Riley relaxing in his new stable next door to Blackjack after enjoying their first day out on the grass in Wales
If I owned a crystal ball, I’m still not sure that I would have foreseen how I would begin 2025. If you had asked me at the beginning of 2024 where my ponies would be in twelve months time, the answer would have been in the same stables at the same livery yard.
So it was a big change at the end of January 2025 which resulted in me moving my ponies to a new yard in Wales, an hour away from home. This was a massive difference in the commute time of five minutes in a car and my preferred method thirty minutes on foot which had previously been my routine. After four years on the same yard, I realised that it was no longer serving either me or my ponies however that’s not a story I want to share. Moving has been the right decision and I feel happier.
I really needed to make changes
Blackjack had only been in a horsebox once before in his life and we were a little anxious about how well he would load. He went on first time without a backward glance
Towards the end of 2024 Blackjack became lame and following visits from Mark at Wrexham vets and Angela Holland our vet chiropractor, we received a suspensory ligament diagnosis and were given a complete rehabilitation plan which they would monitor after follow up visits. As anyone who has dealt with this diagnosis or is aware of it knows, it is not a quick fix and requires lots of painstaking work.
Around the same time, I stopped riding Riley, my ME/Chronic fatigue had really kicked in, probably due to stress and the motivation wasn’t there. It became a real struggle for me just to leave the house and get to the yard let alone anything else.
I knew that I needed support with my ponies, and possibly a break for myself but was constantly mindful that I really wanted to become a better rider and compete in dressage, and one day experience a flying change and hopefully piaffe. And preferably on Blackjack. I really needed to make changes to give my ponies and myself a chance to move forwards. With horses, nothing is guaranteed and only time will tell, but I was determined to give this my best shot in order to improve the situation.
I spent lots of time looking around for a dressage-focussed yard
I spent lots of time looking around for a dressage-focussed yard and rider to help with the rehab and development of my ponies, and after much searching, I made the decision that Laura Parkes in Wales was the answer. After making initial contact I did waiver as she was an hour away from my home in Cheshire and having spent the last five years going to the local yard at least twice a day and doing everything myself, despite being on full livery, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to step back and let someone else do most of the work.
A spring in his step
Riley patiently waiting to be loaded prior to the move. He was as good as gold on the day.
Luckily, I made the decision to move, and Riley and Blackjack have settled in extremely well. Riley seems to have a new lease of life and a spring in his step that I haven’t seen for a while. Blackjack on the other hand, has always had too much of a spring in his step and has always felt that he’s king of the yard and that everything should revolve around him. This has created challenges although Laura seems to know just how to handle him to bring out the best, which is exactly what I was hoping for. Laura has been hacking Blackjack, and Rachel who works for Laura and has her own horse on the yard has been hacking Riley. This is exactly what they both need right now, Riley for fitness and Blackjack as part of his rehabilitation.
My ponies seem happier than ever
Blackjack loves his new home and is enjoying life in the Welsh hills
My next step is to get back on board Riley. Despite knowing that he is a safe horse I keep putting it off, and I haven’t quite worked out how my hill phobia is going to cope with the hacking terrain as nowhere is flat in this part of Wales.
In the meantime my ponies seem happier than ever, and are loved and very well cared for and that is the most important thing to me. They seem to thriving in their new Welsh hills environment. Every time I travel to the yard and question myself if I did the right thing in moving them so far away, the answer is always a resounding yes.
This change was needed to move forward. And as the saying goes, “if you do not change direction, you might end up where you are heading.” I’m so pleased I changed direction.
If you enjoyed reading this, you can catch up on all of the earlier instalments of the life of Riley here
