This week has been memorable as yard jockey Khia and I took an inpromptu trip to France to see a four-star event horse that was being advertised on Horsequest. We arrived in Paris on Tuesday night and, of course, had to make the most of our one night there, as the photo shows!

In the morning we were slightly regretting our exuberance of the evening before, but the two-and-a-half hour journey by car gave us time to prepare ourselves for the important part of our trip… We met a lovely family who had owned this horse for two years and they were very excited by our ambitions for her. We are hoping that she will be Khia’s ride for the Young Rider Europeans in August, should she make the squad. The mare has such a lovely temperament and loves her cross-country jumping. She has competed at Badminton, Burghley and Luhmuhlen (to name a few) with Ruth Edge and was just what we were looking for, even if Khia struggled to sit to her massive trot – although I did wonder if this had anything to do with a sore head!

Flower, or Marsh Mayfly, arrives this weekend and the slogan of the week is flower power! Her arrival will also make a fabulous birthday treat for Khia, who turns 21 tomorrow. Don’t worry, we’ve already cracked open the bubbly.

Last week we had Francis and Bryony Whittington, Jason Webb, Janine Lamy and Damian Hallan visiting and we have had lots of positive feedback from our clients. Check out our website for future dates . On top of that we also fit in an affiliated dressage competition which was well attended as usual.

Yard jockey Khia came back from Australia and we are making plans for this year which includes trying to get to the Young Rider Europeans. Watch this space!!

Remember “the glass is always half full” or in other words “always look on the bright side of life”.

We must be thankful for all the wonderful things we have. I am thankful for many things in my life and Bedgebury has a great deal to do with that. So… I would like to propose a toast to Bedgebury Park. Cheers!!

The biggest challenge of the day was dealing with the building works. Had to make an executive decision about one the cottages and the work required to bring it into the twenty first centure.

I have decided that working on Bedgebury is like climbing Mt Everest. It feels like that kind of immense challenge. Every step forward is a step closer to the top but every step is as difficult as the last. Hopefully, once we reach the top the way down gives us an incredible sense of achievement.

The difficulty with keeping my life simple is that I aspire to great things (fortunately for Bedgebury). This weekend could attest to that. On Saturday my daughter Natasha, Bedgebury Park instructor Emma and I flew to Dusseldorf to look at a horse. We visited the training centre for the German Equestrian team with Andrew Hoy, who has been to eight Olympic games and won three gold medals. The facility was amazing, especially the cross-country course on the all-weather surface. Can you imagine that at Bedgebury? Andrew Hoy was very down to earth and Emma and I had a great time chatting with him. Hopefully he will come and visit us soon!

Meanwhile, back at the yard my two-year-old stallion, Disco, has arrived. I bought him for his name – he can join the party any time. He is the third horse I have bought by the same sire, Elroon, and he is absolutely beautiful.

On Sunday we went to Nursted Horse Trials and Natasha had her best result ever – not bad for a girl who does it all by herself. I wonder what would happen if we had a trainer like Andrew Hoy…

I went back up to Badminton on Monday and met even more interesting people. It would be amazing to have an Olympic team based at Bedgebury Park for 2012, so hopefully something will come of my networking.

I have also developed my own philosophy, which centres around the idea of ‘honourable horsemanship’. I am introducing my new strategy to the yard staff today, so watch this space!

It has been another busy week. My daughter Tash and I visited Oli Townend on Monday - Tash tried some great horses and we had a good laugh. Oli’s story about his monkey Marmaduke was classic…

On Tuesday morning I had an early start, filming on the cross-country course with Sharon Hunt and Scott Brickell. The water jump is going to be amazing. We were filming the diggers working at Bedgebury Park and also at my home, as I am working with Crown Pavilions to market both their beautiful pavilions and Bedgebury’s glorious facilities.

The rest of Tuesday was spent at Bedgebury with Horse & Hound, as some of the horses on the yard were modelling for their summer rug shoot. It was a lovely day and the photographer, Steve Dawes, had a great sense of humour which kept us all amused, as modelling can be surprisingly hard work!

I have saved the best for last. I went up to Badminton yesterday afternoon for a cocktail party, as Crown Pavilions is one of the main sponsors of the members’ enclosure, but little did I know that the function was actually in Badminton house. My first time at Badminton and I was a guest of Lord and Lady Beaufort… not bad going.

I met lots of interesting people, but I must tell you that I had a dream come true when I met the Chef d’Equipe of the Canadian Equestrian Eventing Team. I have dreamt about finding a connection to the Canadian team and I guess I did.

I also had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners of Stevenson Brothers, who make beautiful rocking horses in Bethersden, Kent - and as you can see, I have now had a ride at Badminton!