Mongolia here we come!

Off to Mongolia for this year's Brooke sponsored ride in two days time! Very excited! Need to remember what to take and get packing.

I'll write up a full diary with photos when I get back.

It's not too late to sponsor me. Just go to http://www.justgiving.com/chantalcornelius2009

Thank you to all my clients!

In my last post I told you about my 'VAT refund' fundraising idea. It worked and between my clients they helped me raise about £100 for The Brooke.

Who says that fundraising should be difficult?!

Raising Money with Lifting a Finger

This week I came up with a great fundraising scheme that will help raise about £150 for The Brooke without anyone having to do anything.

I run my own business and most of my clients pay by monthly standing order. In December we didn't have time to change their standing orders to meet the clever Chancellor's idea to reduce VAT. We were going to send refunds to all our clients until I asked them if I could roll all the little amounts (ranging from £1.00 to £10.00) into one donation. My clients have already paid the money, so they won't miss it; by combining the small amounts, the overall amount will make a difference.

Thank you to all my lovely clients who have agreed to take part!

Thursday 10 July: The Final Leg

This morning it occurred to us, as we were driving back to Darkwood Farm, that we’d left the girls with complete strangers last night. But we needn’t have worried. They were safe and well, having enjoyed a good night and good grass. The sun was shining, our kit was dry and this was our final day. Spirits were high.

We waved goodbye to Ian and Josie and their wonderful Suffolk Punches. We’ll be back next year to take part in Ian’s Pint to Pint – if you’d like to join us for a tour round local pubs, from the comfort of a horse drawn wagon, to help us raise more money for The Brooke, then get in touch!

To get back to the Swan’s Way, we rode through Ewelme Park. Wide grassy tracks alongside fields of ripening corn. Sunshine and fluffy clouds. We passed Watlington to our left – it was strange to see places we know, that we usually only see from the road. Today we were seeing them from a completely different angle, as the Swan’s Way and the Ridgeway merge together. A lovely long, steady canter as we head towards the tunnel under the motorway. If you drive out of London along the M40, you’ll come to a huge cutting blasted through the hills. As you come out of the cutting, look down to the left and you’ll see a grass track between two hedges. That’s the Ridegeway! We rode on until we couldn’t hear the thundering traffic anymore and then stopped for lunch. Grass for the girls and squashed sandwiches for us.

I’m not sure why the Ridgeway carries on here, as most of the time we weren’t anywhere near a ridge. We were actually riding along the bottom of a line of hills for most of the afternoon, until we got close to Bledlow. A canter through the beech woods and suddenly we came out into the sunshine, looking down on fields of purple! I still don’t know what this plant is or why it’s being grown commercially – if you know, please tell me!

On the edge of the village there’s a pub with a nice green in front of it. If you’d happened to have been passing at about 3pm on Thursday 10 July 2008 you’ll have spotted two horses, two large piles of tack and kit and two weary riders enjoying a quick drink. The sun was shining and it was great to reach our final destination, in once piece.

We didn’t have to wait long before our wonderful ‘team’ arrived – Karen’s parents towing my trailer. They also brought with them certificates, gorgeous rosettes and a bottle of bubbly! They’d already done so much to help us during the week and still pulled out the stops to help us celebrate our achievements. What a great way to finish!

Home for a long hot bath and some time off for the girls!

The Next Event - Mongolia 2009

I'm really excited because I've just signed up to do the Brooke ride in Mongolia in June next year!

There's a lot of money to raise - over £3000 - but it's going to be worth it for the adventure and the scenery! Click here to take a look at the website and get more information.

Wednesday 9 July: Wet, wet wet!

It was raining when we brought the girls in and started to tack them up. It was raining when we set off and rode out of Compton. It was still raining when we reached Darkwood Farm in Park Corner, near Nettlebed. That means that it rained all day, without stopping and it means that today we all got extremely wet.

Back up to the Ridgeway we went, before heading down into towards Streatley. The Ridgeway drops down into Goring Gap, leaving behind the stunning, wide reaching views. Roads, traffic and traffic lights. Trucks, long bridges over the River Thames, scary coloured concrete – Bee was more worried about the concrete than the thousands of gallons of water rushing beneath her feet!

Our next stop was at the Vet’s in Goring, where my friend Vic works. A toilet stop and a box of chocolates! Thanks for the support and encouragement, Vic!

We rode out of Goring, following a track to the village of South Stoke. Here, for some reason, the Ridgeway becomes a footpath. We were expecting this and had discovered a route called the Swan’s Way, which follows the Ridgeway as closely as it can through this stretch. Under the railway, trot along the main road and turn right (or east) towards Ipsden. Cross the main Wallingford to Reading road (the gap on the other side of the road isn’t that easy to see!)

