Diary of a 21st Century nobody - Picnic goes downhill

The water jump at Bramham Cross Country course

Every year in early May, daughter, hubby and I purchase our tickets for the Bramham Horse Trials which are held in early June at Bramham Park in Yorkshire. This is a horse trial event that is run over 4 days and covers dressage, showjumping and cross country. Traditionally, we attend on the Saturday as this the cross country day - a favourite discipline of our daughter. We take the dog with us and walk the 4 mile course as the event is happening. That way, we get to see all the 'thrills and spills' of the day whilst getting some much needed exercise!

This year we decided to invite friends from daughter's Pony Club and their parents to join us. By doing this, the girls would be able to explore the shops, trade tents and various arenas without parents in tow, and we parents could relax beside the cross country course and partake of an array of food and drink at our 'grown ups picnic'. Now all we needed was the good weather and fayre to live up to our exacting standards for such an event!

We shared the tasks for the picnic, with each family contributing such delights as spit-roasted chicken, mozzarella and tomato salad, herb bread, and wine, fruit juice or cordial. Even the girls were persuaded to prepare home baked goods such as carrot cake and cinnamon and oat cookies. Expectations were high and, as if by Royal decree, the day dawned fine and warm. Even the journey to the event was problem free as we avoided all the queues on the main roads with our secret route! The girls disappeared on their planned day,and we arranged to meet them later for the picnic. Perfect!

Bramham Park

Bramham Park is beautiful; long, rolling fields interspersed with copses of oak, elm and ash. A thousand places to sit and picnic in the lovely surroundings......

How come, then, we ended up disengaging our brains and choosing to sit beside the water jump fence where there are so many chances of refusals, falls and exciting recoveries - forgetting that viewing here takes place on a steep, grassy hill??

Our wonderful, up-market picnic was set out on blankets that slid downhill, dispensing their contents to all sides as they went! Cups, glasses and wine bottles followed suit, and we clambered about on hands and knees attempting to gather it all up, put it down again at the top of the hill, only to watch it commence the roll downward all over again! Suddenly, the thrills and spills of the water jump fence paled into a dull event compared with what we dubbed 'the great picnic chase', and spectators turned their eyes from the horse riding and began to watch the entertainment we were supplying...... Our daughters walked away pretending we were nothing to do with them....

Next year we will do it all over again - but on a FLAT surface!!