My family – minus the hairy, four-legged members – spent the past week on the East
Mom, Rain, Dad, Pix and Tom
Coast, visiting our weird and wonderful grandparents, Tom and Pixie, and their pets, a Ridgeback named Rusty and two cats called Itzi and Scrappy.
The courageous members of the family – from left to right, Pixie, Rain, Tom and Dad – braving the cold while Mom and I, bundled in jackets, watched from a safe distance
It was brilliant seeing Tom and Pix again; both are the best grandparents you could ever have, being young at heart, playful, and wise. Tom’s extreme patience and skill were evident as he taught me how to sail Horizon Unbound II, a boat shorter than its name, and Pixie’s endless games of Rummy and delectable dishes kept us all fed and entertained.
I have never been one for swimming so spent only one hour in the water all week, splashing in the warm Indian Ocean, bogey-boarding and getting dumped, half-drowned, bruised and stiff, which is a lot of fun in the right circumstances. Sailing, first introduced to me by my Canadian penpal, turned out to be something I absolutely adore when I got over my abject terror of being squashed by the rampant boom. I may add that the only sailing took place on the lagoon, which is no deeper than I am tall. There were no mishaps apart from running aground on the rocks but all we did was push HU2 back into the water and off we went. Very slowly.
Happiness is a dog on the beach
On Saturday we all charged off to visit Midas-Touch Stud, a prestigious Warmblood stud owned by the very kind Charne Pestana. I was like a six-year-old on a sugar kick. For years I loved Warmbloods from a distance and this would be the first time I’d come face-to-face with the blue bloods.
Most beautiful of all is Dream in Gold, the handsome palomino stallion. He’s amazing and he sure knows it.
A prince among horses
This elegant black mare, Tabella, was very friendly.
Drop-dead gorgeous
And this pinto mare has such a noble head, plus the striking colouring.
- Pride
It was a real treat seeing the Midas-Touch horses. If I could afford one, I would buy it without even thinking. Unfortunately, I can’t. One yearling is probably worth more than all the members of Skye’s Horde put together. Still, it’s nice to dream.
And besides, I have the golden horse with the golden heart. For something that special, golden medals can wait.
Clothed with Thunder 