Watching the yachts racing in the 2018 St Thomas International Regatta.

​I was extremely fortunate to get away from the long long winter for three weeks to visit family and friends as well as soak in the sunshine and warmth of the Virgin Islands.  I have commented elsewhere on the state of the islands following the two devastating hurricanes last September which is not to be taken lightly... the media did not exaggerate the hardships everyone endured and continue to face on a daily basis.  That said the mood felt very positive and everyone was just getting on with fixing things up in true island style! 

I was also lucky enough to take this time off in the knowledge that Panta was being cared for and trained during my absence  by Adie and Andrew J. Murphy meaning he could continue with his work and development so we could hit the road running when I came back - so to speak - I really don't want to hit the road again... it hurt!  Panta feels great and is looking fab. One aspect that concerned us all however was his saddle, kindly sent with him by Anneke but which, with his change of shape, no longer fits him.

Ellie Martin of Bespoke Saddles came with a selection of secondhand saddles for me to try and as luck would have it (It seems like luck is playing a big part in my life right now!)  one of her own handmade saddles - very similar to the one I bought for Rhapsody - felt like it had been made to measure for me and Panta!! One more box ticked... Result! 

While I was away Regine attended the FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne and also the Chef de Mission meeting in Tyron for the WEG in September... which is now only 150 days away... eek... trying not to panic!  The benefit of being jobless though means I have time to look into all the details that are coming through for the feed imports, veterinary requirements and accommodation.  I have also been receiving press releases from the FEI which I have been sharing on my Facebook page - some interesting information is coming through.  As much as I enjoy spending time on all things WEG,  I seriously do need to get a job now!! 

Panta and I did a little low key competition in the week to get us both back in the arena and he went really well. His paces have gone up a gear if not 2!  We go to Hickstead next. Panta hasn't been there before so will be a very good outing for him to a new venue. Looking ahead - May is going to be a busy busy month with lots of training planned with Andrew... and today Spring arrived at last!  Lots to be thankful for! 

When I came to write this post I was surprised to see how long it has been since my last one.... not sure how that happened - winter blues I guess!!  
I have been busy these past months however... trying to keep up the work with Panta despite the weather constraints of a long winter and dealing with the preparations and paperwork now coming through from the FEI  and Tryon for the World Equestrian Games.
After finally recovering from flu I had a weekend training in late January with Andrew when he could see how we had progressed (or not!) in the preceding months. It was a really positive session and Panta responded so well to the next stage of training.
A fortnight later we were back in Kent - this consistency in training with Andrew is so invaluable and Panta really stepped up to the mark! I felt that we both went up a gear that weekend!! Lots of homework to work on  - nothing new there - but since then we have been to two local unaffiliated competitions to put us both to the test!! 
The first test was for me to get the times right and not turn up an hour late!! Donut!! The recent weather had limited the work I had been able to do in the school with Panta so it was, at worse, a good workout for him - and me! And a lesson learned never to be repeated again I hope!!
Two weeks later we were back... arriving in time for a proper warm up, albeit in freezing temperatures, and able to ride two panic (me) free tests! It was so cold and  blowing a bitter gale so Panta was understandably a bit tense in the first class but this is all good experience for me on how to deal with less than ideal situations with him and he improved for the second test.  He stayed reasonably focused and apart from jogging his walks he kept his hat on for some decent marks and very positive comments from the 2 judges! 
Meanwhile.... the organisers at WEG have woken up to the Virgin Islands' participation at the Games and we have submitted requests for accommodation for Team  ISV as well as arrival/departure details!  Panta's flight has been provisionally booked... but this dream all depends on what funding we can raise because getting Panta to Tryon is key.... 

We now have a crowd funding page - https://www.gofundme.com/help-lee-fly-panta-to-weg
Please have a look and contribute if you can - every little bit helps!!  There will be further fund raisers in the coming months both here in England and in the Virgin Islands to raise the necessary funds to fly Panta to WEG!

