Concrete Cows: EGB Cromwell Group

Concrete Cows: EGB Cromwell Group

By Sarah and Ziggy Cameron

Sarah Cameron talks us through a lovely route and reveals why she’ll be returning to this ride in 2023.

On a beautiful morning on 26 October 2022, Ziggy and I set off to have a go at The Concrete Cows Ride, a Novice 33K. Jane Gibbs had very kindly offered to crew for us and I have to say she is amazing at this job.

We arrived to a very sunny Bella Fricker who put so much work into this ride, a route that takes you all around Milton Keynes. You are literally parked up in the centre on a hill in a park with a John Lewis warehouse directly behind you.

I met up with a good pal from years back on her new young horse George. Lesley Ann Parker greeted me with a hug and laugh of expectation of ‘this is going to be some ride’!

We set off together after the vetting. First, we had this amazing hill and park to ride through followed by a couple of road crossings and large roundabouts. The horses just got on with it with Ziggy’s usual face of ‘okidokie let’s rock’.

We then rode through the subways (there were several). As we went through the first one, I sang to him rather loudly to help him keep calm with the thundering noise above. The subways led to yet more beautiful parks and tracks, steps, high bridges, over the motorway, around a huge lake and underneath a railway line.

Our crew Jane, driving my Land Rover through Milton Keynes, managed to find us. She was a total diamond giving our horses plenty of water and yummy snacks.

The whole ride was so unusual and a fabulous challenge. Both horses were superb and well

mannered. There is so much to look at along the route, from robots to a dinosaur, and the route was excellently marked by Bella.

I would highly recommend this ride if you want to have a go at something different. It was well organised and jolly good fun and the caterer on the day was my favourite so far – chips, bacon, avocado and cheese! After all, fun is what it’s all about isn’t it? A huge well done to all on the day. We did well with a good Grade 3, which is the icing on the cake, but so is a happy, healthy, good, obedient horse. Will I go back and ride this route again? You bet I will! Hope to see you all next year.

David Saunders