So I’ve survived my first week beyond teaching; although I do feel cocooned by the summer holidays – technically I’m still a teacher. The intensity of my discombobulation has eased considerably and I’ve begun to relax at last. I don’t really relax by sitting still so after a couple of days of apathetic moping about, I threw myself into the next phase of my life with gusto.
I’ve made the most of having more time to be domesticated – to get into my role of horsewife. Subsequently, the house is looking a little more civilised and the horses are feeling a little more appreciated. I’ve also begun writing my book – in the form of anecdotal tales of riding and teaching, in the style of James Herriot meets Gervase Phinn. Although I’d been talking about it for a while, I found it difficult to make a start before going officially off duty; I had some issue with divided loyalties. I managed to write the first two chapters last week – although they need some editing. I surprised myself and my husband with my productivity. Consequently, I’m feeling more in touch with my creative side and more confident that there is a life for me beyond school. Is it any good? Marcus seems to think so – he’s my most avid critic and has already given me plenty of constructive advice for improvement. It’s very helpful to have a second pair of eyes. I intend to seek several more impartial reviews before approaching an agent.
The horses have enjoyed the fruits of my new freedom in different ways. Bow has been treated to a Shiatsu massage treatment – his therapist, Katherine, told me that he was very tight in all his muscles and has shown me some techniques to help him become suppler. He seems to enjoy it and seems looser already. I’m sure that it may have contributed to our success yesterday at Wilton Horse Trials where we posted our best result this season – 4th in the OI. He did a good test – 28.2, followed by one down and a clear cross country round. Marcus thinks it has more to do with my being more relaxed – it’s probably a combination of the two. I was most pleased with his cross country as we hadn’t been schooling since Barbury due to the hard ground; I was worried that he might remember my poor piloting but he seemed totally unperturbed. I usually take rescue remedy before my show jumping – yesterday I was so nervous, I took another dose before the xc. He’s such a lovely chap, I was desperate not to make another mistake. But I needn’t have worried as he felt keen and confident. More importantly it was very good preparation for Gatcombe (another reason I was keen to ride well) next week end.
I read some articles about Gatcombe this morning – the pictures being more terrifying than the words! It’s not so much the fences but the crowds that I’m concerned about. It will be the biggest ‘occasion’ either of us has competed at and we can both be a little distracted by people. I’m just hoping that the string will keep them at a safe distance - out of our direct line of vision. Who knows how we’ll cope. I’m quite sure that we can lurk in the shadows of the big guns; nobody will really be watching us. It is a significant occasion for both of us; it will be our first time at the festival and our first advanced. I’m trying to keep cool by telling myself that we are just going for the experience, that there is no pressure – we’ll just see what happens. My aim is to ride him as least as well as I did yesterday, to stay in the zone and most importantly, to enjoy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment