Stockton Summer Show

Photo Copyright Stockton Council

August bank holiday and once again I found myself at Preston Hall Park for Stockton Summer Show.  Back in 2012 I had performed at the show as part of the Devil's Horsemen, so it was great to bring Galloping Acrobatics instead.  On arrival we found a perfect fenced off enclosure specially for us, and having set everything up we went about the showground to see who else was about.  The first person we bumped into was Stuart from the Sheep Show which was lovely as we haven't seen him for a little while.  One of the things I most enjoy about the shows and the life we lead is meeting up with people and meeting new people every weekend - you never quite know who you're going to bump into!

The weekend was due to be hot and lovely, and Sunday certainly didn't disappoint.  We were joined in the morning by Ben with his Eagle and Vulture Team, although as the event is so close to home he hadn't had too much of an early start.  This also meant that there were a number of friends and relatives who came to see us all perform - no pressure then!  Thankfully there was lots of space for warming up, and I made sure Casper had a really good session given his performance last week at Ibstock County Fair!  It paid off as he went into the arena and after a slightly excitable entrance he was foot perfect for the vaulting.  He did have a couple of naughty moments during the chasing sections, namely chasing me then charging off on his own for an undeserved lap of honour - rude!

Tinker did a brilliant show in the afternoon, I think it was possibly his best one of the entire season - he actually seemed to put a lot of oomph into it!  It would be so helpful if I could somehow mix my two horses up together to combine their enthusiasm and confidence.  Tinker is so confident I would 100% take him absolutely anywhere, safe in the knowledge that he would perform without problem, but he is never very enthusiastic about it.  On the other hand, Casper absolutely loves his job, and is so enthusiastic for everything he is a joy to work with.  But (and this is a big but) he lacks confidence and can get upset quite easily, which can make for a difficult show on occasion.  So, if there was a way of combining the two it would be amazing!  I wouldn't swap either of them for the world though, despite their foibles!!

Sunday evening and there was a treat in store for us.  There was a concert in the park, and a particularly good Beatles tribute act called Beatlemania were playing.  Anyone who has ever seen our shows will realise my taste in music is quite vintage (it's what I grew up listening to thanks to my parents), so I was able to sing along to virtually every word!  We were having a run through with Casper in the arena, so as the crowd were filing in we had a bit of an audience and a live sound track - what more could you ask for?!  After we'd finished with Casper we had some supper (Helen makes beautiful 'nomelettes'), and joined Stu for drinks whilst watching the main act of the evening, a local band called the Wildcats of Kilkenny.  They were very good and we all had a little dance, it really was a very fun evening!

The next morning was lovely and sunny again, and today we were joined by Benji with the Interesting and Unusual Team.  At least the weather was better than Benji had had at his last show with us, when we were up in Scotland at Sanquhar and it had poured with rain.  Given Casper's practise the previous evening I had high hopes for his show and I wasn't wrong - he was brilliant from start to finish!  I was especially thankful for this as once again there were quite a few familiar faces in the audience.  Tinker was a fantastic thing as well, and we managed to film the whole thing too ready to put our showreel together (watch the finished showreel here!).  Following Tink's show we were doing the meet and greet when a giant giraffe came over to say hello - Tinker was most bemused by it!  It was obviously the mascot for somebody, but I'm afraid I've forgotten who!  Tinker's face was a picture though!!  We've a few images from the weekend, just click here to see them.

We're nearly at the end of our season, with only one more event left.  Saturday 7th September will see us down near Nottingham for Stapleford Carnival - I'll let you know how we get on! 

Love Rosie x

Sanquhar Riding of the Marches and Ibstock Country Fair

Photos by Minty Price

Our last road trip of the season involved a trip up to Scotland on the Friday, for Sanquhar Riding of the Marches.  Luckily it wasn't too far into Scotland, and it didn't actually take us overly long to get there.  However, when we arrived it was a bit like Hampsthwaite Feast - the entrance gate was absolutely tiny!  We had to really squeeze our way in, but at least it was daylight, unlike when we arrived at Hampsthwaite!  The showfield itself was actually a football pitch, which I always love as they're always dead flat and beautifully kept.  There was absolutely nothing else on site though, so it felt a bit eerie setting up with nothing else around us!

None of us had ever heard of a Riding of the Marches before, but apparently it is quite a tradition in Scotland, especially in the border towns.  Historically each towns leader would ride their borders in order to protect their common lands from surrounding clans.  Today the rides are merely commemorative - but they get a very impressive turn out!  All morning there was a parade of horses going along the roads surrounding our site - which Tinker and Casper thought was brilliant!

Before long the show started to build up around us, and it wasn't long before we were joined by Benji with the Interesting and Unusual Team.  There was another bird of prey stand there too, who had mostly owls, including a very sweet baby great grey owl which spent a lot of time doing a very good fluffy pudding impression.  Unfortunately the weather was not so nice, the rain was horrible and we were dreading going out in it.

Following the parade in town there was a good crowd for the first show, and luckily there was a patch of blue sky overhead as we took to the arena.  Unluckily however, the music system wasn't the best and we struggled to hear any of the tracks and ended up with one microphone between us!  Casper was very good though, despite the roundabout right next to the arena, so I was ever so pleased with him.

Benji wasn't as lucky with the weather as we were, and it absolutely poured with rain during his flying display which was a real shame - the birds don't really like getting wet!  We were not looking forward to our second show, as the weather was getting worse and worse, and we were convinced we were all going to get drenched.  The day was running quite behind schedule, and there were other events due to take place up in the town centre, so by the time we got into the arena with Tinker there was very little audience left.  However, the few who remained did a sterling job of clapping and cheering, so if that was you thank you!  We also got asked to cut the show short as the PA system was needed up in the town, so we raced through the rest of the performance as best we could - Tinker was flying by the end!

The whole show packed up as quickly as it had arrived, and by the time we were ready to go it was once again an empty football pitch - although admittedly it did look slightly worse for wear!  We managed to squeeze our way back out of the gate and bid farewell to Scotland for another year, before trucking down south for a return visit to Ibstock.  

The drive was a very long one, but ever so easy, I just trucked on down the motorway.  I was slightly dreading the entrance to Ibstock Country Fair, as both Helen and I remembered it as being very tight, we also have a much bigger lorry now, and I knew we'd be getting there in the dark.  However, we needn't have worried as it was actually incredibly spacious in comparison to some of the gaps I've got the lorry through this year!  On arrival we were greeted by Stuart the organiser, and others, who had stayed to meet us and had been sampling the delights of the bar whilst waiting for us - so we had a very jolly reception!  We shoved the horses out in the arena and went about setting everything up.  Helen, Sophie and myself have honed the set up into a fine process now, so within forty-five minutes we were done.  The horses were bedded down in their stables and we were bedded down in the lorry!

It wasn't a particularly early start the next day, so we all managed to get a good nights sleep - Helen and I aided by our anti-Sophie-snoring earplugs!  Ibstock is the closest show we do to Oxfordshire and where I used to live, so we were due a couple of visitors.  Before long both Mark and Richard had arrived and we were entertaining guests!  It's always lovely to see familiar faces, so they were both very welcome - especially as Richard bought donuts!  There were quite a few people there who we remembered from 2012, it really is always lovely to get repeat bookings from shows and see people from year to year.  One of our biggest fans, Alice, was there and it was great to see her again.  We'd be seeing her again before long too as she was planning on coming to see us in a few weeks at our final show of the year in Stapleford.

