Winter goals – better late than never!

It’s that time of year again where I question whether being a horse owner is really for me – by the time I get to the yard in the evening it’s pitch black, and it’s suddenly got freezing cold. The fingertips of my winter riding gloves have more holes in (tragic! I’ve already stitched them up twice!) and I’m struggling to find the motivation to ride after work.

So this year, to try and stop myself from falling into total winter-related despair, I’ve decided to set myself a few goals to work on between now and the clock change (also known as the best day of the year.) I know it’s a little bit late because it’s already the end of November, but it wouldn’t be me if I’d been on time, would it! So, here they are:

1. 1. Get out and do some dressage!

This summer was my first proper eventing season, and after a couple of events it became apparent that I really needed to work on my dressage. I picked my flatwork lessons with top trainer James McCullough back up, and within a few events we’d started showing massive improvement, ending the season on an incredible dressage score of 20.5. I want to come out next season feeling like our dressage has improved even more, so I’m aiming to do at least four dressage tests between now and March which will help to keep me on track – and maybe, maybe, aim for a novice test! To help us achieve this goal we’re joining British Dressage to have a go at some Team Quest competitions with a lovely group of girls from my yard – watch this space!

Shout out to the super encouraging judge who essentially wrote “nice horse, shame about the rider” in their comments on one of my sheets this summer – goal number one is for you!

1. 1. Compete at a new venue

I’m so lucky to be based near some fantastic competition venues, including Solihull Riding Club, Swallowfield and Moreton Morrell. But as a result, I think I’ve become a bit complacent and don’t often look for competitions anywhere new. Next eventing season I know I want to get a bit braver and try out some events at different venues, so I thought this winter would be the ideal time to get out of our comfort zone and try some new places ready for next year. Hopefully joining Team Quest will help us with this goal too.

1. 1. Go drag hunting!

Thinking about goal number three instantly makes me feel like I need to go to the loo… Taking Belle drag hunting has been on my bucket list for a while and I’ve seen loads of ace hat cam videos on Facebook. I have absolutely no idea how it will go though – I don’t know if Belle’s ever hunted before or not, and whether she’ll be her usual chill self or whether she’ll turn into some sort of uncontrollable nutjob and I’ll cry and want to go home five minutes in to the day. Only one way to find out though…!

So, there we go – three little goals to keep us ticking over over the winter. What do we think – achievable? And has anyone else got any goals they’d like to share?