As we find ourselves in 2019 (how), we all aspire to become the better version of ourselves. Whether that be to eat less chocolate, become more active, or simply concentrate on what we enjoy…whatever it may be it’s a blank piece of paper with endless opportunity.

As everyone has their own goals and expectations we decided to ask two of our Supported Riders; Tanya Buckingham and Jess Burnham what theirs were! If you haven’t yet met these two very talented riders, here’s a little background on their success so far…

Tanya Buckingham is a well established rider with numerous wins across the board. Having represented GB at Junior and young rider Europeans, her name was one familiar with most from an early stage! Having competed many horses at 3* level, most of which Tanya has brought up through the ranks, it is clear this is no amateur!

Next we have Jess, who at only 13 years of age has already got an enviable track record. Jess proudly represents the Zetland Pony Club in Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventing, and has competed at both National and Area Championships doing so. Jess’s biggest achievement to date was being selected to be first reserve for the British Eventing Northern Squad Under 18 100 National Championships. This is just the beginning for Jess…watch this space!

Here’s our catch up with Tanya-

2018 was a mixed year with some good results! Candy stepped up to 3* and the younger horses all started off well, however as always horses aren’t plain sailing and heartbreakingly Skip died whilst I was riding him. Not only was it one of the scariest and saddest things I have witnessed, it was very traumatic and it unsurprisingly affected me and my riding, which therefore made for mixed results with the other horses for the rest of the season.

My goals for 2019 are very exciting! I would like to establish Candy at 3* with the aim to gain my 4* qualification for 2020 and to gradually progress the younger horses up the levels. For myself I would like to box up any negative thoughts and remain positive throughout the whole season. The eventing season is long and tiring, and therefore it can be easy to ponder on the testing times rather than focusing on all the fantastic parts and continue to look forward! I’d like to get my fitness back to where I like it, and continue representing my sponsors in the best way I can.

When it comes to organising and meeting my goals and targets I start the year by writing down my main goal, and look at how and what I need to do to achieve this. From this I break them down into smaller goals in the hope it is more reachable. As with many things, (especially horses) things rarely go to plan, this can be down to the simplest of things, eg the weather, so I know it is important to make the goal flexible and  realistic.

I have already failed one of my New Year’s Resolutions which was to stop buying jackets!! I just couldn’t help buying a lovely Holland Cooper jacket the other day in Millbry Hill…it was too nice to walk away from!

My go to 2019 products are definitely Holland Cooper for smart clothing and jackets (again), as they’re so elegant for going out and perfect for trot ups. I like to wear these alongside Fairfax and Favor boots and handbags (obviously I need matching ones)! For riding I love the Musto range and the Ariat competition boots, they’re co comfortable and last for ever! I also wear Noble Outfitters gloves for xc.

Jess shares her New Year Resolutions–

New Year, New Me I thought as I skipped down to the yard. It’s time to put all those bad habits behind me…

This year I decided that small changes in my routine are what would benefit me the most, so here’s what I’ve decided to change. Ideally I’d like to clean my tack every day, but with school and all the other sports I play, this might not be kept up, so instead I’ve decided to make it a weekly thing, rather than just before a competition which I used to do!

Improve my fitness, I spend so much time getting the ponies fit, it’s easy to forget about my own fitness! So I’ve taken up Pilates which will help my flexibility and increase my strength. Pilates is so good for you, so I’m going to make my mum come with me as well!

How I managed to end up with TWO grey ponies I will never know…keeping them both clean is a full time job! However I have decided to try and keep on top of them, so it’s not too much hard work before I take them to a competition. Luckily my family and friends bought me some great cleaning shampoos and sprays from Millbry Hill which I am looking forward to trying, and hopefully they will help!

With all this horse cleaning, I can forget about my poor mum that has to wash my clothes! So I will stop bringing my horses in from the field in my school clothes after school, and instead get changed beforehand.

Practice makes perfect, which I believe is true. So I have decided that I will ride a dressage test every month, which will ensure I am always working on my flat work, and will hopefully also mean I will learn some new movements and exercises with the ponies. I will also continue to see my coach Tanya a lot to keep on top of my riding techniques and make some improvements along the way.

Lastly I am very aware that British Eventing wouldn’t exist without the help of volunteers, therefore I will continue to do my bit and put aside a couple of days to help throughout the 2019 season.

The post New Years Resolutions for two of our Supported Riders! appeared first on The Millbry Hill Blog: Life in the Country.