History
For as long as I can remember, my family has been involved with horses. I first started to ride on the same Shetland Pony (Bumble) my mother learnt to ride on when she was a child, I then progressed on to hacking and showing British Miniature Horses my Grandmother had broken in at her own Greenmantle Stud (often stallions) and this is where my competitive streak began.
(Left: Issy (3) riding Toyhorse King Chip Boy to win BMHS International Ridden Champion of the Year)
(Left: Issy (3) riding Toyhorse King Chip Boy to win BMHS International Ridden Champion of the Year)
After I grew too big to ride the Miniatures aged 4, my mother purchased me a young and smartly bred Welsh Section B named Tanglewood Hero; he was also shown successfully on the lead rein and then later in first ridden classes. I joined the Pony Club aged 6 and attended rallies and Junior camps on him, however I think he spent more time trying to put me on the floor than he did participating in lessons! Hero was certainly the pony that taught me to ride and I wouldn't have the 'stickability' I have today without him. He was outgrown by the time I was 7 so was sold on.
I had lost some of my confidence by the time I moved off Hero so it was essential to find a fun pony that could restore it. We looked hard for a few months but found nothing suitable until we turned up at a local riding school to look at a gelding. We decided he wasn't for me so asked if they had anything else; and that is when I first met Acorn. She was a just-broken 4 year old New Forest mare and new to the riding school but had turned up in fairly bad condition. I loved her straight away (albeit for her massive tail and gorgeous colour!) but she was sweet and hard-working, even though she was still very green. We went back and bought her the next week and she has been with us ever since! Many people though my mother was mad buying an inexperienced 4 year old for a nervous child but we grew and learnt together and I continued to attend Pony Club regularly. We competed on all of the mini teams and also began hunting with our local packs when they were within hacking distance. My mother became stud groom for the Hampshire Hunt the season beginning 01 and this is where my real passion for hunting was born. I became very involved 'behind the scenes' and Acorn would often stay in the yard with the hunt horses for weeks at a time, where She and I would be loaded onto the lorry with the hounds and horses on a hunting morning and not return until after dark! She was (and still is) the ultimate hunting machine and, together, we learnt the ropes and watched hounds work.
During this time, my mother purchased a just-backed 4 year old Irish Sports Horse mare named Humbug with the view of bringing her on for me to have when Acorn was outgrown. She did the first 2 years of schooling and training with her while I was making the most of my last few decent years on Acorn. Humbug wasn't the easiest of youngsters to produce; she was fiery and stubborn but it was evident that she was talented and had something quite special about her. Mum did a fantastic job with her and it's a real shame she has decided to retire from producing my youngsters...! So I took over the reins when I was 14 years old and Humbug and I continued to learn together, all the time still hunting and attending Pony Club, and this is where I would get my first taste of Eventing!