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31st DECEMBER 2017 HAPPY NEW YEAR! I would like to thank you all for coming along for the ride; a press of the like button or words of encouragement never goes unnoticed, thank you for your amazing support. Wishing you an amazing 2018 filled with love, happiness and good health. A special thank you must be said to my sponsors |
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30th DECEMBER 2017 x RIP Miguel Tavora x "Every person you meet has a story to tell, a lesson to teach and a dream to share". Today we say goodbye to an incredible kind man, Miguel Tavora. A brilliant horseman but I will forever remember him as the man that gave me strength when I was far from strong. Not long after my devastating diagnosis last year I decided I would take myself to a lesson off the property to help my confidence. I remember being anxious with a lot of 'what if's' running through my mind ... Miguel was patient, he was kind and he smiled a lot that day. I did not talk about my diagnosis but he knew, someone had kindly told him I was not my usual bold self. I remember after my lesson we crossed paths at the stables as I was about to go home and he said 'Be brave. You are stronger than what you think, just ride, don't think' I've never forgotten those words and I will be forever thankful for my last lesson with Miguel on that day. "Be brave" xx |
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13th DECEMBER 2017
RECEIVE 10% OFF YOUR NEXT ORDER I am very proud to announce my new partnership with UK based company Equiporium UK EQUIPORIUM specialize in premium equestrian retail for both horse and rider, offering custom KEP helmets, DeNiro Riding Boots, beautiful Anna Scarpati saddle pads & veils, Alberto Fasciani boots and quality brands such as Acavallo, Animo, LeMieux, Jeffries, Amerigo and many more. Shopping Worldwide As a sponsored rider and my gift to you all, is a discount code to use on any purchase at equiporium.co.uk which will allow you to receive 10% off any order - this will be available for 1 year! Code: Victoria10 |
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9th DECEMBER 2017 This morning Spuddy and I rode our FEI Para Grade II Freestyle for an impressive 77.98% with one judge scoring us 82% (86.60% artistic) a great way to end the first WEG qualifier event. Such nice feedback from the international judge and one of the Australian judges saying they both had goosebumps watching our test. Over the 3 days of competition we won all 3 tests for our grade and today was awarded 'Overall FEI Para Equestrian Champion' across the 5 grades for the Victorian Dressage Festival. I'm so proud of Spuddy and my small team that got us where we are today - Groom/Partner Michael We DID IT! Hard work is paying off! Thank you to everyone that came up and said hello (as they know Spuddy lol) he certainly has his own fan club from when we was owned by the Welsh family. He's such a special horse and in 3 months he's taken me so far... and it's just the beginning! A big thank you to my amazing sponsors for all their support and making Spuddy and I feel and look our best Congratulations and thank you to to the organising committee and volunteers of The Victorian Dressage Festival for an amazing event and a big thank you to the sponsors of the FEI Para awards - Prydes and AESO Pty Ltd. **************
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13th NOVEMEBER 2017 Spuddy (Bravour M) did it again, taking home another rug and wonderful prizes. We were named 'Overall FEI Para Equestrian CHAMPION' across the grades at the DNSW Clarendon Winter Festival 2017. Over the 2 days our scores were 69.34% Team Test and 70.44% Individual Test and a super score of 76.66% (78% for artistic) for our freestyle... I stepped away from tradition and gave the judge something 'electric'. A big thank you to the sponsors of the event Dressage NSW, The Mobile GG Spot and ASL Equestrian - the prizes were amazing! Also a big thank you and congratulations to DNSW and volunteers for holding such a fantastic event. **************
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8th NOVEMEBER 2017 Very proud of my Lusitano and Spanish PRE stallions tonight as I have been selected on the 'Australian High Performance Green Squad (AIS Athlete - Podium Potential) for Para Equestrian' Without my scores and consistent improvement with Andaluka Elegido, Celere and Hanna Poderoso I wouldn't be where I am today. April last year I was told I should never ride again and everything was so uncertain; now I am stronger than ever and bursting with excitement to compete at the upcoming WEG qualifiers with my new mount Bravour M (Spud). Big thank you to my sponsors for being part of the journey
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5th NOVEMEBER 2017 Words can't express the excitement I had riding down the centreline yesterday with Spuddy - our first FEI Para tests together! We cracked the 70% mark with 70.75% ... only 3.36% from our WEG target score - Loved the 9 we received! Spud did extremely well in testing conditions...he dealt with rain, being the only horse left in warm up and during his tests, horses and people walking behind the bushes lol but despite all that I'm super happy as I know we'll grow stronger together with more competitions! Big thank you to Hawkesbury Dressage Club Inc. for holding my para tests, the experience this gave us was amazing and a huge help towards preparing Spud for the WEG qualifiers coming up. **************
