I’m not really sure how I got into riding, as my family isn’t horsey at all, but I was pretty obsessed about it from a very young age. I think to shut me up Dad said I could get a horse when I was 13 if I still wanted one then. I did and Dad kept his word and I so it all began.
I am based at ‘Skyline Park’, Somersby, NSW but spend my days doing my ‘proper job’ which is being a lawyer. This means I have to work my horses before and sometime after work so my week goes something like this: I start each morning not later than 4am, riding til 7.45am. Then it’s into the shower and changing for work in 5 minutes before dashing into the office at 8.30 (well, that’s the intention although I usually seem to be running a bit later than that…). I prefer not to ride horses in the evenings after work but it’s often unavoidable, especially if I have any horses with me for schooling.
This year the aim with my top horse F1 Pharinelli is to take him to London and help Australia win a gold medal – pretty straightforward really. Poker Face will aim for Melbourne CCI** and then, if he is feeling confident, he will do a 3 star event by the end of the year. Stewie and Dempsey will both make their eventing debut this year and I will aim to sell Cleopatra to a young rider who wants a super showjumper!
As I look towards London there is such a lot of hype about it, but I try to ignore that and just keep doing what I’ve been doing for the last two years. I quite like pressure but if it’s making me worry I am able to relax by reminding myself that I’m doing this because I love it.
When I’m not riding or working I love to go running and I try to go to the gym most days, either in my lunch break or after work … but I have to admit I don’t particularly love the gym! I played Oztag for a season and really enjoyed it but unfortunately our team wasn’t that great (ok, we were crap), so it was a fairly short season.
I hope you enjoy following my journey with my horses this year, through my blog, and we’ll just see where it takes us.
