A day trip shopping to Denmark – with lunch at MacDonalds!! ……..  14th Jan       Phone call from Flemming ……. A horse possibility …….oh well, we better go and look then. 18th Jan       Flights booked! 30th Jan       Very early start .... (4.00 am but it was quite warm!) Jack kindly volunteered to                         drive us all to Stansted for the 7.15 flight to Aarhus in Denmark. Arrived in Denmark (Debbie, Mum and I) to be met by Flemming and off we went ........ Having never been to Denmark (well Mum and me that is) this was a venture and a half ....drive many miles, nice scenery, farms, many wind turbines until we came to the first yard, and this was when it was time to get on the jods.........

The first horse brought out was a stunning 8 year old elite graded mare  with the most fantastic paces … she had produced a foal and had been in work for 18 months or so ….. lovely looking, fantastic elevated paces, not too big, quite green for her age but done a bit,. about 15.2 hh …. this was going to be a difficult day but oh well, onto the next horse…

Next was a liver chestnut(5yr old).... very nice but not for me, so only rode that a few circuits before getting on the next......... A six year old chestnut mare, about 16hh and far more established than the previous ... Again lots to like initially - would this be the one ?.....

Oh well, may as well try the last - even though way beyond the budget .... a slightly bigger, finer, more thoroughbred looking dark bay (4 yr old) again stunning paces and looks .... only been backed for a couple of weeks - which showed as it misinterpreted my (rather over ridden!) signals to canter by putting in a rather large buck .... not put off though and with help from Flemming got it going nicely ... oh dear very nice .... too early to make decisions so back to the car ......

Many miles later - (and was it getting colder) ....... to another yard.  This time two to try........ A very large bay 4 yr old to try, in quite a small arena.  Again lots to like but realistically too big for me to ride so off and on the next.

A really sweet black gelding, again about 16.1 hh that had been ridden by the owners 14 yr old daughter, really nice, lovely looking, good paces and fairly laid back - perhaps a bit too ... A quick burger and discussion on the six horses so far - good job Debbie and Flemming were there to remind me what each was - it's mind boggling .... but what fun - seemed all a bit surreal ........ What seemed like hundreds of miles later (but the roads are excellent, deserted and good plus Flemming has a lovely car )....... we came to the last place, more of a riding school and they brought out this bright bay - Mum and Debbie said they liked it just seeing it walk into the arena ........ So on I got  .... walked, trotted, cantered, Flemming advised, Debbie videoed, rode him outside a bit, took his tack off and that was it.  It was getting a bit dark by now, we were all feeling a little on the tired side from the very early start and decided seven horses in one day was probably enough - even though Flemming declared he could find more ..... and so we set off back to somewhere nearer the airport, which was about a two hour journey. We were staying the night as there are no evening flights back so Flemming found us a nice hotel, shared a drink with us and discussed the days events before he set off on his three hour journey back to his home (as there were no ferries at that time in January which would have cut his journey by half).  We must have travelled quite a few hundred miles but what with my non existent Danish Geography and no map I don't actually know where we went - except it was north! This left Debbie, Mum and me to have a drink (or two!) and meal, watch videos and discuss the day's events. The decision wasn't difficult - it was the last horse, the one Flemming had originally made the phone call about  .... so a nights sleep just to confirm our thoughts and in the morning a decision had to be made - there were others who liked this 'nameless' horse! Up for a breakfast and Debbie made the phone call to Flemming to say we would like this horse - oh and what was his name ..... A 9.15 flight back to Stanstead where when we landed it was torrential rain and blowing a gale. Jack picked us up, drove us home where we all went to work - by lunch time - as if we'd been to Oxford for the day! So, several phone calls later and our luck was in, a transporter was coming over the following Tuesday - oh and he was called Fabio so that seemed a nice name!  Flemming arranged all the vetting, transport etc. etc. and only a week to wait ....  All this in a week !....

6th Feb.   6.30 pm -  Fabio arrived - he strolled off the lorry, found his stable, had a drink, munched hay - said he wasn't partial to English food at the moment - and that was that.  Fabio had arrived at Gainfield!                    POSTCRIPT Many thanks to Debbie, Flemming and or course Jack.  It was an amazing experience and well worth doing.  Flights are cheap, horses are brilliant (excuse the photos - lights, action etc. to not really give a true picture of them) and it's not a problem if you don't find the horse - you'll just have to go again! Fabio has settled in well to Gainfield life and will now start his training programme and his career in England! Tor Smith  -   February 2008