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2nd NOVEMEBER 2017 Training at home with this amazing stallion! I cannot wait for his first Australian foals to be born within the next few weeks and our own Purebred Lusitano foal in January 2018 **************
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29th OCTOBER 2017 Yesterday was a bit of a surprise! 72% Prep C Absolutely means the world to me as it's been HARD WORK but what I know all too well... if you want success, you need to work for it! this is just a stepping stone to where I want to be... WEG! I've owned Spud just over a month now and it's been an amazing journey so far, he's a wonderful horse but my body is not used to riding a Warmblood lol!! It took a few weeks for the body to adjust to the different movement and size, I persevered through the pain and now I feel like I've ridden Spud all my life. I have just a few people to thank SUPER GROOM & AMAZING PARTNER - MICHAEL Carolyn & Charlie Welsh for entrusting me with Spud! I hope you are both proud at how he's turned out to be a super 'Para Pony', he truly is a special horse! A huge thank you and congratulations to Shoalhaven Dressage Club for running an amazing Championship event, very well organised, a great turnout and the presentation with all the awards was great and the wine certainly went down well! Thank you to The Flagstaff Group for sponsoring the beautiful trophy rug and award for Members Prep Champion. Another big thank you to Bishops South Nowra for sponsoring the SDC Supreme Champion! **************
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SEPTEMBER 2017 Introducing my new horse 'SPUD'... Spuddy, Mash, Potato :) Still pinching myself that I have this amazing horse in my stables and now I can officially call him mine. The past few weeks I've had the absolute privileged to trial Spud and I can't thank Carolyn and Charlie Welsh enough for their amazing kindness, it's so rare that you see this these days! With all my joint replacements, on going health issues and my serious neck diagnosis last year it was absolutely paramount that the 'Warmblood' I was to purchase had to tick all boxes, not just 9/10 but 10/10! This wasn't me saying this it was my coach of 7 years Jim lol the tough critic that he is. I found Carolyn's stud website and thought wow she has some really nice stock lets see if they have anything undersaddle for sale; my email explained about my health, my goals and just a general overview of the horse I was after. Spud was never really for sale as he was a much loved member of the family but Carolyn felt he would be perfect for my needs. Spud was imported from the Netherlands 3 years ago, is trained to GP with the most amazing passage! stands at 16.2hh and is even broken to harness which I joke that in a few years IF I can't ride, Spuddy and I can do harness classes:) But for now he has a killer trot, a beautiful walk and the perfect FEI para mount. My first test ride was wow, what a horse. I was offered a trial which was so kind and thoughtful!! I really didn't expect it but Carolyn insisted that we had to all make sure Spud was right for me and I was right for Spud I keep saying 'Warmblood' as this breed is so new to me, I've only ridden one other Warmblood (a mare out of Donnerhall, yes I'm learning the bloodlines!) and that was in England, my whole 30 year riding career has been riding the PRE & Lusitano horses, so the build and movement of the Warmblood is so different - no one knew how my body would cope. The past few weeks have flown by and we can't fault Spud, I completely adore the lad and his personality. Don't worry I'm still riding and campaigning my PRE & Lusitano stallions, no doubt about that but finding the right Warmblood has always been in the back of my mind, a quiet goal and the fact he's GP trained.. I can learn from this and enhance my skills. The ultimate goal will be to qualify for Tokyo 2020 and I truly believe he's the horse to get me there but for the moment we will continue to develop a strong bond and do some open dressage days. Thanks again Carolyn and Charlie for entrusting me with your special boy xx ************** |
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SEPTEMBER 2017 Stunning photos of my 2 stallions Andaluka Elegido & Celere from my favorite photographer Stephen Mowbray Photography. Thank you Stephen for your on going support of all Australian Para riders... you have an amazing way of capturing our abilities, our passion for our sport, love for our horses and the support and team work that goes on behind the scenes. Stephen has kindly presented photos of all NSW Para riders in celebration of the NSW Para Equestrian Dressage Futures Program. This amazing new program will be funded by Ernst & Young through the Australian Sports Foundation, for three years and will create a pathway for riders like myself with disabilities to obtain the training and support we need to enable us to progress onto Australian squads and ultimately to represent Australia in Para Dressage at international competitions including the Paralympic and World Equestrian Games. A huge thank you to EY for your amazing support and it was lovely to meet you Alison Cairns and your team.
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SEPTEMBER 2017 NSW State Dressage Championships over for another year and my PRE Spanish stallion 'Eddy' (Andaluka Elegido) holds his title as Champion for our para grade for the 5th consecutive year Both my boys were amazing. Eddy did an amazing freestyle scoring 72% by one judge for artistic,which I went out of my comfort zone and did something different... Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones... with a twist of Spanish (of course). Lusitano stallion Celere really tried his heart out and I honestly thought he did better than Eddy; we scored a personal best by one judge with 67.58% with very nice comments but just couldn't catch Eddy. Love my little friend. I couldn't have done these States without the on going help and support of Michael. It has been a rough few weeks as I was nearly admitted to hospital 4 days prior to leaving for States with suspected pneumonia... but with a 4th course of antibiotics I picked up dramatically and there was nothing stopping me! I also had an amazing groom come to help! wow!! why haven't I had an extra groom before LOL!! Where has she been the past 7 years! Shae Herwig... you did a phenomenal job of looking after my boys and making sure everything ran to schedule! I did 4 tests in one day with only 30-40min gaps.... we were running but my team did an amazing job and we never missed a beat. I do think we ate our body weight in chocolate. As always a big thank you to my sponsors Hygain Feeding Champions , Technyflex - Premium Joint Supplement and Platinum Pony. We received so many comments over the weekend at how amazing the boys looked and it's all down to the quality products I use and of course all the love they receive.
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AUGUST 2017 Super weekend with the 3 stallions. Love my boys! 12yo PRE grey stallion EDDY (Andaluka Elegido) enjoyed an outing at the Shoalhaven Dressage Club protocol day and felt amazing having a few hand gallops around the grounds. Imported buckskin Lusitano stallion CELERE and I competed in the Official Novice 2.2 to place 5th with 65.71% we hanged around for our second test BUT the heavens opened and I decided to scratch and go home to my heater lol I'm on antibiotics with a chest injection and didn't want to make it worse getting soaked with State Dressage Championships in a few days! Like always Celere was such a dude to take out and tried his little heart out for me.
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AUGUST 2017 I had a lovely birthday today with loved ones and special animals. Over the weekend there were a few laughs with the 3 stallions. Here is a photo photos the golden boy Celere... Mr twinkle toes brought a smile to my face at how 'angelic' he goes over trot poles and LOVED dancing between the tall poles cantering and doing changes between them. I really am enjoying mixing up my training! I also test rode a stunning beautiful Warmblood ... yes a Warmblood and what a beautiful boy he was with amazing owners, a truly special weekend that brought a lot of smiles and laughs.
