Major Martin, Trouble Digger, Knockdhu and Billy Biscuit all worked on my neighbours all weather. It is a gallop I know well and I am able to get a fair assessment of where I am with them. All grass gallops were closed and I like to get them in the box for an away gallop, even if it means travelling only 3 miles. I am happy with them all, they will all come on for the gallop.
My rain gauge was overflowing this evening and it was fairly wild today. Local towns are closed due to flooding and hunting was like riding in the Ocavango Delta without the cocern of being jumped on by a lion! It was hugely disappointing as I had been looking forward to the hedges around Little Compton and Kitebrook. We jumped 1 decent hedge and a few nasty hunt jumps. When I got home I had 2 inches of water swilling around in my boots, soaked to the skin and blue with the cold. I cancelled my second horse and headed for the bath at 1.30 p.m. I doubt they carried on much longer anyhow. The badgers homes must be flooded as I have never seen so many in day light.
I see that Black Forest Lodge give their ground as Good to Soft, with some of the worse floods reported in Devon I find that hard to believe. It is so frustrating having the horses ready to rumble and now faced with horrendous ground conditions, unless these biblical weather fronts clear off we'll be struggling to run anything this side of Christmas.
