Time is really rushing by and I can hardly believe that we are nearly at the end of our 30th Anniversary Year. It’s been wonderful to be able to celebrate such a momentous achievement but the excitement didn’t stop with our Ceilidh as this month we have been featured in not one but two magazines!
November’s Lincolnshire Life did a lovely article about Kesteven RiDeAbility and how Karen set it up and 
developed it into the successful venture it is today. I had a little mention in a sidebar complete with photos of me and Rio, but the headline photograph was of Karen and her horse Bud, a beautiful photo and a good choice as he has been with her for much of the journey. Other photographs illustrated some of the things we do such as our Silver Hour, Dressage and Physical Therapy with our youngest riders. A fabulous photo session with photographer Danielle Longotano Rain meant that we had some lovely photos of what we do to complement the article; thanks Danielle! Happenstance that both Karen and I each decided to do one with our respective horses. Almost like the stars were lining up for us.
The second article was in Woman’s Weekly and was about me! I was a tad nervous about it; would I look ridiculous spread across the pages of a national magazine?!! I needn’t have worried as it was a nicely written piece about how I had wanted to learn to ride but felt that at my age it would be impossible – until of course Kesteven RiDeaAbility got me into the action and catapulted me into things I never thought possible; like winning red rosettes!
Karen says I am obsessed with rosettes. Wait until I get a medal (I’m not asking for much am I?), then my obsession will really take off! But I say at my age “why not?!” Again photographs from my photoshoot with Rio adorned it and the whole thing looked pretty good I thought, especially as it was another great plug for Kesteven RiDeAbility.
They say things often happen in threes and I am a bit superstitious, especially coming from a part welsh background where the fantastical often played a part in my growing up. So it should not have surprised me when I got a phone call about a nomination I had made to the BBC Unsung Hero Award. It seems that my nominee has been shortlisted in the Regional phase. It’s all happening here! They want to come and film us in the next couple of weeks. Watch this space for an update in next month’s blog. It was a real surprise to get the call but it is a timely reminder of how important our volunteers are to the success of the group. We have a wonderful bunch of very dedicated people who work hard to help people like me week in week out.
Despite all this excitement lessons go on and although the weather is definitely turning and the main RDA competition season is over there are still opportunities locally. Gaby, a para dressage rider who often takes lessons at Kesteven RiDeAbility, has been taking part in competitions with her horse Beau. Last week she gained a first place in her class with a score of over 71%. I love to see others doing so well and advancing towards achieving their dream. It makes it seem all the more possible when you see others who are also differently abled getting on a horse and just doing it.
My focus at the moment is to do another Dressage Anywhere test to get some more feedback on my technique. I have been working intensively on circles and whilst it has been harder than usual the rewards when it’s gone right have been amazing. There are weeks when things don’t seem to go well and I get quite frustrated with my limitations. I always over analyse and concentrate on what went wrong rather than what went right and whether I will ever really conquer all my difficulties. Will I ever learn to sit back, shorten the reins sufficiently, leg yield left and right and indeed, just get Rio to shift himself! I sometimes still think it’s a miracle I have managed to come so far but I always want more! Maybe that’s the character of a differently abled person; to be constantly questioning and pushing against any limitations. But it can feel like quite a mammoth struggle sometimes. That said I definitely lucked out finding Karen. She pushes me and despite days when I am quite negative I never think she is going to give up on me.
At the beginning of the month I began a very aptly named exercise called the “wet noodle.” A Ritter Dressage exercise involving Voltes and leg yielding. It’s really helping with mine and Rio’s “bend” as well as getting us both used to when and where to shift weight, shorten reins, maintain tempo and energy and generally get quite giddy doing 10m circles! I am not so good at leg yielding, particularly on my wonky side, but we did try out some leg yielding from one Volte to another and wow did Rio do a magnificent job listening to my leg signals (good side!) I could feel him through my reins and how well collected he was – it’s funny but until you feel it you can’t really know how to do it- chicken and egg, egg and chicken??!! By the end of the lesson he was really on board with me and we finished off with some absolutely beautiful 20m circles on a long rein. He maintained his energy and tempo without me having to chivvy him; it was like floating on air. When it goes right it goes so right.
Kesteven RiDeAbility. Sue’s Blog. Nov. 2018. www.kestevenrda.co.uk
