So my Easter holiday has been a bit of a non event this year. I've got so much uni work to do (looking at you masters project...) that I'm still only coming home at the weekends. I did manage a few days at home over the Easter Weekend which was lovely and we had a great drive out on Jasper.
With the clocks going forward we've now switched the ponies routine over so they are now going out at night (although still with rugs on as the weather is so changeable) and they're in during the day. I lo...
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Hang on a moment, its nearly March, isn't it too late to be setting goals? Not according to psychologists and I reckon better late than never. This probably isn't an extensive list but these are my medium term goals for this year.

1. Get better at clipping Jasper's legs.
I'm going to confess this has always been my Mums job. The only time they get clipped is before a competition so they have to look good and there's no room for me to practice and have a go.
I realised at the weekend if I want ...
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Hello everyone!
I'm sorry its been a while since my last post. I've been super busy working like crazy and I've just come back from a fabulous 2 week trip to Crete (excuse the bragging).
Now that I'm actually home properly and not jetting off an fabulous holidays (which you can read about on my lifestyle blog if you're interested) its time to start getting Jasper fit again so we can tackle a few outdoor events this summer.
Have to say I am seriously excited about this!
While our plans are not...
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Hi guys :) I've been so bad at writing this blog that many of my readers probably don't know that I've actually got myself a job. This is pretty tough to balance alongside uni and driving Jasper in fact I wrote about it on my Lifestyle Blog because it can be hard at times. My job involves shift work and this weekend saw me getting up at 5am on both days. Not an easy feat when: a) you are meant to be revising for 3rd year exams and b) you sure as hell aren't a morning person.

While I was at sc...
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I'm sure there are many people who agree with that statement. After all roads are for cars not horses. Horse riders do not pay tax to be on the road. What possible right do they have to be there?

I've just read an article on Horse and Country about this issue and it absolutely enraged me. So much so that I have taken to my long neglected blog to write about it. The article is about the results of a poll on road users who feel that Horse Riders should have to take a test in order to ride on th...
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Home today from our first family holiday in 8 years. We've had a fantastic time in Majorca with plenty of sun, sea and sand. Now tanned beyond all recognition having enjoyed some well earned R&R. Glad to be home though and Jasper was certainly pleased to see us :) Shame we missed Catton but it was certainly worth it!

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Shattered but glad to be back at uni and really nice to see all my friends and flat mates. Back to routine with Sunday to recover and then back to 9am lectures Monday morning.

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Last night was incredible! My Mum and I spent an excellent evening at the Wiltshire Life Awards Ceremony, enjoying the delicious food and entertainment. My category had been shortlisted to four people with extremely strong candidates so I thought I had no chance and decided to just relax and enjoy the free champagne. We were the penultimate award so had an agonizing wait for the result but eventually it was our turn, where I was announced the Young Achiever of the Year! I was very suprised to...
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Today Jasper has been a star! After a lethargic start Jude jumped on for 5 minutes and we then had an awesome lesson. Much improved with his medium work and rein back. Although he does reins back well in harness he has suddenly decided he doesn't know what rein back is under saddle, which is odd as that is where he orginally learnt to rein back. Very pleased with him. Spent the rest of the day getting ready for our competion tomorrow. Thank you to my sister Kiera for cleaning my carriage in e...
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What an improvement from last week! I thought we were going to have to start from scratch again after the winter with working on Jaspers medium trot. But today he was actually doing it which was amazing. Great lesson, very pleased with him :) thank you Jude for your help, it was a great lesson and I wasn't as exhausted afterwards this time. Was hacking Jasper home when we rode past the postman. He is clearly new around here as he looked mildly alarmed to see someone riding a horse and was the...
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Had my first dressage lesson with Jasper today for the first time in ages. He was an absolute star and was really trying with his lengthened strides which he seems to have forgotten how to do over the winter... Lots to work on as always but hopefully some progress is being made too.

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No, this isn't some mushy post about how cute Valentines Day is, or some angry post about how life isn't fair. But the fact I am at home, on this particular day, writing this post should give you some clue about my relationship status. I have simply made a list of the reasons why I think horses are better than boys. That's not to say I hate boys, I don't. I just think there are some advantages that my horse will always have over any boy.
1. My horse thinks I am wonderful, no matter what. Unles...
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Today I got some very exciting news that I have been nominated and shortlisted for the Young Achiever of the Year category in the Wiltshire Life Awards!
This is a fantastic surprise and I am really excited to be attending the ceremony on the 15th March. Not only is this a recognition of my own achievement but it is a chance for Carriage Driving to be in the limelight and to get to meet new and different people and share my experiences with them.
As always any updates will be posted here and th...
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Been a really long week at uni so I am looking forward to going home tonight.
Just thought I would share with you a few links, this one is to the Horse & Country TV website where we made it into their album of snowy pictures. My profile is also now up on the University of Southampton Sports and Wellbeing site
We also got a mention on Jo Bassetts blog for Horse & Rider magazine and our picture in as well.
As ever you can also follow us on Twitter @Carriage_Driver subscribe to this blog or our ...
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We should have been at an Indoor event at BCA today but it has been called off due to the snow, despite the fact that it has nearly all melted here. It was decided that it was too dangerous and it has been cancelled due to Health and Safety. While its a shame we can't compete today there is a small bit of me that is glad as it is very cold and I  did not have to get up at some unearthly hour this morning.
Instead we drove Jasper this morning, and then met up with Ann, Hester and Julie at the R...
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Finally my exams are over! As they have stretched over nearly three weeks so far the return to uni has not been much fun. To be honest quite sick of being locked up in my bedroom staring at notes so finally freedom! Refreshers starts next week and we have been reliving the fun of our Freshers week today when I found my camera with loads of pictures on it that I had forgotten about.
Can't say my exams have gone brilliantly but I have done my best and worked hard so there's not much more I can ...
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Great drive with Jasper in the snow today, he was not very impressed! You can see a video of our drive here
The other picture is Jasper galloping up the field today as he was desperate to come in and out of the cold.
He is such a wuss! I have done some revision today as I have yet more exams next week which was a lot less fun but I do at least feel productive.


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Woke up this morning to about 4 inches of snow! This was all incredibly exciting but... I had an exam in the afternoon so spent all morning cooped up indoors revising :(
But at 12pm we were told the uni was shut, exams were cancelled and we escaped outside to freedom and a massive snowball fight! Amazing fun!
The bad news is that obviously I still have to do the exam but they have postponed it to a Saturday that I am away competing on. Not sure what happens now but hopefully it can be sorted ou...
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Its all a bit doom and gloom here at uni at the minute as everyone is stressing about exams. To cheer myself up today (and to procrastinate in truth!) I went to collect my kit that I get as part of my Sports and Wellbeing Bursary at the University of Southampton. Just thought I would share with you how snazzy it is :D
Got my 3rd exam tomorrow and then just 2 left, literally cannot wait for them to be over and one with!
Also check out our video of Kiera, Ann, Hester and I messing about at Spar...
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Happy new year from everyone at Team O'Neill! Hopefully 2013 will be every bit as awesome as the past 12 months have been. Looking back, my highlight has to be representing Great Britain with Jasper back in July during those glorious few months for British sport, I have never been more proud of my country or of my pony.
Much as I wish Carriage Driving was in the Olympics, I feel privileged to have a small taste of what it is like to compete at the highest level, and you never know, one day we...
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ITS CHRISTMAS! No matter how old I get I still have exactly the same, child like attitude towards Christmas and get stupidly excited about it. Today Jasper and I dressed up as Father Christmas and went to spread some Christmas cheer around our Village. Jasper was keen to be out and was trotting along proudly, which was probably to do with the fact his blinkers prevented him from seeing quite how silly I looked! Jasper is a bit of a poser and if he was human, would have been embarrassed to be ...
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I can hardly believe my first term at uni is over! I have enjoyed it so much but I am definitely ready to come home to recharge my batteries. My holidays look set to be busy as usual with competitions and work to do to as well as the usual commitments of family and uni work.
In truth right now I am very tired and just looking forward to a nice lie in as well as to driving Jasper.

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Today is a really sad day for me today as my pony in a million Sarah is being sold to her new home with Kim. I am going to miss her so much. I will be honest and admit that there has been a tear or two shed about this. I think it was harder parting with her again because when she went out on loan I truly did not think she was going to come back again, so I already knew how hard it was going to be. Hopefully she will give her new owners as much happiness and confidence as she gave me. Sarah wi...
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So glad to be home right now. After a quite frankly horrid week at uni it was worth getting up hideously early on a freezing cold morning as I forgot all about my rubbish week and fell right back into what I loved doing. Thats not to say that I don't love uni, I really do. I have an absolute blast usually but I had so much work due in and it was really difficult! Heres a pic of Jasper out and about on a chilly autumn morning. Secretly this is my favorite season and it was so nice and sunny th...
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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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Whooo! Spent a fantastic day watching the Grade III para dressage with Ann (thank you for my ticket!). What an inspiration! Huge congrats to Deborah Criddle who won a Silver medal for Team GB and later that day were also celebrating Team Gold! What a fantastic year for equestrianism with the Silver in eventing, team golds in both showjumping and dressage as well as our amazing Individual gold and bronze in the dressage. At the same time our para drivers were in Breda celebrating Team Bronze s...
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Very pleased to say that I have been confirmed to study a Masters in Geology at the University of Southampton after my fantastic A* in Geology whooooooop!

