March started off with a very exciting trip to Hamilton to pickup our new float from JC Trailers! Unfortunately it was also the same weekend that the crazy weather bomb hit the country, so we had to wait until the winds eased in the afternoon until we made the trip over the Kaimais. I was like a big kid, so excited and wishing the morning would pass faster so we could get on over there and see the float for the first time!

We've had a busy start to the year with a full-on training plan to work on the judges feedback from our last competition, and get ready for both the Para Equestrian Nationals and Horse of the Year competitions in March. I'm riding 3-4 times per week which is hard for me in terms of strength and stamina, and I get quite tired sometimes but it's something I have to work through to get the amount of training in we need in order to ride at our best! Plus it gives me a good standing when we have 3 days of consecutive riding at our competitions.

Thanks to the incredible support of Eleos Trust and JC Trailers, Tech and I will be travelling around NZ in style in our brand new JC11 horse float in January! I'm so excited!!!

It's been quite tricky this year organising transport to competitions around the North Island without our own float, and we haven't been able to get out and about to local shows and clinics as we would have liked to because of the restrictive cost (and organisation!) involved in hiring a horse float. It's also been hard for me to get in and out of the hired floats unassisted because of the height of the step in/no hand holds etc. From January this won't be a problem any longer!

We rode three grade 1a tests over the weekend, and we improved all our scores on our last competition to finish on a new personal best for our musical freestyle of 67%. I'm so happy with how we performed, and Tech was just a star throughout the whole weekend. One of the international judges, Myra Friend, commented on how suited Tech and I are and what an awesome horse he is, and she could see he really listens and tries hard for me. It was an amazing feeling that such a highly respected and experienced judge felt compelled to share such positive and encouraging thoughts with me. She told me she would love to take Tech home with her! I want to say a big thank you to both Myra and Kyli for judging this weekend. Their constructive comments on all my test sheets will be scrutinised and worked hard on to help me and Tech keep going in the right direction and improving our scores!

We've come home with a haul of ribbons, rosettes, sashes and a champion's rug from the North Island Para Equestrian Championships this weekend, our first event of the season, and we're the 2011/2012 North Island Grade 1a Champions!

It's a fantastic start to our season. I'm still on a high from all the passion, excitement and adrenaline from the weekend! We left Tauranga on Thursday for Showfields Equestrian Centre in Te Kauwhata where the championships were held from 16 - 18 September. We rode 4 tests over 3 days which in itself is a challenge for me because I tire really quickly. But it was a bigger challenge than usual because I had a fall two weeks before which interrupted my training because of badly bruised and painful ribs. Not really great timing!

I'm excited to announce that Savvy Touch is a proud addition to my sponsors! I've been using the Savvy Touch Hoof Paste on Tech for a few weeks now and it's an awesome product that's keeping his feet looking great! It gives a fab shine to his hooves too so it will definitely be in my show kit this season, as well as being used on a regular basis to keep Tech's feet in tip top condition.

One thing I love about it (apart from how well it works!), is that it's in paste form and is therefore Tech-proof! So when he gets inquisitive about "what in this cool blue pot?" and knocks it off the fence for the 100th time, nothing spills or gets wasted yay! I'm just starting to use the skin smoothie now to help improve the scars along his neck that look ugly when not covered by his thick winter coat. (This product along with the mud balm has had awesome results on heaps of skin problems) Oh and the shampoo and shine spray will be added to my show kit too... so many awesome products to choose from. And the best thing is you can use them all on yourself too!

It's been a while since my last update but things have been pretty quiet here with the end of the season and the winter hitting us. We had a change of grazing which meant saying goodbye to Linda and Dawn who have been amazing support for us since we bought Tech, taking care of him and training him for me over the first few months we owned him. It was sad to leave them but I had an opportunity to move Tech closer to home which makes it easier for me to get out there more often which is great. Tech and I continued our lessons and training with my coach, Betty Blundell, as and when the weather and ground conditions allowed. We've been working towards our first competition at the beginning of November (or so I thought!) - the 38th Mistubishi Paralympic NZ National Championships in Waikato. It's the first time para-equestrian has been included so it's exciting to be working towards such a great event!

Linda and Dawn at the Kaimai Equestrian Centre worked hard on some intensive schooling for Tech in the lead up to our departure on 14th March, and Tech was going beautifully for me as a result. Betty worked me hard in our training sessions and Mum carried on with our progress in between times - everyone was working very hard. Huge thanks to you guys for all your help!

On the Sunday, Thea and I spent the afternoon scrubbing and polishing Tech and getting rid of his grass-stained knees (who would have a white horse hehe!!) and he looked awesome when we left. Big thanks to you Thea for all your hard work!

Tech and I went to our first show together this weekend! Thanks to the awesome support of Katikati Pony Club, I was able to ride my Para Championship Grade 1a dressage test twice at their dressage day and received some good feedback from the judges.

We know what we need to work on for HOY which is fast approaching and it was great for me to get the experience of riding out in a 'field' and pegged-out arena for the first time. I've only ridden in indoor/outdoor fenced arenas before so it was a bit nerve wracking for me to say the least being out in the open off the lead rein!

Greg and Sandy have donated an awesome OZtrail Elite Breezeway Chalet 4 Plus Dome tent that will be my home from home whenever we head out of town for competitions. It's the perfect tent for me, with wide doorways and good headroom which makes it easy for me to move around. It has plenty of space for both me and Darren to live in during extended trips away from home, (with all my gear too!), and also enough space for other members of my support team to stay with us so will really help keep our accommodation costs down.