Now it is mud, mud and more mud..... However, at least we can get to the gallops now and it is a lot warmer. It has been a real challenge keeping everything going during the cold snap - It is double the work and can get incredibly tiring. Apart from the extra physical work balancing the diet, water intake and exercise to ensure that none of the horses tie up is a real science and one that we think we have got right this time as all the horses have come through unscathed.
We had a contribution to the drop pot yesterday from Pete. He was riding Jake's cousin, the new mare, and telling us all about his first date with a potential girlfriend, Rosie, when the mare shot sideways, reared and plunged, dropping him neatly in the mud. The mare was caught and reunited with her love struck jockey - We were looking for a stable name for the mare and Laura suggested 'Rosie', so Rosie it is as I am sure she is partly to blame!
Keeping owners happy during this time is probably the biggest challenge as with so many race meetings being called off it is impossible to get as many runs into the horses as we would like.We can only be in one place at a time and our main aim has to be to give the horses that haven't already had a run top priority as their owners have been extremely patient and understanding. Not easy sometimes...... However, it should be a long season with good ground and there are plenty of meetings yet to come so hopefully we will be able to please everyone in the end.