It was a real honour to be asked to make the trip over to the lovely Scottish Isle of Islay to coach at their first ever two-day Pony Camp and it was a trip full of unexpected surprises.
A four-hour car journey on stunning, but winding roads, got us to the Ferry port, taking us through the beautiful and dramatic Scottish hills – in true Liz time we made it with two minutes to spare before the ferry check in closed.
We boarded the ferry for the two-hour trip to one of the two ports in Islay and a touch of travel sickness meant that I used that as an excuse to perch myself outside to take in more of the Scottish scenery as the ferry cuts between the dramatic landscape of Islay and Jura.
On reaching Islay I was like an excited child – truth be told I always love coaching, but I was really excited about this trip and seeing EquiTeam member and Islay camp organiser Lisa Morrison when we got there.
Lisa has been to many Equiteam camps and Island life is something that has always intrigued me. I’ve previously bombarded her with questions, but there is nothing like seeing it with your own eyes to get a real understanding, and I couldn’t wait to experience it all first hand.
Although Island life is new to me, I’ve taught on the West Coast of Scotland many times, and for those who are unfamiliar with the challenges, the podcast that we recorded with Caeleigh Kean is well worth a listen and gives a really honest insight.
We arrived on the island and a 50 minute scenic drive on narrow and often single track roads took us to our amazing destination.
Door to door we are touching on seven and a half hours total travel time.
Seven and a half hours would get me to Ibiza, checked in and familiarising myself with a pool bar…!
You might be wondering if I am downing my coaching tools and turning into a tour guide – thankfully, for the tourism industry, I am not, but on arriving at our destination I am getting a real feel for the logistics of horse owning on an Island.
And the drive we have just done was without a horse and trailer.
We spilled out of the car like the true tourists that we were, to be warmly met by Lisa, her wonderful other half, and her pony grazing in the garden! I instantly knew I was going to love it!
The day before camp Lisa kindly briefed me on the Islay campers so that we could form some groups and she explained that most of the people attending camp have never had a lesson from a qualified coach. Not because they don’t want to – because there is no one on the island to teach them.
Not one coach. Wow!
There is however an annual agricultural show with equine classes on the island – but, with the exception of our camp, this is the only organised equine related event ALL YEAR.
After the realisation of just how far people have to travel in order to compete, I am now processing that just to access training means a trip to the mainland. Which obviously comes at a cost – not to mention the ferry ride, winding roads and long journey on the other side.
I ask about equine facilities on the island – you can count the number of arenas with one hand and none of these are publically available to hire.
I’m only now beginning to realise just what a huge deal Islay camp is and my level of respect for horse owning islanders is increasing by the minute. The pressure is REAL!!
The next day we did our introductions to 10 pairs of nervous eyes. There are always people who look uneasy on day one of our Equiteam camps – but today feels different. Most of these people have never had a lesson let alone been to a camp – no wonder they are nervous.
I had no idea what to expect but I knew one thing – I felt incredibly humbled and privileged to be standing in front of them and I was going to give them everything I had, and more.
I could quite happily give you a full rundown of the lessons and tell you about the campers who learned what a three loop serpentine was and how to change the rein properly; those who understood and felt what a contact was; the ones who beamed as they rode over poles with confidence; those who jumped a course ‘properly’ for the first time; and I could write a separate blog about the one young girl who bravely put all of her trust in me to help address a cheeky pony issue… but lets just sum it up by saying – The two days of camp were incredible.
I had 10 brilliant, mostly self-taught riders who were like sponges – desperate to learn and so unbelievably receptive to get as much out of it as they could. They all rode incredibly well and their skill set far outweighed their understanding of traditional school rules, movements and principles.
This is quite a rarity and acts as a real reminder that hours in the saddle also make up a valuable portion of your learning.
I went to Islay to teach and didn’t expect to come away with so many life lesson reminders, not to mention a whole new level of respect for their motivation and a look at my own. I’ve always prided myself in being quite motivated but I shall be having a little re-think about that and where I can improve myself.
When I feel frustrated about not having an arena at home, or I can’t find the time to hack the 25 minutes to our nearest arena, I will pause and think about these amazing islanders who rarely have the privilege of ever being able to use an arena or access one, never mind have a choice of multiple top quality coaches within a short drive. And let’s not even mention the three competition centres and two additional training centres all under an hour’s drive away from my house.
Instead of feeling that they can’t and moaning about what they can’t do, they are doing the best that they can and making the most of every opportunity that comes their way – no matter how scary and daunting it may seem.
So thank you Lisa and the wonderful people of Islay. I think most of us could take a lesson from their books.
Liz x