Before long it was time for Casper's show, and given how naughty he was at Ibstock last year I was desperate for him to behave.  My pleading and wishes fell on deaf ears though and once again he was sooooo naughty!  I spent the whole of the first freestyle hanging on for dear life as he did the wheel of death around the circle, although I did still manage to do all my moves and even went upside down (intentionally!) - but I'm not sure how pretty any of it looked!  He was very good for the dancing though, and then absolutely flew around the arena for his games.  It was too much though, and at the end of the chase section he got too close and stood on my heel - taking a massive chunk of it out with his hoof.  Oww.  It's a good job my shoes are red, as it was bleeding quite a bit.  I tried not to look at it (I find injuries only really start to hurt if you can see them?!) and carried on with the rest of the show.  Thankfully Casper pulled himself together and finished the show beautifully - however naughty he is he always seems to redeem himself pretty quickly, I can never stay angry with him for long!

Tinker did a lovely show as usual, so all in all we had a great day.  I really love Ibstock Country Fair, everybody is so friendly and we get looked after so well, I really hope we can go back again another year.  Next up is Stockton Summer Show on the bank holiday Sunday and Monday.  I rode there with the Devil's Horsemen last year so it'll be nice to be there under my own steam this year.  It's the closest show to home so I expect there'll be a different batch of familiar faces!  I'll let you know how we get on, but in the meantime you can see a few photos from our final road trip by clicking here.

Love Rosie x

Slaley Show

 Photo by Daniel Graham

 Photo by Daniel Graham

Saturday 10th August and we were up in Northumberland for Slaley Show.  We'd travelled up on Friday afternoon, and had yet another new girl with us!  Chloe had stepped in at the last minute, and although she knew my horses (she comes and helps us out at home with the birds on Saturday mornings throughout the winter) she didn't know the show and had never even really seen vaulting!

The arena was the perfect size for us, although the grass was LONG!  When we arrived and took the horses off the lorry, their eyes lit up and when we turned them out in the arena whilst we set up they just ate and ate and ate!!  Although the horses love the long grass I knew it would be problematic come show time, especially during their dances.  Keeping them from eating during shows is hard enough at the best of times, but I knew temptation would be too much for them here!  We spent the evening running through the show with Chloe, which we're very good at now as we have now taught seven different girls what to do!

Come the morning Ben and Becca arrived with the Eagle and Vulture Team, and it's always nice having them at the same show.  There was plenty going on, and it was soon time for our shows.  Casper was up first as usual, and we'd done a lovely warm up but for some reason he was really excitable and went steaming in at a hundred miles an hour!  The first freestyle was quite interesting as he was still going fast, but I managed every move and he settled eventually.  And then it was time for his dancing.  And my earlier concerns turned out to be well founded as all he wanted to do was eat!  Every time I even took myself slightly away from his head (which is pretty frequently during the dance) he was straight down and stuffing his face.  All the audience seemed to think it was very funny, so we just had to go along with it and try not to get too annoyed with him!  I had the same problem during his games - especially when I threw his catch toy, it literally just vanished in the grass!  Aside from the mid show snacking, the show went through really well, and I was really pleased with Casper.

In between our shows there was lots going on in the arena.  My favourite was the fancy dress class, where there was loads of different costume combinations.  My particular favourite was the Tesco burger pony, who was being ridden by a chef and had an 'every little helps' sign on it's bottom!  Tinker really liked them as well, and he stood by the fence watching them all go by - he looked like one of the judges!

Before long it was Tink's turn.  As ususal he was really good - although even he attempted some mid show snacking as well, and he definitely knows better!  It was all going really well until the very end.  Tink had been quite lazy throughout the final freestyle and I was working really hard to keep him going at a decent pace.  I was standing up on him waving my fan and felt him slowing down so I gave him a good shout.  He normally ignores me but I must have sounded particularly convincing as he shot forwards causing me to go straight out the back door!  Whoops!!  I feel very silly, but I got back on and finished as I should - with no more shouting at Tinker!

We have got LOADS of photos from Slaley Show, as two different photographers both took lots.  I've put them all together into one album, so just click here to see them.

Next up is a bit of a road trip.  We're up in Scotland at Sanquhar Riding of the Marches on Saturday, before trucking down to Leicestershire for Ibstock Country Fair.  I'll let you know how we get on!

