At the age of 7 I started having riding lessons with my mum at the local riding school. When I was 11 my mum bought her first pony, Charlie. She was kind enough to let me try a bit of everything on him which is where I became interested in Eventing. Being only a 14hh fell pony, we didn’t have the best of runs at affiliated level, so when I started working for Tyler Cassells at Somerford, I decided to look for my own horse who was built for the job – Beau!

Having set up my own yard at the end of 2018, I hope 2019 will bring good things. Hunters Moon in Lymm is my new base where I will keep my event horse Beau, and have liveries in. Last year Beau and I completed our first few Novices. This year we hope to improve our results and aim to not just complete but get in the placings. I also aim to do the new 2* level further into the season.

I have two new horses to ride this year; one new to Eventing and one who knows the job. I’m looking forward to seeing where I’ll get with these two with the support of Vital Equine.

I am 26 years old and run my own sports massage business in the Cheshire area. I have competed my oldest horse Jeremy in Eventing where we had success with British Eventing competing in the Grassroots Championships at Badminton on two separate occasions, we also qualified for the Pony Club Championships 10 years consecutively in various disciplines gaining wins in the Dressage to Music individual and pairs competition and Open Dressage.

Most recently I turned to Dressage with Jeremy where we went on to win our British Dressage Petplan Area final qualifying us for the National Championships before being selected to represent England and North West in the U25 Home International competition.

I have recently retired Jeremy from major competition as he’s now 22, so I am concentrating on my younger horse Bailey, who is now 10 having brought him on from a 5 year old. So far Bailey has also qualified for the Pony Club Championships on numerous occasions and has competed with BE up to Novice level.

This season Bailey has gained regional final qualifications so the aim is to also qualify him for Badminton Grassroots Championships then progress up through the levels with 1* being my main aim in addition to some riding club competitions along the way.

After a good season in 2018 its time now to look forward to the 2019 eventing season which is fast approaching. We have already started to plan our events and fit them in around my final year of A levels.

In terms of goals,

• Complete multiple BE100’s double clear
• Step up to novice towards the end of the season.
• Continue coaching but attain the next coaching qualification
• Complete my BHS level 1
• Commentate at more high profile events
• Start my controller mentorship with British Eventing
• Begin a riding position on an event yard

Thank you so much for your continued support.

I can’t wait for the 2019 season to start and to get out eventing again!

First Class Mail (Mai) and I have been particularly busy this year and with the help from my amazing team and the valuable support from Vital Equine it has all been made a little easier. With multiple training camps and a tight competition schedule to fit in, I knew that we were in for an exciting season ahead. The season started a little shaky at Kelsall Hill in April but we managed to battle the ditch demons and push on towards Speetley with a confidence fuelling run across the country. Skipton was our next stop where we reeled in a top 5 finish which I was thrilled about. Somerford Park came next with two runs, one at the BE event and another at the Pony Club Cheshire shield. Two super runs for First Class Mail, proving bold in all phases.

After a short break from competition mid-season we are back at it and ready for action as we headed off for a run at Frenchfield horse trials. That bring us up to date on our event diary with two more events at Bishop Burton and Askam Bryan to finish our season. Mai is feeling better than ever with the amazing support that we get from the variety of supplements at Vital Equine. Maxiflex glucosamine is our new best friend, supporting joints and ensuring full range of motion to bring out our best rides to date alongside Liquilyte, a crucial electrolyte mixture maintaining a natural balance of body fluids, keeping her fresh for our next venture off the yard.

We have a super busy winter planned with plenty of training and competitions to prepare for a very exciting season next year where we hope to step up to novice.

I am also very fortunate to be able to ride an additional horse, Midas, a green yet very keen 5 year old gelding who has bundles of talent. I am very excited to get to grips with him and hopefully get him out on the event circuit next season.

Digestive health is key to good performance, and often competition horses struggle with digestive disturbances that impact performance, condition and overall health. Often Digestive supplements are either very expensive, or only offer a short term fix, neither of which is sustainable throughout a competition horse’s career. Vital Equine have developed Gastri-Max to fill this need. Using highly palatable ingredients, Gastri-Max delivers acid buffering properties, combined with yeasts and prebiotics, to ensure the digestive system of the horse perform at its best and cope with the challenges training and competing pose.

We are looking to add to our current focus group, if your horse struggles with digestive health, and you feel Gastri-Max would be a useful addition to your horses diet, please email us at sales@vitalequine.co.uk for the opportunity to join our focus group and test Gastri-Max.

Here is a little update from Martha about her recent Arena Eventing results, we’re thrilled to see them off to such a great start.

Freeway VI (Sam) and I have had a great start to 2018. On January the 14th we went Cherwell Showjumping which was a NSEA county qualifier so there were huge amount of competitions in each class with very tricky courses.  Sam and I did the 90 and 100. In the 90cm we did an amazing speedy clear round to come 5th and in the 100cm we had an unlucky pole but still came team 4th and I was thrilled with him as it was a huge course and it caused carnage.

Today, January 28th Sam and I went to the Bloxham eventers challenge which is a series which started in October and runs though out the winter. In the 90 Sam and I did a super round to take 2nd and we won £40 schooling voucher and I am now directly  qualified for the Championships at the end of February. In the 100cm we had 2 unlucky poles but flew the rest.  There were many different huge questions in the cross country section such as arrow heads leading onto ditches and huge corners and lots of solid fences but Sam flew all of it with him also flying the joker which was a massive. Thank you for all your support.

Love Martha and Sam.

This week our B Max is featured in Horse & Hound’s pre-season supplements feature. Click Here to find out more!

After lengthy deliberation and much decision making, we are delighted to announce our Brand Ambassadors for 2018!

Martha Dick and her Pony Sam had a very successful year eventing in 2017, including a win at Swalcliffe and representing her Pony Club at Blenheim.

Martha & Sam have a busy season planned for 2018, and are aiming to make the step to BE100 & then hopefully to Pony Trials.

Louie Atkinson, along with his Horse Maisey is also keen event rider, as well as a Level 1 coach. He and Maisey had their first season of British Eventing last year, and are aiming to progress up the levels this year. Louie and Masiey are also keen dressage riders, training and competing alongside their eventing.

We are delighted to be supporting these two young riders throughout 2018, and look forward to following their progress.