Horse
Real life
The cyclist was on the wrong side of the road coming towards me head-on. It was a winding country lane…
Real life
My favourite vet came to see Darcy and immediately put his finger on the problem. Dusk was falling when he…
Real life
‘You coming to help us poo pick?’ said my friend Terry, in a desperate sounding voice message. The builder boyfriend…
The turf
‘Some of our players can hardly write their names,’ moaned one leading football manager. ‘But you should see them add…
Real life
When the vet had finished giving my horses their annual flu boosters, she reminded me the vaccination regime had changed.…
Real life
The horse lorry arrived and lowered its ramp — and I stood in front of it knowing that my thoroughbred…
Real life
A saloon car pulled up opposite our fields and a man sat there looking at the horses with a bewildered…
Real life
‘We’re closed for lunch,’ said the farmer, sitting behind the counter of his farm shop with a scowl on his…
The turf
Combing through race recordings to try to find some fun horses for Spectator readers this summer, I have been struck…
Real life
The rope riders came down the driveway slowly, their horses veering this way and that, side to side, forwards a…
The turf
Hearing that the Queen has both a real and an official birthday, a small boy asked the obvious question: ‘Does…
The turf
Greville Starkey’s great victories as a jockey included the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Star Appeal at 119-1. In…
Real life
Pretty Man was a plump white pony in the forefront of a sad picture. The photograph showed the seizure by…
Low life
My French friend André speaks perfect English and is the kindest of men. After reading last week about my futile…
Real life
Every time I get on a horse I have to face the likelihood that a dog, or pack of dogs,…
Real life
The two horses looked like they had never seen anything like it. They had wound up in a dark car…
Real life
When people ask me what I did during lockdown, I would like to give an inspiring answer, apart from growing…
The Turf
Every time the Cheltenham Festival looms, I recall a remarkable experience. It was already 25 years since Dawn Run’s recovery…
The turf
I was once at a racing dinner in York where a distinguished clergyman in attendance was invited to say grace.…
How my new pony swept me off my feet – literally
‘This is the one I was thinking of for you,’ said the lady I might feasibly call my mother-in-law, in…
The battle for the future of Flat racing
The master plan in acquiring our flatcoat retriever puppy Damson was that as folk no longer with full-time jobs we…
The strange case of six missing horse rugs
The night after the fireworks display the barn was raided and our horse rugs were taken. Good job I’ve watched…
![[Photo: middelveld]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2Novreallife.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
I’m getting another horse — but it’s not for me
Sitting on the train to Surrey, I was halfway home and texted the builder boyfriend to say when I would…
In the middle of our holiday came the phone call I was dreading
Just before Tara left us, the old chestnut mare used to enjoy standing at the bottom gate watching the sun…
The EU has banned a miracle cure for laminitis
Once upon a time, in a country that didn’t run itself, a horse supplement company invented a cure for laminitis.…
