First-timer tales
Conquering cross-country... at 60!
WATCHING HER DAUGHTER then her granddaughter soar over rustic jumps, Gay C Cochrane loved to see them but never believed she’d do the same. “When I retired I decided to do something I’d never done before, so at the grand old age of 60 something, I was going to try to fulfil an ambition I’d secretly held since I was a child,” says Gay. “I’d owned Harry – a 10-year-old New Forest chestnut gelding – for three years and had only ever tackled a few small jumps. I competed once at a local Riding Club competition, which we won, to our amazement. But to ride over fields in canter, clearing fences as we go, was a whole new ball game for us. “My friend Cheryl took me to Manx Chasers – a local cross-country course – but when I arrived and saw the jumps, I became really anxious with the thought that Harry and I’d soon be tackling them and cantering for the first time in an open field. Cheryl was really encouraging and supportive and soon Harry and I were jumping over logs and down drop fences. “A At times I realised that my own confidence was affecting Harry and holding him back, but if I simply placed him and pointed him at the fence, putting my trust in him, he jumped it. Even Harry, who had been scared of his own shadow in the past, splashed into the water with the sunshine reflecting over the ripples, which was a major achievement for him. “My time at Manx Chasers gave me a real burst of confidence, so I enrolled on a cross-country lesson with Mark Cramb, the eventer and polo player. He challenged me to jump even higher over fences, which I never thought I’d ever do, let alone totally enjoy the experience! “My confidence just soared as Harry and I went around clearing logs, skinnies, brush fences and tyres. The jumps felt huge to me, so I couldn’t have been more proud or delighted with Harry if I’d qualified for Olympia! “My first time jumping cross-country in my sixties proves it’s never too late. Now my motto’s ‘do it now, while you can’.”
“The jumps felt huge to me, so I couldn’t have been more proud.”