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Me and *G. The Outlaw* |
HI THERE, HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOOKING AT THE PHOTOGRAPHS
I would like to tell you something about myself.
My life
(It’s had its ups and downs and hardships) but it has been filled with marvelous animals, from my first black TOM CAT called Ni***r very politely incorrect these days, to my present day motley crew whom you have met on the previous pages.
I was about 5, just after the war, when a new neighbour moved in nearby with a pair of IRISH SETTERS, how I gazed in admiration as they went for walks, their coats gleaming. “Rory and Flame” their names, I was totally besotted. Then I discovered ponies and diligently saved all my pocket money (secretly in case I was stopped) to enjoy a half hour lesson every three weeks. Dad wouldn’t relent to my heart rending pleas for a dog, but impressed by my saving he put his hand in his pocket to pay for an hours ride every fortnight. A move to the suburbs when I was eleven, guess what, there was a riding school several hundred yards down the lane from our house. For the next five years I lived, breathed and loved the ponies, borrowed dogs to take for walks, still had the old black cat, LIFE was pretty good. Then it was G.C.E.s and time to knuckle down to hard work.
THE SWINGING SIXTIES burst into our lives, what a time it was for me. Two years spent in a freight forwarding office on Liverpool's Pier Head, racing off to the world famous CAVERN CLUB for their lunchtime music sessions, piling on the slap before we went, then washing it off when returning to work (standards huh!!). Happy times. An advert for a groom at a local NATIONAL HUNT RACING STABLE was spotted in the local paper, to my father’s horror the job was offered to me and I gave up a super well paid job to go messing about with horses. Reality soon kicked in, hard work, dedication and exhaustion, traveling home each night falling asleep with my head in my dinner and no night life, but FITNESS overcame FATNESS. Leading up WINNERS at AINTREE and other courses, appearing on the TV made it all so exciting. It was at a time when girls were few on the ground working with the MIGHTY THOROUGHBRED, and boy did we have a lot to prove. |
GRAND NATIONAL RUNNER “BORDER LUCK” |
The SIXTIES continued with a move to the CONTINENT for the next couple of years with INTERNATIONAL SHOW JUMPERS, horses, travel and fantastic music…what a time, what a life, the heady days of characters human and equine, brilliant. Too many stories to even contemplate talking about.
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Jill, me and the horses |
The four |
Condylus
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On my return, with a horse, I worked for a FARMER who was a MFH and SHOW JUMPER. His horses worked hard, hunting twice a week and show jumping on Sundays in the winter, during the summer they also completed on the COUNTY SHOW CIRCUIT along side Harvey Smith, David Broom, Ted and Liz Edgar etc......it was the greatest fun.
Ken Beestons |
Milbank |
Persian blue
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THE SEVENTIES and a move into farming, marriage and children, the fun didn’t stop here. We showed cattle, the horses and June on her pony. TV appearances and the biggest success of all, never done previously, and as far as I know never achieved again. RESERVE SUPREME CHAMPION at Newark and Notts. Agricultural Show, what was so special? it was achieved with a BULLOCK. People came from all over the country to see him competing at Agricultural Shows. His name, how could it be anything other than RED RUM.
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June and Redskin |
Saracen |
Some of the trophies that were won
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THE EIGHTIES involved a change of direction with a return to the WIRRAL for my kids and me. I had my beloved DOBERMANNS by now, and my pal Joan and I held down three jobs each, days and nights to pay for our showing habit…and what fun it was, we laughed till we cried......what more can I say.
Findjans Galatea (Sam) |
Joan and I, with Sam and Cassie |
Godolphins America (Goliath) |
Indigo Sun at Godolphin |
Godolphins Redrooster (6 months, 1 week) |
Godolphins Salt Water Palace (9 months) |
Godolphins Santanita (10 months) |
Training with The British Institute of Advanced Instructors (B. Lucy's Legend and myself far right)
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THE NINETIES brought with them a marvelous position as SENIOR ANIMAL AND PEST CONTROL OFFICER for a local Authority (dog catcher and rat exterminator extraordinaire). The people i met fitted the complete spectrum of life on the streets, from the sad and lonely to the downright vicious. Quick thinking, quick talking and just occasionally physical stuff saved me from quite serious trouble at times. I loved this job and once again the stories I could tell would fill a book. The RATS and COCHROACHES were certainly a challenge, trying to outwit them was something else.
During this time I discovered the most FANTASTIC breed of dog, the RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK. I bought my first puppy Sanyati Safi from Godolphin RCC, whom I campaigned to be TOP RIDGEBACK PUPPY. My next was Nyassa Metz of Godolphin, and a mating between these two gave me my beloved G. Wildcat. With my incredibly interesting job and lovely Ridgeback's I was going to CONQUOR the world, but my husband was stricken by a brain tumour then a massive stroke. This brought my high ideas to a sudden and grinding halt.
The early 2000’s were a period of reflection, my husbands illness was so severe he was moved from home into a Nursing Home were a team of staff could look after him. For several months after this I stayed with friends on their Arabian Stud Farm in FLORIDA, here I had the chance to travel the Southern States helping with the show horses.
Georgia, USA
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Florida, USA
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Georgia, USA
Georgia, USA
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My return to England prompted me to buy my BLACK ARABIAN STALLION “FAITH”, so here I am, my horse, my RIDGEBACKS and the cats, what more could a person actually ask for.
This brings me right up to date, how lucky have I been, my life filled with fantastic and marvelous animals, great memories and stories, they would be never ending. The incredible people I have met over the years, the GOOD, the BAD, and the FAMOUS, a hard working BUT a WONDERFUL life.
St Michael
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Oooops! |
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El-Karem-Bey |
Godolphins Sunbird (Cassie) |
Barrimilne Lucy's Legend |
The great escape!! |
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