Review of the Year 2024

I love to look back through my diary at this time of year to remind myself of everything that I’ve been up to with Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland. Writing a review of the year has become an annual ritual during which I make myself comfortable in front of the laptop in a position where I can look out of the window and perhaps see the ponies in the field on their winter grazing. Today is particularly cold and frosty and, as I type, I have half an eye on the bird feeders watching an array of different small birds tucking into the seeds, fat balls and peanuts. The ponies were looking super cute covered in frost first thing this morning.

2024 has been a special year as I have celebrated a full twenty years of working with horse riders to help them to grow in confidence with a strong and resilient mindset. I wrote a post back in February which looks back at these years and re-reading it this morning I am filled with pride and pleasure as I remember clients I’ve worked with plus friends I have made along the way.

The year began with a flurry of new clients seeking help and support. As is often the case in January, riders seek help as the year begins so that they can set themselves up to make the most of their opportunities. It’s already looking as though 2025 will follow a similar pattern and my new diary is beginning to fill up. Please do get in touch if you would like to make a plan for the New Year. January ’24 included a visit to SNEC for a fantastic Ros Canter demo which included lots of highlights and an opportunity to spend an evening with friends. The standout for me from the demo was Ros talking about developing her system and I have shared her thoughts and words with clients throughout the year. I remember her saying that as competitors around her worried and became nervous she knew that all she needed to do was stick to her system and all would be well.

February was a month of highs and particularly sad lows. It was the month of celebrating my 20th anniversary and I had the opportunity to benefit from a couple of sessions with Sarah from The Stables Retail Consultancy (a prize I had been fortunate to win in the 2023 Equiteam Advent fun), there were also a couple of appearances as a guest on various podcasts including. Listen with Equiteam, Equitas and, later in the year, with Tracey Cole’s “Over the Oxer” podcast.
As well as these opportunities to talk with fellow equestrians about all things confidence and mindset February included our annual Pre-Season mindset boosting evening held at Lindores to raise funds for Rider’s Minds. This year we managed to exceed our goal and raise a wonderful £680 for this important charity.

The low of February was indeed profoundly sad. On the 6th of the month when I went out to see the ponies first thing in the morning I discovered that my beautiful home bred highland mare, Luna, had died in the night. The sadness and shock were intense but with time has come acceptance and a sense of pride that Luna was born, lived her entire life, died and was buried here at home with us.
I wrote a tribute to her as a way of helping my own grief process and to ensure that she would always be remembered.

After losing Luna we were pleased to welcome loan pony Jackie who has come to live with us to keep Gigha company in her old age. Jackie and Gigha are half sisters with the same sire. She has settled in well and is a delightful companion.

Client confidentiality means that, of course, I don’t share any details of the work I do with riders but there have certainly been some highlights as worried faces turned to smiles and goals were fulfilled. Equestrians continue to seek help from all over Scotland, the rest of the UK, Ireland and as far away as the USA thanks to online sessions via Zoom.

One person I do feel able to talk about is one of my sponsored riders Ali and I am immensely proud of the way she has dealt with things this year. Her beautiful horse Ella sadly suffered a career ending injury just as she was fulfilling her potential in eventing. Ella has now become, in Ali’s words, “feral” and is living her best life out in the fields of Aberdeenshire where she has been given every opportunity to heal from her injury. Ali dealt with this disappointment so well and we wish her every future success with her new youngster Nova who is proving to be a very exciting prospect and is already a much loved addition to the team.

Once again I have enjoyed meeting riders at talks, clinics and workshops which give the opportunity to share thoughts, ideas and encourage riders to develop their own confidence and a stronger mindset. I was delighted to be invited to take part in the inaugural series of talks organised by the team at Lindores Equestrian where we were able to enjoy the environment of the new function barn. Other new groups I have spoken to include Provanston Equestrian, West Perthshire PC, BD Scotland training camp and, most recently, the University of Dundee Equestrian Team riders. There have also been contributions at the wonderful Equiteam camps and visits to Turlood over in the West.

I do love talking to groups and sharing my knowledge, experience and ideas so if you are interested in finding out more for 2025 then please feel free to get in touch .

As always I devote a lot of time to personal learning and CPD through my involvement with Centre 10. We have monthly clinics, quarterly learning sessions and each October a meet up to look at a topic in detail and to get together with coaching colleagues. This October’s meeting was looking at the use of AI, a subject which is completely new to me but which I can see has great potential.

Since September I’ve been doing some significant studying with Dr Sarah McKay of the Neuroscience Academy with an introduction to this fascinating topic. I’ve long held an interest and great curiosity about the brain and all things to do with the mind so I grasped the opportunity to learn more when I heard about what was on offer. I’ve now completed the formal part of the course but, as with all learning, there is still a massive amount of reading and research to be done. I feel it’s a bit like learning to drive….you pass your test and it’s only afterwards that you really become a driver! I doubt I’ll ever have the qualifications to be able to call myself a neuroscientist but I have learned, and continue to learn, a massive amount which I will be able to share with my clients in 2025 and beyond.

I could continue but I think that will do for a summary of 2024. I dedicate all of the work I’ve done in these 12 months to the wonderful riders who put their trust in me and to my beautiful Luna and the wonderful 24 years we had together. Here she is with her lifelong friend Gigha who is still with me in her old age.