Well, I know that England has a bit of a reputation for being a damp sort of a place, but that is why we have such fantastic grass and why we appreciate sunny days so much. In reality, it is unusual to have rain that lasts all day. This past weekend is a case in point. Saturday I was a Fence Judge at a local Event. Waking up in the morning, the first action was to look at social media to check whether or not the event had been cancelled after the deluge over the previous days. It was still on, so off we went. At Calmsden, the turf had a smear of watery surface mud that made driving on site in a small red car a bit of a challenge but we stayed in first gear, windscreen wipers working hard, and successfully made our way out to our fence for the day. Perching the car at the top of a hill, there was a fine view down a sinuous Cotswold valley, with interlocking spurs of rough grassland flowing into the far distance, the field margins picked out in stone walls and patches of woodland. Even the grazing cattle were a really pretty mix of colours. The surprise was that there was water running in the bourne - an occasional river - which added yet more charm to the landscape. As predicted by the local weather forecast, by 10 o'clock the rain stopped, the clouds lifted and eventually a watery sun pushed through. The ground, on limestone ‘cotswold brash’ soil, proved to be almost perfect for the horses. They barely cut into a grass sward that had probably been grazed by medieval sheep. Six sections ran, more than 250 horses jumping. By home time, the ground had dried out so much there was no risk of getting stuck or skidding and the tractors by the exit gate were idle as the horseboxes didn’t need to be towed out. Sunday, it was all cancelled due to overnight rain. Fortunately, my planned day was a two hour hack to be followed by a traditional Sunday roast lunch. It was bucketing down first thing so I searched out all my wet weather riding gear and then set off. By the time I arrived on the yard, the rain had stopped and the temperature was mild enough that some of us even rode without a coat. The woods were particularly beautiful: dripping, aromatic and full of colour as the leaves are just turning. Lots of deer were out and about but the horses politely ignored them. The grassy rides were soft and the squelching sound of many hooves was a constant, together with chatter and laughter from the riders, but again the going was ideal for the horses and they all had a lovely time. Lunch was really good too, afterwards.