What my horses taught me about who I am as a rider.

When the story of Salvation was shared in Horse & Hound, many people reached out to say how beautifully they felt his story had been told and remembered. In the weeks afterwards, I found myself revisiting memories too. Memories of Salvation, of Jack, and of the partnerships that had become part of the rider I am today.

The memories of both horses stay with me. Their stories sit in different chapters of my riding life, yet the experiences we shared still feel close.

Jack introduced me to new experiences and opportunities. Together we discovered our flair for freestyle and, through our Riding Club, I gave my first ridden lecture demonstrations. Several years later we even presented at Your Horse Live.

Our favourite competition venues were Addington, Aston Le Walls and Hartpury. I think those venues reminded him of his eventing days.

Jack and I represented our Riding Club team and our British Dressage regional team. I will always treasure the lessons we had with Emile Faurie because they changed my feel and understanding of what it meant to ride competitively at Medium level. We had fun exploring the more advanced work too.

Salvation was patient, kind and more than happy to take me from the early days of relearning to ride through to our return to British Dressage. We spent hours schooling, riding through tests at home and heading out hacking together.

I realised how alike both boys were. I think they would have been friends.

I am a competition rider. Performance, mastery and finding flow in the arena have always been important to me.

Jack and Salvation were so much fun to ride and care for. I am so proud that they loved to compete.

Every time we went out, regardless of the result, I always told them how incredible they were and that they were winners. They knew when they had won too and both loved the prize giving.

We shared the same language. The wins in training were every bit as special to us.

With Jack, those moments became discoveries. The first time I rode a 20m circle and knew exactly what an excellent circle should feel like. Learning shoulder-in, leg yield and counter canter correctly. Jack taught me what good work felt like and what was needed to score well. He taught me about arena craft too. He was a natural at simple changes and flying changes, and we had so much fun exploring the more advanced work together.

Salvation began with a very different rider. The memories of high performance were still there, yet my injury and the emotional baggage from the fall had left me nervous of corners, the right rein and anything that moved unexpectedly.

I still remember a transition to canter on the right rein in the corner with pigeons flapping above us and a squirrel running between the mirrors and the arena boards. My stress was high. Salvation stayed calm. Somewhere in that moment my rider brain noticed the quality of the transition and how wonderful the canter felt. Relief and happiness arrived together.

Salvation helped me rebuild my confidence. We hacked out together too, meeting many potentially scary creatures along the way.

One of my most special memories is cantering on the gallops in near perfect balance and style, his ears pricked and stride open. I felt complete peace and happiness in that moment. Priceless.

Producing horses is about getting to know them, understanding what suits them and building our own shared language. This process is part of being a rider.

Caring for horses, making them a priority and enjoying that responsibility is part of the riding journey. Happiness found in those everyday moments enriches our bond and carries through into our riding and performances together.

I want my horses to know when they have done well and that I appreciate them trying.

Mistakes are part of learning and sometimes that means regrouping together before returning to the work.

In competition, my focus stays with the next movement. Test riding means thinking ahead and preparing for what horse and rider need next.

There is little time to dwell on what has just happened. We need to prepare for the next movement and concentrate on presenting it well. Focus stays with the feel, how we are going to ride and support our horse rather than filling our mind trying to guess our score or the outcome of the competition.

When I get test feedback, I take time to work out what our strengths were that day and look at the areas that may have been a work in progress.

Jack and Salvation are part of the rider I am now.

I am a competition rider motivated by performance, mastery and finding flow in the arena. I find happiness in producing horses, caring for them, sharing experiences together and building partnerships.

I will always be the rider who puts my horse first.

The next adventure will begin with a horse who knows they will always be the most important member of the team. A horse ready to start a new journey with a rider who finds as much happiness in producing and caring for horses as in competing.