Supported Rider Melissa Chapman enjoys an exciting start to 2019

Supported Rider Mel Chapman shares with us her 2019 story so far, and hopes that her success will continue in the months to come!

The last three months have been rather good ones…and have paved the way for a very exciting start to 2019

With the weather very much on our side, we have been able to enjoy training (both at home and away) as well as being able to travel to competitions with relative ease and without worrying about the weather conditions. The first outing of the year was a training visit to Ian Woodhead’s…I took three horses and left feeling proud of all of them, very tired and with plenty of homework! Our next outing was a competitive one…we headed to Northallerton Equestrian Centre, where the conditions were rather blustery. Despite some of the test moves having a little bit of ‘wind assisted’ ooooomph…the horses partied hard and, as a result, we reaped the rewards!

Towards the end of a very busy 2018 I was lucky enough to catch up with Deborah Smith (of Luxe Magazine), and so it was brilliant to finally receive a copy of the magazine containing our interview. Both Deborah and Simon Hogben (photographer) made the process a very easy one. I had lots of fun and enjoyed reflecting upon my Equestrian life as well as capturing some precious moments with my horses. This was closely followed by a lovely write up in Horse and Hound. Towards the end of January, I was finally able to share the amazing news that I am a ‘training partner’ with Masta and Harry Hall. My horses LOVE their products (especially the Protechmasta range.) January ended with the setting of our annual dressage camp date. I am very excited about the introduction of different themes, as well as working alongside other equestrian professionals.

February was a whirlwind of a month

Following a nervous wait, it was finally confirmed that I remained a part of the Millbry Hill Supported Rider team. It must have been such an incredibly difficult task to select riders for this privileged position and I was over the moon to be afforded the opportunity again. The horses and I were excited and we are looking forward to sharing another year with you all. I’ve been busy putting plans in place for our annual series of dressage camps and feel very pleased with the outcome…I am very excited about the introduction of different themes, as well as working alongside other equestrian professionals. I braved the Young Horse Forum (held at Richmond Equestrian Centre) with 4 year-old TCE Keizer…aka Ricky. What a delight he was; he was so willing and amenable and answered everything that was asked of him. We received lots of positive comments and I can’t wait to see how he develops over the next few months. Following this, my attention turned to preparing for the BD Regionals.

Our first trip saw us trucking to Bishop Burton where mine and my Dads awesome 5 year old stallion (TCE Jubilant al Sno) took the title of Novice Gold Regional Champion. For such a young horse, he was awesome and took everything in his stride. I also finished second in the Elementary Gold class so returned home with two golden tickets for the Nationals. Over two days, I rode 6 horses, securing a top ten finish on each of them. Jade also completed 4 tests and finished in the ribbons twice – I was really pleased for her. With only a day’s turn around, I re-loaded the wagon and headed to Myerscough for the second part of our regional campaign. I piloted three horses, all of which produced some beautiful work for three top ten placings.

I received some great news at the start of March – two wild cards for the Nationals. I am really proud to be taking 4 stunning horses to Hartpury in April. We enjoyed a busy schedule of competing and training. I think that the highlight of this was travelling to Myerscough to compete three horses in the 5 year old class. Romeo (TCE Jubilant al Sno) made the 3.30am alarm worthwhile by qualifying for the semi-finals first time out this season. He’s getting better and better everyday and my Dad and I are very lucky.

So, that’s a quarter of 2019 gone already…I wonder how the rest of the year is going to pan out?

The post Supported Rider: Melissa Chapman starts as she means to continue appeared first on The Millbry Hill Blog: Life in the Country.