Gap Year – Tick!!
As I drove out the gates of Wilky Park Performance horses, I reflected on the year of 2014 with mixed feelings. If riding horses was a theme park ride, it would be the best in the world.
I am heading back to little ol’ Tassie to do begin the next chapter in my life! But wow! What a year… I have had some epic highs, Sizzle (the first horse I have educated from the ground up to a decent level) doing his first 1*, Moving away from my family to live with people I didn’t know from a bar of soap for a year, discovering the wonders of Melbourne and travelling all over Victoria with some of the best event riders in the country. But the lows have be just as epic, after having a shocking few months with William and finding out about his injury, he had to go home and recover. Then a week before I get home to bring him back into work he slices his leg open down to the bone (more on that later), and Poppy falling off a step and breaking my collarbone in a pretty impressive way.
One thing about this whole experience however has really made me have a good long hard think about myself and who I want to be. My whole life I have always been a step ahead. I did my first 1* at 16 in early 2012 and did my first 2*at 17. Now, at 19 I am back at 1*again and desperate to keep moving forward. Not that this is anyone’s fault, it is hard to foresee events such as Will’s injury and my broken collar bone and in life everyone has setbacks. But I was lying in bed at 12 o’clock at night with my mind ablaze with questions that were unanswered and current dreams as yet unfulfilled …. When all of a sudden my scattered thoughts condensed and became clear. I am turning 20 this year and I need to set myself up for the next 10 years. A quarter of my life is nearly over and I have no plan, no room in my current job to expand and grow my own business, and a lot of horses who seem to eat money and no life outside of them. I realised that despite loving what I do intensely, I either had to find another way. I realised that horses had started to become my job, not my passion. So, I handed in my resignation and left Wilky to come home and find myself a ‘life’.
One of the benefits of being in Melbourne - going to Australian Open tennis
Going to Wilky Park and working there for a year was the best thing I ever did because if I hadn’t done that I would still be in the clouds about how easy it would be and that I one day might make it to the Olympics and how ‘4 Star can’t be that hard’. It is tough to admit the dream is harder than I had ever imagined …. But what I realised was I needed a clear plan… so here it is!
- Find a way to make money. Real money.
Before I even hit Tasmanian soil I am already trying to make this happen. I am planning on going to Uni and doing a business course and I am even thinking about buying a small business. So in other words, I want to stop relying on my parents to keep propping me up. Being a riding Groom with more than one good horse simply doesn’t work long term. The costs of keeping another one or in my case 2 horses on a grooms salary simply doesn’t add up.
- Put in the work on my horses. Set a clear plan and work towards your goals. My horses might be good but that will only get me so far.
I have now learnt is that it takes a huge amount of education and time put into your horse to make them solid enough to get you where you want to go. To be able to trust them, to get you out of sticky situations. I have never put in the work, being at school and I was still so inexperienced so I just didn’t understand. This is what you learn going away and working at a professional stable, it’s been a huge eye opener for me, the professionalism of it all. But now I have had a glimpse of what they can do when I do work hard. It’s time to get real, time to put the lessons learnt into action. And time to base myself with my coach (heading back to Lucy Bennett) and dedicate time to both me and my horses. To make your dreams achievable is the aim, planning for that is what is now needed.
- Give myself options.
I need to have something to fall back on. A safety net if you will. While I have no intention of giving up horses what so ever (In fact it’s the opposite, I have so many big plans yet to conquer), but what if something might force me to. Be it injury or something financial and what then? Is riding all I am good at? No, I have other skills so now I need to expand them now and make them work for me. This I find terribly exciting, heading into the unknown and taking a gamble on myself.
I want to thank everyone at Wilky Park and so many others who have been so amazing this last year! Thankyou so much Will and Em for putting up with this crazy Tasmanian! I am so grateful for the opportunity you gave me! Good luck to Georgia, Meryl and Flo! I will be seeing you hopefully at Melbourne IHT
Now it’s all onwards and upwards!
Here is a quick update on happenings at home… this is Will’s leg. There goes another 4-6 weeks (if we are lucky!). He sliced it straight down in between the tendon and the bone
Sizzle and Poppy made it safely home thanks to Tasmanian Horse Transport and are happy and healthy
Bethany and Ruby competed in the West Tamar ODE and both did exceptionally well, how cute is this photo of Ruby on Jack!!
My first event back will be Deloraine ODE in the Prenovice to get us back into the swing of things before going back up to 1*.
Emily picked up a Tiger snake… but that hilarious story should be immortalised in a book so I might tell it next time… or you can read it on FB. In the meantime, here is a photo. And no. she has never picked up a live snake before. Let alone a highly deadly one.
Until next time!
Alice 
