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Week 8 18th June – 24th June, Martley
to Shrivenham, 79 miles
On Monday morning we drove out to Martley to walk Marv the
6 miles to Worcester where he would be spending the night
in my Uncles garden. As usual we received a very vocal greeting;
Marv was standing at the gate and pawing the ground, all good
signs that he was raring to go. He had had a very enjoyable
few days off, and was noticeably more relaxed. He even had
a little belly on him! As we were walking, all we had with
us was the bridle, so tacking up did not take long. A token
grooming saw the worst of the muck off Marv, not that he cared.
It was then a very big thank you to Shelia who had looked
after him over the break before walking out of the farm.
The route was one I had ridden many times as a horse-mad kid,
so for once Grant did not need his cartography skills or map.
The country roads were quiet and Marv took full advantage
of this by walking in the middle as often as possible. After
three solid days of grass, Grant was pretty determined not
to let Marv dive for the verges; however Marv was unaware
of this and took every given opportunity to hoover up any
clover that came into sight. Maisie was happy as can be, still
convinced she can catch rabbits and birds, she kept disappearing
through various hedgerows only to reappear with a slightly
bemused look on her face.
It was a very straightforward day and we were making really
good time, everyone was fresh and in good spirits. Before
we knew it we had reached Broadheath Common and the bridleway
next to Elgars birthplace. Sadly the pathway was seriously
over grown, very different to the well-ridden track I remembered.
The nettles and grass came up to our waists and Marv was the
only one not bothered as the grass was head height and easy
to eat on the move. We met my mother with her two dogs and
walked the last stretch in together. Just before reaching
my Aunt and Uncle’s house we crossed a local playing
field. Grant encouraged me to get on Marv and have a quick
canter around the field. I needed little encouragement, and
neither did Marv. He was wonderfully bouncy and full of life,
judging by the little twists he popped in he enjoyed it as
much as I did.
It was then down one more street before we turned in to the
driveway and Marv’s home for the night. The lawn was
perfect, almost too perfect and I think everyone wondered
quite how it would look the following day. Especially after
Marv, when chasing a carrot, had a ‘crazy’ moment
and threw in a few bucks before skidding to a halt and digging
his heels in. We had also forgotten how he loves to paw the
ground when he is eating. Oops! That will be the two bare
patches that appeared in the lawn overnight. We left him very
happy and eating a leaves from a tree.
The following morning we went to get Marv, he was his usual
happy self and impatient to get going. The lawn had taken
a bashing but it was taken with good spirits and the belief
that grass will grow. We set off after arranging to meet at
The Old Chequers Inn at Crowle. Maisie and I would be walking
with Marv and Grant before heading back to Edinburgh. This
would mean walking through Worcester town centre, which proved
to be very amusing and bought a smile to a lot of faces. Marv
is a big old boy and a definite crowd puller, watching him
walking down a busy high street seemingly on his own was priceless.
It was then on through Worcester, and on to Crowle. We had
to negotiate some busy roads but Marv took it in his stride.
After a brief pit stop and a quick hello to Frances, my cousin’s
wife and her mother, we cruised the last mile and were soon
making an impromptu fence to keep Marv in whilst we had lunch
at The Old Chequers Inn.
Marv is an amazing horse, it is not the first time this has
been said and it is most definitely not the last. He has spent
the past eight weeks sleeping in a different location almost
every night and taken it all in his stride. When Grant stops
for a break there is no guarantee of a field and quite often
he has to improvise. This frequently means using a bit of
para cord (about half thickness of a lightweight lunge rein))
as a fence. Although Marv could break through it, he doesn’t
try.
After a great lunch, where pudding was given to us on the
house in support of Grant and what he is doing, we all headed
over to Marv and tacked him up. Maisie and I left him and
Marv heading out of Crowle towards Radford.
Before long Grant found a great bridleway, it is always a
bonus to get off road especially on an established bridleway.
