On the 23rd, despite good weather, only six members met at the Bickington pickup for the ride to North Bovey. Well, actually there were eight, but Kevin and Nigel dropped out at the last minute, for reasons best known to themselves. We rode up the hill to Haytor and took the road around Hound Tor instead of dropping down to Manaton.

It was rather cold despite the sunshine, and we were only a little surprised to find we had gravitated towards Old Yarde Farm at North Bovey. Yes, this was the home of Relko, the famous Rocking Horse stable, but more importantly the “jockey” was at home. For those who don’t remember, Tim Reep and his son used to ride with us quite often about eighteen months ago, but we hadn’t seen him for a while and had a lot of news to catch up on. When lunch had been eaten by the stove we had a look for the first time at some of the horses on display. They really were beautifully made and must be great fun for children to play on.

When we had thanked Tim for his hospitality we pressed onwards to return via Cold East Cross and Bickington. Yes, a superb ride, even though we finished on a muddy track!

(Michael Jones)

[The attendance list for this event is currently incomplete]