worth, I thought I was not enough. But I am enough. I know I am because I realised it stood in that glorious chaos of the Grafton team chase. Will I return to eventing? Absolutely, I will at some point. But this time it will be on my terms, genuinely not giving a shit what is ‘expected’ from me or what the results say. I heard something recently that really resonated with me. ‘Life is short, it thunders by if you like the music you just got to get up and dance’ Miiiince and I are dancing to the music of team chasing and it is EPIC. Karla  ...

20 Jan

Posted at 16:48h in Uncategorized
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Well, I've been quiet for a while, apologies for that. Sadly Trusty had a slight injury in July 2020 where he had a check ligament strain. Although it was very minor, due to the fact ligaments are very temperamental and with the joys of lockdown, the decision was made to very slowly rehab Trusty to give him the best possibility of the injury to heal properly and also prevent it from happening again. This has meant a long process of firstly hand walking then, walking under saddle, and thankfully, we are finally on the last stretch of ridden trot work. Poor Trusty cannot understand why his life is a constant stream of four walls of his stable, the arena, or endless amounts of country lane walking; he's desperate for a canter and a jump! We are hoping for a sign off scan at the start of February to finally start some faster work and then it will be all preparations towards hopefully getting out eventing dependent on Covid restrictions. My hopeful aim this year is towards the new Cotswold Cup which is a new unaffiliated series running this year where you get points at several events working towards the Championships in September. One of the most exciting events for me that run as part of this, is held at Barbury Castle in July which has been one of the venues on my eventing bucket list so it would be amazing to be able to get here. The first event of the Cup is at Oxstalls at the end of May which I think, so long as everything goes to plan, should be a reasonable goal to work towards. I'm hoping to link up with fellow FOMO ambassador Alex Holman for some regular lessons in flatwork and jumping once Trusty has the all clear; Alex has been having some great success not only with his own horses but with his growing client base as well and with him being on my doorstep it would be rude not to take full advantage! So keep your fingers crossed that we will continue going well; Trusty has had his fresh clip and he's desperate to get back out strutting his stuff  I've also got some very important kit that's been sat gathering dust, waiting for a cross country run; I cannot wait to test drive my FOMO body protector!...

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