Recently Siobham Booth ran a series of three blogs on "my story".  Taking some time to reflect on the past 20 years and the direction my life turned since the accident was very rewarding.    You can find all 3 at:

https://yourconfidencecoaching.com/2018/02/16/after-qualifying-for-the-world-equestrian-games-paralympian-lee-frawley-talks-about-the-devastation-of-her-home-islands-and-why-she-may-not-be-able-to-take-her-weg-space/ 

Flopped on the sofa recovering from flu and a chest infection while torrential rain hammers against the windows on New Years Eve, it's difficult not to get a bit nostalgic when looking back over the year and I couldn't resist looking through some favourite old photos of Rhapsody.  2017 started off really well until a flukey injury put Rhaps on box rest with a long recovery ahead of him. That was nearly 10 months ago and he is back in steady slow work with thankfully very little to show for the original injury and now living in the lap of luxury thanks to his two sharers who continue to take such great care of him! It is tinged with sadness to admit that Rhapsody's international competition days are over but what great memories he gave us all!  He still is the loveable big orange clown who does a respectable dragon impression! 

Of course it was not all doom and gloom this year because friend and fellow competitor Anneke de Vree contacted me with a view to leasing her para horse 'PS Panta Leone for the season and the speedy partnership we forged was rewarded with solid scores at two CPEDI 3* giving us the all important qualification for the World Equestrian Games in 2018! There will be a lot to do next year if there is any hope of getting to WEG - not least of all a considerable amount of fund raising! But the ball has been set in motion and we will be getting back into training mode with Andrew J Murphy in January.   Let's see if we manage to pull this off again and take the USVI to the party one more time! 

Rhapsody -  looking very happy (and just a wee bit tubby!)  at Park Farm where he is now getting back to his rehab work and fitness thanks to Joanna and Suzanne who are sharing the riding. His holiday is officially over but that doesn't mean he won't still be spending time in this lovely paddock with his new friend Briggs. I sat on him for his first time under saddle in 3 months and he felt great, we just walked up and down the lane to the farm but there were inquisitive llamas,  lively ponies and little girls with umbrellas along the way... he took it all in his stride, very chilled but marching out confidently. It felt great to be on him again - he is such a character and so fun to ride! A real cool dude!
Meanwhile Panta and I have been quietly working in the school following on from our last training session with Andrew in early September. We had a fantastic couple of days during which both Panta and I made real progress! Panta responded really well to the exercises Andrew did with him and I immediately felt the benefit when I got on him afterwards. We are still forming our partnership together but this was a huge step forward. I began to look for some local dressage competitions to go to in the coming weeks...
... and then the hurricanes came to the Caribbean and the Virgin Islands. Suddenly my family and friends on the islands became my focus - their safely and wellbeing. If I felt like my life went on hold it was nothing to what they were experiencing and dealing with every day!  The devastation on all the affected islands has been well documented and we are still seeing terrible scenes of the aftermath but also now positive reports of the communities helping others less fortunate. Two category 5 hurricanes in 2 weeks caused unimaginable damage and suffering - and it continues with most still without power or running water - which may continue for months!!  Thankfully all family and friends were safe despite homes being totally battered or completely lost. This will take a long time for the Virgin Islands to recover from and it begs the question whether going to the WEG next year is feasible under the circumstances.  We will however continue our training to keep the dream alive in the hope that something amazing happens next year. 

