- Who you are and location: Fi Pugh, Worcestershire
- Your Occupation: Icelandic horses and sheep take up most of my time. As well as being Trustee for Sport in the IHSGB I’m a FEIF International Sport judge and a member of the FEIF Sport Judge Committee. I am lucky enough to have judged some fantastic competitions in Europe, including World Championships, and in the UK.
I also do equipment checks at the big competitions (e.g. Nordic Championships & World Championships if I am not judging) which is interesting and necessary for the horses’ welfare. Since these checks became routine, we see far fewer wounds in the mouth than we used to which shows how important these checks are.
- How long you have been riding: Since I was 9. I wanted to start earlier but my mother insisted I should wait until I was “big enough to do something useful”. I was very small and it was a very long wait.
- How you became interested and involved with Icelandic Horses: During my misspent youth I worked on a farm in Iceland while studying Icelandic and got to ride a newly backed mare whenever I wanted as no one else wanted to ride her. Shortly afterwards I was studying in Norway and started riding with a friend at a stables with only Icelandic horses. This was when I really got the bug – riding along in tölt in minus 18 C on fabulous forward going horses which were also used for RDA and lived out all the year round. It was amazing.
- Your Horses-Past and Present: Too many to mention them all, but here are a few…, – Railing, my first pony and completely mad, picked up in some livestock market somewhere. No-one could catch him except me, in the end, when he learnt to trust me. On our rides, however long the route away from the farm took, it was always only half the time on the return trip home. And a lot less if we met a bus or a tractor. He taught me a lot.
Eldur – my first Icelandic, more intelligent than any horse needs to be, and a comedian to boot. Only 3-gaited – until I’d spent a year at Hólar and learnt how to ride Icelandic’s properly (forget all your Pony Club rubbish). Suddenly he was 4 gaited with excellent tölt (on his own terms, naturally) and once, on the way home, some incredible flying pace down the road when we had a disagreement about speed and gait. It was so amazing I just let him carry on.
- Jódís – my beautiful palomino mare I bought while working in Iceland. A joy in every way.
- Morgundögg – our first homebred foal and one of my most favourite riding horses.
- Tenór – completely bonkers, but again, learnt to trust me and rewarded it in shedloads. Whenever you mounted there was no knowing whether he’d be in mid-gallop before you actually sat down in the saddle or not. If you shortened up the reins before getting on it was always a disaster. He was the one who taught me that when your horse is headed for the main road on a Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. in a panic stricken gallop because you sneezed in the saddle, and none of the usual tactics serves to do anything other than make him run faster, if you drop the reins, relax, and pretend it is just how you wanted to spend your final moments the horse miraculously decides it’s ok to slow down. All by himself. Another useful lesson learnt.
- Erró – 32 this year, and if I HAD to choose only one, he is my “horse of a lifetime”. My dearest friend, in his dotage now but happy and fit. It took a long time to gain his trust. He came with a reputation of being “mad”, “forward-going” and anything else in between, depending on who you spoke to. After my first couple of rides on him we went back to the very basics – riding in a rope halter, and reminding him to listen to the rider’s body, instead of sticking his hooves in his ears and doing “la la la la, not listening” whenever I picked up the reins. It took a long time but was worth it. He was the most fantastic competition horse and was British Champion in every discipline except “loose rein tolt” which we didn’t even try. He taught me how to ride pace, and that was his greatest joy. Except eating.
- What you most enjoy doing with your horses:
Riding, just being with them, generally, and all the everyday tasks that go with keeping them.
