TODAY I HAD TO BE RESCUED 15th DEC

En route to the stables Cheryl and I jump out the car. We are going to put halters on the 4 naughty escapees. We get them and walk through to the stables. Again we have a fair size group, all intermediate riders. Laura is going to back Atlas. He is a black stallion and 3 years old. He is BIG, at approx. 17.2 hands. We leave. I am on Gunstone. Don is taking Solo out with no reins again. At the second crossing of the river, I need to lead the ride. We cross the bridge for our first canter. It is glorious today. At the top of the road on the way to the cliffs, Cheryl asks me to give one of the clients Gunstone to ride and I need to take Bliss. The client is very nervous on Bliss. Cheryl and Don have just allocated me my own saddle, which is awesome and which means I do not have to spend hours organizing my stirrups every morning! Drat, I have to forego my saddle! We swop. Down to the beach we go. We begin the canter. The group is big so we have split into two groups for the canter. The first load goes off. Cheryl and I take the next group. I am the tail end Charlie. Bliss is excited. And we are off….. The next thing, as Murphy would have it, I have two rats in pursuit of me (Jack Russell’s). Bliss is OFF, with a vengeance of note. I start the halt. My feet are too far forward in the stirrups. Bliss has taken the bit in his mouth. My reins now mean nothing to him. I must confess, I am “pooping” myself. Cheryl sees Bliss and me veering to the left and almost starting at the gallop. She is brilliant and places her horse in front of me! I am saved a near definite fall, and, chocolate cake! We are heading home.
En route home, the wind has picked up a tad. We enter the field through the first gate and are nearing the second, when Atlas, up front near Don, bucks a good three or four times and Laura is rolling on the ground (remember there is favouritism here), NO CHOCOLATE CAKE? We are back at the stables and Don and Cheryl rush off to grab us pies and cool drinks. Before they get back, Laura decides we are going to play around with Spirit. She puts a bridle on him, then a saddle blanket on him, then a saddle. We eat and are tacking up for the next ride, of two young girls. I am riding Midnite. We decide to let Spirit follow the ride, rider less. He ends up back home shortly after departure, having rolled in the grass with his saddle and then decided this was too much like hard work. It is a slow ride. We head straight for the beach and have a canter and head home. I cook a dinner of sausages, mash and veg. early, whilst Don and Cheryl go to collect water for us. Cheryl and I are desperate to wash our hair. It has been 4 days. We eat at 20h00. They do not remember when last they ate this early. I wash, check emails and crash into bed.
M