As I’m only seven years old you might think the title of this latest blog is a tad optimistic as even nine or ten is considered young for Olympic event horses, let alone eight…but I haven’t lost my senses as it’s not eventing I’m considering aiming for, but swimming!
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| My first swimming lesson |
When it comes to the prospects of Olympic eventing, if I were honest, age is one of the last things that will stand in my way. My mum is probably the biggest obstacle as by Rio 2016 she is going to be way too chicken and too far over the hill (to be honest I think she is even now…but she’s the one that keeps food in the buckets, so I should keep my mouth shut on that point!).
If you read my last blog you’ll know I managed to bang a leg when I slipped out hunter trialling on St. Patrick’s day, so the last 10 days started off quite uneventful and really involved a lot of time paddling in the sea. However, last Thursday mum had a brainwave that I should go for an actual swim rather than just a paddle. I did so well over the winter thanks to my new feed regime and my winter diet of plenty of hay and Pure Condition mix that I’m still carrying a few extra Christmas pounds and I was told that I wasn’t to let my enforced inactivity go to my waistline…so last Friday I was whisked off to the Curragh for a swim in a proper pool!
We arrived and I calmly walked off the trailer to be greeted by the pool guy, who took one look at me and asked ‘do all event horses carry that much weight?’ The cheek!! It’s pure muscle, I tell ya! Anyway, boots were put on me and headcollar swapped for a cavesson with two leads coming out (flashback to long reigning years back…with mum panting up and down the road behind me…), but I had been told we were going swimming and I was looking forward to taking the plunge. However, when I was led round the corner into the pool room I got a big of a shock…I was expecting something luxurious with clear blue, gently steaming water, ceramic tiles, and a lovely soft towel upon exit, but instead was greeted by freezing cold, murky brownness… I really didn’t want to go in, but it was me against 4 blokes and mum, so I eventually got in to give it a go. It was quite fun actually, though I had to work really hard to stop water going up my nose! By lap two I think I was doing a really pretty fantastic Michael Phelps impression and the seed has been sewed in my mind to look into the possibility of the equine swimming Olympics.
Do they make speedos for horses?
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