Just got to the farmhouse down in Devon where I am staying for the week.
I set off at 09:30 this morning and am therefore, pretty much POOPED!! (Even two cups of tea have failed to revive me!!)
The journey down was uneventful, the CrapNav got most of the journey right (a miracle, I know), the car only died once while in forward motion (hasn't done that for a while!!), but I did have to rub my eyes a bit (not a good idea when driving at 50mph) when a herd of Guinea Fowl decided to appear from under a fence and play 'chicken' in the middle of the road. Guinea Fowl are Africanbirds!! You don't expect them in rural England... so either they escaped, or my CrapNav really got it wrong...
First stop was the Donkey Sanctuary where I a. spent a fortune in the gift shop and b. got mugged by a moulting donkey for a thorough back scratch. I've never 'hand stripped' a donkey's coat before...
The muggings continued once I got to the farm: two 'teenage' racehorses decided that I was the best chew toyever and then the trekking centre's resident stallion decided that he would join in too.
He's just got one of the lady pony's up-the-duff, so he's WELL pleased with himself!!
Snag is, he's now after her Mum, the tart...
It's testament to the great skill, love and care that these folks lavish on their horses that both the racehorses and the stallion are such lovely, calm, handlable animals. Both have reputations for being dangerous and/or unpredictable, but here ... no such thing. It's all happy, inquisitive horses, mud, tea, good grub (and plenty of it) and great countryside.
Although they did laugh at my (huge) riding bag. Mainly because in horse-y circles, my bag looks like it belongs to an eight year old.
We've had a fab weekend, yesterday my teenager turned 15. We had a fantastic day, finished off with a great night out with friends and we all stayed up drinking till 3am, with Jami getting to have a go on my mates Les Paul which just totally made her year. Today I took her to Camden for a spot of retail therapy (thankfully the hangover didn't quite kill me), then we went to my brothers for dinner, where Jami got an awesome cake my sister made for her.
We're hopefully going to go out on a night ride (I now have that theme tune going round in my head) tonight to go watch some badgers in a nearby sett, but the trail has to be checked first to see if it's safe.
There's also talk of sending me up the race track beforehand. On a pony. At a flat out gallop.
...
Who's stupid idea was that???
The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
