My name is Paula Anne Frazer, an equine obsessed amateur show jumper and I have 3 horses and three dogs. Let me introduce you to the trio of tricky equines; first we have Autumn (20yo Anglo Arab) – The ‘good/experienced one’ – well at times (a couple of weeks ago deciding to ditch me in our first Riding Club event – thanks very much!).
Aria (10yo Warmblood x Hanoverian ) – temperamental madam who likes her own way and is starting to learn the ropes of having a rider (much to her displeasure since she has loved the leisurely life up until now!).
And finally Bob (13yo Irish Sport Horse) - Also known as Scooby–Doo for various reasons – I shall elaborate later. Each have their own quirks and characters which despite annoying me at times makes me love them all.
I’ll focus on Bob to give you a flavour.
It all started when I went out to buy another horse (after sadly losing my beloved pony, Merlin). I went out with the intention of buying an experienced jumper to take straight out and compete…. Well I thought that anyway, despite trying to follow my head… it was my heart that won as usually is the way!
Next thing I knew; I was the owner of an underweight, giant, skittish gelding. His nickname – Scooby-Doo. He’s big, does most things for food and is the biggest wimp on the planet! He’s introduced me to the world of lethal leaves, deadly birds and spooky shadows I never knew existed?!
Autumn
Aria
Bob
All joking aside, it has been a tough journey but we’ve both come out the other end as a team, we’ve worked hard and progressed so much in confidence and ability and I’ve developed techniques and training ideas specially tailored to him, to reassure and help him learn.
There’s still a way to go, but I wanted to share my experiences with you as I feel it is possible to overcome hurdles but it’s about maintaining a positive attitude towards training and never giving up when times seem tough. I’m just a regular rider with my horses whom enjoys learning more about them each day and as we all know – with horses you never stop learning!
Alongside Autumn, and soon to be Aria, Bob regularly goes out competing- making his presence known each time – people know of him as much (if not more) than they know of me!
I would love to keep you updated with news of our team tales and escapades along our never ending journey to the affiliated circuit! Some of which will be entertaining, some will provide tips and advice, and others will concentrate on the more important aspects of owning horses, showing the development and progress we have made, occasionally including any setbacks – quoting a phrase that’s doing the rounds on social media – “Don’t see it as failure, see it as a lesson”.
So here’s to our story thus far and beyond – I hope you enjoy the read!
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Our insurance policies at a glance:
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.