I drove Ruby today at our North West Driving Club's "Fun Event" at Dalemain House, near Ullswater (they have a website, dalemain.com - go and enjoy the lovely photos). I've been able to get a lot more work into Ruby this year and she's pretty hard and fit. We both love doing this little event, because it gives us a beautiful drive out through the newly leafed woodland of Dalemain's estate, the first and last thirds being on private tracks or through the fields and the middle section passing through the village where I lived when my husband and I were courting ;-)

Ruby just likes being able to do lots of work on grass :) :) :)

Someone asked me today how long the Dalemain event has been going - well, I remember stewarding at A in 1984 when they managed to fit in a dressage test as well as a marathon and cones, and that wasn't the first year it had run (and it SNOWED, whereas today was red-hot). I don't think we have missed a year there except in 2001 due to Foot and Mouth restrictions. That's some record. And I've lost count of how many times I've driven the marathon route, yet every time it is more beautiful, with the trees all bursting into leaf, the wild and garden cherry trees all in flower, the fat young lambs scurrying off the track as we trot by - and this year, fresh gravel on some of the more heavily worn sections, oh bliss! I remarked to Mike, who grooms for me, that once upon a time ALL our roads must have been rocky and rutted and only occasionally gravelled. Really, we are very spoiled these days with our tarmac and our pneumatic tyred cars!

I pushed Ruby for speed along the early level stretches, and when I let her stride out on the grass she really powered along, hitting a strong canter to get us up the hill to Dacre Castle, then catching her breath while we stopped and opened/shut the gate which let us out of the fields and onto the road into the village.

Ruby skated a bit going down the slope to the bridge, but I just let her pick her own speed, and once we'd crossed Dacre Beck we saw the long climb of Vicarage Hill ahead of us. Now, Ruby's climbed this hill every year (occasionally twice a year) since 2005 and she knows it's a long tough one, so it's to her credit that she stuck out her neck and said, "bring it on!" and never broke stride all the way up - though the trot did get quite short as we neared the top. I let her pick her own speed and catch her breath as we eased back down the other side (managing not to mow down a gang of walkers), and after dodging into the fast traffic on the Ullswater road, we were let into the fields again 100 yards further on through a stewarded gate. Ruby hit the grass with gusto and powered up the slopes. This is the other bit of the drive that I love - the huge views across to the Northern Lake District Fells, Saddleback to the north of us and Cross Fell to the east, still with a crust of snow below its flat summit against the wide, clear blue of the sky. And then, once we reached the top, through several field gates (where each time Ruby got another breather), we had a glorious long sweeping slope of clean green grass, down towards the pink facade of the House and its terraced garden. Ruby just loved this stretch, and we sailed down to the little stone bridge that took us back into the Park.

Since it's an event, we have hazards (4 this year) but as this is a rec driving list I won't go into detail, other than to say that we did all of them, and Ruby behaved very well and enjoyed them. Last year I drove her past ALL the hazards bar the first one, because she had got it into her head that she was going to be the brains and not the brawn of the outfit! This year she was very biddable apart from one gate where she just focused on the wrong gap and had to be reversed out of it. Which she did obediently and quickly (I love my 2 wheeler :-)). She also behaved impeccably in the cone driving, though I always have to remember how quickly she reacts to rein changes, and make sure I don't oversteer. The more I can leave her alone and just suggest changes of direction, the better and more accurate she is.

What pleased me most was that there was plenty of steam in the tank when we needed it. Since Ruby has had issues with mild COPD over the last 2 years I was very happy that she could do this testing hilly drive, and make the necessary times, and come home - yes, sweaty - but not stressed or unduly out of breath.

Mr T was very happy to see her when we got home! They both had a nice long graze in the field, pleasantly fly-free in the strong breeze.

So, Ruby, Mike and I had a really lovely day out. Not so (these are the odd bits) my friend Margaret, whose latest small pony ran away with her twice during the day; nor some new friends who had brought their lovely big black-and-white driving cob so he could just watch the action as part of his education, and whose trailer turned over on the motorway on the way home :(

I think they're all physically OK, but I'll have to wait to hear more during the coming week.