Stan's hedgehog

It's been a while. With the summer party, trips to Yorkshire, workmen cutting through our phone cables etc., blogging has been the last thing on my mind.

It's lovely now it feels like summer is truly here and along with sunshine we have the added benefit of Robbie Hooper having returned to the yard. Robbie's been coming here on and off since he was nine. He's now 13, seems to have grown about three feet and has come back to help though the summer holidays, which is great. He'a always been a fearless and natural rider as this picture of him cantering Pantomime Prince on Long Hill yesterday morning will show.

John's been keeping you abreast of other news and I have finally got around to updating pics on is blog and in the photo gallery so there are a few to have a look at when you have a mo.

Stan's developed a worrying fascination for hedgehogs. One seems to have taken up residence here and only comes out after dark. When the dogs and I have our evening stroll in the yard, Stan unfailingly finds the poor little creature and picks it up in his mouth (ouch), running around with the hedgehog cowering in his jaws and looking very pleased with himself. He drops it instantly if bellowed at and the hedgehog scuttles off looking somewhat traumatised but otherwise unscathed. Stan's never been blessed with a huge array of brain cells and on our weekly walk with Aisling and her pack of hounds at Moulton Paddocks, he's surrounded by rabbits, hares and other small fluffy creatures on Timmy's killing fields but shows not the remotest interest in chasing what would be surely less prickly prey.

We're off to Sandown later this aftewrnoon and hopefully we won't have to suffer the ridiculous M25 delays we had last Thursday when heading down there with Brief. Kirsty (pictured with Hugh just before the pair of them had to carry Martha home from our party) is riding Jill again and we're hoping for a really big run from the pair of them. Kirsty's also just been booked to ride Brief Goodbye at Windsor on Saturday. She's been very lucky for this stable and very kindly comes in regularly to ride work for John. Today, we've the pleasure of being accompanied by Carolynn and her dad Bill, aka Papa B, who is a huge racing fan from Kelso.

The last time Bill went to the races with John it was to watch Bilkie and when they got there, the ground was so heavy (Towcester, I think) they withdrew the horse. Hopefully Papa B will have a more fruitful journey this evening.

Talking of Bilkie, I had a really enjoyable couple of hours yesterday evening visiting him in his new home and watching his owner Amanda Pickard have a lesson on him. She's a lovely rider and has brought him on really well in the short time he has been with her. Bilkie was always a smashing horse. He went to his first show jumping class last Sunday and jumped a clear round and it was wonderful to watch him in his lesson, taking it all in his stride and clearly happy and eager to learn.

We were really pleased when Suze, who has ridden out here for a few years, introduced us to Amanda. We knew that if he was going to a new home in her yard, he would be well looked after and it's great that he is now a regular hacking companion for Suze's mare Tolly.