Love Rosie x

Garstang Show

Photo copyright Garstang Show

Back at the start of the month we all set off for Garstang Show.  It was the usual four of us, but we had Helen's sister Megan along to help this time.  We were due to perform our double act show - for the last time this year!  Last time we did it, back at Byfleet Parish Day, it went really well, so I was hoping for a repeat performance.  

On arrival we were met by a lady called Sally, and her two dogs Guess and What.  Sally took me up to see the arena, and it was an absolute monster!  Easily the biggest arena Casper would ever have seen, and probably one of the biggest for Tinker too.  Luckily it was divided up for the various showing sections, so I managed to arrange for some of the barriers to remain in place, meaning we would work at one end of the arena - right in front of the grandstand!

In the morning we had a really good warm up. I'm very lucky that Helen is able to warm the Tink up for me, as it means I can concentrate my efforts on Casper.  Megan lunged him for me and he was lovely to vault on, although this always makes me nervous for the show!  It was soon time to go up for the show, the only slight problem we encountered was the incredibly efficient stewards, who wouldn't let us go up to the arena as we didn't have our wristbands on.  Cue a quick sprint back to the lorry for Helen!  

As often happens where there's lots of showing classes the arena was running slightly behind schedule.  However, as we were only using half the arena it meant the next showing class could go on at the same time as our display.  I knew my two would be fine with it, but I was very impressed with the showing horses, as they had to contend with us whilst trying to put on their best showing effort.  At one point I was charging around doing Roman riding, with somebody doing their individual display - obviously not ideal for them, I hope they got extra marks for not being fazed by us!  It looked nice though, as the class was for coloured ridden horses, so they all fitted in nicely with my two!!

The show all went through really well, and I was especially pleased with the Roman riding as I'd put Casper back on the outside.  It makes sense as he has a longer stride than Tinker, but Tinker had taken exception to it back in May at Ilkley Carnival and I didn't want a repeat of that episode!  Now that Casper has more confidence he's more than capable of going on the outside and it worked well, so hopefully we can stay like this from now on.  

The crowd were brilliant all the way through, and clapped and cheered in all the right places which was lovely! Following the show we went for the meet and greet and were absolutely mobbed.  We must have been there for a good hour chattering to everybody, and we sold lots of horseshoes, posters and key rings.  We met a couple of local dignitaries, and had our photos taken with them, which I think have now made their way onto the Garstang Show website!  Everybody was so welcoming and friendly, I really hope it's a show we go back to another year.

It was quite a long way between the lorry and the arena, and unfortunately the trolley decided it just couldn't cope with the return journey - one of its wheels sheared clean off!  Luckily there was lots of young farmers to hand, and Helen soon press ganged a couple of them in to carrying all our props and kit back down to the lorry.  No mean feat when you have eight bases each weighing fifteen kilos, as well as all the other kit!

Next week we're up in Northumberland for Slaley Show.  Ben is going to be there with the Eagle and Vulture Team as well, and I always enjoy having him at shows with us so I'm looking forward to it.  I'll let you know how we get on, but in the meantime you can see some photos from Garstang by clicking here.

Love Rosie x

Tunstall Carnival

  
Well it was a few weeks ago now, but I've been that busy I'm only just writing about it now!  Saturday 27th July and myself, Helen, Tinker, Casper and (yet another new girl!) Carrie set off for Tunstall Carnival.  As we all know, it's been absolutely beautiful weather all summer, but just as we arrived on site the skies opened and it absolutely poured with rain!  Having set up as best we could (leaving as much as possible on the lorry), we settled down for the night.  

Unfortunately the stable tent has seen better days, and has pretty much lost all its waterproofness. So although the boys had a roof over their heads for the night, they were nonetheless pretty soggy come the morning.  In addition to this it sags all over and collects massive pools of water, meaning I had to get up in the night to empty it - not much fun!  A new marquee is top of my shopping list for next year!!