With just 2 weeks to regroup after Hartpury Festival of Dressage the trip up north to Bishop Burton CPEDI3* seemed to be upon us before we knew it!! Two years since our last visit, once again Angela  - friend and colleague from my show jumping days - came for the fun (really??) of it and was not only great company on the drive up and back but also turned out Panta in immaculate condition each day... as well as walking him endlessly as there was no in hand grazing available.  The trot up was a breeze - I was relieved... mainly because I didn't fall over!! And then the real business began. I was asked to be international riders' rep which is always a great honour and gives a unique insight into the back room of show organisation. Someone always has to go first - and last ... but on the first day my riding time was 5.26.....  an agonisingly long day to wait - not my ideal to be honest! But I rode Panta in the morning for some easy suppling exercises and then a rest in my room in the middle of the day -  I was focused on the job when we went into that arena and was pleased with our test - no mistakes - always areas to improve on - that is the nature of the  beast. Later the scores went up -  5th... OK - but when the sheets came out the next day my score was improved and we moved up to 4th.
The next day - the more technical individual championship test... Panta was great - all went according to plan and I came out with a smile on my face  - not sure that happens vey often?? - so chuffed when we got the scores and we ended up in 3rd place... great comments from the judges. Just one judge didn't seem to like him - she marked us down on the first day as well and again the second - but the others were encouraging & offering positive criticism which enables you to understand their marks and better than no comments at all on the sheets!   But one judge apart nothing could diminish from my feelings after such a good result with this lovely horse who I had only been riding for 8 weeks! 
The compliments I  had  for Panta from fellow competitors, stewards and judges were amazing - this lovely horse grew a big fan base over a weekend. Some of it may have been due to the fact that... I asked for him not to be stabled next to mares.... long story. But he was put into the stallion box in the yard and then everyone came by and asked if he was a stallion!!! That was fine until the 2nd day when  - after my test and I had my tack check and walked away to warm down and I noticed the steward looking at us... or rather Panta... I later learned that the stewards were all looking for his "bits" - haha -  apparently there had been a great debate going on whether he was a stallion or not !! 
So for the final day - the freestyle.  Oddly I felt more nervous than the previous 2 days.... maybe because i thought that the freestyle at Hartpury may have been a fluke and this would not go so well?  I  needn't  have worried - all went to plan and although the judges were divided on their opinion on the floor plan - that hardly mattered - we got to go to the party and another 4th place!!!
​
BUT the bottomline of all this is that we got the qualifying score for the World Equestrian Games next year!  

WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

After less than 6  weeks together Panta and I headed to Hartpury Festival of Dressage CPEDI3*.... thankfully joined by Andrew J Murphy to bring out the best in us!! So many positives.... Panta was an absolute gem to look after and so chilled and relaxed ... taking it all in his stride. I had the chance of riding him on Monday after we arrived... a gentle walk around in the warm up arena. Tuesday was the trot up - I rode  him in the morning in the holding arena for a leg stretch and the stewards also let us have a walk around the competition arena  -  he didn't bat an eyelid! Very confident!!  We were very last to go for the vet's inspection. I was so pleased to have brought  his Cavallo boots with us... even if you don't think an area is stoney - when you have a horse with no shoes on - everywhere is stoney! Beforehand I walked the trot  up strip and removed all sharp small stones.. the test was if I could feel them under my boots - so could he!! 
So our first international test together was bright and early - 8:26  to be precise. I was at the stables at 5 a.m. to get Panta ready but must have left my brain in bed that morning because after getting him ready - warming up brilliantly and trotting around the arena before the bell like a dream.... I rode like a moron for the first half of the test. The second half was better... and after seeing the judges' marks -  generous and they really liked him - kicked myself even more for my bad riding!  Nevertheless fourth place was very respectable. 
The next day went so much better.... a more technical test and would have earned us a good mark - except I went wrong.  Oh dear.... how I have agonsied about that. With the recent FEI changes to the rules it was a very expensive mistake! Still nothing could take away from the fact that we were happy with the test overall.... every time I worked Panta over the three days he felt better and better!
So we had the chance to ride to our freestyle on the last day.... hurray!! Even with only a brief run through beforehand it all went to plan - unbelievable! Despite keeping to a fairly straightforward simple floor plan the judges seemed to like it - as well as the music! So did the Brazilian stewards as they recognised the music! We ended up with a very respectable 65%.
It was a great week - and as always the great team at Hartpury delivered... we saw some terrific dressage and some not so great dressage.... but the weather was much kinder than it was 10 years ago when everyone was stranded there due to severe floods!! 
Huge thanks to Andrew J Murphy for making the trek across country to support us in training and warming up and of course Anneke de Vree for generously allowing her horse to come to England to compete for the USVI!
So.... in a little over a week we pack our things again and head up north to Bishop Burton CPEDI3*! 

