ONE YEAR LATER

 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 Milka and Dolly how to fit them properly. They were quite satisfied with Mika’s fit, which was a good thing. I’ve never thought deeply about it, not further than the noseband pressure. At least our fantastic lecturers bring all these external people to share their knowledge with us and make us think about things like this.

-       We’ve had a body position training with Phil - who would’ve thought that just sitting on a horse in a walk can be so tiring..? Riding often becomes routinely, and Phill’s lesson shook my world. It made me question everything I’ve ever known about riding. I still can’t stop thinking about it when I ride, which is probably good.

-       Nutrition consultation with one of our lecturers Briony, that helped us find the right food that worked the best for Milka and her daily needs. I always found it challenging to know what to feed. Still, with Briony’s help, it was easier than ever! We found the right combination to keep her healthy and strong, and her energy levels moderate at the same time. She also showed me some tricks on how I can assess her body condition score and monitor the state of her body.

-       One of the ‘coolest’ things I’ve ever done with Milka was attending the side-saddle clinic with Katie Evans. Milka accepted the saddle so quickly and overall behaved like a star. All I’m going to say is - never underestimate side-saddle riders in movies, their top leg is going through a lot!

-       If the side-saddle clinic was ‘the coolest’, then contributing in a Sue Dyson’s research project was probably the one that made me ‘the proudest’ I’ve ever been on a horse. Riding for her was a fantastic experience, and I’m glad I can say that I was a tiny part in something so big and significant. She was there, all prepared with her cameras and notes, knowing what she came for, and it made me feel so small! But she was very kind and let me take my time before we started. I was shaking through the whole dressage test, and thankfully Milka saved me (again) and shower her skills, so our riding came out quite decent. Hooray, my pony!

-       My favourite day every two weeks was Thursday. Why? Well, because of Michael Paveley’s lessons, of course! He’s been so kind to agree to come and give the Academy riders free jumping lessons. He never failed to make it the best experience ever. I’ve tied some new things - excuse me, brush jump, skinny? They already sound scary to me. We always had this type of a conversation that made us think about ‘why do we do what we do with horses?’ when warming horses up. It was an excellent way to make us think about every cue we have to the horse when riding and what’s the benefit of it. Chats with him were always lovely, and he always gave us the feeling he enjoys working with us and the smile on my face probably stayed on for a whole day. Best days overall! 

-       Last but not least,… gym! Ah no, it’s not just that. Gym, core workout, cycling, karate… these were all of the things we did off the horse to stay fit, improve core muscles (very important for riding!), and stability. It was not my favourite thing to do, at least in the beginning. I’ve never liked going to a gym ad I’ve felt uncomfortable with all these people around who ‘know what they’re doing’. But with guys form Academy, we learned how to make these sessions as fun as possible, and my discomfort vanished. Karate was a sport I’ve never thought I’d give it a go, but it turned out to be my favourite one! It started getting easier with the time as I became stronger and fitter. Still, at the same time, exercises became harder so I couldn’t run away with that. 

So, that’s a short recap of my first year at the Equine Academy. It was hard (waking up in the morning, please no!) but definitely fun and worth it! Which is why I’m even more excited to be a part of it this year. Milka also got her Instagram profile @milaktheunicorn, where we post pictures from our adventures.

Sadly, it all ended for Milka and me in the middle of March. The situation with Covid got worse, and I had to pack my bag and go home. We’ve thought it won’t last for long, so I left Milka at the Academy. Bad decision. This was the worst summer of my life, scared, sad, and 1.600km away from my lovely pony. She got some issues with front legs a month before I left. We didn’t have enough time to fix it properly and bring her back into work. Hence, the best decision in the given situation was to pop her on a field and let her enjoy the summer with other horses. I think she wasn’t delighted when I returned in September. She absolutely loved the freedom and (expensive) vacation, and I believe her massive belly confirmed that. She got soo fat during the summer! I took things in my own hands, called the vets out to fix the issue we had with her leg and put her on a strict diet (told you she wasn’t happy that I returned). When she was able to do some work, we started with short lunging sessions, and in a few weeks, I finally sat on her – after nine very long months! I got positive on Covid in between which slowed down the process of getting back on her, but we eventually did it. Sadly, the whole situation with Covid at Writtle University had quite a bad impact on me, so I’ve decided to pack mine and Milka’s toothbrush and go home. We were lucky enough to get a place in the yard that’s located two minutes away from my house! I feel 100% better now I’ve returned home, which was a hard but right decision. After a few days off after the long journey (driving with a ferry, sleeping in Belgium, another 12 hours…) we started with riding again, and the benefits of the diet are finally showing. We’ve explored the fields around on our first hack a few days ago, enjoyed a crazy gallop (racehorse prospect maybe?) and I’m very excited to tell that I’m planning on starting jumping with her again on Monday! Fingers crossed legs will be okay, and we’ll be able to show our progress when we return to the UK. 😊 

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