Posting my end of year round up early before we head off to Hesleyside for New Year!
So this year the ponies got out to play again and they did a bit of everything, dressage, eventing, hunting, endurance, TREC, Tent Pegging, Western, polo, mounted falconry and more. Chamfron Nicobar was our first British Eventing winner before going on to win his BE90 class at Blair Castle International Horse Trials. Chamfron Colorado was selected for the Scottish Endurance team for the Home International in Yorkshire and stormed home, round and sound. Chamfron Tizona was one half of the level 2a pairs winner at the Welsh TREC Championships and Chamfron Paloma was asked to do a spotlight at the Horsemanship Showcase. Then you have the young horses like Chamfron Agata de Fuego and Chamfron Mojito coming out and putting a massive smile on my face and Chamfron Bellini coming back from injury to win her first two affiliated dressage competitions, gaining her area and regional qualifiers.
95% of my work life this year was based in the corner of my spare room though the 5% out of it did include some magical osprey fly-bys. It feels like we have been treading water again this year, while the price of houses, horses and general living has rocketed. I feel like all the good will seen in the first lockdown has vanished and people have got more insular and selfish, driving three inches from your bumper before parking on double yellows is the norm now. A significant percentage of people still shop with their snouts hanging out their masks. At some point I stopped blogging the deaths, the restrictions, the new variants, we are living with Covid, the risk is we are not really living despite having now had three vaccines.
It's not all been doom and gloom, some definite "high" points in the year and some interesting plans for 2022!
