Breaking in the youngsters

Cloud, Doris and Jack (Amy's horse)

We have been playing with the youngsters this week and they have come on in leaps and bounds

Cloud and Doris are going to the Doncaster sales. We will be really sorry to see them go as they have both shown enormous promise - in different ways. Cloud is feisty and can be a real madam - if we go out for a hack she squeals and bucks until she is in the front, and then she is quite happy. She is extraordinarily active in the field and is always galloping around, and then again she has to be in front of the pack. She's not the biggest of horses but looks as though she will be really tough and determined and if she is doing what she wants, will take some beating. She gets bored easily and needs to be kept interested, Doris is a completely different character, she will be lovely in any sphere as she always does what you want, has never baulked at anything we have asked her to do and when we were popping her over the poles took a real hold and didn't want to stop and was standing off from outside the wings (digital cameras are not good at taking jumping shots as I either clicked before or after the action!) She may not be the fastest but will definitely jump the big fences and will be very easy to train. All the female members of her family have won races which bodes well and if she doesn't sell will be a nice line to breed from after she has finished her racing career.

Amy was over the moon with Jack who arrived as a real thug and we thought we were going to have problems with him, but he turned into a very amenable chap and will make a lovely eventer in the future.