Amazingly this is something that I'd never seen or heard of online before it was mentioned to me on the yard. At first I was very much confused and put off by the idea of having so much gel on the seat. I always thought it wouldn't give you much movement in the saddle or I'd be stuck not being able to do any rising with my trot. 

But then one day I actually realised that I was spending my time correcting myself in the saddle quite a bit due to it being slippy, and it was worse when it came to the rare time I gave my tack a clean. I then found that I could only ride comfortably when I had full seat breeches on, and with the price tag of these I thought I'd do some research into this seat saver.

I found out that it's unique breathable gel construction supports the body of the rider by stabilising the bones and prevents and unnecessary movement. It also majorly reduces concussion in the lower back, helping people with any back problems. It's discreet and easy to fit, and helps the rider stay secure while training or hacking and helps achieve a deep and stable seat. They are also British Dressage legal. 

After having a bit of a research and reading some reviews I found there was also a gel in version to where the gel is on the inner side of the seat saver and sticks to the saddle rather than your bum. The upper part which you sit on which this one was like a suede material, so it would give you some extra grip in the saddle compared to a naked saddle but not as much as the gel out one. My mum then decided to invest into a gel out seat saver for Cloudy, this was back when I was riding him and decided to give it ago. At first I was sold on the idea and found it weird to sit on, but the more I was riding Cloudy I actually came around to the idea and felt more comfortable and secure in the saddle, granted he decided to throw me off twice in one schooling session not long after but I stayed on much longer with it that I probably would've without. 

I was then on the hunt to buy one for Legacy, and I got hers in black and in the medium size. There are 3 sizes available they come in pony (15-16"), medium (16.5-17") and large (17.5-18") and available in 2 colours of black and brown. You can get them in 2 different cuts gp/jumping and dressage. 

This seat saver has saved me from going flying off Legacy quite a few times where she likes to have her moments and bolt off or when I ask her for trot and she decides to canter. It has also offered me some security in the saddle when it comes to hacking out as she does like to nap and then go or she will play up in the road. These are also great for big moving horses as they will help keep you still in the saddle.

I would not like to ride a horse without one of these as I have become reliant on how secure this makes me feel in the saddle, I think it would feel like I was learning to ride again in a way without one of these. I would recommend these to anyone all day long and I can't rave about them enough. With the price of them starting from £60, it can be quite a bit for an initial outlay but I would say it's 100% worth the investment. They last for years if looked after the right way and if you do get one I will be shocked if there is anyone not happy with it, and also you'll then be the one not wanting to ride without it.

I have looked around for the best prices for you all and I have found a few of the gel out ones on eBay here. This link includes both the gel in and gel out seat savers. Most of these offer free postage which is a great added bonus with the amount being spent.  

My Aim by the End of Summer

Now that I'm back having lessons on Legacy every other week I think it's time that I give myself some goals to complete by the end of the summer.

The first big thing I'd like to do at the end of summer or possibly half way through and then again at the end to see if there's any improvement would be online dressage. I've seen that there's a few websites that offer this with a range of classes. I would love to enter Legacy into some of the ex racehorse classes I've seen. The classes that I would choose would only probably include walk and trot as we've still got quite a bit to work on with canter, but you never know there's still quite a bit of time until the end of summer. 

One of the best things about this is that I will be able to still compete with Legacy while not having to leave the yard. I find this is one of the hardest things for me to do at the moment, as Legacy won't travel on her own and Cloudy won't travel unless he's in a 7.5 ton horsebox and it's hard to find one of them around here to hire. Although my main aim with Legacy isn't to be out competing it would be nice to be able to do something small on her every once in awhile. 

Another aim I have to do by the end of the summer is to be back riding Cloudy, this is also another big one for me as I hate knowing that a fall has got the better of me with losing my confidence with him. I'm really hoping that with getting my confidence a lot better while on Legacy I will be able to transfer it over onto him and he won't feel any tension from me. I'm hoping that when I get back on him it will be like the fall never happened, okay I will be wary with him but I'm hoping that if he starts to play up with me that I will be able to sort him out and then he'll know that he'll get told off and made to work harder when he starts to play up and won't get away with it any more. Who know's I might start doing online dressage competitions on him too. 

I'm only setting myself 2 goals to achieve by the end of the summer because they are both pretty big ones. All my efforts will be put into achieving these and once these are done I will be able to set myself some more. 

