Benny rocks his new blanket

I think he may be the cutest turtle I've ever seen.

Resistance (and the futility of trying to fight it)

Benny had, how should I say it, a bit of a day the other day. We were working on 20m canter circles, and every time I tried to transition to canter out of trot, I was met with a wall of resistance. In return for my request I recieved tense rounding, stiffness and, in the end, bucks. That session, we quickly decided that he was not himself that day and gave him some time off in case he was hurting. He was fine by the next ride.

I had another similar day a while ago. It wasn't the same level of resistance, just one of those days when I was of the opinion that he was capable of doing what I was asking of him (again, 20m circles at the canter). He disagreed (respectfully) and it just wasn't happening at the level of my expectations.

As I circled again and again, I had a flashback to my 16-year-old self. Back then, I had a wonderful arab mare named Shantay. When her performance wasn't meeting my teenage expectations, we kept at it. It could be two hours of us at odds. I was a really stubborn kid, and she was a high-energy horse. I thought a bit about those epic battle-royales, and I couldn't even think of one thing I accomplished, other than both of us ending up sweaty and tired.

I've finally learned that there is no shame in altering your expectations sometimes to suit your ride. Every day doesn't need to bring massive leaps forward in training. Our plans don't always mirror our horse's, and the end goal is what counts. Baby steps make a less frustrated rider, and a happier horse.

Lessons from Eric and Hickstead

Like pretty much everyone in the horse community, I was pretty devastated by the sudden loss of Hickstead. Watching the tributes and the interviews, I started to think a lot about how the story of the partnership between Eric and Hickstead can be an inspiration to all of us. Different people will take away different things. I will keep with me the idea that our horses can be so much more than others see in them. You kept hearing it - Hickstead was too short, to uncontrollable, too hot.

Bentley was considered at different times a throwaway, a nervous wreck and an difficult prospect for dressage due to his unfavourable confirmation. And, while, due to his confirmation, etc., things will take time to happen, in the end he is a gentle soul and an unbelivably dedicated partner. He is the horse that loves my coach so much I'm sure he would crawl into her lap if he could.

Will he go to the Olympics? No, but who he is, and what he, like all horses, do for us, is enough.

Thanks Hickstead.

An introduction

The brown beast in the photo is my horse Bentley, an 10-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding. My best friend and I bought him as a yearling. He likes eating, grazing, snacking and donkeys. This is a little log of our time together, including our goals to compete in dressage. We'll start at training level and see how it goes from there.