There’s no escaping it, winter has arrived. We’re over a month deep into schooling sessions under floodlights and getting accustomed to only ever seeing our horses under patchy stable lighting (all the better for pleading ignorance to unsightly stains, though, right?) – and the temperatures are steadily declining. However the great news is that the deeper into winter we get, the sooner we’ll be back to spring!
So, with that in mind, the countdown is on – and if you’re going to hit the ground running in a few months’ time when we’ve got enough daylight hours to start making the most of our riding again, it’s time to get on with some homework!
One of my favourite features this issue comes from international eventer and trainer, Felicity Collins, whose new series will cover everything you need to know about going cross-country schooling on a surface. Great not just for arena eventing fans but for those getting ready to go cross-country on grass in spring, too, the first part (p24) covers all you need to know ahead of your first session.