Autumn hunting this morning was fantastic. We had the three debutante's out - Glory Hunter (Murphy), Don't Budge Me (Budge) and Sea Rock (Rock) - All of which were somewhat on their toes and eyes out on stalks but ended up loving it. The meet was on the estate and just a short hack from here and we met just as the sun was rising - It was stunning. In the first lot we had Budge (Sharon) Doctor Kingsley (Doug) Flash (Lucy) and Rock ridden by me, we then hacked home and got the second lot out which was Popaway (Doug) Murphy (Sharon) Out of Range (Lucy) and I rode Lady Barfad (Goody). I was delighted with the way they all went. Sharon who is an old friend of mine and is a very good rider coped really well with Murphy who hated horses coming up around him and very much wanted to be in the lead, so got a bit excited, but she really liked the feel of them both and couldn't believe how strong Murphy felt as a four year old.  Lucy did a brilliant job with her two horses. It is lovely how now Es has left and gone to Alex Hales's it has allowed Lucy to shine, whereas she probably wouldn't have got the chance before. It just shows that things like that often work out for the best....
Hunting is such a great way to revitalise a racehorse and we really felt that all the horses came home with a spring in their step which was lovely to see. When we got back it was bacon butties all around.
Sorry to be very 'English' and bang on about the weather but it really has been the most exceptionally dry and warm autumn. It was positively hot today and difficult to spend time in the office but I just got what I had to do and then spent as much time outside as this really cannot continue for much longer. Jay is home from London for a couple of days and it is lovely to see her and catch up on her news. It was an early start this morning so good night.