Thank you!

"Speech! Speech! Speech"
Here comes the "thank yous" =)

I want to thank Juniblest, obviously! Without him I could never have ridden my pony from New Forest to Newcastle. Not to mention that he has been there for me for more than eight years and put up with my every mistake, all the times I've been unfair on him and all the strange things he'd have to endure like tarpaulins and medieval re-enactment. I love him endlessly and he is truly a very special horse!

I also want to thank my barefoot trimmer Lucy Priory who has been a massive support from the very early beginnings of the planning process. She was the one who had the guts to tell me that Juniblest was obese and probably diabetic/IR and she was the one who helped me slimming him down with advice and mental support. When I was in doubt or had dark moments during the ride she would happily advice me, comfort me and cheer us on and I dare say we would never have made it without her! Thank you a thousand times, Lucy.

Then there's the saddle. I bought it used on impulse after finishing an endurance ride this spring, without knowing if it would ever fit. The saddle was a Free 'n' Easy saddle made by Les Spark who came down some time before the ride to fit it. First of all, it fits the pony. Second, it can easily be adjusted or repaired with a multitool. Third, I was never troubled with saddle soreness! 8 hours in the saddle is not a problem in an FnE saddle. Thanks for inventing a system that kept both my pony's back and my bum nice and painfree all the way!

I want to thank Jane Amundsen. I owe her so much! She introduced me to horses, she "brought me up" in the horseworld introducing me to a Natural Horsemanship perspective from the very beginning and making sure I understood the importance of High-viz. Not to mention that she sold me Juniblest that beautiful June day in 2004 ;) For the ride she made sure we were sponsored with a Polypad and a Maximum bridle, both in purple and orange which are our colours. Thank you so much, Jane!

Thanks a lot to family and friends who supported me mentally and economically, who called me to see how we were getting on and who donated to the charities =)

And of course, thanks a thousand times to all the people who accommodated us during the journey, sometimes on a very short notice!


Thank you so much!