For me it’s the same as every weekend so far this year. Saturday is mine to choose and Sunday’s are heavy live study days. Nearly 6.30 hours today! On Saturday I took time to go feed my soul. I went and saw the beloved Pearl. Pearl is now semi retired with a good friend. She enjoys a walk around the village. I got lots of cuddles and affection and in return I took her carrots and treats. My cup full I returned home happy and content. How did you spend your weekend?

I had a chill day on Saturday and took both my dog, Molly and my son's dog Chilli swimming to Lyford Lakes, it was a lovely fresh day and this place is becoming a firm fav on a Saturday morning. Today has been a study one, I have just finished a six hour stint with my fellow NLP'ers as we did role playing and live discussion of Meta programmes as part of the Master Course, it's full on, and so very interesting. How have you spent your time? Anyone been out for a hack?

I think confidence is such a fragile thing… hard to achieve, so quick to be lost… Last week I was at a training clinic, something I have done with Kiks on many occasions, I know he can be a bit excited in the pole work sessions particularly, but last week was a different level… I’ve never known him so excited… luckily we stayed together and he did settle in the end, but when your normally very laid back horse suddenly starts throwing shapes it comes as a bit of a surprise! Has it knocked my confidence? Maybe a little, but I know it’s out of character for him, so we crack on with our prep for Area Festivals in a couple of weeks time… fingers crossed I have my normal laid back boy!

Die Hard : To me it's one of the great Christmas films, if a little unusual. I love a bit of John McClane & Hans Gruber! The legend of the filming of Hans Gruber's death scene grows more epic with each new telling. Somewhat shockingly, Alan Rickman agreed to perform the stunt himself, and with that knowledge in mind, the distance the actor was said to have fallen took on a life of its own, growing from around twenty feet to thirty to, eventually, forty feet. The truth of the matter is that Die Hard's director, John McTiernan, asked Rickman to fall backward onto an airbag from what was most likely a distance of about 25 feet in the air in the hope of catching a close-up of the actor's face that would sell genuine fear. It wasn't the distance that Alan Rickman fell that gave this moment its juice. It was a decision made by Die Hard's stunt coordinator, Charlie Picerni. Rather than drop Rickman on the count of three as had been predetermined, Picerni had his stunt crew drop the actor on the count of one instead, resulting in the expression you see on Alan Rickman's/Hans Gruber's face. That look of fear isn't acting at all.

Was a lovely misty morning when I headed out on Laz early today.