Thankfully by the morning the rain had eased off, and it actually came out quite nice for a while.  I had a really good morning practise on Casper, which I was especially pleased with as there was a fairground right next to us and he settled down very quickly.  Before too long it was time for the show, and unfortunately the rain started again just as we finished our warm up.  It then stopped again as we went into the arena and we thought our luck was in!  Casper was lovely, he did brilliant dancing and tricks, and was great to vault on. The arena was on a bit of a slope, which he normally uses as an excuse for naughtiness, but he held himself together beautifully so I was really pleased with him.  Towards the end of the show though our luck ran out.  Just as I started the explanation freestyle the rain came back - with a vengeance!  I haven't been rained on that heavily in a show (or at all in fact!) for years!  Casper took exception to it as well and kept trying to canter off.  I can hardly blame him, I'd have run away if I could.  However, it meant Helen had to lead him around so he stayed in walk, so not only were we all getting absolutely drenched, but I looked like I was on a lead rein too - not my best moment!  You can see from the little video below just how wet it was!

Unfortunately it really was too torrential to finish the show with the canter freestyle.  Especially with the arena slope it was just too dangerous.  We did canter round waving the fan to finish, and even though we'd lost most of the audience by that point, there were a remarkable number who stayed until the end clapping and cheering, albeit huddled together under umbrellas!  It had got to the point where we were all so wet it didn't really matter that it was raining any more.  By the time we'd got back to the tent, and the girls had packed the arena away we all looked like we'd been swimming.  We literally had to peel our costumes off, as well as everything else as we were all totally soaked to the skin.  Our make up didn't fair too well either and we all looked like very sad clowns!  Poor Carrie, it was her first day with us and not the best introduction.  Helen and I just kept apologising and telling her it usually is lots of fun, although I'm not sure she believed us!!

Not to worry, we're not made of sugar and we soon dried off.  We got into clean dry costume and I was just tacking Tinker up ready for a quick warm up before his display when we heard an announcement over the PA system that due to the weather they were cancelling the show, and thank you everyone for coming. Eeek! I raced up to see what was going on, and the organisers had in fact decided the ground conditions were too risky, and were already dismantling the arena.  It was such a shame, as of course the sun then came out and was blazing hot for the rest of the afternoon.  We were all very disappointed as we love doing the shows and it's always such a shame when events out of your control mean you are unable to.  I am very much hoping we will be able to return to Tunstall Carnival next year and be able to do two shows in glorious sunshine!  All the organisers were so lovely, so I hope for their sake as well next year is a scorcher.

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to dry everything out as best we could whilst also packing away, although I'll still be spending the next week desperately trying to sort out and clean everything up. One hundred metres of soggy bunting is an absolute nightmare!

Next up is Garstang Show, where we will be performing our double act again.  It went really well at Byfleet Parish Day and it'll be the last time we're performing the double act this season, so I'm hoping it'll go out on a high. I'll let you know soon!

Love Rosie x

Byfleet Parish Day and Hampsthwaite Feast

The team at Byfleet Parish Day

Friday afternoon found us heading out on the road again, this time southwards!  We were on our way to Byfleet Parish Day, where we were due to perform our double act show.  As well as Helen, Tinker, Casper and myself, we had a new girl join us for the weekend called Courtney.  Poor Courtney was being thrown in at the deep end, as she had never even seen one of our shows before, so to do the double act straight off was a big ask!  We were planning on talking through the show a few times once we were set up and settled, but that plan went out the window as soon as we arrived!

Having finally found the (very small!) gate onto the recreation ground, there was unfortunately nobody there to meet us.  We then found out that the gate was padlocked, so we couldn't get in.  As we'd been travelling for about six and a half hours we dropped the ramp and got the boys off, much to the dismay of some local residents - I doubt they'd seen horses unload in the middle of the road before!  Luckily there was a pedestrian entrance onto the field, so Helen and Courtney took the horses in whilst I waited with the lorry.  It was quite comical really, as although many of the committee members turned up, the one person with the key couldn't be found.  In the end they ended up cutting the padlock to open the gate, so after nearly an hour I managed to join the horses!

