Jades Equine Story

I work full time to cater for my expensive habit of horses, in my house we refer to them as my drug as they are so addictive, but they have been a solace in this crazy world of Covid. I have five horses, all of which are showjumpers, this year only my two homebreds have made it to shows, I will have to get myself in gear and get the horses back doing what they love. Ardragh Express – Rocco to his friends is 18 now, however he is not impressed at not being scrubbed and polished early on a Saturday morning to go to a show. He is a saint, who knows his job inside out and would probably charge around the 1.10 without me if someone showed him the course plan. I got him as a talented five year old and we have had 13 great seasons, every time I think he needs to retire my big grey decides no not yet, fingers crossed there is a few more seasons left in my Mr. Consistent. Highland Guidam is a 13 year old stallion, who I produced from a three year old, just like his favourite treat from equestrian world Tango thinks hes a stuf muffin, hes a total pet at home and any sign of movement hes calling for a sneaky treat.

The boys in my barn are now outnumber by very opinationed mares, first up is Clogrennnane Diva. She is a 7 year old, who I purchased at her first training show, Diva may be small but she is mighty and defianately lives up to her name in the field showing her buddies who is boss. I only had Diva a few months when she was a joint winner of the Irish breeders classic 4 year old class in Barnadown. I was very proud of my little mare, showing her class (she did come from class sport horses after all) and jumping four clear rounds over three days. That leaves my two home breds, Pixie and Paris. Their mum, Poe, was my first horse and thought me how to win, no one tried harder she was a super star and I will never forger her. Clashgannas winning Legacy, aka Pixie is a carbon copy of her dam she loves food and jumping everything else is an inconvienvce. Pixie is the boss of me and everything is a trade for some extra food. In the ring she is fierce and regardless of how many I should have went to specsavers moements I have, she saves me. I would be lost without this special mare. Finally we have Paris, my little orphan who lost her mum before she was one month old. For Keeps is her show name as she will never leave my yard. Paris is a rollarcoaster and a chestnut mare just like myself, every day is different and she has a lot of opinions on everything. Thanks to a lot of help and some great advise over the last few months we are starting to see some progress. Paris loves a photop and locates the camera everywhere she goes, I think she wants to stay in Davids good books.

Its dangerous when I start rambling about my horses I forget to stop! I am so thankful to everyone at Equestrian World of Maynooth for their continued support even when the doors were closed due to restrictions and Covid, David and his team were working in the background keeping us all supplied with the best gear. I must mention how supportive and encouraging David is every week, always with a positive comment even it is was a weekend of four faultitus. Since I have become a sponsoroed rider my showjumping style has transformed I have went from a pink blob to a more classic style of gear. Equestrian world really can work miracles. I have put together a list of my top 5 products that I use week in and week out everything has been tried and tested to the max.

1. Samshield misssheld, I have a huge head and have always found it hard to find a hat that really fits. My missshield is secure and safe and I love the wide peak. Have you seen the samshield configurator on the website? I am a magpie and love a little sparkle and after lots of playing with options, I invested in a hat for show days with rose gold details, I love it.

https://www.equestrianworld.ie/category/samshield

2. Sophie g leggings, if you don’t have a pair of these, you are missing out, I live in mine, they now double as work from home office wear. I never had full seat leggings before but I love how sticky they are, espeically on a naughty young horse day they come in handy. They are very hard wearing and come in a range of colour, I prefer the navy and black for every day wear.

https://www.equestrianworld.ie/product/sophie-g-riding-tights-full-grip---ladies

3. Smashield Louise Jacket, I have mine three years and really couldn’t fault it, the jacket is a classic navy and so hard wearing, It still looks as good now as its debut in Coilog a few years ago. Its also a great pricepoint when you consider how ofter we wear these jackets and in all elements.

https://www.equestrianworld.ie/search/louise

4. Botanica fly spray – unfortunately horses come hand and hand with flies and midges, mine spend a lot of time in the field and  I like to ensure they are protected, equestrian world of maynooth offers a great range of fly protection and this is one of my favourites, I recently purchased a different brand from the website, ill let you know which is more effective after I trial it on my pampered ponies.

https://www.equestrianworld.ie/product/botanica-fly-spray

5. Last but not least is the Pikeur Ginny jacket, I love the lightness of this jacket and it allows for great movement with the irish cliemtate we always have to prepared and I find this ticks all the boxes.

https://www.equestrianworld.ie/product/pikeur-ginny-ladies-jacket

If you managed to read to the end, thank you! If you want to keep up to date with my horses and see my top picks being put to use check out #equestrianworldofmaynooth on all our socials.

Happy Jumping,

Jade