Well it's that time of the year again - time to reflect back on all that was, all that wasn't and all that might have been. Here's my personal take on 2012...
THE GOOD...
Undoubtedly the best thing to happen to me in 2012 was the arrival of Ali Baba into my life. After a year of searching I finally have a horse that lights up my body and my soul. It's quite a challenge to bring a Baroque style horse to a country like New Zealand where both the judges and the breeders are not used to the type or way of going. I have had some wonderful lessons from Manu and Andrew McLean, Nadine Francois and Rodrigo Matos as well as a helping hand from the adorable Julie Malcolm who has a very astute eye for detail! I have a lot to learn before I can ride this wonderful horse in the way he deserves - but hey, we are on a journey! Ali Baba has bought into my life a love for Portugal and the Portuguese people - it's a country I hope to be seeing a lot more of in the next wee while. I have many new friends in Portugal and I am itching to get back there. I also really enjoyed teaching in Kuala Lumpur and it will become a new stop off destination for me now. Great people, great food, and so much culture! I was so lucky to spend a month training at the AEBC to receive my Associate Diploma in Equitation Science - one of only two New Zealand graduates.
Another highlight was being birthing partner for one of my best mates- Heidi- I'm now the proud godmother to wee Fletcher Billing. That was an epic night and something I was so proud to be involved with.
I have also made some great new friends in New Zealand this year - I am so lucky my job puts me in contact with some really neat people. My working pupil/ right hand girl Emily from Canada and her partner Tim have been very welcome editions here in 2012.
I visited some wonderful places - Barcelona, Lisboa, South of France, Gallipoli for Anzac Day, Malaysia, UK and Ireland - I'm sure I've missed some! St Tropez for lunch was a goodie too...
THE BAD...
The first half of 2012 was one I would rather forget. It contained, indeed, the darkest period of my life to date. Being on the other side of the world, in the cold and snow, riding a horse that you couldn't get a tune out of, and being unceremoniously jilted by a man I thought so much of, all made for a bad start to the year. Without the help of three very special people in Michelle Zielazo, Capt Terry White and Aliesha Deans I am unsure of whether or not I could have found the strength to carry on thru my darkest of days. I couldn't kick my depression for love or money - probably all that was needed a was a good therapist - but by this time I was living in Barcelona and felt there was nowhere I could turn. Nothing seemed to be going my way and I was under immense strain - the likes of which I hope I ever have to go through again.
And whilst I was coping with my personal issues, my wonderful parents were fighting a battle of their own. For 40 years they have lived at a wonderful property over-looking Okete Bay. The harbour is everything to my Dad - it's where he catches his flounder and whitebait. And for Mum the view from her office window is second to none. They have never owned the 13 acres they are on - it been on long term lease from the council, but this year the council decided to up the rent from around $1600 pa to $23,000 p.a. A court battled ensued and the long and the short of it is that our family home is having to be relocated to the property where I have my stables. We have just celebrated our last Christmas together at Okete Road as a family - all of my childhood memories are there and I will miss everything about that place this is for sure. I will be forever indebted to my parents for allowing me to run my business from their property, without them there is no way on God's earth I could ever have set myself up to ride horses for a living. In some ways I look forward to them moving up to this block so they can share even more in my equestrian pursuits - that, and the spa pool will be a heck of a lot closer!
THE UGLY...
By far my most ugly experience happened just the other day. Ali Baba was in his stable while our stud vet Noel Power was at my place to scan some mares. At one stage Ali Baba got a little excited (even though he couldn't see the mares, and he started to pigroot in his stable and kick the walls as he is apt to do from time to time. I am always telling him this is not a good idea, and we have rubber lined the walls to prevent too much damage to the walls and his feet.
But this time Ali Baba kicked at the bars of his stable, hitting them with such force and on such an angle that his hind hoof went right thru the small gap in the bars and he was caught. He flipped upside down and was on his back - with a hind hoof suspended far above his body, stuck between two bars of reinforced steel. I was beside him in a flash - I knew if he struggled at all his leg would be broken - he had to trust me and not move a muscle. I was screaming for Noel to help him. But with no hacksaw or crowbar in sight our chances of freeing him in a hurry were slim.I held on to Ali Baba's head on the floor to try and keep him still and to calm him - I kept thinking "You can't go just yet - we have just begun our journey - this is not how this story ends Ali Baba". Just the day before I had been riding him in a competition, and now he lay in my arms, just moments from a terrible fate. I prayed to God, to the universe, to anybody listening for a miracle. He and I were meant to be together - this I know. Full credit to Noel who has a calm head in an emergency. He ran to his car and got some sedation, drugs that would give us a few precious minutes to keep Ali Baba still whilst we figured a plan. Seconds seemed like minutes to me and everything happened in slow motion. I felt sick to my stomach
"Don't leave me mate, not now, not like this. I love you more than anything else in the world my precious, precious man. Just hang in there a few moments longer, please, please don't panic."
With the help of Sophie who was staying the week, Noel managed to use blocks of wood and brute strength to prise the bars open just a tiny wee bit, and the lever the leg up and out. As Ali Baba lay on the floor I was in tears, still not knowing if the leg was broken or not. Noel was simply perfect, so calm and professional. He looked the horse over and assured me everything was fine and nothing was broken. Painkillers were administered and the leg was bandaged. A Guardian Angel was looking over Ali Baba and I that day. More lucky I don't think I could have been. The shock of it all hit me that night and I was in floods of tears telling my friend Michelle what happened. She had had a premonition that day that something was wrong and I believe she helped us through.
So as I sit by the lake with my best friend Celine this New Years eve - I will raise a glass to 2012 and bid her farewell - thanking her for the experiences that have made me stronger, for the beautiful people who have crossed my path, and the lessons I have learnt.
The photos in this blog are a selection from the places I have been in 2012.
Saúde as they say in Portugal - Cheers...