Had a go at Roman riding :D (pics included)

[John Conyard]

Good morning Dave,

I'm really glad you enjoyed the day and thought the trip down to sunny Yorkshire was worthwhile. It was great to have six riders in the ring, and such a variety of kit and horses.

You've posted pictures of my two favourite beasts, Murphy, a cob who is really just learning, and Sweet Ears, a failed race horse. Currently I'm riding Murphy as much as possible to get him used to all things Roman. He is a real obnoxious character, kicking other horses through fences, and generally taking every opportunity to misbehave. But he looks the part, and did everything right yesterday. However Sweat Ears has some real spirit. I've come off him three times, and when yesterday he tripped at speed it could have been the fourth! Your picture really shows the difference in size between the two horses. In all honesty neither could match Jason's Argentinian polo pony, nor could we match Jason. So it will have to be more practice, and more practice.

Matt is also a member of RAT and worked really hard as ground crew and the target. Today I feel pleasantly tired, I suspect Matt is feeling completely dead. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did.

Happy birthday Salvianus. It was a great party last night, in a reconstructed medieval town house in the center of York. Congratulations and thank you for great night. Everybody is still in bed recovering, but I'm toying with the idea of putting in another couple of hours. Must beat Jason, must beat Jason :twisted: