Things are slowly returning to normality, I have the plaster off and the physio is grilling me twice weekly now to try and get things on track for the end of the month. A slight problem with the tibialis posterior tendon to the inside of the ankle is making things a little slower than I may have liked but at least now I am able to go swimming, drive and to a certain extent ride again.. I had no idea quite how useless one can be when you only have one leg to go about on. It has really made me appreciate how lucky we are with good health and fitness.
It has been an incredibly frustrating time for all involved and I must say an enormous thank you again to all 
my helpers and supporters. The team at home have been brilliant in keeping the horses and yard going and in one piece, and my small but loyal squad of owners could not have been more understanding. The horse are all looking fantastic and dying to get out and about again. My sister Kate has come out of semi retirement to help with their fittening work and is also helping out with my rehab as she is training to be a sports massage therapist. Combined with her already obtained Mary Bromily Equine massage cert she is an invaluable asset to our yard. Mark Smith has also been down to jump the horses which was great, they all went exceptionally well which was a credit again to the the 
team for all their hard work.
We have a new member to our back up staff after the departure of Ginny Scott who headed back to city life in Glasgow. Maria Vanatoa, who is a friend of our existing Estonian member of staff Jaanika, joined us at the beginning of July and will be taking over the reins of a few of our young horses as well as having the fun and challenge of taking Rare Hero ( Jock) to some events in the second half of this season. Maria has ridden at 1* level in Estonia and has great ambition so is a super addition to the team especially at the present time.
I am really starting to get itchy feet with not being able to be more productive during the day, but on the positive it has given me the chance to get a good few jobs done that are always left to the bottom of the pile.I had hoped to get away to Ireland for a few days, but a plaster and inability to drive put a stop to that idea.. better for the purse strings and liver I’m sure though…! One project I am really excited about is embarking on the process of becoming an accredited trainer with BE. In order to do this you have to go through the UKCC levels, which are government run coaching courses covering sports as a whole, each individual sport having its own system and approach relevant to them however. I have been lucky enough to get accepted onto level 2, attending one of the 4 training days up at Easterton Arena, near Perth which is run by Ann Hunt and her daughter Kathryn. It concentrated more on the coaching of the rider rather than the technical aspects of training the horse and was highly thought provoking. At the end of the day, after a casual conversation regarding vaulting and mutual friends, I was allowed the opportunity of riding their international vaulting horse which was brilliant and highlighted some of the weaker aspects of my riding. Particularly evident having had 6 weeks off was the lack of core stability, but the relevance of the classical dressage position in basic vaulting was much greater then I appreciated.. I know what work I need to be doing for the next weeks/months.
Following this training day and a wee taster, I got in touch with Helen Rogerson who runs a Borders Vaulting Group for Disabled riders, as well as training able bodied internationals at the Lauderdale Vaulters Group, she also has a daughter Ann, who vaults internationally. At one session, it was amazing to see the smiles on the faces of some severly disabled children, cantering round on the back of a 17hh horse. Physiotherapists are now fully appreciating of riding for a variety of different physical and mental problems. The Scots are particularly good at this incredible sport, and having had a trial run, I have a new found respect for their abilities to perform gymnastics on horseback. I am booked in for another lesson next week as it allows me to ride not putting pressure on my troublesome tendon and really concentrate on my position rather than what the horse is doing.. I can highly recommend having a go to anyone, it great fun and very interesting.
Not being able to drive has meant that I have been at the mercy of my Mother taxi’ing me about, for which I am truly grateful.. I have however been down some roads that I didn’t know existed having been in the Borders for 5 years now.. notably this amazing view from the top of Talla Reservoir.. taken at 10.20pm on route home from a visit to some friends, it was quite spectacular,
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So at last, we are thinking a little more positively, I have entered up some of the horses for the new events at Burgham and Hopetoun, then on to Scone, Hendersyde and Blair. A notable return to the team on the equine front has been in the form of Philip and Iona Kerr’s Arctic Soul, who having a a bit of time off in the spring has come back in really good order and looking great. We are hopeful of a run at Blair for him, which is set to be an amazing event with the Young Riders there… we could also see a potential squad place for the Elliot’s Cherry Law, who has moved on to Scottish young rider Danial Scott. They had a great run at Burgie so fingers crossed. Also moved on is Fiddlewood who has gone to Matthew Wright to campaign. He has been placed 3 out of 3 so far and now looks to have a qualification to Gatcombe for the Novice Chamionships which is great after the blip we had, it looks like he is well back on track. We also have new youngster in the form of the Mactaggert’s Vinny Roe gelding Caballito, originally, and still possibly destined for the racecourse, he has joined the team for some education and a crack at the YEH classes.
A final word must go to my great friend and international rider for NZ Lucy Jackson, who also came off the other day and has managed to break her ankle in three places. It was an innocuous fall off a young horse, landing on her feet after a jump whilst xc schooling. My heart truly went out to her as she was due to have the amazing experience of riding at the Test Event at Greenwich Park this week, and then also in the invitational CIC***O at Aachen… absolutely gutting.. at least I can say I genuinely know how she feels.
Maria is entered with the youngsters at an unafiliated show this weekend at Titlingotn Arena, then there might be an outing to some BS next weekend before Burgham, fingers crossed the next report will include some show or eventing news…