Mari Durward-Akhurst

BEF Regional Squad Session

Claire and Michael from Dengie came to visit my new horse Lady Amelia and she is slowly changing to a her Dengie diet. It was good to meet Claire and Michael and we found out a lot of information that was really useful. I am looking forward to catching up with them again soon.
I had my first BEF squad session with Amelia. We had to get up early and go to the yard to feed her and get all the her ready. We then loaded her onto the horsebox and made our way to Moulton College. We had to be early as I had a practice review first. This went well and David was pleased with my progress.
After my review we had lunch and I watched some of the other riders on the squad and then went to get Amelia ready to ride. She looked really smart in her white bandages.
We have had a few issues with saddle fitting so I have not ridden her as much as I would have liked. We have now got one to use for the time being whilst one is being made.
I got on and warmed up; she went really well, her paces were fab. I was really pleased with how she had warmed up as it was only our second time out!
The test started well and the trot was good, we had slight issues with the canter. But we are getting to know each other and are forming a great bond, as we have not been together for long. Both David and Angela liked Amelia a lot and next time the test will be a lot better.
The training with Angela Weiss was amazing; Amelia felt fab. We worked on what I had been working on at home with my trainer. Amelia went really well, it was the best she had gone. She definitely shone in the training part and everyone was really impressed with her and said how good her paces were.
After I had finished riding we loaded her up and went home after she had a slight break, because she was getting restless and so we thought we should make a move.
I got to meet all my friends on the squad as I had not seen them since Millfield. I am looking forward to the next squad session in October which is a review.

Mari