Today I received the fantastic news that I have a place on the University Of Southampton Sport and Wellbeing Sports Bursary! This is a bursary designed to support elite athletes to help them reach the peak of their performance and to cope with balancing uni and sport. I am so excited to be part of this and it is a brilliant step forward for carriage driving as a whole (not just for myself) as the sport is starting to be taken more seriously.
I got through to interview last week, which was now...
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YAY!!!! Jasper and I won our first indoors of the season! We also had the best score of the whole event and he was an absolute star all day (none of his usual nonsense about loading either). We were joint 3rd after dressage with 24 (leader on 23) and it was all pretty close fought. After a clear in the cones and just a few time penalties we moved up to second. Today we also had a switch around in Team O'Neill with my Mum being in Crete to see my Grandad with my other two sisters my Dad was ch...
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Very excited to announce that I am now on the BYD committee! I really hope to make an active difference over the coming year and to be part of taking our sport to a new level. In a few weeks time we have on On Foot meeting which I am looking forward to. Kiera and I went for a rather eventful ride this morning which turned out to be the Hack from Hell with everything conspiring against us. Still a good laugh though. Tomorrow we have to get up stupidly early for the first indoor of the season b...
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Freshers has come to an end with the Freshers Ball. Absolutely loving uni and the fact I can come home and get my horsey fix at weekends! I had a go at Polo last weekend which was so cool! Looking forward to carrying on competing this winter.

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Today is the big day. I start university. Feeling a very strange mix of crushing loneliness and crazy excitement. Freshers fortnight starts tonight and its going to be amazing! My flat mates all seem nice. They will probably soon realise how crazy I am as they do not yet know how obsessed with horses I can be ;) Don't worry, they soon will.
As I've shared a room my whole life having my own space is very odd. Sure I will get used to it all and settle in soon.

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Double clear! Jasper and I repeated last years feat to have the most amazing double clear!!
This enabled us to keep our 4th place meaning we have qualified to move up a level to compete at National Intermediate level next season. This is particularly good news to me as standing presentation is only compulsory in Novice classes and with my very old carriage we do not always get very good scores for this no matter how clean everything is.
Galloping round the arena on our lap of honour was the mo...
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Up early for the marathon this morning! After walking them in the dark last night they seemed much easier to remember this morning. The route was stunning and we ran into lots of dear this year (just like last year) all helpfully stood in the middle of a compulsory flag. They did move... eventually! I was not particularly pleased with our obstacles as I made a foolish mistake in the 7th which cost us valuable time but importantly we got round safely. I was less disappointed when I realised we...
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The weather here at Windsor is wonderful! I feel like I am back in Spain, although it is a bit chillier in the mornings!
We were on quite late today and Jasper did the BEST test he has ever done! He scored 45 and we are currently in 2nd place! We are quite a long way behind the leader but I am so chuffed with how well he went today. We also got 50/50 in our presentation so huge thanks to my 'Gleam Team' who are better known as my Mum, Julie, Ann and Kiera who have spent hours helping polish ev...
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Today we are off to the BHDTA National Championships at the Queen Victoria Review Ground, Windsor Great Park.
Jasper is bathed, clipped, shod and ready to go. He has also had his mane pulled and is looking very handsome!
His tail is all wrapped up to stop him ruining it and we are all loaded up ready to go!

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