Jennifer Marchant Horse Riding Diary

warnings of gales and rain did not put us off riding to day .misty weather greet us at the yard and we wonder if it is wise.M fidgets as I get on her and I turn in tight circles as try to fix my stirrups.P finds B has moved as she tried to get on and her leg is suspended in the air as T brings him back.The other two are in fits of laughter but their time will come.

Wind blowing and mist rain in our face we set off and track down to the valley where the wind drops and the rain disappears.Passing cottages and ruins and a fast flowing stream. We canter up towards the woods which have been cut,the loggers have now moved away to another spot leaving heave dirt tracks on some of the bridle paths.The wind picks up and we are showered with rain ,soaking us to the bottom.

we decide to go up the old man s trail ,this is not so bad now its recovering from the loggers and rain.M is finding it hard to keep up with the others as her short legs can not cover the ground they are doing with their long legs.

We had a lovely wet ride and retuning to base a good cup of tea was needed.

Jennifer Marchant Riding Diary

The warning of gales and rain did not put us off our determination to hack out what ever.We set off in misty conditions, tracking down to the stream which was flowing fast.The cottages along here are lovely with paddocks and gardens to dream of.They have old ruins in some of them what they are I am not sure.

We canter up the slip path to the main bridle path ,here you can tell it is near the top as it is getting windier .We pass a couple of horse riders mad as us out in this storm. We head up old mans trail which we have not been on for ages as the path was dug up and messed by the loggers about a year ago.The game keeper is not about so were o.k. .The path is boggy and after a short canter we travel back towards the treasure trail.I get left behind sometimes because M is only short and the others are far head.We catch up and canter towards the treasure trail.


This is back in use as this was really torn up by the loggers.P had a fall here when she or rather B trip over a root exposed by the trailers.The wind picked up as we approached the stables and as we dismounted with soggy bottoms we were relived to see a patch of blue

Sheep fields

The sheep fields are where we headed for today,through the woods to reach the gate we are to go through to get to that canter.we will only have a little time to before winter will stop us getting to the fields.

The gate has a new handle to help us open this difficult gate(the wall is to near the opening).We canter across avoiding the sheep who refuse to move.The canter across three fields is wonderful and on return walk there are views over to red hill,weston and Bristol.We see no one today ,so closing gates is our duty.

On return hack back we to the dips,this rather hairy in terms of turning your stomach especially when cantering at speed and doing a turn to the left,leaves you breathless but happy.We turn down the dusty track towards home and perhaps a coffee at the cafe .