In late January I said goodbye to family and friends and embarked on what will hopefully be a most exciting and fulfilling adventure to England to train my new horse Wunders-Tag with Carl Hester in Gloucestershire. It's always hard saying goodbye to those you love and care a lot for, but at least these days with modern technology like facebook and skype your mates are never far away.

I had a lovely send off at Auckland airport with Erin Mortimer (half owner of Wookie), Julie Malcolm and Judith Cowie all there to share a bottle of champagne and wish me well. I flew again on Emirates - my frequent miles allowing my some business class privileges these days but rest assured I'm still stuck in Economy on the flights! When I reached the UK I waited a few hours at Heathrow before meeting up with Clarke Johnson and Vanessa Way who had flown horses in the same day. Vanessa is basing at Carl Hester's yard, so I hitched a ride down with her.

I must say it was a little weird arriving at Carl's barn for the start of this epic journey - I was wondering why I felt so out of place compared to flying into the USA with Whisper two years ago. Then I realised what it was - in the USA I had my best mate Whisper at my side, and on this trip I was yet to get acquainted with my new friend Wunders Tag. I went up to his stable and re-introduced myself - and Wookie just gave me a blank look as if to say "And who are you?!"

So the first task I set myself was to start building a bond with Wookie. I have spent many hours in the stable massaging him and getting to know his body and soul. I started clicker training him onto a target which he picked up very quickly indeed. He now will search everywhere in his stall just to find the target, get a "click" and then his piece of carrot... It has been an enjoyable time bonding with him and now we are good mates for sure!

For the first two weeks Wookie lived at Carl's yard, but I have since moved him somewhere more affordable - Lower House Farm where he is well settled and content watching the cows outside his stable door! Its well appointed with a small but well surfaced indoor and a full sized outdoor arena - and it's only a 30 minute hack to Carl's for my lessons.

I know what you are all thinking - how is the weather!! I can tell you, leaving the NZ summer for the UK winter is not something I would recommend in a hurry. I have chilblains on my feet already which are very uncomfortable. Some days it doesn't get above freezing, and there is plenty of snow around although on the whole we have been very lucky so far. One thing I have noticed is that the sunrises here in winter are quite spectacular - with the sun appearing bright red at times thru the snowy haze.

I had a lovely weekend in Northern Ireland catching up with all my old buddies. We went to a hunt ball which was great Craic as they say, and I managed to teach a clinic and not get rained or snowed on - bonus!

My lessons with Carl are going well and I very much enjoy his teaching style. He doesn't miss a thing - but the way he guides you as a rider is truly superb. The facilities are out of this world and his head girl Fiona makes sure that every horse is cared for like a rockstar!

I have a wonderful house to stay in for the moment with a lovely couple Amanda and Paul - their place was recommended to me by mutual friends Ali and Pete Jenkins who now live in NZ - Ali and Pete did a marvellous job of making sure I wasn't homeless upon arrival! A picture of the farmhouse I live in is below...

I have bought myself a car here - see the pic below - it was only about $700 NZ dollars but cost over double that to insure. Unbelievable.

However times are changing. Wookie and I leave for our first set of competitions next week - to Vidauban in the South of France. Although we are very under-prepared (I have not done any lead up shows and can't even ride in a full size arena to practice the test as they are all frozen over) I am very much looking forward to getting amongst it - it's been a long two years out of the Grand Prix classes for me. I can't wait!

I have recently met a good showjumping rider who has a few problem horses that I want to help out with, so we have decided to set up a temporary yard together for the period of my stay. At present we are searching for a small set up with a good arena, hacking and a cottage for ourselves, within an easy commute of Carl Hester's place. So as soon as I get back from France both Wookie and I may have new digs for the next part of our journey.

Watch this space!