My Time at Bolesworth International CSI****

I was very excited a few months back when my mum finally agreed to come with me to Bolesworth International. Having found out about it last year but it being too late to get time off work we weren't able to go. So this year I made sure to book the time off work well in advance, well as soon as april came and we were allowed. Next up was ordering the tickets, I'd missed the 2 for 1 deal they had around Christmas and New year so the next best deal was 40% on the presale. The hardest part for us was choosing the day, there was parts of each day that we both wanted to see. This would be great if it was a day long event. After much discussion we chose to go on the Saturday 18th June. 

Trying to find the venue was complete mayhem when you listen to a satnav the whole way. It got us to about 10 minutes away perfectly then started to take us down some back roads that had signs for 'no event traffic', 'no horse boxes this way' and 'horse box parking 100 yards away'. We were on a wild goose chase turning around where we could for about 30 minutes until I ended up with Google Maps searching for Bolesworth castle, this took us the correct way. Tip for Bolesworth when you can no event traffic, please put another sign saying which way for us to go! 

Once there we had a look at a few stands then we went to watch the Show jumping on the grass, having never been before we were walking around finding out where everything was. Then finding the main arena we were just in time to see Scott Brash in the young horses class Jump off. He had a clear round on Cademuir but didn't quite get around quick enough at ended up with 7th. It was great seeing Michael Whitaker in this class to, placing in the top 6.  

After this class we had another walk around to get a coffee, hot chocolate & a danish pastry. Throughout the afternoon we had a look through the stalls, found some stuff we both wish we had the money to kit out the horses with and then we were back on the search for the ex-racehorse display, which in the end we ended up missing due to not remembering which arena it was in. One great thing I feel Bolesworth should add is a board outside each arena to say what's on and the times, I know they are probably in the programmes but not everyone want's a programme for this purpose. It was a shame because we spent most of the day not knowing which class was which, what time they started and what was on next. This was one of the main reasons we left at 2:30pm as we didn't know what was left of the day. 

Although it turned out very well as through all our walking around we were able to see Michael Whitaker on his horse waiting to go into the main ring for the young horse class presentation, Ben Maher & Scott Brash, who I really wanted a picture with and one of my aims of the day was to see him but I was too nervous to ask, silly me and that is a big regret of mine. Definitely next time there's no holding back haha. 

After having a few ups and downs of the day it turned out to be a great day, the weather held out for us although it was muddy from the past days the sky was dry and it was warm but not too hot. I'm definitely wanting to go back next year, after the traveling my mum isn't too keen so I've either got some convincing to do, find someone else to go with or have a day out to myself. 

Did you go to Bolesworth International this year? What day did you go on & are you going back again?

Credit to Events Through a Lens for the Scott Brash Picture

& the other image was from Bolesworth International Facebook.

More images can be seen from the event on both pages. 

Save Money While Shopping...! [Discount codes]

I've recently teamed up with Equestrian Co. to give my readers a great deal.
This is a great site I've found which offers pretty much everything but the horse & tack. They have really expanded and even offer products for not only dogs but cats & rabbits too. If only my cat would play with toys, I would have somewhere to spoil Legacy & My cat at the same time. They actually have some great items with some great savings on in their clearance section, I actually have my eye on a few things. The joys of Christmas being right around the corner. Buying yourself the presents with the money received. 

They've been wonderful enough to offer my readers some discount codes.
The codes are as follows:
Legacy5 for £5 off a £50 spend or more, and Legacy10 for £10 off a £100 spend or more.
What's great about these codes is that they work on the sale items, so you're saving by buying sale items then saving more with these codes. Win - Win all around.

You can visit their website here; Equestrianco

Our First Dressage Test...

Back in the beginning of the month, myself and Legacy competed in our first dressage competition together and her first overall. As she's been going through retraining over the spring and summer it was her first 'test' as to either she'd calmed down in the arena, around other horses and would listen to me in a different situation. Even days before the show we had times where she was feeling good in herself when she entered the arena and the only thing I could get out of her was a fast canter around the arena when she felt like it. 

So when it came to warm up time on the day and she had to share the arena with a youngster to again had never seen this different setting and had only been in an arena a handful of times I thought I was doomed, holding on for dear life was my only thought. But to much surprise she behaved impeccably from start to finish. Now she isn't even one to stand still while grooming her, it has to be done while she's having her food or eating her hay and depending on the type of hay this isn't enough. She's trying to walk off and see what's happening, many of times I've had to tack her up in circles. This day she stood to be plaited up all her mane and her tale, have a good groom and then be tacked up. (I've must've made a good choice with the hay haha.) 

She was well behaved throughout the test if anything she needed a little more energy throughout it. 

Below I have added in the test score sheet including comments from the judge.