Considering we’ve all been locked down for the entire time, this month has seemed to fly by, even with all the restrictions still in place. April has passed in a blur, and I cannot believe we have been in lock down for as long as we have already. It's not the easiest being away from my family, but I'm so grateful that we have so much space here to live in - I think I'd be going stir crazy stuck inside at home to be perfectly honest! Working everyday is a big help too as it prevents me from thinking to much about the current situation (apart from the fact that I'm desperate to get back out eventing of course!), and living here is like living in a small bubble away from the rest of the world. The plan is just to quietly plug away at training so that at the end of this both us and our horses have all improved from where we were at the start of the 'season'.
As much as I would love to be able to just crack on, get out and about and compete Belle while I have her, I have to admit that having this time to get used to not just her but a bigger horse, and her way of going has been so beneficial for the both of us. Although riding some of Harry’s horses has softened the gap slightly, the jump from a 15.1 to a 16.2 is still huge and I am still getting used to her bigger stride and slower pace. The biggest thing for me is coming to terms with the fact that she isn’t going to have the same, quicker choppier motion as a smaller horse would have, and that just because I don’t feel like she is moving particularly quickly, doesn’t mean she isn’t working properly and correctly.
Belle is such an amazing horse to work with, and such a hard worker. Now we’ve gotten used to each other a bit more, I feel that she is starting tor really try hard for me, and I'm starting to get some really lovely work out of her. She is such a genuine horse and I am so privileged to have been given the ride on her for now. I can already see an improvement in both her and me in the short time that we have been together, and I cannot wait to see where we will be in a few months. Having such regular lessons with Harry at the moment on her is improving my riding so much, and I am really enjoying training hard everyday and seeing such an improvement already. There is a lot to work on and improve, but time is definitely on our side at the moment and I can really put the effort into ironing out those mistakes and developing my riding.
