Unreliable Cornish weather on the "Dambi ride"

For the past few weeks we have seen very little sunshine. In fact, our whole summer has been wet, windy and down-right miserable. Emma and I finally decided that Tuesday would be a good day to get out on the horses and sure enough the following morning we had a warm start with the sun bright and beaming heavily on us.

We had a pleasant walk to the stables with the sun on our backs and chatted happily about how it had been ages since the weather had been nice enough to ride. We must have taken a while to get Harriet and Nell tacked up as we didn't mount until 12 ish although we had reached the stable an hour earlier. Heading off with Harriet in the lead, it was nice to sit back and enjoy Nel's brisk pony walk. On day's like that it feels like the world stands still.

Both Nell and Harriet were feeling well, so we enjoyed a short trot past the woods and past the long cow fields until we reached the area we called "three gates".

Nell being her usual "lets get the job done" self, Emma took the camera and snapped this photo while Harriet in true character stood stock still munching. Three gates (although not the official name) is named so, for the three gates that you pass along the trail to Marazion. The first used to be a narrow gate which would have to be pushed open, however has now been changed to a step over that allows only walkers and horses or a few determined cyclists along the path.

No sooner had we taken the picture did we recieve a phone call telling us that there was a huge cloud of rain heading towards us. We had no desire to turn back so early into the ride so we sheltered in the trees and waited for the storm to pass, not realising just how heavy the shower would be.

The horses stood braving the weather, tail to the rain as we sat hunched over in the saddle with me wearing little more than a t-shirt and Emma a hoodie. Both Nell and Harriet looked miserable and we tried to position them behind a tree as a storm of small hailstones pelted us and the horses. Goosebumps crept across my bare skin. The cold and wet made our shirts stick to our backs. Then it stopped.

As the grey clouds rolled overhead amidst the swirling dark, a sliver of blue sky tinged the horizon. Wet and cold, we still weren't to be swayed. We pressed on. Further down the track the rain threatened again but this time we were only hit by a mild shower - at least by Cornwall's standards. We sheltered for a while as Harriet dined on the hedgerow and Nell impatiently continuously tried to turn for home.

Eventually it passed again and we once more set out, more determined than ever we were not going to be beat by the rain. As we came down over the hill the rain had become little streams on the hard rock that ran down among the purple heather.

It was a shame my camera could not quite pick out the beautiful colours against that bleackness. Even the horses who by this time were sodden put up with the cold and damp and continued down the track. At the second gate, which is always open, we urged the mares into a canter along the grass. We stopped before the third gate to check girths then carried on cantering. Harriet took the lead as always, cantering easily with her long comfortable stride as I held tight to my half Haflinger, with her quick and bouncy extended canter. Bringing them back to a walk at the top of the hill we went steadily down the track which, although stony, was wet and the grass slippery. At the bottom there was a little conflict between the two horses - neither of which wanted to take the lead up the huge hill. With a bit of persuading however, Harriet once more led the way with Nell cantering quickly up behind. We passed through the farm with little incident and by then the sun had started to come out and we could enjoy our ride once more. We got to the road with the sun at our soggy backs and passing over the river Nell let out a gruff whinny to the horses in the field.

As we passed under the bridge where the cars roared overhead it was like being in our own little bubble, so seperate and distant to the angry motorway above us. It was a little piece of tranquility in a fast moving world. As the drivers rushed by in their cages of metal, time stood still for us alone.

Nell picked up her pace as she rounded the bend to the bypass. She had obviously come down here often with her previous owner and was used to the gallop along the track that ran parrallel with the road. We however, had been told a tree had fallen across the path so opted for the road instead, much to the little mare's dissapointment. The road passing the local swimming pool is narrow so we trotted most of the way up the hill to avoid causing trouble and as we reached Marazion we found it pleasantly warm and sunny.
Emma can't even remember taking this picture of Nell and I as we came down the hill towards Tregurtha but looking at it, it was hard to believe the weather had been so abysmal earlier in the day. The only sign that it had rained at all was the little trickles of water running along side the roads. Nell was walking out far ahead of Harriet, determined to get home and back to her field mate but was once again dissapointed as I changed the route down towards three gates again. We passed by the chimney stack, turning our backs on the cloud that had drenched us earlier, that had appeared to our right. While Nell impatiently stomped and tried to turn me for home, Emma caught these beautiful shots of the chimney.



We headed down to Trevarthian farm and headed in the direction of three gates. Thinking we were going down into the long grassy field between gates one and two, Nell picked up her pace, prancing slighty with her tail raised and eyes bright. We passed by the field however, instead allowing the girls to let off steam up the TREK track. We headed home and Nell instantly started calling to the other horses, in particular her field mate Lucy, while Harriet calmly continued to plod on behind at her usual pace.
Despite a wet and windy start we reached Kestal Farm feeling happy about the ride. We were both glad in the end that we hadn't turned back just because it was raining as after all, thats just Cornish weather for you.