About the Ride

Setting out on the 29th June 2012, I will ride my horse Cognac from John O' Groats, in Scotland to Land's End, in Cornwall. I estimate the route to be around 1200 miles and aim to complete the journey in two months. I will complete the whole journey on the same horse, my 16.2hh thoroughbred who I have owned for eight years.

Cognac and I will complete the whole journey unaccommpanied and without a support team, however we will be accompanied by other horses and riders for short sections and be met by friends/ family at various points.

This time last year I completed Land`s End to John O`Groats on my bike. I cycled 1012 miles, unsupported, over 14 days. Although this was a big challenge in itself I felt that I didn`t really get to enjoy the countryside and missed a lot of the character by just passing through. There was a lot of pressure each day to get my head down and cover the miles.

When I returned home it wasn`t long before I got back onto my horse and back to exploring the local countryside. I soon started thinking about how much better you could enjoy the countryside from the back of a horse...

The longest ride Cognac and I have undertaken before we started training for this ride is the South Downs Way, covering 100 miles over four days




About Myself and Cognac


Katrina Littlechild:
I started riding regularly when I was 10, after winning £100 in a school raffle. I was taught to ride by Rhia Tapper at Zara Stud and Training Centre, Sidlesham, West Sussex- www.zarastud.co.uk . I learnt to ride both english and western styles on the arab and quarter horses they breed there. My dad brought me Cognac, (with a little persuasion!) when I was fifteen and my mum brought a beautiful grey mare from Zara Stud at the same time. My horse was brought for me on the grounds that I got a job to pay for his upkeep myself. I therefore went to school mon- fri, helped out at the yard on sat and worked in a restaurant on sundays!
I then had riding lessons with Debbie Basley on Cognac, her experiences were invaluable in teaching me to control and handle such a big and (at the time) badly behaved horse. With Debbie's help I managed to get Cognac under control and jumping well, however he still was very erratic to hack.
It was my mum's experiences with endurance riding on her grey mare that got me interested in long distance riding.
I am a proud member off the newly formed Rogate and District Riding Club, who in the short time i have been a member have provided me with much help and support- http://www.rogaterc.com/












Cognac:
My horse is called Cognac, he is a 16.2hh bay thoroughbred, whom I've had for six years. When I first got Cognac he didn't hack out because he used to napp back towards the yard. Over the years we have built a strong bond and worked on the issue until it has all but disappeared.
Cognac has a home with me for life and will probabaly semi- retire when we get home (although I've been saying that for years and he always has other ideas!)




South Downs Way


Where my horse is kept I have direct access to the South Downs Way and this will be where I will do alot of my training, therefore I thought it would be important to include a bit about it.

The South Downs Way is a National Trail which runs from Winchester to Eastbourne, the trail is 100 miles in length and follows ancient trade and drovers route along the highest ridge of the South Downs National Park. The SDW was the first long distance bridleway opened in England and is enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. There is adequate accommodation on the route for all, if you wish to do the route continuously, alternatively there are many car parks if you just want to spend the day. The scenery and views are glorious- Winchester side of the route being green and rolling and the eastbourne side with dramatic views of the cliffs and sea. The villages the route passes by or through are all rich with history.

I have completed the whole route twice now in full and now know the route well but the first time round I found it fantastically sign posted with great provisions on all roads crossing- even for horses. There are also troughs and water taps en route, which are greatly received on a hot day!

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