JM's Clear Jump Round

JM's 3 rosettes

I was standing in the rain with HS watching JM clear three rounds of jumps. She looked so natural going over the 2'+ jumps. Both HS and me were astounded at all the skill and bravery of some of the contestants.

HS was saying how they all seemed confident and she lacked a fair dose of confidence. To her and anyone else out there with confidence issues I will say this. "The more you ride, the more natural it will seem. The more natural it seems, the more used to it you are. The more used to it you are, the more confident you will be."

Another issue for her is worrying about falling off. She has witnessed a few falls since she's started riding and it seems like each time she worries more about it. Luckily no one has come out with any major injuries. Apart from JM who "now knows what the inside of your arm looks like", has a dislocating kneecap and has fractured her nose. My advice (I've fallen off twice from jumping - both times my fault) would be to prevent falling off, 'heels down, toes up and grip with your knees'. It's a saying which has been burnt into my brain for the passed two years. But when you know you're falling off, just let it happen. Don't try and prevent it (as I've learnt) and ROLL!! It reduces the impact. Also, no matter how your mum will complain, it's better to fall off into something soft, such as wet mud, sand, grass, etc. Stinging nettles are fine if you want to come out of it with little bumps everywhere.

No doubt there'll be more posts about horses from me as it's my favourite hobby. But all horse riders and their companions must remember that it's one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Despite the risks, more than 2.4 million people still ride in the UK alone! If you haven't tried it, you must get out and do. It's not massively expensive to begin with (the most expensive part of riding is when you decide to own a horse) and most places will lend you the essential safety gear. Here's a website that will help you find your nearest stables: http://www.horseweb-uk.com/stables_search.php The best thing to do is look through the yellow pages or the local directory, or even Google search riding schools. Have fun!

New Experiences: Driving

Well driving isn't really a new experience for me, I've been sitting behind the wheel of a car since I was no higher than the back of your average sofa. It was one of the benefits of having a large garden and four cars (two of which were parked on the garden). But I passed my test last March and have noticed I have started to think like a driver, even when I'm a pedestrian. My dad has let me take the family around Scotland and The Wash, so I have covered over a thousand miles just in my first year.

My biggest concern is for a 'friend' of mine (I call her 'friend' because she's part of our group but we're not really friends). She has just recently passed her test and drove to school the day after. As we didn't have a lesson timetabled for the last period she took two other friends and myself to Tesco. In less than an hour we nearly had an accident and had hit a parked car. The near accident: there was a taxi coming from the right at a roundabout, I had seen it so I thought my 'friend' would have...but she hadn't. She pulled out in front of it and both cars slammed on their brakes. The hitting a parked car- we were coming out of Tesco and the girl decided to reverse into the free bay behind so it was easier to pull out. She only has an old, small ford fiesta but she managed to scrape the side of the car in the next bay. She never stopped or anything, just kept going. "Oh it doesn't matter, it didn't damage their car." was her words.

I've been lucky, driving so many miles in a 2L Vectra estate without even coming near a collision or backing up into parked vehicles (I'm not boasting). I think people should be retested after a certain number of years have gone by and before they reach 70 years of age. Technology should be created to detect people such as my 'friend' so necessary restrictions or whatever can be imposed after they've shown a degree of dangerous driving and therefore may be a risk to other drivers. I do not agree on the policy of 'you're guilty until proven innocent' however giving a second chance to a driver who has gone to jail for manslaughter (my cousin has been through this) should not be permitted. The person my cousin has killed doesn't have a second chance at anything. Why should the criminal have a second chance to repeat the incident?