Hack diary
Meet new diarist Athene Turner
IRIDE MY HORSE, Shoop, bitless, barefoot and treeless. I first went bitless with Marnie, a 15.2hh Irish Sport Horse now retired, to see whether it might help with her napping and rearing. I was reluctant at first, but the improvement in her behaviour was instant and I haven’t ridden in a bit since that day over 10 years ago. Marnie was also the reason that I ride my horses barefoot. She routinely pulled off shoes in the field and had no horn left on which to attach a shoe. After much research I contacted a barefoot trimmer and, with the help of hoof boots, Marnie transitioned to a life without shoes. Shoop has never worn shoes, and while there is still a lot of maintenance and management involved, I prefer it to having her shod. Shoop, a 15hh Appaloosa x cob whose breeding has given her some beautiful and unusual markings, came to me as a four-year-old, just as I’d started the third year of my nursing degree. I spotted her cute little face for sale and a week later, thanks to a well-timed student loan instalment, she came home.
We don’t have an arena and all of Shoop’s schooling has been done out hacking, from lateral work and canter leads to working on her balance. Bringing on a youngster has its challenges, but I’ve never known a horse who skips over the diagonal like Shoop can because she thinks you’ve got it wrong!
My riding journey began on my second birthday when I was taken for a walk to the local riding school. Since that day, I’ve never stopped loving horses. I’ve been lucky in that my family had horsey links — my mum grew up around them, and her mother before her. When I was old enough, I started regular lessons and worked through my BHS Progressive Riding Tests, later completing my Stage 1.
When I was nine, I had Amy, a 13.2hh Welsh x Arab on loan. We had a slightly bumpy start when we negotiated how the brakes worked, but she soon became my first partner in crime. I spent five wonderful years with her until I sadly outgrew her. I shared my mum’s pony Rufus for a while, taking part in showing classes and competing at the Festival of Champions — and then Shoop came along.
Matt, my husband, rides too. We’re known as Mr & Mrs T, the husband and wife hacking team, and we have so much fun together. Matt rides Thor, Shoop’s close field buddy. We push each other and laugh when things don’t go to plan. This has been especially good for me as I lost my confidence for a time after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2015.
We keep our horses on a private yard where they live out. We’re lucky to be able to hack straight onto country lanes that lead to bridlepaths. There is some road work, but it’s not usually too busy and our horses are excellent in traffic. It’s generally a bird in a bush that catches us out! I work office hours, which makes winter riding tricky, but I try to get out three times a week, while in the summer I make the most of the light nights and aim for five. The #Hack1000Miles challenge has been great at getting me to push beyond my comfort zone — and I’m loving it. Our favourite rides tend to contain plenty of varied terrain and room for a good gallop. During the coronavirus crisis we chose not to hack out, but I have wanted to ride Shoop bridleless for a while now, so I’ve been working towards this from the ground. When things return to normal, we’ll be working towards a 22-mile ride that we were thwarted from doing in April when lockdown commenced.