Living in the Royal London Borough of Greenwich, 2012 has been a real year to remember!
One of my highlights of 2012 took place in early February, when the King’s Troop moved to its new barracks in Woolwich — just a couple of miles down the road from our flat.
I covered their first day at the barracks for H&H and since then I have seen them a number of times exercising locally. It’s a truly emotional sight to see a string of 40 horses riding two abreast through the London suburbs!
Then Greenwich was catapulted in the spotlight during July and August for the Olympics and Paralympics.
Although I didn’t get to watch much actually in the park — tickets were like gold dust — I loved living in an Olympic borough and spotting the horsey types in London for their day out.
Many a cycle home through Deptford and Lewisham was enlivened by spotting the Joules and Dubarry-wearers and helping lost country-folk find the nearest train station.
One of the biggest perks of my job to date came in August when I was sent to Western Australia to try my hand at cattle ranching for an H&H travel feature.
Swapping late summer for winter was a bit confusing — I think I was the only person not wearing gloves and a scarf in Perth — and I had no idea what time of day it was for the first week, but the trip was amazing, a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (see the feature in H&H 29 November).
And now I’ve just had my first day’s hunting of the new season and am gearing up for Olympia.
I can’t wait to find out what 2013 brings!
Charlotte
Horse & Hound celebrates an incredible 12 months for the equestrian world in our 2012 Review of the Year magazine (6 December, 2012). Grab your copy from your local stockist or buy a digital issue online now.
