Another mazing day. I doubt we could have gone out on Saturday. It was cold but the going was brilliant - even the north faces protected from the low sun by trees were rideable. Caution had us missing fences here.

Port and hot canapés hit the spot in the sunshine with snowdrops and winter aconites under the trees as a reminder of the past mild weather. Maybe the new dinosaur standing watch was a reminder that we are all growing old! Jeff was certainly feeling this, grounded again by injury, wear and tear. But his loss was Andrew's (our new kennel huntsman) gain as he rode Jeff's horse for the second time this season. Funny how wool and leather shrink during storage!

Having lost feeling to his feet with over-tight boots at Brockhurst, something had been stretched - or were they Jeff's boots? Or even Jeff's breeches? Andrew's had closely resembled a pair of sawn off shot guns last time!
A large field turned out and enjoyed proper winter sport. "I only jumped the fence where the photographer was."

 "He flew those big hedges - didn't touch a twig!" "I had my first fall of the season - well, two actually! Great fun - even the nose plant" (shades of a different winter sport)

If we are all getting old, at least there is some great promise in the youngsters in our field to continue the line.