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After a few days recovering from Austria and reliving every amazing moment I am off to Spain for my Post A levels holiday with my friends. Check out this weeks H&H for a write up of Austria, see if you can spot my name mentioned. See you in a weeks time!
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Yes thats right, no more A levels! Now I can stop worring about school work and concentrate on horses, which lets face it, I would much rather focus on!
All I can do is hope and pray that two years of hard work will pay off with good results. I am in the process of applying for Geology at University after the crushing disapointment of not getting into vet school I have decided not to put myself through it again and change course. Hopefully I will get a place at uni soon :)


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Very exciting bit of post arrived today containing Jaspers FEI Passport!! Now we just have to hope and pray we get to use it and we get selected to go to Austria this July. It looks very posh, purple and official. Makes the whole thing seem much closer now! Tomorrow we are off to the South of England Carriage Fair to take part in the BYD display, so harness is clean, carriage washed and polished and everything is packed as we have to leave at 6.30am tomorrow. As if I wasn't tired enough!

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I am completely exhausted, as my friends party was an all nighter and I had a 2 hour round trip to drop my friends off home. Don't know how I stayed awake...
Still being a Junior Carriage Driver there is no time to allow a silly thing like a hangover or no sleep for 48 hours slow you down! Ponies need excerising, the trailer and both cars need unloading and we have relatives staying who I need to spend some time with. Admitedly I look and feel like a zombie but needs must. Todays attempt to ca...
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I had a letter from Nottingham Vet School today telling me I didn't get in which was gutting. Feeling pretty bad and low about it. Luckily we are off to Keysoe this weekend which should take my mind off it. Still its pretty hard being the only person with no offers and knowing you will be the only one of your friends left behind. Haven't decided if I will reaply or not yet so will just have to see and try to concentrate on Keysoe instead.

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The weather is horrid here in Wiltshire today, its really damp and miserable and seriously misty despite the fact its way past noon and showing no sign of going anywhere soon. Luckily this has happened on a day where we have decided that both ponies are having a day off as Jasper has worked hard over the past week. Nothing is more frustrating on a day when the weather is lovely and you cant drive! Paid for out entry to the Indoor Championships and booked our stable so thats all sorted. Jasper...
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Been a lovely sunny weekend so been driving Sarah and then after dropping my sister off at work and running to Tescos we were rushing around back home hitching the trailer on and driving to my instructer Judes yard just up the road to pick Jasper up from his week of schooling with her. What an improvement! Ok hes still not Totalis but he is much better then he was! I love riding him after Jude, its like hes been tuned up. Very glad to have him home. But him being home is also a complete pain ...

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Results day is a word that strikes fear into the heart of teenangers everywhere. It is the day where you can no longer hide from anyone, including yourself that you did not work hard enough and you will have to man up and face it. For me I have always been away competing with the horses on my major results days for my GCSE's and AS levels so have had to sit nervously waiting for a phone call. So walking into the hall and opening THAT envelope for my A2 January modules is a bit of an unusual e...
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Woke up this morning to non stop rain, so when Sam from Hooves-n-Woofers arrived to do Jasper we decided to move the party to inside his stable. Today was the day where Jasper officially enters 'Boot Camp' in preparation for our trip to Keysoe. Stage one was this morning where he had a full clip and his mane pulled, so big thanks to Sam, he looks lovely and smart now. After a quick cup of tea and some lunch it was time to commence with Stage two of the plan, dropping Jasper off at my dressage...
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After a very long drive I am glad to say Fortune Teller is home safe and sound from where she has been on loan for the past 8 months. I am so happy to have her home as I have really missed her. She is so special to me and is settling back in like she was never away from home. Went out for a drive with her today, lovely sunny weather for once! The picture is of us practising the new test for the Indoor Championships in our 'dressage arena' which is actually a car park on Salisbury Plain!

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Urgh Monday, back to school. Fun week filled with practicle assessments, tests etc. Still at least I am now better after a horrible bug I had last week. Anxious wait now starts for the verdict from my Nottingham interview, which is my last chance of getting into vet school this year. Spent great weekend in the sunshine driving Jasper and learning my dressage test. Very good boy. We have also had a move around, with Jasper switching stables, which has seriously confused him!

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Off to Nottingham for my interview today eeeek! Panic! Interview is actually tomorrow so... wish me luck!
Unfortunetly means I will miss out on Pancakes at my Grandmas house today :( she will have to make me some when I get back!

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Just got back from a fabulous two days with my sister Kiera staying at our friends house. Spent all day playing ponies, and I got to ride their lovely four year old cob Oliver who is green but so sweet! Don't tell Jasper but I think I a little bit in love with him...
We then jumped on the train to go and watch War Horse which having read the book I expected to hate but it was brilliant! Cried all the way through obviously but I loved it. The trip was my first solo long distance drive since pas...
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Last few days have meant no driving for Jasper due to the snow and the very icy road on the hill we live on. Its -12 degrees here so to be honest I don't not being able to drive too much! When I went to get them in this evening the ponies decided the frustration was all a bit too much, despite the fact they have been going out in the field every day as normal as the bottom bit where they are currently grazing is for some mysterious reason the only place with no snow! Here are some pictures of...
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