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JULY 2017 "Well at least we looked good" Yesterday's competition didn't go as planned and I could write every excuse there is, but truth is the body is changing and the challenges are getting more testing. I've always shared the good and the bad so we can just put this down to 'listen to your body'. If I focus on the positives I have to say... What a great horse I have in Celere, he was amazing and looked after me so well. Bless him. The fact I've been told numerous times the past year I shouldn't be riding... AND I AM pretty much speaks for it's self! Living with Rheumatoid (RA) I've developed a tolerance to pain like no other, hell I've been known to walk around and ride with a broken leg, gone about my days with a dislocated rib and not known for weeks, so when I woke up yesterday morning in excruciating pain I should have listened to my body and given the competition a miss; the thing is I love competing and I was not going to let my body stop me. I am on a cocktail of medications to control the Rheumatoid however, it's very rare I'll take pain killers as I just don't like them but I had to yesterday (I have FEI approval to use them if need be). Bad move. Short version of the story, my ankle locked (somewhat like a dislocation) in the first test, I did grit my teeth and finished placing 9th out of 16 which was OK. Michael managed to massage my foot and release some of the pressure in our break but during my 2nd test I could feel the pain creep up..... forgot where I was going lol corrected myself and then snap, foot went again and I forgot again where I was going so I just retired. The judge was so sweet and she really wanted me to finish as Celere was going beautiful. Obviously, I wanted off Celere ... BUT... like most things going wrong that day my scooter battery died (of all the days). So Celere walked me all the way from the arena's to the parking area which is a very long way and he did it like a perfect angel and stood still while I got off. This was the first time he has been put in a position where I'm not in control and times are tense and he took it all in his stride. A testament to his temperament and trust in Michael and I. I've competed every weekend for months so I'm taking 2 days off and also this weekend, see if I can calm this flare up down. "In life, many things don't go according to plan. If you fall, get back up. If you stumble, regain your balance. Never give up" **************
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JULY 2017 Super day of competition at SIEC held by Sydney Dressage Inc Club. CELERE and I had our 2nd start at Official Novice coming 11th out of 22 and 11th out of 23. Pretty happy with my scores and the judges comments but nothing beats how happy I am with Celere, he was just a dude and is really liking his competition outings here in Australia.
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JULY 2017 Look who's on the front page of the online free online magazine 'HUBVIBES E-Zine'
Also, there is a little update of the lovely PRE mare Andaluka Elegido and her new owner Shae. Story can be read HERE
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JULY 2017
Hope you all enjoy this online live interview I did with Courtney Ward from the South Coast Register, we discuss growing up with Rheumatoid, overcoming challenges, withdrawing from the 2016 Paralympic European qualifiers, my outlook towards the future with my serious neck condition and focus on training towards WEG and Paralympics Tokyo 2020.
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JULY 2017 So this happened today; Only 4 months under saddle. Gee it felt very different riding this girl that is a totally different build, tall and bigger moving than the stallions. I haven't ridden a mare in years! Definitely out of my comfort zone but I'm excited for our riding career together. **************
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JUNE 2017 Very proud of CELERE Absolutely impeccably behaved and stayed focused with me the whole time. Overall a great day at the Shoalhaven Dressage Club event and I'm already looking forward to our next competition in 3 weeks at SIEC, but next up is ANDALUKA ELEGIDO 'Eddy' in 2 weeks competing at DNSW Clarendon. ************** |
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JUNE 2017
Looking forward to this weekends competition with CELERE **************
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JUNE 2017 Photo shoot with ANDALUKA ELEGIDO 'Eddy' "When in doubt wear RED" ************** **************
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JUNE 2017 A sneak peek of the photos **************
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JUNE 2017 ** SO PROUD ** CELERE (Estoiro x Noz) and Michael took out Champion Led Other Breeds and then went on to win Supreme against 8 other breed champions (Arabian, Warmblood, Stockhorse etc). Also winning Buckskin Led Stallion and Reserve Champion Led Buckskin. Not bad for his first Australian led competition! This was all new to Celere and he took it all in his stride running out like a star and was pretty well behaved in such an electric atmosphere lining up close next to mares. He certainly turned heads with many people coming up to us falling in love with him and asking what breed he was. Big thank you to Bishops South Nowra for sponsoring this class and Shoalhaven All Breeds for holding a great event. **************
