Clearly I have been working with Higgy for too long and I’ve finally lost my marbles… 

Over a few glasses of wine at Cheltenham I have been convinced by Paul Webber to put my horsemanship skills to the ultimate test and ride in a flat race at Newbury for charity.  The Pelican Cancer Foundation raises money to support research and training in precision surgery and treatment of bowel cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer and liver cancer.  This is a matter very close to my heart as this terrible disease has affected my family and friends over the years. 

THE CHALLENGE; How hard can it be, I’ve just got to ride a horse for a mile and a half and manage to stay in the saddle right?! 
WRONG… This is nothing like dressage lessons where on the whole you can look elegant(ish) and ride moves your non-horsey friends refer to as “horse dancing” in a comfy big saddle or popping a nice little fence in a steady canter.  This is going to be me, standing on a about 1256 pounds of powerful horse that’s traveling approximately 35mph, mud spraying in my face with a saddle that may as well not exist... (Mum don’t worry…)!  
I will be riding FIRM ORDER, Novae’s horse and as much as I'd love to win I’m just going to bribe him to look after me!!

Over the next six weeks I’ve got early mornings and aching muscles to look forward to as I train and prepare as best I can around an already hectic life for this fairly big challenge, but it will be worth it. 

I will update this page with my progress, the ups and the downs – hopefully more ups!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your support.

Tara and Firm Order xx

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.