GRASSROOTS REMINISCING: Cheryl Veitch shares her equine journey...
From Dengie show jumping wins to red ribbons in dressage at Omagh RDA
Everyone involved with horses has a story to tell… Whether they were brought up with ponies and competitions or whether they pursued their passion as an adult, there are tales worth telling and anecdotes worth sharing! Sometimes life brings challenges that our horses help get us through; sometimes it can be them who bring the challenges! Whatever the case, if you or someone you know would like to share a story, please get in touch via horseandfield@gmail.com
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Cheryl Veitch started riding when she was 10 years old and got her first pony when she was 12. ‘Holly’ was a 14.1hh chestnut mare, who started Cheryl’s love affair with chestnut mares, with the help of her dad (and her mum in the background).
Cheryl did a lot of Pony Club with Fermanagh Harriers branch, mainly concentrating on show jumping - she won the Dengie Show Jumping league in the Omagh RDA several times! Cheryl also did a lot of SJAI (she competed at Cavan every Friday night) and, at one stage, had three ponies on the go: Blue Moon Madness, a grey 14.2hh Connemara; Holly, aka Hollywood Dreamer; and Drumgoon Stroller.
Cheryl moved into horses at 16 and had four really successful years with her next chestnut mare, ‘Kate’ (‘Moon Dreamer’).
When Cheryl was 20, she had a second horse, a young chestnut mare she was planning on bringing on, but they had a fall at a show and Cheryl ended up with a broken collarbone, pelvis and coccyx. Going into her second year at university training to be a PE teacher, Cheryl made the hard decision to give up horses.
“Fast forward almost 20 something years later and I have a six-year-old pony mad little girl (I promise I did not encourage her)!” said Cheryl.
Well, we can all guess how that went..
“Horses are something that sets my soul on fire, so it wasn't long before I started to get the twang of wanting to be back in the saddle again,” Cheryl continued.
“Dad, of course, was always encouraging me. I don't know who loved it more! We scoured Facebook, DoneDeal etc, looking for something suitable. Along came ‘Allie’, a 15.2hh chestnut mare; an early 40th birthday present from my parents (I am blessed with the best).”
“Sadly, a few months later, my dad took a really bad stroke. ‘Allie’ was my outlet, she allowed me to clear my head and get away from the nightmare of my dad being ill (I am the definition of a daddy's girl). After seven months of battling, dad passed away. But again, ‘Allie’ was there for me. We did our first show a little while after dad passed and came second in the Working Hunter class,” shared Cheryl.
“In the meantime, Tori, the not-so-little-girl anymore, was on the hunt for a new pony. I had noticed ‘Allie’ a little lame now and again, so gave her some time off to rest, while we got Tori and her new pony ‘Aria’ up and going. When I tried to bring ‘Allie’ back into work, we discovered she had navicular and osteoarthritis in both front feet and made the awful decision to retire her. She's now hopefully happily in foal.
“I really thought that was it for me and horses, but back at the end of August, along came ‘Molly’ - of course, another chestnut mare! ‘Molly’ is a seven-year-old 16.2hh Irish Sport Horse by ‘Kings Master’, out of a Thoroughbred mare. Beautifully schooled and had previously done a little bit of show jumping and cross-country. With the help of my mum (thank you mum!), I bought her from a lovely girl - Hannah Whittle from Dungannon,” said Cheryl with excitement.
“You know that feeling you get in your stomach - butterflies, excitement? Well, that's what I got the first day I got on her. I knew she was the one for me."
“It hasn't been easy, it has taken her a while to settle at our farm, but so far so good. I always wanted to jump, but I’ll be honest, at 42 the nerves sometimes get the better of me. My best friend Jennifer, who has worked really hard with ‘Molly’ and I, suggested we try our hand at dressage - an alien concept to me, I’ll be honest. I had a lesson with Yvonne Chisholm recently - she asked me how much dressage I had done before, I repeated the sentiment to her that dressage is an alien concept, but one I'm quickly coming to love!”
“We saw the recent dressage league advertised at the RDA in Omagh and thought why not? I was crippled with nerves the first day, but ‘Molly’ was a pro! The atmosphere at the RDA is so relaxed and everyone is very supportive. It's a very family-oriented environment and perfect for anyone of any level,” Cheryl continued.
On week one, Cheryl and ‘Molly’ won both of their Intro and Prelim classes. On week two, they came second in the Intro and first in the Prelim and, on the final week, they won their Intro class and came second in the Prelim…
They also ended up winning both the Intro and Prelim leagues over the three weeks!
“Over the course of the three weeks, I met some lovely people and thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the league. It's helped my confidence to be able to compete at a good standard in such a relaxed atmosphere.
“I would encourage everyone, to support events like this at the RDA, they thoroughly deserve it,” Cheryl concluded.
Thank you so much Cheryl, for sharing your story - we hope that you and ‘Molly’ continue with your success and we will be looking out for your names in future results (and Tori and ‘Aria’ as well)!