Grant got a few good canters out of Marv as they crossed some
fields before reaching a woody lane and continuing on to Radford
their destination for the night. Whilst on the bridleway Grant
caught his ear on some overhead thorns, which managed to draw
blood in a few places.
On arrival Grant put Marv in a field before heading up to
the house where he was staying with Mrs Brazier, her daughter
Emma and her boyfriend. After a great dinner and before turning
in, Grant moved Marv into a stable as it looked like it was
going to rain.
The following morning saw them leaving for Weston Sub-Edge
at around 0900. Marv, as usual, was keen to get going and
set off at a good pace. They had not been on the road for
long when they came to a post office where Grant asked about
the ford that he had planned on using to cross the river Avon.
Due to the amount of rain that had fallen over the past few
days the river was in full flood and this meant that Grant
would have to take a detour through Evesham. Marv, as usual,
took the town centre in his stride, even when Grant left him
and walked on ahead so that he could take a photo. After a
quick bite to eat it was out of Evesham and on to a busy B
road that would take them to Weston. Along the way Grant stopped
to give Marv some water where he got talking to a very nice
lady, she was left with details of the website and later that
day very kindly made a generous donation. It never fails to
amaze Grant how incredibly kind and generous people have been
throughout this trip.
After a few more miles on the road they came to Manor Farm
in Weston Sub-Edge where they were met by Lucy King, the owner.
Once Marv was all sorted, Lucy showed Grant to where he would
be staying. Manor farm is a traditional 17th century Cotswold
stone, oak beamed farmhouse and Grant had been given an amazing
annex suite, complete with its own kitchen /living room so
needless to say he was very happy. Later they were joined
for dinner by William Reddaway who had actually found the
B & B for Grant. William was planning to do a trip similar
to Grants although with a very different and equally interesting
route. He wanted to speak to Grant about routes, equipment
and all the other ins and outs involved with such an endeavour.
After an enjoyable evening with some great conversation, Paul
showed Grant his homemade horse walking machine – powered
by the hydraulics off a tractor. An amazing piece of equipment
used to help keep their pointer fit it really captured the
imagination. It is incredible what can be achieved with materials
from around a farm!
Grant was up at 7.00, and went straight out to check Marv,
who way lying down and looking very comfortable. After a great
cooked breakfast the pair said goodbye to Lucy and Paul and
headed off. Lucy very kindly did not charge Grant for staying.
The start of the day took them up a very steep hill and into
a very pretty town called Chipping Camden. The Cotswolds are
a very beautiful part of the country and it is easy to while
a way a few hours and walk a few miles whilst looking at some
of the amazing houses. They had lunch in Morton in the Marsh,
where Marv had his usual top up of apples and carrots in the
square.
The next stop was to meet Charlie, a farrier Grant had shortly
before arranged. He met them on the side of the road where
Marv was shod, hopefully for the last time before they finish.
Once Marv had been shod they left the road and headed across
country on the look out for ‘Pebbly Hill Stud’.
Pebbly Hill Stud is a massive equine yard, specialising in
dressage. Marv was right at home and soon settled in to a
lovely stable. The stables had windows which allowed Marv
to see everything that was going on. Anyone who knows Marv,
will know how happy that would make him. Grant was very gratefully
taken out to dinner to a nearby country pub by Jackie and
her boyfriend. Jackie is hoping to compete at Dressage in
the 2008 Olympics for the Hong Kong team.
Unfortunately for Grant the rain had finally caught up with
him and Friday morning was very wet, although he did get a
dry start. They headed through the village and along some
lanes before reaching Milton Under Wychwood where they had
a quick post office pit stop. They continued along some country
lanes where Grant made Marv do a bit of work and trotted him
for a while.
After crossing the busy A40 they walked the last few miles
into Carterton. Grant had lived in this area previously so
it must all have felt a bit wierd. Grant was staying with
friends of his, Chris and Nicky Allen. Nicky was there to
meet him with all the kids from the street. Marv had to squeeze
down a side path to get into their back garden and once there
- was happy enough. Throughout dinner Marv kept popping his
head through the kitchen window. Never one to be left out
he soon learnt that not only did the window allow him to be
part of things, it was also a great place to get carrots and
apples.