That was the only mishap for the weekend though.  We had a really good rehearsal in the morning, and we ran through with Courtney what she'd be doing in the show.  I had a little vault on Tinker, just to ensure he didn't anticipate any dismounts - I didn't want a repeat of Crosby Carnival!  I also vaulted on Casper, ran through both their dances and played all Casper's games with him as well as practising his rear.  Both of them were very very keen for the tricks, and I'm pretty sure it was down to the fact that I had a good selection of apples as opposed to the carrots I normally use - sometimes it helps to work part time in a Greengrocers!  My favourite part of the practise was the Roman riding - especially the jumping where I definitely got some height, as you can see in the photo below!

I was slightly nervous about the show given how naughty Casper had been the week before, but I needn't have worried.  Both the boys were absolutely superb, and it was definitely our best double act to date!  We had loads of fun, the only slightly difficult thing was that Helen and I only had one mic between the two of us.  Bit of a challenge, especially as it was a head mic, but Helen managed to race towards me every time it was my turn to talk, so other than a few pregnant pauses the show was almost perfect!

Next stop was Hampsthwaite Feast back up in Yorkshire, so having packed up and said our goodbyes to Byfleet it was back up the M1 for us.  It was quite a drive and we didn't get to Hampsthwaite until about 11pm.  Luckily the organiser, Geoff, was there to meet us, and showed us the (thankfully open!) gate into the field.  However, there were to be problems with this gate too, as the angle it was on was tight and there was only a very small space to try and manoeuvre the lorry through it.  The lorry is just over ten meters long and is quite wide as well, so getting through small gates in the dark at the end of a long day is no small feat!  We managed it relatively easily though, and our aim of being all set up and in bed by midnight was only missed by about five minutes.  Needless to say we all slept like logs, and it wasn't until everybody arrived on site in the morning and started putting up stalls and arenas and such like that we woke up!

We didn't have much space for warm up, so I was slightly concerned that Casper hadn't been able to have his bucks and farts.  I needn't have worried though, as he did his best show to date!  He was absolutely perfect, doing all his dancing, games and tricks beautifully, and was a pleasure to vault on - what a change from last weekend!  Tinker was also lovely, and even managed not to stop at any inappropriate times - no tumbles for me!  I was so happy with  how the displays went, they were possibly my favourite of the season so far.

It's funny how things happen in pairs though, not only had we had trouble with the gates at the entrance to both sites over the weekend but at Hampsthwaite, just as at Byfleet, once again Helen and I only had one mic between the two of us.  We managed again though, and even did a couple of microphone baton changes with me cantering past and handing the mic to Helen as I went!  It was a good job we'd had some practise the day before with just the one mic!

We didn't manage to get any photos from Hampsthwaite unfortunately, but you can see a few from Byfleet here.  Next weekend we're going to be at Tunstall Carnival on Sunday, so I'll let you know how we get on!

Love Rosie x

Kirkcudbright Country Fair and Crosby Carnival

Photo by Sam Kelly

 

Photo by Helen Gilbertson

Friday afternoon and Helen, Sophie, Tinker, Casper and myself headed back up to Scotland again, this time bound for Kirkcudbright Country Fair.  We had been booked to appear at Kirkcudbright last year, but unfortunately it was one of the shows which succumbed to the awful weather, so we were delighted to be asked back.  Although it was a two day show we had already been booked to appear at Crosby Carnival in Liverpool on the Sunday, so we would just be doing the one day at Kirkcudbright.  Luckily the Interesting and Unusual Team from Birds of Prey Displays were available on the Sunday, so Benji and I were going to be tag teaming!

