Whilst we are certainly in need of some decent rain, it’s lovely to be basking in sunshine and the horses are enjoying the last part of summer whilst in their paddocks after being ridden out.
We head to Warwick today with Matthew Baker’s Brianna Rose in the bumper under James Best who is returning from the concussion he suffered at Worcester last month so great to have him back. The partnership have finished 2nd in two bumpers so far and it would obviously be great for her to get her head in front but, although not many runners, it’s competitive. Good luck Matthew.
Well done to owner Gordon Bendall who, on Saturday night, walked over hot coals barefoot for charity. An amazing charity too – Winstons Wish, who support children and young people after the death of a parent or sibling. Still time to sponsor him HERE – every penny counts.
With no runners over the weekend, after watching Harry score 2 goals for his Northleach Football Team helping them win 5-3, I headed to Blenheim International Horse Trials to support Freddie who was riding as part of the Shetland Pony Grand National Team. Blenheim, organised by The Jockey Club this year, was absolutely heaving on Saturday with reportedly 25,000 people there and, whilst there were inevitably a few teething problems, they did a superb job and it was wonderful to watch live cross-country and show-jumping again and no doubt next year will be bigger and better again. It’s a stunning venue and with the Cheltenham Groundsman Team on hand to chaperone the shetlands to and from their horseboxes and their ring safely, they couldn’t have been in better hands. Plenty of fun was had by all and great to see so many of the racing fraternity enjoying their weekend at Blenheim too.
Meanwhile, on Saturday back at the yard, Clare Fogarty and Hilary Lewis, along with supporters including Chris Coley, were walking up our long gallop and around our circular loop too as part of their Racing Welfare Charity Gallop Walk on Saturday. They managed to walk up/around 10 gallops in The Cotswolds starting at Charlie Longsdon’s at 7am and finishing at Fergal O’Brien’s. A huge well done to them all and their sponsorship page is still open too – they’ve raised over £2600 so far but it’s such an amazing charity that they will be so grateful for more! Please donate HERE if you can.
This morning Sean Bowen and Rex Dingle were in and Paul Davis was here too. We worked Herecomeshogan, Back On The Lash, Duke of Luckley, Smatara, Big Nasty and Debden Bank. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few days watering our grass schooling ground and I was happy enough with it today so we were able to school Sarasota Star, Found On, Reve and Brorson over fences and hurdles. It’s time consuming but so worth the effort and great to get these horses schooling on the grass before their hurdling/chasing seasonal debuts. A very worthwhile morning and Sean Bowen couldn’t go without stopping for a cuddle with a horse he has grown very fond of….Mr Mafia!
Finally, Happy Birthday to a great supporter of ours – Keith Salisbury.