We leave tomorrow!

I am finally settling down to TRY and sleep before we begin our journey to the Young Rider World Endurance Championships tomorrow. Today has been a busy day filled with:

Clipping - Czarko has been fully clipped to increase our chances of cooling him down as quickly as possible in each vet gate to get his heart rate down and in and out of the vet gate rapidly.

Packing - I hope I have packed everything! I manage to keep thinking of little things to add here and there but the bulk of it is done and ready to go to Dover to meet the other team members and go on the lorry.

Arranging: There has been some changes in the crew so it has been going around in my head 'who will be best to be where' and what crew I will have in certain places. I am lucky enough to be able to have a road crew and a vet gate crew reducing the chances of my crew not getting back to the vet gate before I do!

Buying - I went and spent out on bits and pieces such as a 'spare' girth and another girth sleeve along with john whitaker union jack brushing boots with the thought going through my mind 'it's a once in a lifetime opportunity - JUST BUY IT'. Not the best to have I must say but nevertheless, Czarko will look the part!

Stressing: It all sank in today that this is all actually happening and that we are leaving tomorrow. So stress is on board and hanging around for the journey by the looks of things.

This will be my last post until we get back from france as I will be very tied up with the ongoings over there, wish me luck!

Gallops Training

I mostly train across the New Forest as I have direct riding access from where Czarko is kept but we did venture up to the gallops by Stone Henge today to do some training. I found it difficult to find gallops close to us where the ground maintenance men were happy for us to train - apparently endurance riders like to go 'up and down' and 'make their job very hard'. 

Anyway after many phone calls I managed to find a suitable place to train...only 1 hour away from where Czarko lives. We were supposed to be training today anyway but I managed to secure last minute booking which was a lovely surprise. I had no experience of 'gallop training' before due to my difficulty finding a suitable venue so it was nice to do something new. 

The gallop was about 1 mile uphill so was perfect for cardiovascular training and it helped me work Carko very hard getting his heart and breathing rate up. This provided us with a perfect opportunity to monitor Czarko's pulse after every gallop. We were pleased to see that his pulse stayed at a steady rate and did not change after each time he went up.

As it was getting on for midday, we decided not to overdo it and took him up the gallop 6 times. My riding time was 1 hour so I came away feeling happy that this would improve Czarko's ability to climb hills as well as strengthen his breathing whilst traveling fast. 

30 degrees C and counting

It's still lingering! Impressive weather means we are still benefiting in training for Tarbes. Yesterday saw Czarko and I train for two hours in the New Forest with two crew stops. At both stops, Czarko's pulse was taken so I could monitor how well he was coping with the heat. It measured:
First stop: 63bpm (after two sloshes)
Second stop: 59bpm (after two sloshes)
We recorded temperatures of up to 31 degrees so was perfect conditions for me to be able to pick up on anything Czarko may struggle with. Since completing three 120km races this season alone, I am sure Czarko is fit enough to run the distance but what I am weary of, is how he will cope and recover in the heat. In order to increase his performance and recovery times, Czarko is to be fed supplements such as Protexin's 'Recover Aid' and 'Gut Balancer' to support him with recovery along with Science Supplements' electrolytes to replace what is lost through sweating.

We are both very thankful to the sponsors and are confident they will help us enormously in achieving as best we can in Tarbes!

Sponsorship!

Things are going well with regards to preparation for Tarbes. A massive thank you goes out to the following for their great support in the form of sponsorship:

Just Chaps (chaps)
Science Supplements (electrolytes & energex)
Protexin (recover aid & quick fix)
Hidez Suits (Compression Suits)
Pioneer Endurance (Bridle & Breastplate)
Toggi (GBR Clothing)
Chelwood Rosette Co. (Riding Tights)
Horsehage (Haylage)

All very much appreciated - here is Czarko wearing his Hidez Compression Suit and Pioneer Bridle...