Grant got up for breakfast with Chris at 0700 and the first
thing they did was look out the window and count Marvs poos.
It would seem, that the night before they had had a bet on
the number he would produce. Chris won the bet with 7. Grant
and Marv headed off at 0900, Marv managed a grazing stop almost
as soon as they had left, this was thanks to Grant who found
him a great patch of clover. The earlier part of the day was
pretty uneventful, although the roads were busy and Marv was
on his toes, so Grant had to keep his eyes open to anything
unusual. Marv is incredibly good on the roads and is not fazed
by much but on occasions the odd thing will give him a bit
of a scare (only the occasional tractor seems to bother him
now).
Once they reached Shrivenham, Grant loosed Marv into the field
by the main gate, then having a bit of time to kill before
meeting Pippa Winkworth, who would be giving Marv a complimentary
equine massage. (see week 8, Marv gets a massage) The weather
was appalling, luckily, it stopped whilst Marv was getting
his massage and Grant was able to watch what Pippa was doing
and was no doubt plying her with questions. The result of
the massage was very positive, apart from a few tight spots
Marv was in great condition.
Grant was picked up by Matt Rimmer, a great friend of his
and they drove back to his house in Upavon, where they were
met by Fi, Matt’s wife and 18 month old Freddy. Dinner
turned into a long and very enjoyable affair as Matt and Grant
had not seen each other for a while.
Sunday was spent relaxing with Matt, Fi and Freddy. It rained
most of the day, so it was easy to just stay in and catch
up and read the papers.
Many thanks to the people below who kindly provided grazing
and shelter for Marv and for some of those nights a bed, food
and good company for Grant. He would also like to thank all
those along the route for their good wishes, encouragement
and sponsorship.
Monday - Worcester – Michael and Jennifer Browne
Tuesday – Radford – Emma Brazier
Wednesday – Weston Sub-Edge – Lucy and Paul King
Thursday - Bledington – Jackie Siu
Friday – Brize Norton – Chris and Nicky Allen
Saturday and Sunday- Upavon – Matt and Fi Rimmer
Dave Blackburn (for Shrivenham - horse)
Week 8, Saturday 23rd June –
Marv gets a sports massage
Grant was approached by Pippa prior to starting on the ride.
She very kindly offered her services as a qualified and fully
registered Equine Sports Massage Therapist. It was decided
that the best place to take advantage of this offer was in
Shrivenham, near Swindon. It was extremely reassuring for
Grant to hear that Marv, 8 weeks into the trip was in great
condition.
Pippa wrote:
Check Point Shrivenham
Grant is just over half way on his mounted expedition. We
thought that this point in the journey would be best to give
Marv a Sports Massage session. This would help to resolve
any issues and set him up for the remaining journey.
The heavens opened just before I arrived and we could see
rain clouds looming all around. Luckily, we seemed to be in
the right place at the right time and avoided getting wet.
Fortunately, there were only one or two areas of tightness
in the muscles and, in general, Marv is in 'marvelous' condition.
Considering he is carrying weight for 20 miles each day, I
was very impressed with how the muscles felt. This must be
due to the care Grant has taken with Marv and also the saddle
fitting.
I gave him a good stretch after the massage and I'm sure he
will make it to Landsend without any problems.
I wish Grant and Marv all the best and please donate to these
worthy causes.
Pippa Winkworth
About Pippa Winkworth is a qualified and fully registered
Equine Sports Massage therapist (EBW) and a BHS AI Instructor.
With a Bsc in Business and Spanish she also runs a translation
service for the equestrian market and can help with sourcing
horses from Spain, using established and trusted contacts.
She specializes Dressage and Horse Behaviour using Natural
Horsemanship techniques. For more details please contact pippa.equinesportsmassage@gmail.com
or call 0771 5111072.
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