I have a tan!

Howdy!

Apologies for the lack of blogging over the last fortnight, the first week was a touch quiet and then things kind of went a bit mad this past week! I have however now found the time to settle down and update you with all the goings-on from the yard.

As I said, the first week after that sunny Sunday in Leominster was quiet. When I arrived at the yard on the Monday evening The Boss wasn't there, as him and Wesley had been to take Eryn and Olympic to their summer residence a few miles away. Upon their return they teased me a bit (as per usual) about anything and everything, and then Mrs B brought BJ in so that Wesley could take him home for good. Derek's owners had also been to collect him so the mass exodus has begun! We wish him the best of luck racing with Wales & Border Counties this summer, as he showed a lot of promise at home and was a lovely character to have about the place. Happy pacing The Fuffer Man!

Next came the big move: Bongo was moved down to the bottom foaling pen, next to a box-resting Maverick, which meant that when we moved Melinda down to the bottom shed, all 7 horses were in the same building. Trust me on this, having them all in one place makes my life a lot easier!

By Thursday we found out that Ammanford had failed to get enough entries to put on a race meeting on Bank Holiday Monday, due to possibly the number of horses from down our way heading up to the two day meeting at Appleby. The Boss and Mrs B therefore decided to make a holiday out of it as well by heading up there so I was asked to feed the horses while they were away - clearly I did such a fantastic job the last time that I was the first choice! (Or it had something to do with both their daughters being unavailable for the weekend...)

Sunday evening and Monday morning I popped over to the yard to give the horses their feed, chuck some hay in for them, check on the dogs and feed the chickens (something I find rather traumatic as I don't like chickens). You'll be pleased to know that I managed to keep them all alive! On Monday I drove down to my friend Emma's to see my girl Star, and we took her and Beama out for a long hack around the countryside and forestry, and much like two kids we spent a lot of time racing each other! We managed to get caught miles from home in horrendous rain and by the time we got back to the yard the only item of clothing I was wearing that wasn't wet was my socks! Thank goodness for Helen's tumble dryer and the wood burner!

When I arrived back at the yard on Thursday evening after work, I couldn't believe how tidy the place was! The local Pony Club were due to come over the following evening for a talk and demonstration that I may or may not have suggested as a good idea. It had resulted in Mrs B telling The Boss he needed to clear up the yard, and to be fair he'd done a cracking job! The place was spotless. To make matters even better, the shavings that he's promised me for the last two months have finally been delivered so all horses are now on shavings instead of the dreaded straw! No dust and soooo much easier to muck out and create a deep litter system. Thursday evening was spent filling Maverick and Bongo's stables with the shavings (as the rest had already been done by The Boss), and generally sweeping up around the stables before I headed off to prepare my talk.

On Friday evening I arrived at the yard completely unprepared and totally nervous. It hit me that I was about to give a talk to some young people on a topic that I am most definitely not an expert! I didn't have long to worry about this as the Pony Club members from the local Irfon & Tywi branch arrived shortly after me. I'm currently awaiting photos that were taken by one of the members, so I'll write a whole separate post on that event rather than include it here. Suffice it to say for now the event was a success and a great time was had by all (including me!).

And that brings us to today, Sunday 2nd June. I am not long home from the third and final meeting at Leominster, which was as sunny and warm as the last time we were there a fortnight ago. Julie couldn't make it today so The Boss took back the drive on Jingo, and I was pretty much flat out until after the second race! Mervyn had brought Hamish (Bucklands Foxy Boy) who was to run in the first maiden, Big Mac was in the first qualifier, Jingo was in race 2 and Sammy was in the last race of the day. Things were a bit manic getting horses out onto the track and then washed when they came back before the next one was ready, but we somehow managed it!

Mac went off like a scalded cat in his qualifier, running lengths clear during the first lap and then getting pipped on the line in the fastest qualifier of the day (2.13.3). The time is well within qualifying time but as he qualified last time out this run was really an attempt to sharpen him up and work him out a bit. Hamish ran in the first race, however he still requires some more fittening work and blew up just before the 7 furlong mark. Jingo then came next and ran a blinder to finish second behind Epynt Sophie, after having been drawn 6 (inside on the second line) and having to come three wide down the back straight and two wide on the last two bends to get round the traffic. There's a few wins in there somewhere!

After Jingo we had a long break where I ran a few errands for different people, and before I knew it Sammy was due out on the track in the ninth and final race. He was drawn 1 off 10 yards, which he hates, but luckily Meadowland Tom was drawn 1 on the gate and set a fast pace from the off, allowing Sammy to follow him through and settle in third for much of the race. Unfortunately he too needs a bit more fast work and he faded towards the end, however we know Sammy knows what he's doing so we're not too disheartened.

So we came home today with just the one blue rosette, but when there's 9 or 10 horses in a race and only one winner, any rosette is very much appreciated!

Full results from Leominster:

Race 1

1st McCoy
2nd Hilltop Control
3rd Evenwood Lipstick
2.09.5 9L & 1L

Race 2

1st Epynt Sophie
2nd Woodstone Jingo
3rd Ynyston Lucky Cam
2.10.9 3L & 1/2L

Race 3

1st Caenwood Dafydd
2nd Blackfield Bling
3rd Hasty Katie
2.13.9 5L & 1L

Race 4

1st Sams Teatime & Lakeside Pan
3rd Rhyds Jigsaw
2.09.7 dead heat & 3 1/2L

Race 5

1st Jango Fett
2nd Daylon Dream
3rd Limelights Frankie
2.09.8 5L & 2L

Race 6

1st Afan Sir Ivor
2nd Brywins Jasper
3rd Lakeside Ideal
2.08.2 2 1/2L & 4 1/2L

Race 7

1st Wellfield Earl
2nd Gingerman
3rd Mewithforsure
2.08.3 3 1/2L & neck

Race 8

1st Ithon Ghost
2nd Rudd Hanover
3rd Llwyns Hall
2.07.9 1L & 1/2L

Race 9

1st Brywinsthatslife
2nd Meadowland Tom
3rd Frisco Havago
2.07.6 1L & 1L

Over and out guys,

Sarah (#1 tanned Groom)