We arrived and set up with no problems, and it was a really beautiful setting.  We were right next to the river overlooking an old railway bridge.  The field was large so we set up a good size paddock for the boys and let them wander about to stretch their legs.  However, it wasn't long before we realised the menace of Kirkcudbright - horse flies!  There were hundreds of them!  We soon learnt that the locals call the 'Cleggs'.  I doused the boys (and myself!) in fly spray, but it had little effect - Cleggs are savage!  Over the course of our twenty-four hour stay I must have killed about 150 of them, no exaggeration.  I even got a few double whammies, killing two with one swat!  

Come the morning we were ready to go, and the show had set up some beautiful stands and marquees.  The arena was the perfect size for us, and although it was on a slight slope I didn't think it would cause any problems.  Casper was a bit excitable at the start of his show, and struggled to concentrate throughout his dance - he was more focused on trying to get the flies away!  There's a little video up on YouTube of me vaulting on the excitable Casper, which you can see below.



Soon it was Tinker's turn, and things didn't go quite to plan at the very start!  I was introducing the show kneeling up in prince sit on his back, talking away down the mic and as we were cantering down the slope Tinker (very uncharacteristically I might add!) stumbled.  Eeek!  I went straight over his head, but somehow twisted in mid air and managed to land on my feet!  Tinker stopped dead and I think he was as surprised as I was to find myself standing up next to him rather than on his back!  'Well, that's not in the script Ladies and Gentlemen, we told you you'd see tricks you wouldn't believe, but that's not one of them!'  Back on I jumped and thankfully the rest of the show went really well!  There was so many lovely things at the show, and aside from our photos there is lots on flickr!

Before long we were packed up and trucking back down south, although only to Liverpool so not too far!  We arrived for Crosby Carnival not too late, and were soon in place with the horses off the lorry.  The site is a primary school field, and we were informed that as the field was totally enclosed we could just let the horses go - so we did!  Typically, the first thing they did was head off to the playground to clatter about, before climbing the mound surrounding the school to survey the area.  They had a bit of a charge about, but soon settled down to the serious task of eating.  Standard.

In the morning I took Casper into the arena for a practise, and he was foot perfect.  He was lovely to vault on, and did his full dance and all his games beautifully.  This always makes me slightly nervous, and unfortunately when the time came for his show he didn't behave quite so well!  He did a couple of unscheduled laps of the arena on his own, although he did come back and was very good to vault on afterwards - I just think he needed to let off a bit of steam!  Either that or he was determined to go and meet the donkeys that were there - he's always fascinated by them!

Tinker's show was once again lovely, although I took another tumble!  I haven't fallen off in a show for ages and ages, and then to do it twice in one weekend...  This time it was entirely Tinker's vault, no excuses!  I was at the end of my first freestyle and I usually do a big jump off from stand to finish.  Tinker is very good at stopping dead as soon as I dismount, and is usually stopped by the time I hit the ground.  However, the little monkey pre-empted my dismount by about two strides, so whilst I was happily standing up on his back, waving at the crowd and just about to jump off, he just stopped.  Dead.  Straight over his head I went again, this time with quite a bit of speed!  I'm not quite sure how I did it but I managed to turn the fall into a rolypoly before jumping to my feet and presenting.  I got a big round of applause, and having spoken to quite a few people afterwards it seems nobody even realised that wasn't what was supposed to happen!  I don't think I'll be putting it in the show as a permanent fixture though...

We had so much lovely feedback from people at both shows over the weekend, so we were really happy.  All the audiences were great, clapping and cheering in all the right places, and we met some lovely folk at both shows - so thank you if you were there.  We only got a couple of photos at Crosby unfortunately, but you can see them here.

We've another road trip next weekend, although this one's a longer haul.  We're off down to Byfleet on Friday which is just inside the M25, and will be performing our double act show at Byfleet Parish Day on Saturday.  Then we'll be packing up and trucking back up north, ready to perform at Hampsthwaite Feast on the Sunday.  I'll let you know how we get on!

Love Rosie x