Well... where to start? An awful lot has happened on the yard since my last proper update! I never get home before supper time at best, and even then overdue paperwork and bills await me as well as hungry mouths of working pupils, guests and housemates. By the time I try to write my blog I fall asleep at the computer and really need to get a minimum few hours sleep before the following day!
Italian young rider Isabella helped me in the spring, but then went back to Italy at the end of May, she had been rather unlucky with her mare, but I felt there could have been plenty to achieve in the second half of the season to make the whole visit worthwhile, had she stayed. Anyway, I was certainly going to miss her company and excellent help! But short term I had a bit of a panic as I only had ten days notice to sort a new housemate, yard helper and livery! 
Luckily things stretched to two weeks so I then only had one week to cover on my own before my friend Toria came to the rescue for the month of June. That week was a rather wearing one! Plenty of late ends to the day but at least I was lucky enough to be helped by another friend, Serena, the day I was running 3 horses at Aston le Walls, she did brilliantly and the three BE100s were all placed.
Toria is a very dear friend of mine and it was a real treat having her company for a month, she responded to my facebook plea for help and came to the rescue after finishing her degree. Sadly she couldn't stay long term, though the saving grace was that we would both be saved a 'fat' ending, as we love all the same food and were getting badly addicted to sugary mango and lemon drizzle cake inbetween large feasts of steak from her family's herd of cattle! We had a lovely chatty month together and her young horse Hector made great progress, we also had a few laughs teasing the boys at home, as were had two Toms and two Victorias living in the same house, most confusing for everyone else! Thank goodness for nicknames!
Nina, who I have taught in the pony club in the past sent me her horse, George, during her exams. I had introduced him to eventing last year for his previous owners before Nina bought him. He can be good fun to ride but had had the odd naughty moment more recently so I had a good time bossing him around a few months! I gave him a few successful runs to get him ready for Nina's busy pony club holiday schedule! She also came to be a working pupil for a couple of weeks with was a great treat as she is fun company and very efficient on the yard. Nina and Tor got on well too so we all had a good time, especially on my yard open day / housewarming - it was a beautiful sunny Sunday and 
lots of friends came to visit the immaculately scrubbed stable yard and hear a little presentation on each horse followed, of course, by a party in my cottage. In hindsight Sundays are not the best choice as several people end up failing to attend due to hangovers, but I suppose it meant things didn't get too late and messy that night!
I again ended up with a week gap between working pupils but this time Rhona came to the rescue. She is Bug's biggest fan and may not have realised what she was letting herself into when she agreed to come and stay after a drink or two at my yard open day! She brought her delightful 30yr old pony Flight who so loved the green Cotswold fields it took half an hour to load him in the trailer when the time came to go home! Rhona did brilliantly - 
quite a full yard meant rather more mucking out and riding than she was used to so she became very fit in a few days and left with strong resolutions to keep things up at home! I also had to persuade her not to pamper each horse too diligently or we would never finish, but Bug did of course get treated to several one-to-one pamper sessions and rescued from boredom in the field with the retired horses he considers to be riff-raff! The climax of her visit was Pennyz debut at Intermediate level with the second place at Glanusk (recounted in my previous blog entry). I also owe Rhona a great photographic service!
Rachael helped me for July, yet another wonderful working pupil... she is only 16 and lives in Orkney and despite never even having had her own pony she rides absolutely beautifully! She has a great seat, quiet 
hands and a good feel so she is one of the very few people who could cope hacking bouncy Pennyz at full fitness! A relief for me as it occasionally gave me a break from having to get seasick being bounced about by her out hacking. As the season goes on and she gets fitter she gets more of a handful at home and flatwork goes right off the menu, she is firmly convinced she is a racehorse and would like to join Richard Phillips's string when we pass them in the morning! Luckily she is quite different at events providing I don't make her endure more than ten minutes dressage warm-up, but it does mean getting things right in the ring without much practice outside! Anyhow Rachael was brilliant, so independant and great at getting on with things, as well as very convincing in her willingness to sleep on the mattress in the sitting room, as during much of her stay I had to leave the spare room to paying guests. Another string to Rachael's bow is a talent for neck and shoulder massage...I miss her!
Unfortunately I only managed to kidnap her 'till Gatcombe, a great note to finish on as Pennyz was 6th in the Novice Championships! A respectable dressage despite a hailstorm, a lovely show jumping round with just an unfortunate pole on the last planks that everyone else had down (annoying, as she normally only has a pole down when I do something stupid) and an exhilarating cross country round (she flew round 2 secs inside the time - not bad for Gatcombe hills) which made for a thrilling day and a very excited owner.
Sadly Rachael has now had to go back to school, but I am sure I can tempt her back from Orkney next year! Luckily I have a great replacement in Roxy, who has only been with me a week but is learning very fast and getting on very well with everyone, she even gets a proper bedroom as I have had the garage converted to provide extra accommodation so that I can keep the two spare rooms in the cottage rented out full time, so Roxy has a retreat when she gets bored of us as well as a proper bed to sleep in! I have been lucky with so many lovely helpers coming to the rescue, the downside is that at each changeover the new arrival needs a while to adjust to the workload, it takes a while to get faster and more time efficient as well as coping with my long hours of fitness hacking so I am delighted Roxy can stay the rest of the season which will allow me to concentrate more on the horses and not worry about helping newcomers get to know the yard.