olympic goals’s BodyBlog

Finally there is a glimmer of Spring here. Moments of glorious sunshine between the massing rain clouds and, more excitingly, glimpses of human skin on previously padded bodies which resembled something like hibernating grizzly bears.

My mood too, is much less like a grizzly bear who’s been disturbed with a sharp stick these days due to thoughts and plans for the Spring competition season ahead. Although looking at the last few photographs I added online, many people seem to think I’m in a perpetual state of anger. I seem to be the guy photographers call when they want moody and irate. I’m trying not to read anything in to it. There was a brief respite when my agency called with a Guinness commercial. They are determined to make me into a stereotypical beer swilling Irish lad despite the fact that I have to use both hands to hold a pint of beer while I wonder where the little frilly umbrella has gone.

Rex is doing really fabulously. Our trip to Germany has been postponed till the end of May to let the Swedish riders prepare for European qualifiers. Our first proper big show is going to be Cavan Festival, unfortunately downgraded form international level, but luckily for me and Rex, it still has Hickstead Masters qualifiers at novice level. Its going to be a crazy week with three days of a fashion shoot the previous weekend quite nearby in Cavan organised by Shootmephotographer.com to celebrate their first year. But it will have me fresh faced and polished for the show ring.

Rex’s stable mate Axeminster ran his first point-to-point race last week. He managed to lead the field by about a full lap until the last quarter where he ran out of puff, all spit and vinegar like typical Irish boys! On the other side of the stable yard our first foal has been born, a lovely leggy bay thoroughbred filly by the racing stallion Stowaway. Rex is totally sure it’s his and shows his pride by puffing up and piaffing every time it trots by. We have a new arrival in the form of a cute little welsh pony that’s part of the new pony breeding program and she fills the space of the two year old thoroughbred filly sold at Gorsebridge horse auction. She’s sure to be a superstar in the right hands.

I think I’ve unleashed a nightmare in the form of my personal trainer at the gym, he checked me out on youtube and has done some research. He thinks I need to be stronger through the core and then my half halts will be better.  He can tell me about half halts but couldn’t remember the colour of my horse. I’ve had a reassessment and I’m officially five percent body fat. (Which also might influence my half halting power on my 18. 2 horse!) Now my mornings are full of things like parallel box dips and tricep bench dips. I asked him if I should do them on the diagonal or on the long side. He wasn’t impressed. I’m off to look up what an aqua-man exercise is meant to look like. I don’t suppose it means paddling around the jacuzzi does it?

I think I’m turning green, I don’t mean environmental, I mean neon!
But far from it being all those dedicated pre dawn hours lifting and
sweating at the gym turning me into the hulk, it’s the new protein
supplement my trainer put me on. "Spirulina" seaweed with more
vitamins than an entire health store. It recommeds putting it in a
smoothie. (Unfortunately it’s rather pungent and sticky)I recommend
putting it far back in the cupboard, far, far back in the cupboard,
preferably behind the pop tarts and the peanut butter where you can
easily forget about it, somewhere close to Narnia if possible! But I’m
trudging on, 3 teaspoons a day that somehow magically morph into about
eight gallons of effervescent slime that insists on clinging to the
bottom of the glass.
But I do think all this healthy living lark is making me a lttle more
capable of staying on board my horse especially since these days that
soft lovely Irish mist and fresh breeze have turned into gale force
winds and tidal wave droplets. Rex has decided as a proper dressage
horse he deserves an indoor and refuses to cooperate down the windy
side of the arena. Apart from bad weather behaviour he is going
extremely well. I was stewarding at one of our regional shows last
week and got a sneak peek at the competition in the young horse
classes. I’m sure he is ready to give them a run for their money,I was
hoping to have him competing well enough for the four year old class
at our first ever internatinal dressage show here in Ireland but it’s
been cancelled due to lack of sponsorship.
Rex has also become very popular with a few fashion photographers
lately with two shoots in the last wekk alone, I was worried about all
the equipment temptingly dotted around the stable and his need to bite
everything in front of him but he was as good as gold and there are
some beautiful shots of him, I’ll post them as many places as I can
before my connection goes!! And I’ll add some links so the non yahoo
members can check them out!.

I’m not sure who I’m spending more time getting fit these days, me or
the horse?
This morning at about seven fifteen which is far too many cups of
strong black coffee for my liking, some hulking great guy at the gym
asked me why I was using such teenie tiny weights. As I explained to
him that dressage riders needed to be slim and svelte I secretly
prayed that I was going to be able to push those teenie tiny weights
past my teenie tiny chest. I also explained with a scoff of arrogance
and disdain that I had just endured forty five minutes on the
treadmill, cross trainer and the rowing machine not to mention the
dozens of mad looney horses I was going to ride before lunch. The
whoosh of a barbell about the size of a Shetland pony shooting past my
head alerted me to his disbelief, I quietly sidled away.
On the horse fitness front, Rex is doing amazingly well. Tuesday is
his first day back in work after a day off and at eighteen hands plus
in height I’m terribly aware of how far the ground is when on board
and how quickly it can come to meet me. Much to my relief and the
relief of all my gym weary muscles he was a thorough gentleman, even
when Tess the Irish terrier decided that a game of tag around the
arena would be fun, while I’m in canter. Lets bear in mind he covers
the long side of the arena in five strides, "not much I can tell you."
I am mostly working on getting a more solid outside connection, for
all you non horsey folks that means not crashing through the fence
when we take a corner.

I’m alive for one day even if its only to have the same conversation
with another big bruisery bloke at the gym in the morning.
Perhaps I’ll just do cardio tomorrow….

Desperately trying to add some size and strength on no budget. I currently train horse on a 60 to 70 hour week with little financial reward but its a passion. I don’t however have much time left to work out or money to have a gym membership. My workouts are incredibly varied because of this and I have to be very creative. Here’s hoping it works!

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