By Lara Tweedie
Shanghai Swans
Okay, so one of the things I love most about equestrian sport is that on top of a horse, men and women are equal. I read press about how women in tennis fight for equal prize money, because apparently we would all rather watch the men play? Unheard of in equestrian sport. Women’s sporting teams flying economy whilst the men’s sporting teams fly business? Can ANYONE imagine the Shanghai Swans in cattle class? I mean, like completely, LOL, enough said. Anyway, gender in equestrian sport is such a non-issue that I have never known it to be discussed on social media, not even ONCE.
Pony Club
Okay, so it’s looking like Oliver loves horses. Our mornings begin something like this. I lie in bed listening to him make noises in his cot. “NEIGH! NEIGH! NEIGH!” His Majesty is awake. I walk into his room, he looks me in the eye. “THHHHH! THHHHH!” (Translation – Flirt) “CEEEEEEE! CEEEEEEE!” (Translation – carrots). These days, unless we are literally about to get in the car and go to the stables, Michael A Tweedie and I avoid the following trigger words – Flirt, Horse, Pony, Stables, Carrots. Oliver’s 19 months old and we can’t even spell out the word carrots in front of him, he’s WORKED IT OUT. I love that kid more than cupcakes but he has a purple passion for ponies that’s intense even by my standards. Interestingly, it is this very passion that posed our first real challenge as parents, the first time we had to really get on the same horsey parenting page.
The Search for a Horse
Around the time we retired Tigger, I fell pregnant. Becoming pregnant basically means you grow larger, over a period of time, until you become the size of three people and then you have a BABY. During pregnancy you also give things up. I gave up horse riding, botox and wine and I missed them all in exactly that order. Anyway, so LIFE CHANGES. Our change came in the form of Oliver James, a glorious, blonde haired, blue eyed, blessing who loves toast, dancing to hot potato and feeding carrots to Thhhhh.
Tigger
Settle in for the ride people, because we have just arrived at the train station of TIGGER. There’s only one way I can write this one, and that’s to tell the actual story………..They say all the best horses are sold by word of mouth and my one in a million Octavius of Neika was no exception.
Teddy
Tyntynder, otherwise known as Super Ted is by the legendary Brentano II and when he was born, he already knew everything about the sport of dressage. Let's just say, we're all pretty sure Ted had been here before. Teddy is gifted with an almost prodigal intelligence but being the brilliant academic that he is, he can sometimes be a little bit grumpy, a tad anti-social let's say, and like some of my university lecturers, he might occasionally bite.
Flirt
Imperial Flirt, otherwise known as Flirt, Pony, Thhhhhh or our very first dependent. For a welsh pony, Flirt has certainly landed on her feet. For the last 15 years, she has been resting her heels on Michael A Tweedie's coin and every month when he pays her agistment bill, I know he feels #blessed.
Rusty
This is Rusty, more formally known as Rukoko M. Rusty is pretty damn good looking. She has a fancy canter, an international tail and the pedigree of a Duchess. Rusty is posh and she knows it. Riding a horse like Rusty brings out my inner Kardashian which makes it hard to pay attention to the task at hand (i.e. dressage) when I constantly have to resist the urge to take selfies and check myself out in the gigantic mirrors at Mitchell Park.
