Introductions....

My name is Fran and I am 29 years old. I work full time as a nurse in a busy A&E department and in my spare time I am completely horse mad! I have been riding since I was about 5 years old and used to spend every waking moment at the local riding school helping out. The experiences I gained there were invaluable as I learnt so many skills and was lucky to ride lots of different horses and ponies. There are so many horses that I could talk about but there are a few that will always be extra special to me.
 

After helping at the stables for a number of years one of the instructors offered me the opportunity to ride her horse for her. Killarney was a lovely cob who never really put a foot wrong and gave me so much confidence. My Mum and I used to go over to his yard in the mornings at weekends, he was the first horse I ever hacked on my own and he took me round my first hunter trial. Looking after him also meant my Mum learnt lots of stable management skills too!


A year or so later when my Mum and Dad realised that horses were not just a phase, I became the very proud owner of Teller, a 16.1hh Irish X mare. Teller challenged my riding in every way but we hunted and schooled and had a wonderful time. Never keen on jumping, Teller wasn't the event horse that I thought I wanted but looking back that didn't really matter as we had lots of fun doing other things. Teller now lives with my Mum in Devon and is still hacking, schooling and competing in unaffiliated dressage. She will always be my best friend and she knows a lot of secrets from my teenage years!

I had a short break from riding when I went to university but started again when I was offered a horse on loan by a friend of a friend. Frankie was lovely to handle and had a heart of gold but he also had a very naughty streak! I fell off numerous times but loved every second and will be eternally grateful to him as he got me back out there doing what I love.

 Frankie has retired to a life of luxury in the field and I now own my own horse, "It's Toyboy" or "Toy" to his friends. He is a 16.3hh 12 year old German Warmblood and I have owned him for nearly two and a half years.

 

 Since owning Toy, competing has been my main aim. We have spent the 2014 season competing at BE90 and successfully completed 8 one day events. Although they were not all double clears I learnt something from every mistake and feel like Toy and I are now an invincible team.

We have also been competing at BD Prelim and just stepped up to do our first few Novice tests. We have been placed on nearly every outing and the judges seem to like him, which always helps! Toy seems to be good at everything he turns his hoof too and has made anything seem possible. My ambitions are growing and I feel like I will fulfil life long dreams with him. This blog will document the highs and lows of our future training and competitions.