Meet the latest member of Team USVI - P'S Panta Leone - who joined us a few weeks ago from Belgium. His lovely owner Anneke De Vree kindly offered me the ride on him when she heard of Rhapsody's injury. 
Unbelievably it's been three months since my last blog... during which time we have followed the vet's plan to the letter for Rhapsody's rehab. It's been tough for him and his scan tomorrow will come none too soon - am hopeful that he will be able to be turned out a bit to ease his boredom!  
In the meantime we are working hard to form a partnership in the arena and get to know each other on the ground in the few short weeks till Hartpury Festival of Dressage! He is a sweet soul but different from Rhaps in many ways... ​he is a tall elegant horse - actually not as spooky but more highly strung - but it is early days and he has had a big change in his life after being with Anneke for over 10+ years. Having said that he has settled in very well!! 
We had very encouraging training sessions over the last weekend with Andrew J Murphy.  Panta knows his job and we worked on suppling exercises for him and accuracy exercises for me!! There are new FEI tests this year so there is plenty of work to be done... 5:30 a.m. starts are starting to become the norm!  More updates soon!! 

After an amazing training session with Andrew J Murphy at the beginning of March, when we both agreed that Rhapsody was working better than ever and discussed plans for this year with an air of excitement, I was about to write this month's blog..... I was really looking forward to riding the new Para tests in national competitions... at last some new tests!!  -  and although we were not going to be able to get to the fantastic Quadrille competition in Belgium in April we had Hartpury and Bishop Burton to aim for.  More than enough to look forward to this year!!
I had ridden Rhaps in the morning (Thursday)... and after work he went on the walker while I did his stable and made up haynets and feeds etc and there was no heat or swelling in his legs. Friday morning I planned to hack around the woods but when picking out his feet before putting his boots on I was dismayed to discover quite a lot of swelling in one leg with a lot of heat. I hosed his leg... put him back in the box and rang my vets GVG Brooks Equine.  
Rhaps was sound for the vet but a careful and meticulous investigation led to the opinion that he may have tweaked his check ligament. A scan 7 days later would confirm...... in the meantime Rhaps would be on box rest with hosing and ice packs - and a hasty change of diet!! 
The scan confirmed a fairly significant injury to Rhaps' check ligament... and yet he remains sound. His initial timetable is 6 weeks weeks box rest - just walking to an adjoining empty stable for his carrot snack ball twice a day while he has the ice pack on... and some grazing in hand - which he is very very pleased about...  the following 6 weeks will be restricted exercise... and then another scan. 
During the first week he was getting rather grumpy until I got the go ahead for the grazing... now the daily 15 minutes on the spring grass is enough (at the moment) to keep him sweet. As he marches out of his stable it is hard to believe that he has done himself such an injury (we have no idea how).....  and with no lameness he doesn't realise he is broken, but I know his management during these first 3  months will be crucial to his recovery so there will be no risking it. 
There have been lots of very positive comments about similar injuries in response to my Facebook posts and the vet too is confident of a good end result from this injury. 
It does however pose a problem for competing this year though and in an ideal world would be great to loan or lease a horse for the internationals this summer in England to keep me on the FEI rankings list.... thinking caps on.... all answers on a postcard please!! 

Since the New Year I have been forced to have a major sort out of a ton of paperwork and accumulated “things” from the past 10 or more years of para competitions. Forced, due to the fact of having new carpets fitted and needing to clear my room completely out. Hard to believe how I had managed to cram so much into the wardrobe and every other available corner of the room! It was fun to look back over old test sheets… and the result reports in the Horse & Hound.. remember they  used to do that?  I think I had every sheet from every dressage test – and every mention in the H&H of Brodie’s going back before 2006. And then there were all the internationals, starting with the World Para Championships at Hartpury in 2007. It was a great trip down memory lane and of course I haven’t chucked it all out but it’s now time to make some new memories! 

