YOUR HORSE LIVE 2015
I feel as though I should be starting this with, “It was a freezing November morning and hauling my ass out of bed at 5.00 am to go do the horses before my trip to Your Horse Live was a drag.” But instead I find myself telling you that getting up at five o’clock was easy given I’d been awake most of the night anyway and sitting watching the TV at a quarter to five had me wide awake and ready for the day ahead. The wind was howling as I left the house but instead of the damp coldness I was expecting I was greeted by mild weather amidst the darkness of this ungodly hour. The temperature in the car read fourteen degrees as I drove through the deserted streets on my familiar route to the farm. No lie in for the ponies this Sunday morning. Having turned them out for the day and mucked out the stables, everything ready for later when they would be brought in for the night I met up with my cousin Nicky going back to her house for a much needed cup of tea and a quick change before we would be on our way. After collecting our other passengers, my Auntie Shirley (Nicky’s mum), Emma (her daughter) and Abbey (her daughters’ friend who was celebrating her sixteenth birthday), a car load of sleepy heads set off for Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. This would be our first visit to Your Horse Live and although very tired we were all a little excited at what was to come, secretly totting up our pennies working out how much we had to spend in the retail section. Horsey shopping is the best type of shopping and we each had a list of goodies we wanted to buy for our horses. Yes, that’s right, we were excited at the thought of spending our hard earned cash on our beloved four legged friends. We made the journey with no delays and soon we were parking up eager to see what the experience would be like. We’ve done The Horse of The Year Show many times and in recent years travelled to London for Olympia but Your Horse was something none of us had done before. With our prepaid tickets we were ushered through from car park five and already felt pleased that we’d been able to save some of our hard earned cash on the discounted rate that pre-booking our tickets entitled us to. Although it was nice to see that you could indeed pay on the door and just turn up if you felt like it, the cost only a few pounds more. Once inside the grounds we made our way along the road which was lined with horse boxes and trucks to our right, an entrance to the first section of shops to our left. Eagerly we wandered in immediately feasting our eyes on the many equestrian stalls offering huge show day discounts to their stock. The smell inside the place was heavenly, leather mixed with that familiar scent of the horses themselves wafting over from the arena situated in this huge building to our left. As we browsed our way around the many exhibitors the sound of Kelly Marks voice grew louder as we neared the arena where she was demonstrating how to increase trust in your horse. Not wanting to waste any time and miss out on her interesting demonstration we abandoned the shops temporarily to go and watch. Seeing Kelly work with her horse is truly amazing, the partnership that she displays through intelligent horseman ship is nothing short of incredible. I have had the pleasure of meeting her some years ago along with Monty Roberts himself at one of his clinics held in Cheshire (I was privileged to be a groom for the day for a very dear friend of mine whose horse was chosen as one to be worked with during Monty’s evening clinic). Kelly is a true advocate for this method of training and always has something new to share with her audience constantly reminding you of how vulnerable our horses are and the importance of creating the right environment to build trust in the relationship between horse and rider. I could watch her work all day but sadly the demonstration came to an end and we were off again to explore the shops. Find out more about Kelly Marks www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk Other scheduled demonstrations included The Parelli Team, Lynn Russel, Jason Webb, Caroline Moore and Russell Guire all of which we sadly missed due to other exciting distractions. More information about them and their work with horses can be found below:
www.topcobs.com The exhibitor stalls were vast and varied offering everything equine from tack and accessories for the horses to the clothes we wear when tending them, gifts and talented art and sculptures to free samples and advice on all types of feed to mention but a few. The retail village was buzzing with happy shoppers desperate to seek out the bargains and fill their tack rooms with essentials and luxuries for their horses and themselves. Following our noses we found ourselves at the Redwings Rescue Village and yes I could easily have taken all of the horses and donkeys there home with me, ha if only. Seeing the amazing work that the different centres do was truly eye opening and equally heart wrenching. Bransby Horses, Spear, RSPCA and Penny Farm to name but a few were there to represent and display the wonderful work that they do in caring for and rehoming rescued horses, ponies and donkey’s. More information on these charities can be found at:
www.swhp.co.uk After spending more time than we should have in the rescue center we continued on entering another retail area. Wow, the shopping here was fantastic, better I feel than that which I have experienced at HOYS or Olympia. Here there was a welcome lack of none horsey stalls and expensive alternatives, I mean don’t get me wrong, looking around all the high end equipment on show at some of the other venues is nice but usually just leaves me feeling very poor and wishing I’d married a millionaire instead of the love of my life. Here it was different somehow, like there was a market for all purses and goods for every level of equine involvement. The goods were reasonably priced too, with many reductions and bargains to be had. See http://www.yourhorselive.co.uk/shopping for more information on what was on offer. Having torn ourselves away from the shops now laden with goods, we found ourselves by the entrance to the British Equestrian Trade Association Arena and the huge queue for the next show, a demonstration by the Stampede Stunt Company, something we were all keen to see. We joined what seemed like an endless queue of people stretching outside the building and suddenly I was filled with dread at the thought of the long wait ahead to gain entry to the arena. Thankfully it wasn’t raining and although windy it was still very mild, the outdoor heaters seeming somewhat unnecessary, however I was impressed by the fact that they had been supplied ensuring no one would get cold during their wait. I was equally impressed with the system they had adopted meaning our wait was no more than a few minutes, with us quickly starting to move along. Once inside yet again I was totally impressed with the organisation as one crowd filtered out from the previous demonstration allowing the next to take their seats for the following one. My Auntie Shirley was also very well looked after being allowed access via the VIP entrance given her inability to stand for long periods and walk any distance with her dodgy knees. She was taken to an area inside where she could wait in comfort for us to join her without having to weave up and down the barriers organising the orderly queueing system.
