Laura Tomlinson shares her thoughts on Paris, pre-nationals prep and Pony Club life lessons
I must start by congratulating all our equestrian teams at the Paris Olympics for providing us with thrilling sport and outstanding horsemanship, not to mention, many medals! It was certainly just what the doctor ordered.
Personally, I was most inspired by Becky Moody and her partnership with her home-bred horse Jagerbomb. It is easy to watch from afar and comment on, even criticise, what the riders are doing and what we think they should have done, but riding in those sorts of atmospheres, under such pressure, is something to which few people can relate. The effect those conditions can have on first-time horses is immense.
The fact that Becky and Bomb stepped up and looked like they had been doing it forever, and were having the most fun out of everyone, was a testament to their partnership. They clearly had full faith in each other. It certainly gave me a lot of inspiration for my home-breds. What a dream to ride down the centre line on the world stage, on a horse who has been with you for his or her whole life’s journey.
Having won Olympic medals in London 2012, on a wonderful horse that I had a partnership of dreams with but was not home-bred, I said to my father then, my next big goal is to make it on to a British team with one of our home-breds.
I’m not there yet but am loving the journey with our youngsters and seeing their characters and confidence develop alongside their physical strength and ability.
Unconventional nationals prep
We have the national dressage championships coming up and I will ride a horse in the grand prix whom I have had for three years and two home-breds in the small tour classes. I’ll also be hosting the masterclasses, where I’ll be using home-bred horses.
My preparation, however, will not have been completely conventional. As I write this column, I am on holiday with my family and when I get back I will have 10 days to get in the groove before I ride down the centre line at Somerford Park.
I am a mother of four, and the “summer holidays” are a very long stint of children at home. Although I have been training as much as possible, I had eight consecutive days of Pony Club camp: first mini with my middle two children and then junior camp with my eldest. This was followed up with the Pony Club Polo Championships a week later, which involved a weekend camping in Cowdray.
All of the above is heaven for the children – exhausting for the parents, but worth every second.
“Beyond refreshing”
In light of all the terrible press equestrian sports are receiving at the moment, it was beyond refreshing seeing the children support each other, learn together and doting on their ponies – while learning good horsemanship and managing their ponies’ wellbeing.
The Pony Club has certainly reminded me what equestrian sports should be all about.
We all began as kids who loved our ponies and wanted to do the best we could with them. We cherished them through highs and lows – more lows, usually with plenty of falls and problems, but we all know that ponies teach kids resilience and responsibility.
As “grown-ups” in horse sport, maybe we should all head back to Pony Club camp for a refresher course in what it’s all about. It’s time to show the outside world why horses are so loved and addictive, and remind ourselves how privileged we are to have them in our lives.
Good luck to those of us competing at the nationals. Let us bring a little fun, support and love to Somerford Park, less judgement towards one another and a little more forgiveness to ourselves and our horses for any parts that don’t go as well as we might have hoped.
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