How
it happened
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The
Balustrade
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Since
going on air in January we've granted so many wishes that I've lost
count.
One of my dreams was to ride at the All England show jumping course
at Hickstead.
Well on the 19th August thanks to some of the pack, especially Sharon,
that dream came true.
Hickstead
We arrived at the course at around 10.30am and I have to say that
as we drove round the outskirts of the main ring I really was lost
for words.
Lizzy Bunn made us very welcome and told me that I would be riding
her sister's horse, Steps. But before I met my steed I walked the
course.
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Luke
at the Devil's Dyke
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The
first jump we looked at was the Devil's Dyke, three separate jumps
at about 4 foot high and with one of them over water. Quite impressive.
Although I have to say the one that did it for me was the Derby
Bank. A ten foot mound of earth with a sheer vertical drop at the
front. On foot it was nerve racking - at that early stage of the
day I had no intention of taking a horse up on to it!
Meeting
Steps
After a mug of tea I was introduced to Chloe Bunn and her international
grade A horse, Steps. He was a bay gelding and stood at around 16"2hh,
rather like my own mare, Vicky. However when it came to riding him
it was a totally different experience.
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Luke
and Steps
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Vicky
has a much longer stride, she was bred for trotting and very good
she is at it too. Steps on the other hand was much shorter in his
stride and also very light in the mouth, meaning that you hardly
needed any contact on your reins to ride him.
In
the main arena
After about an hour of warming up I took him into the main ring.
All of a sudden he took on a new lease of life - the turbo charge
had kicked in.
At first I just trotted him round and then took him through the
pond. Like all horses at first he didn't want to get his hooves
wet. After much squeezing and a few kicks he still refused. So I
decided to let his owner see if she could get him through. After
a performance she did. Then it was my turn.
He
just leapt in - luckily I stayed on and seeing that it was quite
a warm day he was happy to go through it at least half a dozen times.
The
Derby Bank
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Luke
takes Steps up the Derby bank
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Then
Chloe asked if I'd like to take him up on the Hickstead bank....ah!
"Okay", I said. So off we trotted to the 10ft high bank.
As soon as I pointed him at it he was up there like a bullet out
of a gun.
Once on top of the bank it was awesome. I could feel that he wanted
to go down the front...but I didn't! According to Harvey Smith "once
you're up there you're the height of a double decker bus.."
- and the rest!
So we just stood up there for a seconds and took in the view. I
admire anyone that has the guts to take their horse down the vertical
drop and after coming off the bank myself Chloe showed me how to
do it properly.
According to her you just lean back... relax and let the horse do
all the work......easier said than done. But Steps just took it
all in his stride.
A day
to remember
I have to say I really enjoyed my couple of hours with Steps and
the whole Hickstead experience.
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Luke
with his trophies
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A big
thank you must go to Lizzy and Chloe Bunn for arranging the morning
for me and also to Steps for being so professional.
To
mark the occasion the Bunn family presented me with a red, white
and blue champion rosette and a plaque to prove that I'd ridden
the Hickstead course.
Picture
gallery »
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