27th January 2020

Saturday was as bad as it gets but yesterday was a very memorable day. Sholto won on his pony at Cocklebarrow. He gave it a great ride, he was stone cold last into the first bend and just crept into the race down the side before running out a nice winner. We were all very proud of him, numerous supporters came to watch, three of his god parents were there as were all his cousins and a good few mates. It was particularly nice that it happened at Cocklebarrow as Sophie and I both grew up hunting with the Heythrop, I have many fantastic memories hunting with them when you had to gallop and jump or you found your way home. I’ve been going to the Heythrop p2p for as long as I can remember and hope to continue to do so for a long time yet. 

I know Cocklebarrow is in prime country but it is the best run p2p in the country and they reap the rewards for the effort they all put in to make it so. We were back there this morning with a few babies to have a float around and give them some confidence for when they run. Otherwise, it was typical routine canters for the horses at home. A serious shift put in by all the staff today and days like today would be impossible without them all.