Driving home from Cornwall in 25°C heat made me question dragging the family away yet again for a show. My track record of disrupting family holidays is not good and I usually end up wishing I hadn’t bothered.
I had missed my annual visit to Royal Bath and West in favour of coming back to go to Midland Counties and I was very glad I did. What a show we had, with Tynymor Twm Sion Catti (Shaun) winning the cradle stakes, qualifying for BSPS Champion of Champions [at the BSPS Summer Championships] and going mini working hunter pony champion — even with a wrong leg! All you wrong leg enthusiasts cringe away!
Hightopps Jazz also took his HOYS ticket, winning a very strong 122cm show hunter pony class. I have to say he did put up a foot perfect performance — not a wrong leg in sight!
After half-term it was back to work and back to school with the sun still shining. Alice now has two weeks intense drama with her play of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is to be performed over the weekend of Three Counties Show so she will be missing it this year. Harry is loving his cricket and I had a smashing match to watch where he got two wickets.
A trip up the M6 on Sunday proved to be another good decision with a very successful Derbyshire Festival. It was another lovely sunny day and it was so nice to meet up with one of my special friends Joanne Pybus and her family. I love to see the children chatting away at the side of the lorry with their ponies and going off for ice creams together.
The day started well with a win for me on Pink Floyd in the novice hack class. I really think a lot of this horse and he is coming along so well with his fourth win this year.
The highlight of my day — well in fact my year so far — was watching Alice and Shaun jump round the 122cm M&M WHP HOYS qualifier. What stars they are. They jumped the first clear round after several competitors not completing and dunks in the water. There were two more clears, so it was fingers crossed she had done enough to get her HOYS ticket. I really do think the M&M WHP is the hardest to get. She finished second to Hanmere Showman who is already qualified, so we were delighted.
Loraine
