At last, things are back to normal! The yard is back in full swing and it’s a relief to get cracking with the horses again, even if it has meant a few rodeo rides after their time off! I had quite a few people comment on my last blog about the number of horses I ride! I used to be happy to have four or five clients’ horses at a time and I did everything on the yard myself. But, like all things, the more practice you get at something, the quicker, more efficient and proficient you become. I remember staying with a brilliant horseman called Gerald O’Brien in Australia and being amazed at the number of horses he got through in a day, but I now realise it is all down to having good systems in place. I am not the most organised person in the world (!) so I rely heavily on the people that work for me to tell me what is going on, where I am meant to be and to have the next horse ready to go!
In a way, it would be wonderful to have more time to spend with each horse, but for me, working with a larger number of horses actually makes me focus a lot better. It has made me learn to stop once I have got a result, rather than carrying on and pushing for too much – something that is very easy to do with young horses. It is not a question of cutting corners – sometimes one horse will take up two hours - but a question of getting straight to the point!
It is always fun at the New Year to start thinking about the impending season, whatever discipline you compete in. It will be an interesting year for me in terms of horses as I will probably lack an experienced horse to play polocrosse on and will have to rely on a team of 4, 5 and 6 
year olds. Looking at the teams in the top division (A Grade) this year, new clubs are springing up and a few players are shifting clubs so the lay of the land is changing!
The club I play for, Kent Target (blue and pink shirts), should have a fair side this year, but will be up against the Highlanders club (black shirts) who will be favourites to dominate the A grade with a large number of UK team representatives in their side. With the likes of Arden (maroon shirts) and the reformed Cotswolds club developing strong teams, and the fact that there are places on the UK Squads for the impending 2011 World Cup team to play for, it promises to be a very exciting season… I can’t wait!