Nine days and counting! I will be under the knife next week and then on the road to recovery. I’m having surgery to replace my cruciate ligament, which will use a graft from my patellar ligament, including a piece of the patella and tibia at each end. This will then be pulled through holes drilled from below my knee, through the knee joint where the ligament will be situated and out a hole coming through the top of my leg. The surgeon spent some time explaining how he would make a few smaller scars rather than a large one. This is obviously a big issue for a lot of people going under the knife; however I informed him if it helped him out he could slice me from hip to toe! Scars are the least of my worries at the moment; I’m more interested in wearing jodhpurs rather than skirts. At the end of the day scars are war wounds and great talking points.

It looks like I will end up with 6 scars around my knee and have a patch that is desensitized on the skin, but as long as I have a functioning knee I’ll be happy. My main concern was when my surgeon told me he would be looking at 35minutes for the surgery. This shocked me and I informed him I didn’t need him to rush through and he could take as much time as he liked. He is doing hundreds of these operations and I am assured that he won’t be rushing!

The veterinary practice is being great and giving me the time off I need for recovery. I will be working hard to be back at work in 3 weeks and more importantly in the saddle in 6. I can’t wait to be riding again. Blue has front shoes on already as he became a little foot sore during the cold weather on the hard ground. He no doubt, like me, is wishing we were preparing with the rest of the Shropshire team to head to Gothenberg Horse Show in Sweden at the end of next month. But I’m keeping my head up and looking ahead to the 2010 season and all the competitions that it will bring.