Rhapsody is in good shape thanks to Gill Maybury Chiropractor coming out after  he got cast to treat him....and is travelling to Kent to train with Andrew J Murphy at the beginning of March. Really looking forward to that and then also to attending the Charles de Knuffy lecture demo at the TTT on the 12th March. If I can manage it will also try to get to the Dovecot Stables to see Charles and Andrew’s clinic…”Through the Trainer's Eye”. There is nothing better to get you motivated than these clinics!!
Another motivational – and informative – tool was a session on the mechanical dressage horse with Sarah Sjoholm-Patience – a prize I won via Facebook!  I have been trying to concentrate of my positioning this past year and with this sophisticated piece of kit you can really map your progress. Surprising how you think that you are sitting on both seat bones – but the computer says NO!
I have all the para and other local BD competitions in my calendar ready to start sending my entries in - I do need to buy a new dressage legal hat first though!!  My short term aim will be to get Rhaps to Hartpury CPEDI3* in July and maybe Bishop Burton too.  Ultimately though we are thinking to WEG next year in North Carolina. Rhapsody will be 20 and I would be reluctant to put him to the strain of flying for the first time at that age.  It means that I am starting to look for a suitable horse to loan or lease till WEG next September.
I am under no illusions it will be easy.. ideally would like to find a horse in England that I can have in the yard so we can work and train together consistently. But are owners going to want their horse to travel to the states? alternatively try and source a suitable horse in the USA... don't need to spell out the limitations in that option! I have nevertheless put some initial feelers out with friends there. 
I think I have my work cut out... watch this space!! 

It has been a difficult year for Rhapsody and me and in some ways I am not sad to see the end of it! It was of course more than adequately redeemed by a great experience at Rio 2016 Paralympics as USVI Chef de Mission but nonetheless it has been a rollercoaster of a year.
First the bitter disappointment of not qualifying myself for Rio by 0.14% and  what can only be described as dubious judging?  ...35 marks difference in the marks by one judge.. really?   I am still reeling over that!   Then a 16 hour journey home from the Netherlands while migrants managed to close the port of Calais in front of our eyes - literally - by storming our ferry!  At least our trip across the channel to Belgium in April was less eventful and gave me lots of satisfaction with the way Rhapsody went - maybe it was because the pressure was off but I was smiling from start to finish in all our tests.... 
After a llittle holiday for both of us things just didn't go to plan. One thing after another with Rhapsody's work and preparation meant that we missed Hartpury which was very disappointing.  I also felt that something was not quite right with Rhaps - Gill Maybury Chiropractor always regularly checks him and all was fine... Ellie Martin, saddler, came and was happy that there were no issues with his saddle and a visit from Stephen Brooks, my vet, to thoroughly check him out for soundness and any other obvious issues including blood tests didn't really reveal any thing specific.  On vet's advice I  put him on a supplement to boost his energy levels...  it helped but I was still not happy.
For no particular reason I suspected he possibly had had a low level virus at some stage - no clinical signs - but he felt laboured in his work and being the character he is he would always try his hardest.  Recent blood tests have come back clear (thankfully) and so we decided to scope him... this was a step into the unknown for me - never having had a horse scoped before!  As a result we have put him on a natural respiratory supplement as it showed he had some slight congestion - possibly the result of a low grade virus which never showed any signs but this is just my supposition - still  I am so pleased that he is getting back to his old dragon self again!  And a joy to ride.... he makes me smile every day! 
While Rhapsody has been getting back to fitness this year I have also been working hard on my own. This time last year I was in so much pain riding I could not see much future past Rio... if I was lucky enough to qualify [sic] . Luckily I was paired with a sympathetic and realistic physiotherapist who turned it all around for me.  I am now doing 3 gym classes a week and the difference has been amazing which gives me some  hope to be able to carry on  riding for a bit longer yet!  
It is hard to believe that we have not competed since April...  but I  cannot wait to get back into that arena and making plans!  Also new para tests for 2017 - hallelujah!! Lots to work for next year.... 

Merry Christmas eveyone and wishing you all a happy and successful New Year from Rhaps and me! I hope to see you in 2017!!