Heading north again we crossed the Ridgeway again – definitely a footpath, with gates and all. So we ride north until we nearly reach the Wallingford to Henley road. By now we’re soaked through, even through our waterproof chaps over our waterproof jodhpurs. We can wring the water out of our gloves and when we trot, our boots and socks squelch as they’re so full of water! I haven’t been this wet since I had a shower last night!

We should have crossed the road and followed the Swan’s Way through a tip, but had to take a detour. We’d struggled to find anywhere for the girls to stay in the Nettlebed area, so were heading for Darkwood Farm. I found this wonderful place, owned by Ian and Josie Victor Smith, after I’d made nearly a dozen phone calls. A lovely chap at a former B&B nearby said he thought Ian had Shire horses and perhaps a field. He even found Ian’s number from the phone book for me. When I’d called Ian, just a few days before we set off on our adventure, he told me he had seven Suffolk Punches and a field for the girls.

Soaking wet, tired and hungry, we arrived at Darkwood Farm to be met by Ian and Josie, waving us through the gate – what a lovely welcome. They have a beautiful house and a wonderful old stable into which we put the girls, to allow them to dry off. While we waited for the support crew to arrive, Josie made us tea and insisted we sit in their sitting room and warm up. We left wet foot prints all over their stone floor, but the hot tea was lovely! When John and Joyce arrived, more tea was made and sticky Lardy produced. Sometimes you come across the most wonderful, friendly people, who will do whatever they can, for complete strangers. Ian and Josie Victor Smith are two of those rare people and I will never forget them.

We also owe a huge vote of thanks to Nan McDonnell at ‘Somerset’ in Nettlebed, where Karen and I spent the night. Not only did she dry out our wet clothes and feed us a wonderful breakfast, but she also gave us back some of what we paid for our B&B, to donate to The Brooke. Thank you!

And another major thank you to the support crew, for supper in the pub and for drying out so much of our soaking wet kit.

Tuesday 8 July: Darby, Joan and all their friends

It seemed a shame to leave Penny’s wonderful haven, but we enjoyed a great breakfast, before heading back to the Ridgeway. Soon we found ourselves riding into scenery that seemed very familiar. Both Karen and I have lived, walked and ridden around this middle section of the Ridgeway for many years, and started to recognise tracks and hills.

We passed by Sedgebury Fort, a small earthwork on the hill above Wantage, as well as farms and homes that have the Ridgeway as part of their front drives! We crossed the two roads that head south out of Wantage and close to the second, we passed the Darby and Joan club (except that they were made up entirely of Joans) out for a ramble. They were wandering happily all over the track, completely unaware that we were there, until we took to the long grass to get around them. Soon after the girls were spooked by a herd of screaming children racing down a field towards us. Across the road above the Lockinge Point to Point course and we met a group of teenagers, some of whom I don’t think had ever actually seen a horse before. When your horse stops to go to the toilet and someone asks you “Is that poo?” you know you could be in trouble. Luckily the teacher told his class to stand still as we went by. He also warned us about another group who we’d meet sitting on the steps of the Monument (a monument to what I don’t know) but they at least didn’t scream and try to catch up with us!

Up until now the weather had been wonderful – warm and sunny with enough breeze to keep the clouds moving over us. What Karen didn’t tell me was that black clouds were building behind us. We stopped for lunch and grazing at the car park above East Hendred.

We’d not been standing under the trees for very long when the rain started. It’s only a shower. It’s still raining. It’s getting heavier. Now I’m getting quite wet. Bee’s head is going lower, showing that she’s not enjoying this either. It’s running down my neck and seeping through the shoulders of my jacket. Finally it’s beginning to ease off. Let’s get back on and just keep going.

We mount up and ride out of the trees – into sunshine! Within about 10 minutes our horses and clothes are dried out and our spirits raised. We ride on to the car park at Bury Down and meet the support crew, who take photos and cheer us along. From up here we looked down onto Alden Farm in Upton where Pattie, Karen’s horse, lives. She got quite excited when she realised where she was (Pattie, not Karen!) and let out a very audible sigh of complaint when she realised that we weren’t heading down the hill to home.

From up here we could also see the rest of today’s route, as it headed right and then left and north east. It seemed like a long way, particularly as I knew that at the furthest point to the north east, we would have to turn south and head to my house – another half hour’s ride – in Compton. But we’d got the hang of trotting wherever we could, so we made good time and soon turned for home. Bee picked up and soon as she realised where we were going and it wasn’t long before we were walking down the lane, able to see my house, stables and paddock across my neighbours land. It was great to be home!

If you decide to ride the Ridgeway and need somewhere to stay around here, do get in touch. I have enough grazing for two and a stable for one (unless its winter when my horse will be in it.) I’m happy to give you a lift to wherever you can find to stay – I think one of the pubs in the next village does B&B.

For now, it was good to be home and over half way through our little adventure.