As most who know me are aware, I have horses. What most people might not know, is that it has always been my dream to event, and to one day complete a 1* international event (aiming high perhaps for someone who didn't own her own horse until she was 32!)

At the end of last year, I heard about this Wobbleberry Challenge, the plan of someone no entirely unlike myself, a hobby rider, of slightly older years, who had a dream of eventing. The Wobbleberry Challenge is not just a challenge to ourselves however, it aims to raise funds for the Wilberry Wonder Pony charity (hence the Wobbleberry bit!)

Wilberry Wonder Pony is a charity that was set up by Hannah Francis in 2015, when she was just 17 years old. Hannah was an up and coming young eventer with a real chance of making it to the top, when she was diagnosed with bone cancer. She didn't let this stop her, and fought very hard t do as much as she could, while she could. Sadly Hannah died on August 1st 2016, but her charity lives on, and the inspiration she gave to many people is still growing. The charity she set up raises money to fund research into bone cancer, and to provide 'horsey wishes' to children affected by cancer.

To be accepted onto the Wobbleberry Challenge I had to complete an entry form, and this was my 'story':

"I am a 39 year old school teacher, who rode as a child but never had my own horse. I gave up when I went to Uni, but started riding again in 2007 when I moved up here. I bought Max (Chelsea's Boy) in 2009 with the dream of eventing. Life got complicated, and we didn't quite make it.
I lost my mum to cancer in 2012, just after making the decision to move down to Glasgow to be closer to her and dad, and Max went on loan for a year. Things didn't work out, and I moved back 'home' in October 2013 to the house I shared with my husband, who I was separated from (that was ok, we're still very good friends). We sold the house in 2014, and I moved to the house I am renting now - luckily I managed to find somewhere with enough land for Max - and the miniature shetlands I had sold who came back too! I bought a 2 year old - Cloud, my silver lining, who was bred for eventing.
In October 2014, my dad fell ill very suddenly, and a week later he was gone. This completely floored my confidence and is still very hard to deal with.
In August 2015 I heard about an eventing camp being run by someone local. I plucked up my courage and booked a place - one of the best things I have ever done. One of the instructors was Phoebe Buckley, and in an hour and a half she got me from being terrified to leave the ground to taking on 80, and even some 90!, fences with something approaching confidence. Later that month we did a minimus riding club ODE (our third, but we had to withdraw after dressage from the second one after a slip on a corner resulted in pulling a shoe), and felt the jumps were a bit small! I did my first ever BE 80 event at Burgie last September. We completed, but it was a struggle, neither of us were really fit enough (although Max did a lot better than I did).

This year has not gone according to plan, we have been plagued by bad weather, broken towcars and a number of hoof abscesses for Max. I am even less fit than I was this time last year, and so is Max. We have missed all our chances for this year now, so I need to focus on next year. Both with Max, and hopefully Cloud (which is a more than a little bit scary - I have sat on her twice so far!) My confidence goes up and down, sometimes apparently with the weather."

As you can see, I have actually managed to complete a BE80 before, but as it was more than a year ago I was still eligible. In light of this however, I am setting myself the additional challenge of completing a BE90 by the end of this year, and, if she is ready, a BE80 with my young horse Cloud.