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Hi everyone, I’m really excited to be part of Tottie Select 18. I thought I’d start by introducing myself and my team of equines. I’m currently studying for my A levels, but any time I have spare I spend with my horse Casper – a 15hh Connemara. Our favourite disciplines are Show Jumping and Cross Country. I also still have my first pony, Mickey, a 13hh Cremello who is Casper’s companion. They live with three donkeys; Bruno, Toby and Willow. I am lucky to be able to keep my horses at home and have a close friend nearby with a horse who I regularly hack out with.
My family has had the donkeys for over twenty years so I have grown up having them around all my life. They love going out for walks, although Willow has arthritis so is not as quick as she used to be. On Christmas Eve we took them to the village church where they were stroked and patted by the young children going to the crib service. Bruno is the boss, the leader of the bunch, and Toby particularly follows him everywhere. Willow, on the other hand, is rather fond of Casper and is often seen grazing alongside him. On the whole they all get on well, except sometimes when there is food around!
I started having riding lessons at the local riding school when I was five, then had a couple of loan ponies before getting Mickey when I was eight. He was a great first pony, very steady in traffic when hacking on the roads and I was sad when I got too big for him. I got Casper as a green 7 year old when I was twelve and after a slightly tough start when I came off him a number of times things gradually improved and we now make a great team!
I do a lot of riding with my local pony club as well as hacking out in our local countryside.
Casper loves jumping and often makes a little squeal of delight when going over a fence. In the summer we did a couple of endurance rides which he absolutely loved and galloped with his ears forward for a lot of the way. There is nothing to compare with riding a horse and I feel so lucky to share my life with them.
A lot of my equine life ends up on YouTube, where I upload video content to my channel ‘This Esme’. I’m really looking forward to sharing my year with you!
Esme Higgs
AKA This Esme