Hi from endurance rider Hannah and her new pony, Galaxy
Mum's Land Rover has been off the road all winter, so I haven’t been out doing anything. But I've really got to know my new pony by hacking out in the woods and our fields. I was going to take her hunting at a special children’s meet but it was cancelled because of the snow.
I have been getting Galaxy fit by building up the length of our rides, using more hills and increasing our speed. For my endurance competitions this year, I have to ride at 11km per hour keeping Galaxy's heart rate as low as possible - so she has to be really fit. This year we will be riding routes between 26 and 34km in length, with the final being a massive 40km!!!!!
My first competition was early February, at Grafham Water. It was a bit of a disaster though! First, my entry had been lost, then the lady giving me a lift had a problem with her trailer and last of all Galaxy was vetted out as the vet said she was foot sore, which means I couldn’t even start. I was so disappointed as I was to ride with Kathryn (my sister) on her new pony, Blaze. I did have fun cooking sausages for lunch though!
Our farrier is coming to look at Galaxy’s feet to see if we need to put shoes on her, or whether it's just the wet weather which has been making her feet sore. Our next ride is mid March so we need to sort her out.
I have my bandaging and feeding PC badges coming up, as well as two triathlons soon, so I am going to be really busy.
