We were absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of people who attended our Open Day yesterday – everyone looked to thoroughly enjoy themselves and my whole team did us proud. They’d all worked so hard in the weeks leading up to it and I was thrilled with how smart everywhere looked.
Massive thanks to all my team here and all the other members of our extended team who worked so tirelessly in the lead up and also on the day too – so much goes into a day like yesterday and I’m so grateful to everyone.
I’d have been forgiven for thinking it was April Fool’s day at 7am when my Assistant Trainer, Foxy, rang to say that his girlfriend was having contractions and the baby may be arriving a week early…..! He wasn’t joking and we were all thrilled to hear that their baby boy arrived yesterday afternoon at a healthy weight of 8lbs 1oz – congratulations! The team pulled together without Foxy, although he sent plenty of helpful instructions for the day, and it was a credit to him and them all that things ran so smoothly.
We galloped ten horses, with the help of jockeys Leighton Aspell, James Best and Lewis Stones plus Charlie Dee, Mark Caswell and Ash Hark (who came back for the day – a much missed member of our full time team) and paraded a few horses for sale. Visitors enjoyed the refreshments and enjoyed the competitions: a young lady called Isabelle won the Guess the Weight of Champion Court correctly at 628 kilos – beating sponsor FBC Manby Bowdler’s Neil Lloyd by a kilo much to Belinda’s delight as she thought it would have looked as if he’d had insider information! However, the weight was so nearly revealed to all on Twitter earlier when the photo taken of Champ having his weight taken initially revealed that weight!!
Neil judged the Great Keighley Kake-Off Competition and, although his wife’s fabulous cake depicting the yearlings, Basil, Herbie & Sage, in their stable was surely a very close 2nd, the winners were the Seabright Family who produced a fabulous horse head. Well done and thank you to all who took the time to produce a cake – following judging they literally all ‘went like hot cakes’ as all were delicious!
We were so pleased that Ross Burbidge was the lucky winner of the ‘Owner for the Day Competition’ and he will therefore be representing Enforcement’s owners at Plumpton on Sunday. He has also won the chance to come and watch him on the gallops another time and have breakfast here. A brilliant prize so thank you to Jon & Jack Hughes for arranging it all and well done Ross!
If you didn’t make Open Day you can still view our Horses In Training Brochure by clicking the link HERE.
Last night the Peel Racing Syndicate invited Belinda & myself for supper with them at The Sheep on Sheep Street in Stow on the Wold. It was delicious but I’m sure there will be some sore heads today!