As I leave home in the early hours this morning to ‘do’ my horse & rush back home in time for work, the temperature gauge in the car fluctuates around the -6°C to -8°C mark, yet again! My route to the stables takes me via the final road-crossing and a glimpse of the last fence on the High Peak Hunt’s point-to-point course at Flagg (see photo attached). I marvel in horror at the fence buried under a 4’ snow drift and wonder whether we will ever manage to throw off the vestiges of winter in time to hold the meeting on its’ traditional date of Easter Tuesday – this year on 10th April – only 8 weeks away.
On arrival at the yard I become even more despondent & abandon all hope of ‘exercising’ after a scene reminiscent of Bambi whilst trying to negotiate ‘pent-up’ horses from their stables, across the yard to the indoor school. Although hounds have met on foot, we have not been mounted forever a fortnight now & keeping horses ‘entertained’ and fit for that day when it all suddenly melts is becoming increasingly difficult.
However, after a well-earned warming cup of coffee along with a quick flick through John Beasley’s Big Green Annual of Point-to-Point Racing 2011 (available from Paleface Publications), my spirits are lifted. How lush & green the images of Flagg appear in 2011. The meeting was held only one week later last year, on 17th April & after the 2010/11 winter we had,we can surely do even better this time round.
I am further encouraged on my return trip home – the sun is shining, temperatures are rising and the farmers are muck-spreading like mad whilst they can still get on the land – inadvertently helping to produce that lush, near perfect going on the old grassland – such familiar territory to the High Peak Hunt. Do our farmers know something we don’t? Can spring really be on its way?
My attention is drawn to a frenzied commotion and twittering along the headlands, along with the incessant ‘drilling’ of a woodpecker … and I remember that this week holds another major event in the social calendar – February 14th or Valentines Day. A date, not only of major significance for those incurable romantics amongst us, but also of importance to all birds of the feathered variety. Apparently …. according to I know not whom, this is the ‘official’ date that birds commence laying their eggs – something to do with warmth & lengthening daylight hours??? So somebody somewhere must definitely know something we don’t! Just a pity that my old girls(hens – that is!) at home aren’t yet taking the hint – despite the amorous advances of Rocky, the cockerel!
Having pondered all the above, I find myself now back at home & determine to ‘kick-on’ with my training and entry for the High Peak Hunt Members Race at Flagg and to encourage my compatriots to do likewise. For other interested parties, more information is available from:www.flaggraces.co.uk or www.highpeakhunt.org.
Reserved car-parking can be booked via Becki Edge : beckiwedge@aol.com and any media or PR enquiries via myself Rachel McQueen : rjmcqueen@gmail.com
