I hope everyone enjoyed my first little intro into my life. I can’t believe how quick the last few weeks have gone and how we have had to dig out the waterproofs. This time of year does not suit wheelchairs… I tend to have no control and end up crashing a lot.

So, I was leaving for my first holiday in four years when I wrote my first blog and Wow Mexico is amazing. I was so nervous as I had no idea what the access would be like and we went so last minute that we didn’t even have a guaranteed adapted room. Well that wasn’t going to stop me! It all worked out in the end and the hotel did provide us with one. The wet room was fantastic, and the room was close to the pool so made going around really easy.  I used to take for granted the freedom and how spontaneous I liked to be before the accident and I do miss that, but I was determined to go and knew we would make it work, we normally laugh our way through any disasters that occur anyway. Only the other night Lucie went to give me hug, but it was so hard that she pushed the whole chair backwards…whoops! We both were laughing on the floor for 10 minutes.

Everyone in Mexico is so helpful and were always ready to give me a lift me. We had golf buggies to take us around the resort, so they got used to chucking me and the chair in. Definitely recommend Mexico if anyone has been thinking about it. I can’t wait to get planning the next holiday but hopefully with a bit more time to plan.

I am extremely fortunate that I have been able to keep my horses since the accident, but I know in time this may have to change. When I was eventing I started to breed my own so that I could produce them. I have sent one up to a very good friend of mine to start his eventing career but somehow he has just kept growing, he is about 17,1 now so don’t know what happened there as I am only 5,2. The rest are all at home with me. I still hope that the other two that I bred to event will go down that pathway and then I have bred one to hopefully be one of my para horses in time. Diego is absolutely gorgeous and has such an amazing temperament. We make sure that he is used to the wheelchairs and the girls do a lot of bomb proofing  with him, so he has been seeing a lot from day one. To nanny my young horses, I have my retired eventer Ebony, she is brilliant at it as she doesn’t take any cheek from them.

I currently have one para dressage horse Diamanti. I bought her last year and she took to it straight away. As she is only six she needs a lot more competition experience before I feel she Is ready for me to take out. I want her to see more and get her confidence up. I am searching for a schoolmaster to get back me out there, I miss competing so much and just want to crack on.  I managed my first para competition a week after the two-year anniversary of the crash. This was the boost that I needed especially at that time. I don’t think I have been so nervous, not even for my first international BE event. Bubbles was the horse I was riding at that time and she was just brilliant and wish I still had her now, but an old injury flared up, so she had to be retired. She looked after me through the whole test and when it finished I think I took my first breath and just grinned. Yes, I had finally done what I said I was going to when I was so ill in hospital!

 

 

I am very lucky that I have opportunities to ride locally on an rda pony and she really has been solid for me. She has given me the ground works to ride stronger horses and puts up with a lot. Hopefully next week I will be back on Diamanti now that I have my saddle back from its adaptions. I cannot wait to fill you in on my first ride back on Diamanti.