Introducing Nicki Strong

We are very proud to introduce Nicki Strong as one of our Horslyx Ambassadors for 2014.

“I’m Nicki, an amateur rider based in Hampshire. I have two horses – a six year old Sport Horse called Ruby and an eight year old ex-racehorse called Blue, and they are both thrilled that we’ve been chosen to be Horslyx ambassadors – lucky horses!”

“I work full time doing media and PR for a national charity, but also work as a freelance equestrian journalist in my own time, writing regular eventing reports for the Swindon Advertiser and Everything Horse UK magazine. I’ve been riding for about 25 years, but didn’t really get to do much competing when I was younger because we didn’t have any transport, so in recent years I’ve been trying to make up for lost time. I’m an absolute eventing junkie, and am hoping to have a debut season competing BE90 with Blue in 2014.”

“I bought Blue in February last year, got to know each other a bit, did some unaffiliated competitions and won some ribbons, and then just as we were ready to enter our first BE90 he went lame with a splint. Fortunately he’s fully recovered but it did mean our whole event season was over before we’d even begun. He’s been doing lots of work over winter in preparation for the coming season, and will be getting out to some dressage and show jumping competitions soon. He’s a real placid chap and completely multi-talented, as he was a handy little racehorse too, under the name Pha Mai Blue. We are both newbies to eventing so will be looking to enjoy our season together and gain experience, and hopefully we might even move up to BE100 toward the end of the season.”

“Ruby is a little pocket rocket – she is a 15.1 sport horse by Utopian Opposition, and is a tricky little mare; very challenging but lovely with it! She loves jumping as her breeding suggests, but isn’t too keen on the flatwork. I’ve had her since she was 2, but unfortunately her competition experience is limited due to a sacroiliac injury, which has now been successfully treated. We are trying to tame her flatwork over winter so that she can get out jumping this spring/summer, and I’d love for her to be able to try a BE80 this year if she’s ready. The height isn’t a problem for her, but the speed and control is sometimes lacking!”

“Mini Horslyx have been a favourite of mine since we realised how great they were in place of carrots for doing carrot stretches. Ruby’s injury left her very one-sided and she had to do lots of stretching to help with that (and still does). The Mini Horslyx are fab because you can hold the stretch rather than the horse snatching, and they last for ages! We also use them for farrier visits, when clipping, during vets treatment, and pretty much whenever they need a distraction. When my farrier visits, he always asks if we have the licks ready as it turns them into dopes on ropes! Blue doesn’t have the best feet in the world either, so the ‘healthy hooves’ ingredients in Horsylx are a complete bonus.”

“We’re delighted to be part of the team this year and will be proudly wearing our Horslyx clothing – hopefully it will bring us luck!”