I can’t believe it has been seven weeks since we were at Wetherby on what turned out to be the premature last day of the season. Oddly it seems like time goes quite quickly when there is very little to do, the weeks just seem to roll by.
The whole coronavirus crisis has been terrible for the country and so many families have suffered. That’s something nobody should lose sight of, but thankfully it feels like we are getting past the worst of it so might just be beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s starting to look like racing might actually resume in the next couple of weeks. We’ll believe it when we see it of course. It gives me hope that jumping might actually start in July as intended if they manage to get the flat going this month. We just have to hope that the infection rate stays in check if and when Boris starts relaxing things a little bit.
Just in case the jumping does start again in July, we started riding out again here last week, which was a very welcome change in the daily routine. We have started Ardglass Star and Chosen Flame first, and the other three potential summer jumpers we have in are Honourable Gent, Jack Devine and Permission Granted. Chosen Flame & Ardglass are both extremely well; they would both normally be the easiest of rides, but they’re actually quite keen when so fresh, and are giving Emma and my arms quite a work out!
At the moment all the staff are either on holiday or furloughed, except for Emma. Poor Emma hasn’t left the place since Wetherby basically, so she’s praying the government will relax things a wee bit soon, and she can go and see her family in Kelso.
The rest of the horses are all now fully turned out for the summer. There still isn’t a lot of grass, so they’ll have to be fed for a while yet. We’ve had a teeny bit of rain, and could do with a lot more really, but every little bit will help the grass come away.
It's lovely seeing them relaxing and happy on their holidays, oblivious to the chaos of the world around them. Here are some photos of the gang....