Training update

Finally!! Britain has blessed us with some prefect weather for training, this heat wave could not have come at a better time! We have been told to expect temperatures of 30-40 degrees C in Tarbes for the World Championships so Czarko and I have been training hard in the heat to acclimatize.

On Friday, Czarko was lunged in an exercise sheet for half an hour and his temperature measured 37.7 (however this was measured using a new thermometer so I'm unsure how correct this was). I have been lunging him 2-3 times per week depending on my work schedule to give him consistant exercise.

Today we did 2 hours of canter training across the forest. I finished work at 15:45 and went straight to Czarko to make the most of the hot weather. I was delighted to find it was still 26 degrees C at 16:30. I was crewed half way by Mum so was able to take Czarko's temperature to get a gage of what he was running at. He measured 39.1 degrees C after a quick slosh which confirmed to me he was making the most out of the hot weather.

Furthermore, I have changed the pattern of stabling for Czarko this summer. Usually, he would spend the day in his stable out of the heat and would go out over night when the temperatures drop. However this summer, he has been staying out during the day to increase his heat tolerance with hopes that he won't find Tarbes to be too much of a drastic weather change. He seems to be coping with these alterations well and has been having plenty of electrolytes to keep him in good condition.

So far, I'm happy with our training and Czarko seems to be responding well to it. His muscle cover is continuously increasing and he seems to be more willing in himself every day - a horse that loves his job!

Shopping for Tarbes!

So... I know the stereotype for a horse rider is 'rich and posh' and well quite frankly, I wish this was true! But being a horse rider myself, I am proof that this is not so. I wouldn't say I am 'poor' or 'unfortunate', I'd say I'm just a bit pushed for money. However, I would like to take this time to thank my family for their incredible support over the years of my competing within endurance and other disciplines previous to that.

I am lucky enough that my mum sold her caravan in order for me to raise enough money to fund our trip to Tarbes for the World Championships this summer. I also received generous contributions from my Grandparents and my Dad for which I will be eternally greatful. As I work full-time, I do manage to fund my competitions each month throughout the year but I truly wouldn't have been able to consider this great opportunity if it was not for my loved ones, what a lucky girl I am!

After all of the hard work put in to raise the money needed (cake sale, selling old tack, selling caravan, endless hours working/overtime etc), Mum and I decided to go shopping today to purchase all of the things on my shopping list...and we did it in style!

 We were frantic about red, white and blue and managed to fill up the whole car with various bits and pieces. It's surprising how much can be spent in one day-although our justification was that "Czarko is worth every penny". We are sure we will be representing Great Britain in style, or we'd like to think so anyway!

Our Best Results

Race Rides only

10^th May 2013 – Royal Windsor Endurance 120km** Race – 7^th

13^th April 2013 – Haywood Oaks 120km** Race – 1^st

24^th March 2013 – Kings Forest 120km** Race – 2^nd

6^th October 2012 – Red Dragon 160km Race (2day) – 3^rd

16^th September 2012 – College Ride 100km Race – 1^st                                      

30^th June 2012 – Kings Forest National Champions 80km* Race – 1^st

10^th June 2012 – Three Rivers 80km Race – 1^st

1^st October 2011 – Red Dragon 80km Race – 1^st

30^th July 2011 – Cirencester Park 80km Race – 1^st

Czarko's Training plan

This is the training plan I have put together for Czarko between the Selections at Wimpole and the day we leave for France.

16^th June – Wimpole 80km

23^rd/24^th June – Lunge

25^th June – Ride (1-2 hours)

28^th June – Ride (1-2 hours)/gallops

3^rd July – Ride (2-3 hours)

6^th/7^th July – Long ride (3+ hours)

11^th July – Lunge

15^th/16^th – Gallops/Long ride

19^th – Lunge/short ride

22^nd – Lunge/short ride

I don't religiously stick to this but I use it to remind myself what exercise he needs to be doing each day. I find this useful to keep on top of his training other wise it starts to get difficult juggling full-time work as well as my commitments to Czarko's fitness. It is also good motivation - it is easier for me to stick to a plan rather than take each day as it comes (I'm very good at putting things off until the next day when coming home from work tired) If I went on this basis, Czarko and I would never have achieved what we have so far.

