Favourite moments of 2016

Although I can easily say that 2016 has been pretty much a miserable year for me with both boys being injured Jan/Feb time and then not being sure until autumn if either were ever going to be get better and be able to be ridden properly again. I’ve also fallen off from Vallu twice and ended up in hospital, ended up in hospital again from 20+ wasp stings, had a lot of personal, family and health problems, had a near mental breakdown from stress of trying graduate from Nottingham university and moved back to Finland when I had just started settled down and created a fantastic support network in the UK. Most tragically, we've also lost Rosi the Shetland and Nelli within the last 24 months 💔 but I’ve decided that instead of feeling miserable for our lack of progress this year and everything that went on, I should look for my favourite moments of this year and celebrate the good stuff!

1. Whilst Vallu was on the no turn out part of his rehab after his box rest, one Sunday afternoon I spent time de-spooking him. We had a Christmas tree and tarpaulin in the indoor arena and Vallu managed to be very brave. I remember this being the first time in weeks that I had smiled since his injury.

2. By the end of March I was starting to get myself back, thanks to my friends at home, at university and at the yard. I was forced to ride other horses and go hacking which I think really helped with my mindset and gave me hope, so the biggest thank you to my friends who have been so important throughout 2016 😘

10 Questions for December

Once again, massive thanks to Viva Carlos for doing these questions! I love reading everyone's answers

Does your horse need shoes? Yep, all of our horses have shoes because they all need the support, and because for the winter months they also need to have studs in so that they don't fall over! Basse also has had a 'special shoe' with a wedge pad on his left front foot since his injury in February to try and keep the hoof/foot in the correct position to aid healing and to try to prevent a new injury if he slips again.

What do you think of the barefoot vs shoes debate? I would love to try having our horses barefoot IF we were in a country where this was possible but in Finland, I would never have a horse barefoot because of the long winter. For those who keep their horses barefoot and healthy, well done.

Favorite season for riding? SPRING TIME!🌱 🌺 🌷 🌼🌿 🌸 💐 When spring arrives, we've survived the horribly long winter months, the air is clean, everything is turning green and everyone is happy! It's not too hot yet so I still get to wear more than a t shirt (I love my layers) and I'm not constantly sweating or having to run away from wasps and flies!!

Yard decorations - a horseshoe ball!

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen pictures of our new horse shoe ball. It’s essentially just a big ‘ball’ made from old horseshoes that have been welded together. I think it measures 80cm x 80 cm which means it's pretty big!

10 Christmas gift ideas for your equestrian friend

With Christmas Eve less than 20 days away(!!!) I thought I'd share a list of possible gifts for your equestrian friends. We all have those horsey friends who have everything possible and then you are meant to find them a cute present that doesn’t cost the earth... 🎄🎁 I can highly recommend Etsy for finding those awesome gifts that will surely be a hit with your friends!

Dressage training with Jenny Eriksson: when nothing goes quite to plan

There seems to be some kind of taboo surrounding writing blog posts about your failures or training sessions that did not go as well as you hoped, but I am more than willing to highlight how in reality it really doesn't always go as planned. I have no problem with showing people that with horses you can't be perfect, there will always be days when you go five steps back!