But let's start at the beginning... hehe! I had an incredibly busy few weeks leading up to the champs with preparing our house to go up for sale. Late nights painting, sorting, tidying and squeezing in rides to prepare for the competition wasn't the best lead up to a big show, but unfortunately I didn't have much choice this time and I wasn't about to scratch! We headed down to Taupo early Saturday morning which was a first for us. Usually we arrive the day before so we can settle in, set up camp with our awesome EquipOutdoors gear, and I can recover from the drive before I ride the next day. I've never ridden a test on the same day as travelling before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I figured I would see how I felt once we got there and take it from there. Tech was pretty happy coming off the float and settled into his yard quickly, and it wasn't long before Becky was tacking him up and getting on for my warm up, while Sarita was helping me get changed into my competition gear at Superman speed! As I got on Tech, both Becky and Sarita commented on how relaxed I was and in turn, how relaxed Tech was! I put a lot of pressure on myself when I compete normally, but I guess because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to ride the first day, I hadn't put that same pressure on myself which resulted in a very relaxed warm up and the most relaxed test I've ever ridden! We scored 69.5% for our Team Test which I was absolutely stoked about - just 0.5% off my goal for that test this season and our highest ever score for that test. What a cracking start to the weekend!

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Wow - the last month has flown by and the start of the season is creeping up on us fast! We had a busy start to September with the Tauranga Dressage practice day on the first weekend. It's always quite nerve-wracking for me to ride at the racecourse because for some reason, Tech is always wired when we're there. There's something there that sets him off every time. He doesn't like the golfers in the distance, and if the horse walker starts up over by the stables then he's frozen into the corner of his pen fixated on that the whole time! But hey ho - we have to get over this and ride there anyway. It's character building for all of us, especially with the wind whipping up by the hour!

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I'm excited to announce a new addition to my fab sponsor team: Big Red's Stable Snacks!

Tech is a fussy eater but Big Red's carrot flavour snacks are a firm favourite of his. They have a great range of flavours and all of their natural snacks are hand made and baked right here in NZ. Thanks so much for the opportunity to be a part of your sponsored rider team, and welcome to Team Thorne Big Red's!

If you're on Facebook, please like the Big Red's Facebook page and make sure you try the snacks - your horse will love you for it! Plus it's way better to find a Big Red Stable Snack in your jacket pocket 3 months later than a mouldy squishy carrot... ;)

Please show them the support they're giving me and Tech. Bring on the season!

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So despite a wet, cold start, we've actually had a pretty great winter here in Tauranga, with lots of sunny, dry days that have been a pleasure to ride in. The paddocks haven't been anywhere near as wet as they usually are in winter, and I haven't felt like quite such a "marshmallow man" as I often do when riding over winter as I haven't had to stack on so many thick layers to keep me warm!

We were sad to say goodbye to Cara and her family in July when they moved down South. I just want to say thank you so much for all your help, training and support before you left - you were determined to leave us with enough knowledge and methods to push both Tech and I to the next level and you certainly achieved that! Look forward to seeing you again when you're next up here in February!

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Sorry for the delay on this write-up - things have been incredibly busy here, trying to squeeze in as many sessions with Cara before she left for the South Island yesterday!

The clinic was absolutely amazing! We started off with a seminar going over the theories and methodologies of Equitation Science with Andrew. I have to say the penny dropped quite a few times during the seminar about lots of different things I didn't quite grasp beforehand. We've dabbled in a bit of McLean in the past and I had a lesson with Manuela McLean last year, but I must admit some if the ideas and methods had me a bit puzzled. I can confidently say that after the clinic weekend, I'm totally on board and can fully understand the reasoning behind everything we're doing, and also (maybe the best part) how the groundwork we're doing relates directly to the work I do in the saddle. It really is like a lightbulb has gone "PING!" and I totally understand it all. Yay!!!

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I have some very exciting news to brighten up the start of winter... Tech and I have been selected as demo riders for the Andrew McLean clinic in Auckland this weekend! I can't begin to explain how excited I am about this opportunity... I've touched on some of the McLean methods in our training with Anna and a lesson with Manuela McLean last year, so it's incredibly exciting to be given this opportunity to work with Andrew and learn more about how we can take this further in our training. More information >

Horse of the Year is my favourite show - full of excitement and nerves about competing at the biggest show of the year alongside the best riders in the country. Tech and I have been working hard and I wanted to end our season with a bang - and that we did! We won the Grade 1 Para Equestrian Championship and I'm really proud of my gorgeous boy.

Tech and his girls (aka me and my super-groom crew of Becky and Sarita) set off on Tuesday morning for the 5-hour drive ahead. That was a daunting start for me because it's the first time I've towed the float that far - usually I have my superstar hubby as my tow driver but he couldn't leave work until Wednesday night this year. I was very sore by the time we arrived at the show grounds, but we arrived safely and Tech seemed happy enough after his trip. We'd only had the shavings down in his pen for 20 minutes and he was led down snoozing already! He's such a dude.

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We had a FANTASTIC time at the North Island National Champs in Taupo on labour weekend. The weather tried it's best to deter us - throwing a huge storm at us on Thursday which made for very challenging driving conditions for our trip down. I have to say I didn't enjoy that drive one bit, but my JC Trailers float was fab and handled the conditions really well, staying stable and safe on the road despite the crazy wind and rain. I did breathe a sigh of relief when we pulled up at the NEC gate though, very pleased the trip was over. That relief was short-lived however, once I realised we now had to put my Equip Outdoors tent up in the crazy wind and rain! Bex and Konni did a great job battling the elements, and managed to get it all up (the right way round!) without taking off across the field like a parachute team. I had the very important job of putting the poles together and handing them the correct colour :) (as well as trying not to get blown over in the wind!)

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Tech and I have been working hard and I've been trying to master carrying a whip in my left hand so I'm riding with two whips. This is because Tech has started to drift out to the left on my right circles (because of something I'm unconsciously doing with my body because he doesn't do it with anyone else!), but I find it hard to catch him with my weak left side. So I thought I would try riding with a small jump whip in my left hand so I can give him a little tap on the left shoulder when he starts doing it to pop him back on course. Well... the first time I tried it was a tad eventful! For a start, carrying and controlling the whip in my left hand is a challenge in itself due to the poor coordination and lack of strength in my left wrist and fingers. But I persevered and after a bit of a chicken dance where my two whips were flinging around all over the place, I managed to regain something resembling control of my new left aid. It seems to be working quite well and Tech's face was a picture when I first tapped him on the shoulder! (Well, after I'd managed to smack myself on the thigh two or three times before actually getting the right angle for his shoulder!) He was so surprised at the fact I had given him a tap that he jumped into a couple of strides of trot before he remembered he doesn't trot with me and quickly brought himself back to a walk! I managed to stay upright so I was fine, but I think I gave Becky and Mum a heart attack! They came running over to check I was ok, only to find I was having a little de-brief with Tech to make sure he understood that type of behaviour wasn't allowed any more :o)

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Welcome to winter! After a very mild start with fine, dry, sunny days and very little rain, Autumn started off really well. Team Tech (or Team Determinators as my friend calls us!) had a week off after we got home from HOY to recharge, and then we were back into training with a bang! Anna worked me hard and we started working on getting Tech more 'active' as per the judges feedback from HOY. This is really hard for me as the extra movement really throws me off balance, so my biceps and trunk muscles (what little I have hehe!) got a real workout and I have to say I ached quite a lot! But it was worth it because when I can get it out of him, Tech really does have a good, active ground-covering walk. We just both need to get our fitness up to be able to sustain it for more than a few strides! :o)

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