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MAY 2017 Michael and I had a very early 4am start and took Celere to Hawkesbury Dressage Club Championships. Celere & I scored 68.25% in the official 1.3 placing 5th out of 12, lost a canter lead but was a great test! In the official 1.2 we scored 64.23% and placed 6th out of 17... which I have to admit I didn't warm-up for! Both Celere and I had no energy ... so we just chilled under a tree for 30mins and literally walked to the arena and into the test we went (I usually wouldn't do this, but I listen to my body more these days) 'Obviously' we lacked energy but lovely comments from the judge saying Celere and I had great harmony. Not bad for our 2nd competition! Very proud that we held our own against some talented riders and horses in open company. Big thank you to Hawkesbury Dressage Club for holding an awesome Championships and well done to the rider who won the Preliminary Championship rug Michael and I sponsored under Tora V Dressage - PRE & Lusitano. ************** |
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MAY 2017 Celere and I had an awesome Sunday at the Shoalhaven Dressage Club protocol day and EA official measuring day. It was a great opportunity to check Celere's height and then to let him have walks around and just get overall exposure. This was also my first outing riding Celere by myself without anyone riding him prior, so big step forward! Only his 2nd outing to an event in Australia so more than happy with him. ************** |
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MAY 2017
Simpa has filled out, packed on the muscle and is looking AMAZING! It has been 2 months since she began being broken in. **************
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APRIL 2017 SYDNEY CDI 2017 Eddy (Andaluka Elegido) was a star looking after me during today's freestyle as I had a shocking migraine with bad vertigo and paralysis but I was not going to quit! I've never been so determined to finish a test and I'm glad I did as we scored 70.39% and yesterday during the Individual test we scored over 70% by 2 judges, so we are constantly improving. Celere was amazing! This was his first competition in a year and his first competition in Australia so he was thrown in the deep end. Overall Eddy was awarded FEI Para Equestrian Grade II Champion and Celere FEI Para Equestrian Grade II Reserve Champion. A massive thank you to everyone that made SYDNEY CDI - International Dressage Event an amazing competition and Commins Hendriks Solicitors for sponsoring the Para Equestrian events. NEWSPAPER STORY Click Here **************
ANDALUKA ELEGIDO
El Caballero Dejado x Andaluka Maya
Approved PRE Spanish Breeding Stallion
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APRIL 2017 CELERE Live your life, and risk it all ************** |
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APRIL 2017 2 weeks until my first major competition for the year ... Told Eddy and he didn't look too enthusiastic...but still looked handsome! **************
ANDALUKA ELEGIDO
El Caballero Dejado x Andaluka Maya
Approved PRE Spanish Breeding Stallion
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MARCH 2017 Celere having scratches to make up for leaving him in the rain! Who said you could stop?!
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MARCH 2017 _ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM _
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FEBRUARY 2017 Andaluka Elegido 'Eddy' - you can't fault this stallion! Every outing is always super fun and easy with him. He keeps me safe. We hadn't been out since the Australian Dressage Nationals in October 2016 so it was good to have a no pressure day but we tried to do our best! The new FEI tests released January 2017 I have to say whilst they are more challenging which I love... they do have a lot of elements to remember so the brain had a bit of a workout but we finished 2 clean tests with lots of 7.5s and an 8. A few improvements needed in areas but that will come with getting more confident with the tests I'm sure! Bit of an update on my neck - Yup coming up a year in April since I was diagnosed. Good news - there has been no further migration of the Odontoid peg into the skull and the neck continues to be stable which is fantastic news and the spinal cord, whilst its risky... is still OK! Unfortunately the symptoms I'm receiving is from crowding in my head with the spine migrating into the skull pressing on the brain stem, tonsils and something else that consists of a million letters! I have no 'signal loss' so this is very good news but I get terrible pressure surrounding my whole head now which feels like the hulk crushing my head with 2 hands (not like I've ever met the hulk or the hulk is real?) I do get some relief from physio, massage, red light and my beloved heat pack! Not much can be done to release the pressure except surgery which like the other surgery is high risk so whilst I'm having no signal loss and the pain isn't out of control, I'll make do. The scan also detected the C6 and C7 are deteriorated now and 'poking' towards the spinal cord, this isn't good news at all and something also to monitor. Rheumatoid's fault! See neurosurgeon in March for a chat. So I'll take good news where I can and take the bad news as it comes, working out ways to keep on keeping on and YES I'm still riding 5-6 days a week. Vic x ************** **************
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FEBRUARY 2017 Our girl Vigia Interagro' has been with us one month now and I finally found time to get the camera out. 40C plus yesterday and today when I decide to bath and get the camera out... it rained lol O well still managed to get some nice photos x Confirmed in foal to the Imported Lusitano stallion 'CELERE' Vigia Interagro
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JANUARY 2017 A great Australia Day spent with beautiful Celere!! **************
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JANUARY 2017 Thank you to my sponsors Hygain for supporting me and my team of horses for another year! It has been a great journey as a member of the Hygain team 2013 -2017
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JANUARY 2017 Celere's 'mares' are confirmed in foal! Can't wait to see his progeny in Australia. Celere is such an amazing stallion and a credit to the Lusitano breed. **************
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