Meet our new guest blogger who's feeling out of her comfort zone

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Let me introduce our new guest blogger, Crisy Salmon,  who has begun an exciting career as event groom for successful international eventer, Sarah Bullimore. Over the coming months, Crisy will share her experiences as she gets to grip with her new role. Here, Crisy describes her first week experiences.

After my first week, I should have a million things to write but the time has gone so fast that I can barely remember what has happened. This might seem a bit all over the place but  here goes...

Supergroom, Agnes, looked after me on my first official morning at Bullimore Eventing and then left for a well-deserved break. I had to find my feet and get on with it. Luckily I coped quite well with Sarah's help, and felt ready to prove myself the next day. I managed the morning tasks and was then told we were heading to the gallops (woohoo!) with Blou (Reve Du Rouet) and Lilly (Lilly Corinne). We loaded the lorry and I was told to grab my hat and jump in. As we arrived Sarah ran  through her plan and I was thrilled to find out I would be warming Lilly up, and then cooling Blou down. I doubt I’ll have half as much control when I take my own horse, Jimmy, galloping but we’ll wait and see!

Jimmy settling in

Talking of Jimmy, he decided to show off his fancy moves to Sarah on our first ride in the school, which included rearing, spinning, going on strike and (of course) swishing his tail the whole time. I explained that he was a very opinionated horse and the arguments were a regular occurrence - she’d get used to seeing them. However, I am sympathetic towards him as he is 13 and I get the impression he hasn’t had extensive  schooling in the past. As my riding is not to the highest standard either, we sometimes end up in stale mate with both of us saying, “I don’t have a clue what your trying to do!!!” This results in me swearing whilst Jimmy does whatever he likes. I still love him to bits and wouldn’t swap him or his revolting stable stains (who’d have a grey?) for any other horse. I very rarely get off him thinking we've had more bad moments than good - and surely that’s what it’s all about? We have had some fantastic schooling sessions since arriving at our new home, and an incredible jumping session in which I felt I had at least 40% control - a massive improvement on the 0% the first time I jumped him. I’m really excited for our future together and do feel incredibly lucky to have such a talented horse to ride.

Crisy and Jimmy in action

I feel I’m getting used to the routine at Sarah’s. I’m learning which horse wears which tack, all the hacking routes  and whether the horses need a groom, hot towel or full wash down afterwards. One thing I have not enjoyed is the feeling of being out of my comfort zone. I’m used to knowing what job to do next without even thinking about it, to being able to multitask and even be a mind reader at times so the day runs smoothly. Here I feel like I’m stood around like a lemon  being useless. But, I know it will all be worth it eventually. Actually, I now believe that pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is where the excitement happens! 

Kathryn White is owner and director of Cathean Ltd Medical and Copy Writing Services. She is a published medical and equestrian writer with a passion for creating compelling text in collaboration with her clients from pharmaceutical, healthcare and equestrian businesses across the world.