I have already strayed slightly from this plan...it is now the 5th July and Czarko has been lightly exercised every day for the past three days. Today will be his day off and we will be going to the gallops tomorrow for some respiration training. Another thing I have to consider is that we are due to have a heat wave this week - this is perfect preparation for France. I'm now having to think carefully about how to train in the heat to build up Czarko's tolerance. As long as I don't exercise him too hard straight away and just build him up slowly to get him used to it, I can then be confident he won't be out of his comfort zone on race day in temperatures we have been told may reach 40 degrees.

My First Post!

So here it is... I have decided to start blogging! My name is Lauren Mills, I am an international Endurance rider recently selected to represent Great Britain in the Young Rider World Endurance Championships 2013 in Tarbes, South France. I am aged 19, currently working full-time for SWAST (South Western Ambulance Service) as a 111 Call Advisor whilst living in the rural Village, Bransgore.

As an Endurance Rider, I recognize how interesting it is to read about what fellow competitors are doing so I thought I'd share what I get up to - not only with regards to training my horse Czarko, but I suppose with any other relevant life activities too.

I suppose I better expand a little bit on who I am and what I have done in my life so far. Well, I did all of the usual education (nursery, primary school, secondary school) right up to sixth form where I studied A-Level English Language, Media, Geography and Graphics. Ringwood Secondary school and Sixth form is where I chose to study along with most of my friends when we moved on from Bransgore Primary School. I worked with horses for approximately one year at a Private Yard before moving on to work in Haskins Garden Centre in Ferndown where I endured Restaurant and Customer Service duties. I left Haskins aged 18 after being successful in an interview with the NHS to work as an OOH (Out of Hours) Call Handler in the summer of 2012. SWAST then got the 'go ahead' to launch the 111 Service which gave me the opportunity to work in the Job Role I am now.

With regards to the 'horsey' part of my life... I was born into a family with a passion of horses so it was inevitable I was going to be an equestrian girl. Both my mum and nanny love horses and they have always been a part of their life so there was no getting out of it! I received my first pony at 5 years old from Father Christmas on Christmas Day - we did the normal duties of going to tend my mum's horses at the stables and there I found 'Dusty' in the stable next door to my mum's decorated in tinsel. From that day, I have never looked back and have competed ever since. I spent my junior years competing in Show Jumping, mounted games, eventing and was a member of the West Hants Pony club. I was very successful in my local area on my second New Forest Pony 'Sara' and got myself into the 'Bournemouth Echo' newspaper due to my victory at Ellingham Show where I won the Show Jumping class in a 'jump-off' in very testing weather conditions.

I came across Czarko three years ago though a family friend, Carole. I was lucky enough that in the summer of 2010, she decided Czarko was too much of a handful for her and she was not getting the best out of him. At this time, I wasn't looking for another horse as I already had an Arabian horse 'Messenger Man' that my parents had bought me from Ascot Sales to compete in Endurance with. However, for whatever reason, my mum and I decided to go and view Czarko and just fell in love with him. It didn't take much convincing and again, my parents were kind enough to buy Czarko for me (best decision they ever made!), and Manny (Messenger Man) went on to be owned solely by my mum.

From there, Czarko and I developed an instant connection and got on like a house on fire. We both enjoy galloping tremendous speeds and he settled into his new home with me very well. Of course, I had no idea what he was capable of or where we may be in three years time - being on the team to represent our country was a mere dream but hey, I guess we are proof that dreams really do come true!

Anyway, I think that just about covers it! I promise to try and remember I have created this blog and keep it updated with events, training and other activities I find myself indulging in. Bye for now!