Tilly Tillbrook introduces herself officially...

Welcome to the first installment of my year on the inaugural Organic Horse Performance Squad – as a professional ecologist I understand the importance of organic products to the environment, and so I was delighted to be chosen to join the squad.

Let’s start with a bit of background, I have a 16.2 bay gelding called Burr Oak (Boysie to his friends!), whom I have owned for the past 4 years. He turned 9 this summer, and together we’ve gone from never having competed beyond local level to Novice level affiliated eventing. At the start of our 2008 season, things were looking good for us – at the end of the 2007 season we’d picked up our CCI* qualification, not bad for only our second season eventing. The aim was to spend the season building on this success and finish on a high at Aldon CCI*. Sadly this was not to be, after a long and frustrating season of ups and downs, Boysie was finally diagnosed in October 2008 with grade 4 Gastric Ulcers – the worst grade you can get, and not just that, but he had two kinds, splash ulcers and glandular ulcers. No wonder our performances had been erratic!

With the help of the excellent team at Willesley Equine Vets, not to mention many months of me having noxious medication spat on my head, we got him back on track and he went out on loan as a schoolmaster whilst I spent the first part of 2009 in the USA as a working pupil. But on returning to the UK, as I upped the workload it became apparent all was not well, and a gastroscopy and ultrasound revealed he had slight ulceration and a very inflamed bowel. He’s currently on steroids, and although we have cleared up the ulceration, he’ll need to be on an antacid supplement for the rest of his life. The knock on effect was that he has lost all confidence showjumping, so we pulled out of the remaining events of the season and have set to work rebuilding our partnership ready for 2010.

I am very much looking forwards to trying the gut power powder from Organic Horse, which I hope will really help us get back on track – just the kind of support we needed after the past 18 months! We’ve got a packed winter ahead of us with lots of dressage training from Sam Twyman at Dovecote Stables, where I also take lessons on his fabulous schoolmaster horses, showjumping until we are both brimming with confidence and the odd fun ride, arena eventing and hunter trial to keep us both sane and ensure Boysie doesn’t put in for a transfer.