Deluge.

It rained heavily all through the night, eased off in the morning but was raining heavily again by the time I got to Morrisons. The photo below was taken later in the afternoon after the rain.

Somehow I always wake early on Fridays, at least when I'm riding. And while I'm riding the endorphins kick in and there's no pain though there is a certain amount of running out of breath due to a general lack of fitness. I rode Cadno again and found out (only by being told, not by experience) that his reaction to a schooling whip or crop is to buck. I'm guessing he's had a bad experience somewhere along the line. He's a nice horse to ride and will canter as soon as you give him the aids but it does take a lot of work with the legs to get some energy into his trot. It was suggested that I use the crop very gently on his shoulder or on the saddle or my legs so that he heard the tap rather than felt it. That did the trick though a couple of times I felt a little shudder as if he was thinking about throwing in a buck but that was all. A couple of the other riders had horses that were over eager and at times there was some extra energetic cantering going on but the riders soon got their horses back under control. 

All the rain had filled the Rheidol almost to overflowing. I don't think the cattle would attempt crossing here in these conditions.

On the far side of the bridge is one of many crossings over the Vale of Rheidol Railway. Not part of the public railways but a tourist attraction. They have a number of steam engines that pull tourist carriages from Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge. I don't cross the line at this point but go over it twice on the way to the stables. Once more on the way to town and yet another time if I'm going to the dump on the industrial estate.

I didn't need to stop at the dump today but did remember to put the 5p I owed in the chicken eggs box. I did a quick shop at Morrisons and then drove to Lidl where shock horror they didn't have any decaff coffee. That meant a brisk walk in the driving rain to Tesco's and back to Lidl's car park as it seems too wasteful to drive a few minutes to Tesco's.

In the afternoon I practised the songs we'll be singing tomorrow and did some crocheting.

Quite a nice sunset tonight though I couldn't see it from home and had to walk down towards the beach to take photos.