They were incredible and well worth the short wait to see them. A man on stilts introduced the performance, cleverly working the audience to create a buzzing atmosphere in the arena. The power of the horses as they galloped across from one corner of the arena to the other, the sheer strength and talent of the daredevil riders as they performed their stunts was nothing short of amazing. Women and men hung from their saddles performing all kinds or acrobatic movements and all the while their trusted steads protected them, following their every instruction. I was in awe of the agility of both man and beast, feeling elated by their performance which sadly was over all too quick. More information on the services they offer can be found at: www.stampedestuntcompany.co.uk Our rumbling stomachs had us heading for the large cafeteria situated close to the main arena and easily finding a seat we purchased our lunch. I was pleasantly surprised by the choice of food available with healthy options on offer as well as the more traditional unhealthy convenience foods more commonly known as chips, amongst other things. Alternatives such as burgers and spuds were available outside at food stalls near the Rescue centre where tasty treats like doughnuts could also be obtained. The prices were reasonable and the place was clean and tidy, the food quality also pleasingly good. Despite the number of visitors to the venue queues for food stalls were short and the service was quick and pleasant. Bathroom facilities were also plentiful and again the queues were short. They were clean and functional and even the facilities in the temporary building erected outside were of a good standard. Having studied the free show guide available for everyone, another pleasant surprise as usually these are overly priced souvenirs, we agreed that another trip around the shops to complete our shopping for the day was in order then back to queue at the main arena to see the wonderful Charlotte Dujardin perform on one of her dressage horses. Almost spent up and having gathered a number of free samples from a selection of the feed stalls we returned to the main arena laden with knowledge gained from our conversations with the nutrition specialists available and waited patiently to enter. It’s surprising what you can learn about things you thought you already knew when it comes to feeding your horse, my increased knowledge seeing me make a change to what I feed my own horse in the future. The wait to see Charlotte seemed longer but that may just have been because we’d joined the queue sooner than we had for the earlier performance, it was bigger too, much bigger. But still the excellent system had us moving along in no time at all and soon we were once again seated and ready to watch a pro in action. She had brought a young German horse with her to help prepare him for his Grand Prix at Olympia later this year, his stable name Rolo. A truly magnificent horse, a nine year old chestnut and although she talked much about his being young and inexperienced his ability was mind blowing. I watched in awe of her talent, moved by the connection she had with him. Seamless transitions accentuated their obvious partnership as she guided him around the arena explaining every movement and sharing her knowledge of how she obtained it. It never ceases to amaze me how easy and natural these professionals make the most difficult of movements look. Dressage is my favourite of all the disciplines and soon I was daydreaming, wishing I could teach my own horse how to move the way she had hers. Yep I was right back to wishing I’d married a millionaire to provide me with all the facilities I’d need to create the same perfection. My reality instead, one where I dashed to the farm after a long hard day at work, this time of year in the dark late at night. The bad weather at the weekends with no indoor facilities seeing me either soaked to the skin or being almost blown away dealing with a hot headed mare who is lacking time under the saddle. Oh god I hate the winter! Bring back the summer, the dry weather and the light nights. Oh well I could dream, but for now I’d have to settle for the privilege of watching the best of the best demonstrate her wonderful talent.
Find more information about Charlotte and her horses @ www.charlottedujardin.co.uk As the day drew to a close and as others waited for the final demonstration from The Stampede Stunt Company my companions and I made our way back through the shops for one last time before heading back to the car laden with goods ready for our journey home. I spotted Ben Hobday and Paul Tapner doing celebrity photos and autographs after their never before seen demonstration earlier in the day at the celebrity signing area (sadly one we had missed out on). More information on them can be found @ www.benhobday.com & www.tapnereventing.com In addition there was an Equine Learning Zone offering a host of speakers sharing information on a variety of subjects from nutrition to healing. Regrettably this was another section of the day that we missed out on, (clearly we spent too much time in the shops), however more information on the speakers there can be found @ :
www.equestrianconfidence.com All in all my day at Your Horse Live was a very enjoyable one and somewhere I would happily return to. My only criticism would be that it is impossible to enjoy all of the demonstrations available across both of the arena’s and the learning zone meaning that this event would ideally be one where you could stay overnight making a whole weekend of it. Also better planning and more time studying the program before we arrived would have been of benefit allowing us to have seen more of the tutorials on offer. In many ways I think I preferred it to HOYS or Olympia as the relaxed atmosphere coupled with the wealth of information available made it an extremely enjoyable and educational day out. Thank you to Nicky for driving us all down there and thank you to Your Horse for hosting such an enjoyable event! Further information on previous events and future calendars can be found on the Your Horse website: www.yourhorselive.co.uk or you can follow them on twitter or Facebook.
