I have been so excited since I was contacted by Kirstie at Forelock and Load to confirm that the saddlery business would like to sponsor my event horses for the 2021 event season. I am an avid shopper for my horses and “all the gear and no idea” is a phrase that sits close to my heart so being sponsored by such a well stocked and dynamic saddlery is a proud moment for me.
I thought for my first blog it would be helpful to introduce you to my three horses, give you a flavour of my dreams and ambitions and what I hope the 2021 event season will hold for me and the horses.
My longest standing resident is “Cooley Delta” aka Pebbles, who I have owned for nearly 6 years. She came to me as a very naughty 6 year old, with a penchant for trying to buck people off, so I knew my work was cut out for me. We started off with some 90’s and she definitely demonstrated her sass and diva like behaviour in the dressage phases. At the end of our first season as a pair a change in my life meant Pebbles went out on loan, unfortunately this didn’t end very well and Pebbles returned to me with a knee injury. Surgery followed and it seems life was stacked against Pebbles as when the canula was removed following surgery she developed a blood clot in her neck. To this day she cannot stay in the field for more than half a day as her face fills like a chipmunk when it stays down constantly. Once the rehab was over from the knee surgery it appeared she had developed grade 4 infected ulcers (which we believe was a result of all the medication from the surgery and the blood clot) so a further holiday ensued for Pebbles. We eventually got back to eventing and she has repaid my faith in her by completing two Novices very successfully and at the beginning of the 2020 season we qualified for Badminton Grassroots at 100 and I am excited that this may potentially run in 2021. Preparations are underway to make sure Pebbles is as ready as she can be and following Badminton she will move back up to Novice and try to qualify for The Corinthian Cup at Gatcombe.
The ”King of the Yard”, Shannondale Oso comes next and I have owned him for 5 years. Pebbles and Oso are madly in love and they don’t make any effort to hide this fact! Oso came to me as a very successful Grade A showjumper, he had dabbled in eventing before (not v successfully) and I have no idea what possessed me to buy him. I knew he bolted and reared and was generally quite a tricky character but one sit over a fence on him and I was hooked! It was fair to say I had never sat on anything quite so scopey before and I had high hopes of making an eventer of him – he didn’t disappoint by winning his first BE90 at Little Donwham just before the season ended. This definitely kept me going as the first winter was pretty horrific, I seemed to fall off more than I stayed on after his numerous attempts to dump me after landing from the jump – we had him fully vet checked, saddle/teeth and back checked and it transpires winter just doesn’t suit him! However in our first full season eventing we completed a couple of 100s before taking the plunge to move him up to Novice at Smiths Lawn. Oso exceeded all expectations and finished 3rd qualifying me for The Corinthian Cup at Gatcombe. Sadly injuries have persisted throughout his career and after amassing 20 BE points in very few events including a double clear at Gatcombe Nationals Oso suffered an awful injury to his right foot, with all structures being damaged. I wouldn’t like to say the amount of money that I have spent on him at Rossdales in an attempt to bring him back to competition but it seems Oso is ready to become a very expensive lawnmower and happy hacker and I am more than happy to oblige him as he really is my horse of a lifetime.
When Oso initially injured himself I was offered MBF Swatch, Sonny, as a gift and despite managing to be sensible for several months and saying no, eventually my heart won and I was suddenly the owner of 3 horses (this was really never part of the plan). Sonny came to me with a few health issues as he has a bone cyst on his stifle, arthritic facets along his spine and a repaired hole in his suspensory! However having been ridden by Sarah Bullimore as a 5 year old, with great success, I thought he was worth the risk. He isn’t my usual type as he is long and rangy and not always the quickest thinking but he is most definitely built for the cross country and after a few training sessions with Tina Ure I was excited for his future. I have spent the first year letting him grow muscle wise and getting to know him and learning to find his buttons…… his body has to be very carefully managed with help from my vet, physio, chiropractor and saddle fitter as any niggles can be much more serious for him because of his health issues. I managed to squeeze a 90 at Poplar Park in 2020 and Sonny pulled it out the bag with a 24 double clear to win our first event so I hope that he will follow in Oso’s footsteps and move through the grades quickly in 2021 to finish the second half of the season at Novice.
Yard wise I am very lucky to have finally found my own yard – it was previously home to a number of point to pointers so I have an amazing 1.5km surfaced circular gallops, along with 6 stables, walker and 18 acres of turnout. My amazing landlord has just put planning permission in for an arena which will make my set up absolutely perfect and I will then consider taking on a competition/schooling livery in. I also work full time for Ernst & Young as a Senior Executive in the Strategy and Transactions Team so it is fair to say life is very hectic! However my heart most definitely lies with the horses and I cannot wait for the 2021 season to kick off and to fly the flag for Forelock and Load.
Until next time!
Sophie Hyde
