REBEKA ANTONIJA SETNIKAR SHOW JUMPING

Milka and I left Writtle University back in November 2020 due to another massive Covid-19 outbreak. The world went crazy, all the countries were in lockdown, and Universities switched to online teaching. After a long and exhausting journey back home, Milka and I arrived at the new yard, which was only 2 minutes away from my house, which was perfect, as I continued spending every day with her. Finishing my second year online was quite a challenge, and I missed Writtle so much! There were many promises about 'life getting back to normal' soon, and I kept my hopes high to be able to return at least for the last month or two of the 2nd semester, but unfortunately, none of this happened, and I had to stay in Slovenia. But, the situation with the global pandemic calmed down a bit during the summer, and hopefully, there won't be any massive outbreaks anymore. I had to make a little trip to Writtle in August to finish one of the practical exams that I couldn’t do because of covid,

 Gosh, HOW MANY THINGS happened in a year! Who would’ve thought that there’ll be a virus killing people all around the world? I haven’t even known the world lockdown before 2020 but let’s leave that for later.  My first year at the Academy was so much fun, and I’ve learned a lot more about horses and myself (or maybe confirmed the fact that I'm not a morning person):  -       Milka and I rode on a demo for FE students and saddle fitting demo for my class. Yes, Milka urgently needs a new saddle, it was a quite insightful yet painful realisation that she’s in uncomfortable because of the tack I’m daily putting on her. At least our third demo for a bit and bridle fitting showed positive results (and confirmed there’s at least one thing I’m doing right). Neue Schule bits representatives came to our lecture to tell us more about bridles and bits and their impact on horses, explained possible threats of pressure points (bonus anatomy lesson, I enjoyed that a lot) and demonstrated on Milk

We had our first training session with Jane on Friday. We placed the most significant emphasis on the position and the impact of my hands. The goal in the following training sessions is to get to what I call a 'fluffy cloud stage' as soon as possible (mare relaxed, ready to work, leaning head down, collection, soft on hand, long, correct steps, feeling like you're sitting on a 'fluffy cloud'). When I finally thought I knew the mare to the last bit, this training revealed to me that there was still a lot of unknown and undiscovered. While it will not be easy to change deep-rooted habits that have proven to be wrong, I look forward to improving and can hardly wait to see the results that will show after a few months of being here. Jane was absolutely amazing, and I really like her training style. Not only does she say something needs to be done, but she also connects consequences with anatomy, physiology, and behaviour. With this, I am not only refined in riding but

Arrival: Freshers week is over, and preparations for Milka's arrival are well underway. Last week I got to know the workers, environment, other riders at the academy and their horses. The mare drove off on Sunday morning, travelled from Slovenia to Belgium, slept for one night and then continued the trip on Monday. She was taken by ferry to England and thence to WUC. The journey was long and difficult, but she carried over very well. Despite travelling for 17 hours on the first day and 7 hours the next day, she arrived in college lively, well and happy. And that's where our story began. Isolation: Milka had to stay in quarantine for the first week to make sure she was healthy. A white fence protected the entrance to stable, and there was a barrier in front, to disinfect shoes before entering and exiting the stable. I had to make sure that mare, myself, or anyone who came into contact with her did not touch other things around. Prevention is always a better option than cur