1st March and although fog greeted us this morning, the weekend we have just enjoyed was absolutely glorious and we all enjoyed basking in the sunshine. A sign of things to come and hopefully spring is just around the corner. We’ve had a quiet week/10 days but the horses seem fresh and well and they all enjoyed a full weekend out in their paddocks which they always absolutely love. It’s great to wake up and look out of my window to the horses well rugged up (the temperature dropped overnight both nights) but happily grazing. The team took their top rugs off for the day so they weren’t too hot and put them back on again at night.
Miss Antipova is declared to run tomorrow at Leicester tomorrow in a Mares’ Handicap Chase under James Best who was in on Saturday and schooled her up over the fences. She jumped really well and he was happy with her.
Two new mares that arrived last week have settled in well. One is a bay Native Ruler five year old, Just A Diva, owned by Martin Jones and she is a big strong individual. The other is a Ocovango 4 year old chestnut filly owned by Matthew Baker who has been backed and ridden away by Martin Jones and looks a lovely type. Let’s hope by the time these two get to the track that the country is in a much better place and their owners can be there to enjoy it to the full. Great to hear of so many getting their jabs….nearly me too hopefully!
A busy weekend of sport although nothing to celebrate in the rugby. However we did have a birthday in the house despite it not being a Leap Year – Freddie has become a teenager! Perfect weather for a simple family birthday – a far cry from 2020 when he enjoyed an actual Leap Year Day and we made a weekend of it in London visiting the Household Cavalry Musical Ride with his Shetland Grand National friends and home to a football party with his club and school friends. Whilst the weekend in 2020 was just a few weeks before the world changed, if not forever, definitely for a year, we all agreed that yesterday was also a lovely day when we simply spent time together as a family, a no hassle day in the sunshine going no-where. Man Utd could have read the script though and won for him last night!
Back to Monday and just one week of homeschooling left – I’ll miss seeing them at lunchtimes when I pop back to the house! Fingers crossed that everyone continues to behave sensibly and life starts to get back to normal. Oh how we have missed seeing so many friendly faces at the yard regularly. We are very much an open house here and therefore we have owners turning up most days, usually planned but sometimes not, and it’s therefore been a different place. Not quiet, as we have a wonderful team who can’t be accused of being quiet so there has always been a lovely atmosphere but we have certainly missed welcoming friends old and new. Soon ….hopefully.