With torrential rain spreading across many parts of the UK today (19 August), there’s definitely a few things you might realise when you’re battling rain and mud at a show during the great British summertime…
1. That expensive waterproof jacket you smugly assumed would make you the envy of all your damp friends? Not quite as waterproof as you’d hoped.
2. Even the bulkiest of horsey items could start floating away should the floodwaters rise high enough — yes, even plastic-wrapped shavings bales!
3. You spend most of your schooling sessions at home trying to encourage your horse out of giraffe pose and onto the bit, but now suddenly he’s curling his neck so hard to avoid the driving rain that you worry it might be mistaken for rollkur.
4. Never before has a van selling steaming hot chips and bacon butties looked so welcoming.
5. The moment you spot your car sinking into the mud is also the exact point at which you will find out for sure whether or not it actually has a tow ring.
6. Every rider who wears glasses will instantly wonder how spec-wipers are not yet a thing — and then immediately plan to make their fortune as an entrepreneur by filling this enormous gap in the market.
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7. That maybe you actually prefer the winter when wet weather is expected and planned for, and you’re never caught out without a pair of wellies, or deeply regretting your decision to camp.
8. There will always be one infuriating competitor who manages to stay spotless throughout even the worst conditions, while you’re wiping mud off your and your horse’s faces after a single lap of the warm-up.
9. Completing your dressage test or showjumping round becomes less about finesse and putting hours of training into practice, and more about basic survival. If you and your horse can battle through to the other side, you will emerge triumphant.
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