Anastasia
Well-Known Member
Had the greatest pleasure of spending the last two days (i.e. Thurs/Fri) with Horsegroupie, Mat_B & AndyPandy.
Firstly I can honestly say I have never met such a lovely, generous, un-selfish and caring group of individuals. Horsegroupie is a REAL STAR, as she picked me and my OH up from Luton Airport and did two 3 hour trips on Thursday, and then repeated the feat yesterday to drop us off again. I still cannot thank you enough for doing what you did, as living in the North-East of Scotland it was a rather new experience seeing the traffic on the M4 & M25!!!
We had the privalege of watching her lovely young stallion "Teddy" compete with Mat on Thursday. The people and facilities were brilliant, and Mat and Teddy did really well.
Our trip south was two-fold. One to meet people I have spoken with for a long time, and secondly because Mat now has our lovely young stallion Vision. So we were desperate to see how he was doing...and we were not disappointed in any way.
We are very pleased with how Vision is looking and he seems very very happy in his current home. In fact I dont think he was that bothered about us being there at all....
. Mat is doing a fantastic job and we are extremely pleased with his progress. A lot of things have improved with him although we realise that more has still to be done before we have his first outing...
The weather was awful over the two days which was very disappointing for me as I was there to take pictures and video. We could do nothing outside and my camera was not happy with the lighting inside, so both were very limited, which for me was very annoying and something I could not hide (and I am sure the others will agree...as I sat on a little box muttering and swearing at myself...
). I will post some pictures although the quality is not the best...
Obviously being from Scotland we got the blame for the disgusting weather, but saying that I am sitting today in blue skies and sun..
The funniest two things of the whole trip was firstly Horsegroupies navigation skills, and she knew I was going to say this.......ha ha ha ha ha. Lets just say we know the M1 very well now, and I quickly realised that I had to speak up loudly when traffic came to a halt in front of us, or when we missed our exits........ha ha ha ha ha
It was very funny, and bless my OH, he just sat in the back and did not say much.....which is NOT like him...
Secondly was the appetite of Mat (sorry Mat..LOL
). I can honestly say it was the first time ever I have been out for a meal (and it not be a buffet) where somebody has munched their way through two starters.....
Although I was disappointed you did not manage the pudding....
I have come to the conclusion that you must have the metabolism of a cheetah...
since there is nothing of you..
AP was also super company and we had a great chat on the way back from the competition, while trying to persuade his Jack Russell that the back seat was far more comfortable for him than my lap..
It was also great being able to stay with Mat and AP in their very nice cottage, so that we were on site and able to see Vision as much as we could, without getting in their way. I felt very guilty standing watching you all mucking out, and really wish I could have helped you out....
...honest I would have really..
It was very very sad to say "goodbye" to Vision. Its very hard for us to have our horse so far away from home and not be able to see him regularly, although we realise that he is in very good hands. But we did shed a tear and I have to admit I was rather down when sitting at Luton airport waiting to fly home, but this was purely down the fact that I know we wont see him as often as I would like and that we will miss out on much of his progress and competitions.
All in all it was an action packed two days with a great group of people, where some laughs were had...although I am sure that Mat and AP were trying to be on their best behaviour on our account...but I could see your cheeky sides waiting to burst..
. Horsegroupie was also a laugh and I could not help myself but have some fun with her on arrival at Luton...PMSL
..and loved her sign..
I certainly hope that we were not a burden on you all too much, and will make sure we stay longer next time, as we are just shattered today!! It did not help that we had the flight from hell last night coming into Aberdeen. It was rather windy with us and the plane was listing from one side to another as we approached the runway, and we actually landed at an angle. Its the first plane where as we landed the whole cabin errupted into applause and cheering!! The cabin crew said on landing "Welcome to Aberdeen, the local time is 7.40pm and "yes" we are alive!!"
We are definately looking forward to coming down in 4-5 weeks time again (where we will stay for a few days) and "hopefully" we will be fortunate to have some nice weather and make use of the wonderful outdoor facilities that are on offer, as the place is gorgeous.
We also look forward to seeing you all up in Scotland as well and will show you some Scottish hospitality..
Firstly I can honestly say I have never met such a lovely, generous, un-selfish and caring group of individuals. Horsegroupie is a REAL STAR, as she picked me and my OH up from Luton Airport and did two 3 hour trips on Thursday, and then repeated the feat yesterday to drop us off again. I still cannot thank you enough for doing what you did, as living in the North-East of Scotland it was a rather new experience seeing the traffic on the M4 & M25!!!
We had the privalege of watching her lovely young stallion "Teddy" compete with Mat on Thursday. The people and facilities were brilliant, and Mat and Teddy did really well.
Our trip south was two-fold. One to meet people I have spoken with for a long time, and secondly because Mat now has our lovely young stallion Vision. So we were desperate to see how he was doing...and we were not disappointed in any way.
We are very pleased with how Vision is looking and he seems very very happy in his current home. In fact I dont think he was that bothered about us being there at all....
The weather was awful over the two days which was very disappointing for me as I was there to take pictures and video. We could do nothing outside and my camera was not happy with the lighting inside, so both were very limited, which for me was very annoying and something I could not hide (and I am sure the others will agree...as I sat on a little box muttering and swearing at myself...
Obviously being from Scotland we got the blame for the disgusting weather, but saying that I am sitting today in blue skies and sun..
The funniest two things of the whole trip was firstly Horsegroupies navigation skills, and she knew I was going to say this.......ha ha ha ha ha. Lets just say we know the M1 very well now, and I quickly realised that I had to speak up loudly when traffic came to a halt in front of us, or when we missed our exits........ha ha ha ha ha
Secondly was the appetite of Mat (sorry Mat..LOL
AP was also super company and we had a great chat on the way back from the competition, while trying to persuade his Jack Russell that the back seat was far more comfortable for him than my lap..
It was also great being able to stay with Mat and AP in their very nice cottage, so that we were on site and able to see Vision as much as we could, without getting in their way. I felt very guilty standing watching you all mucking out, and really wish I could have helped you out....
It was very very sad to say "goodbye" to Vision. Its very hard for us to have our horse so far away from home and not be able to see him regularly, although we realise that he is in very good hands. But we did shed a tear and I have to admit I was rather down when sitting at Luton airport waiting to fly home, but this was purely down the fact that I know we wont see him as often as I would like and that we will miss out on much of his progress and competitions.
All in all it was an action packed two days with a great group of people, where some laughs were had...although I am sure that Mat and AP were trying to be on their best behaviour on our account...but I could see your cheeky sides waiting to burst..
I certainly hope that we were not a burden on you all too much, and will make sure we stay longer next time, as we are just shattered today!! It did not help that we had the flight from hell last night coming into Aberdeen. It was rather windy with us and the plane was listing from one side to another as we approached the runway, and we actually landed at an angle. Its the first plane where as we landed the whole cabin errupted into applause and cheering!! The cabin crew said on landing "Welcome to Aberdeen, the local time is 7.40pm and "yes" we are alive!!"
We are definately looking forward to coming down in 4-5 weeks time again (where we will stay for a few days) and "hopefully" we will be fortunate to have some nice weather and make use of the wonderful outdoor facilities that are on offer, as the place is gorgeous.
We also look forward to seeing you all up in Scotland as well and will show you some Scottish hospitality..
