DIARY
Martin Keighley’s Open Day
25 September 2011
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Consult takes part in the Horse Parade DIARY OF THE DAY In
mid-August it was with pleasure that I received an invitation to attend
trainer Martin Keighley’s Owners’ Open Day; the event taking place on Sunday
25 September. Due to changes in the National
Hunt racing calendar this season, there was no jump racing scheduled for this
day. The
day finally arrived and it dawned bright and sunny in my home county of
Hertfordshire. I set my alarm for
07:00, showered and washed my hair and selected suitable clothing for a day
in the Cotswolds countryside. I had
invited my friend Lesley as my guest, so at 08:50 I set off to pick her up
from her home village of Eaton Bray near Dunstable in Bedfordshire. Lesley
has been a good friend since 1997, since we met as work colleagues; she
occupied the desk opposite me. I still
work for the same company ... although Lesley moved on to pastures new a few
years ago. I
arrived in Eaton Bray at 09:20; we set off for the Cotwolds
via Wing, Aylesbury and Bicester. We then took the B4030 across country
through Middleton Stoney, Lower Heyford,
Middle Barton and Gagingwell to Enstone,
where we joined the A44 through Chipping Norton. We did get stuck behind a tractor for a
short distance, but the driver pulled over the let the queued vehicles
pass. Of course I have to remember
that farming is a 7 day job and I was in a very rural area. We
then turned off to the left and took the road past Adlestrop
to Stow-On-The-Wold. Coincidently, we
got stuck behind another tractor as we approached the town. At the traffic lights at the top of the
town, I turned right and took the A424 before turning off down the lane to
reach Luckley.
Upon
arrival we were directed to park in the field opposite, after which we crossed
the lane and entered the yard. We were
presented with an Open Day programme by one of the helpers and we set off to
take a look at the horses within the main barn. I was particularly looking forward to
seeing Consult, a 4-year-old chestnut gelding who had performed very gamely
over hurdles during the summer. I
wasn’t disappointed, as he proved to be very friendly; Marc Aurele was also very friendly. Having
seen most of the horses in the barn, a few being omitted because they were
already the centre of attention for other attendees, we went to look at the
horses housed in the row of loose boxes outside. These included Monty’s Revenge, Snake
Charmer and Tri Nations. We
then did a second tour of the barn, saying hello to those horses we’d missed
on the first circuit. We also returned
to see Consult; he decided to have a roll in the hay but got a little too
near to the wall and hit his leg against it, which seemed to surprise
him! It was then time for a cup of
coffee before the Parade of Horses. ATR’s
Luke Harvey was on hand today, to weld the microphone and ask Martin about
each of his charges as they were paraded. Although the sound system was a little
temperamental so, on occasion, we only heard intermittent words from
Luke. But, fortunately, we heard
everything Martin said. The
skies had become cloudier as we headed westwards; now it began to drizzle heavily. Luckily Lesley had brought her umbrella so
we were able to shelter under it. Many
of the owners and friends were able to shelter in the marquee adjacent to the
parade area. A
number of the younger horses were wary of the marquee tent; two of them,
including Manor Court, pulling away from the handlers and running loose. Fortunately they were soon caught. I took photos of the majority of horses,
although I missed Snake Charmer as I was rummaging in my handbag for a pen
and notebook so that I could record the names of each horse as I photographed
them. After
the parade, four horses were ridden around the all-weather track. They were Havingotascoobydo
ridden by Sam Drinkwater, Typhon De Guye with Harry Skelton aboard, Always Bold and Tom
Bellamy and Caught By Witness and Danny Hiskett. As the weather had now cleared, everyone
headed for the gallop across the road to watch these four proceed up the
hill. It
was then time return to the marquee for lunch. Martin’s sponsors 7 Day Catering had laid on
a lovely spread; I had chicken and salad; plus two desserts – chocolate
cheesecake and apple crumble with cream.
I’m very much a ‘pudding person’. We
took our leave at 15:00 but, as it was early, we decided to drive to Choc’s favourite hostelry, the Plough Inn at Ford. When we entered the bar, we found Luke
Harvey and his other half Emily Jones had found their way there. The
afternoon was now sunny and pleasant for late September, so we sat outside in
the smokers’ ‘gazebo’. Both Lesley and I are non-smokers but, as
the shelter was empty, this was not a problem. Whilst we sat there, Martin’s now retired
stable jockey, Warren Marston, walked by. Having
finished our drinks we set off home.
Our journey took us back via the same route as we’d travelled
out. Lesley had invited me to have
dinner with her family, so I stopped off in Eaton Bray before returning home
to Hertfordshire. I arrived back at
20:15. I
spent the remainder of the evening uploading my photographs in preparation
for updating my website. I also logged
onto Twitter to see if there was anything interesting to read ... Paddy
Brennan had tweeted that he, Sean Quinlan, Noel Fehily
and Choc had spent the day at the yard of trainer Fergal O’Brien, it being his
Owners’ Open Day. Fergal, who was formerly
Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Head Lad, had left the Naunton yard in April to set up his own establishment at
the Cilldara Stud at Coln
St Dennis near Northleach. Timmy Murphy is Fergal’s landlord; Choc
has been riding out at the yard. |
